Façade of the Cour Carrée (wing Lescot)

From 1547 Goujon was principally occupied with the sculptural decoration of Lescot’s new buildings at the Louvre, where the rich, allegorical system of decoration evolved for the interior of the château of Fontainebleau was for the first time extended to the full height of a fa�ade. Apart from repetitive architectural decoration, the principal embellishments are the magnificent female allegorical relief figures that surround the oeil-de-boeuf windows above the three doors of the south-west wing of the Cour Carr�e: War, Peace, Fame, History, Victory and the Glory of the King (stone, 1547-50; in situ but restored). Although in part inspired by details from Trajan’s Column in Rome (casts of which had been brought to France by Francesco Primaticcio in 1540), these figures, with their delicately carved and insubstantial drapery, have the movement and exuberance of the Mannerist style.

The numerous allegorical high-reliefs on the projecting bays of the attic storey of Lescot’s wing of the Cour Carr�e (stone, 1552-55; in situ but restored) have also disconcerted those critics who preferred to see in Goujon a purist in love with classicism. With their ample figures projecting well beyond the architectural framework, and carved in high relief, their compositions recall Rosso and Giulio Romano and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding both of Mannerist contrapposto and of the foreshortening necessary for decorative sculpture mounted high on a building. However, it is clear that by this stage in his career Goujon was increasingly helped by sculptors from his workshop.

The photo shows the south part of the west wing built by Francois I. after 1546. The architect was Lescot.