17. FRENCH ART. The Sources of the Art in France, as in all Euro pean countries, emanated — in its two essential forms, sculpture and painting— from architec ture. and statues, exclusively of sa cred legends, served to decorate the churches and palaces. It was but gradually — during the last five centuries only— that French paint ing especially, has been divided into historical painting, landscape painting, genre and still life, and that sculpture has, according to Spencer (who explains the evolution of the history of ant by the law of differentiation), become through the variety of jects, both realistic and ideal, of which it treats.
Mosaics play a prominent role in the dec oration of basilicas, and later of Christian churches; Byzantine influence extended to icon ography and to the miniatures in missals. The development of art, from the Roman churches of the nth century to the Gothic cathedrals of the 13th century, attained unpre cedented perfection. The sculpture of the cathe drals of Chartres, Amiens, Rheims and Paris — by their simple and exquisitely naturalistic forms— realized the highest ideals. The dec oration of the facades and the portals, like a living encyclopedia, fully reflects the faith and the aspirations of an age of earnest religious belief. All the industrial arts, ornamental sculpture, cabinet-work, church windows, mis sals and goldsmiths' work, were in unison in the Middle Ages in France. The director of the work was, at the same time, sculptor and painter as well as architect. In the 13th cen tury, French decorators turned aside from By zantine rigidity and archaism (Sainte Chapelle de Paris, and Donjon of Coucy, the latter de stroyed in 1917 by German vandalism). Then the workmen were employed in decorating the dwellings of the nobles. Charles V and the Duc de Berry exercised a great influence over the French school. The court of the Duc de Bourgogne vied with that of France in the magnificence of its arts; calling itself the great Bourguignonne school. The Chartreuse de Champniol near Dijon, is the most significant% example. On the other hand the works or dered by the popes during their sojourn in Avignon were not without their influence on French decorators, bringing them in contact with Italian artists.
Jean Fouquet, a portrait painter, limner and fresco painter, connected with the court of Louis XI, made this progress still more appar ent Jacques de Litemont decorated the chapel of the house of Jacques Coeur in Bourges. The sojourn of the court on the banks of the Loire brought a great many artists to Tour aine and those from Italy brought with them the new lessons they had learned from antique art.
Jean Bourdichon of Tours and Jean Perreal, brought back by Charles VIII when he re turned from his expedition to Naples, rivaled the ultramontane artists.
With Francis I Italian decoration and style reached their zenith: at Fontainebleau, the king placed a great many painters and artists skilled in stucco under the direction of Primatice, which resulted in the beautiful gallery of Francis I — one of the most perfect ((ensem bles° that the Renaissance has produced. Un der Henri II and Catherine de Medici the school of Fontainebleau followed their lead. While French architects and builders attached to the kings of France erected the Chateaux of Gallon, Blois,. Vendome, Chenonceatuc, Fon tainebleau, Ecouen, Anet, Chambord and lastly the Louvre and the Tuileries, which have made the names of Pierre Lescot, Philbert Delorme and Jean Goujon illustrious, their wonderful tombs and fountains are to be seen everywhere. Conspicuous in French sculpture are the names of Michel Colombe and of Ligier Richier, and later, in the reign of Francis I, that of Jean Goujon (who was the first in France to do bas-relief), and of German Pilon.
The 17th Century.-- During the great ex pansion of the Renaissance, wherever the influ enceof the Clouets (portrait painters of psychi cal insight) predominated, French art main tained the greatest indence, notwithstand ing the official to bear in favor of Italian art. At the end of the 17th century, art had but one head — the king; and he ex pressed but one idea: absolute power. French art became monarchical, reflecting the absolute majesty of the sovereign, and his servile flat terers, who could and did say of the state: ((It is Lo It was now necessary to have a dwelling proportionate to these excessive pre tensions. Architecture, painting and sculpture basked in the sunshine of royalty. It is not quite natural for people to submit to such rigid rules. Even the gardens became monarchical in style, everything was imperial, theatrically pompous; then followed the portraits of a Ri gaud, a Nateuti, and even the pompous divinities in the garden of Versailles. The methodical minister, Colbert, formed a comprehensive plan for the protection of art. Francois Mansard, who built the palace of Mazarin, was imitated by Claude Perrault who constructed the splen did colonnade of the Louvre; and above all by Hardoin Mansard, his nephew, who designed the palace of Versailles, and the chapel and the dome of Invalides.° Sculpture, in its turn, was held in leading strings. Girardon Coysevox, Nicolas Coustou and Lemoyne designed great works along these lines. It was only the genial Pierre Puget whose ardent and passionate temperament would not yield to discipline. Thus he lost the favor of the public, who leaned toward the style of LeBrun in his great decorative enter prises. It was these artists who peopled with marble Versailles, Trainon, Manly and Saint Cloud.