The Château de Blois is a complex made up of buildings of at least three architectural styles. The two shots above show the Louis XII wing of the château. It was built starting in 1499, at a time when italianate buildings of Renaissance style were becoming fashionable, but the Louis XII wing is basically a late Gothic structure.
On the right is the courtyard façade of the François 1er wing, on which construction started just a few years later in the early 16th century. The façade itself is italianate in style, but the protruding stair tower, which is also very ornate, is a standard feature of French Gothic architecture. The people bottom-left in the photo might give you an idea of the scale of the building.
The third wing of the château is a Classical-style building. It was built later than the two other wings, in the first half of the 17th century, and to my eye is a little stodgy instead of whimsical and sort of excentric.
King Louis XII chose the porcupine as his royal symbol. And on the right just above is another shot of king François 1er's salamander.
I was at a visiting farm a few weeks ago, and saw a porcupine for the first time. They gave us a porcupine quill to hold... wow, they are hard as nails, and that point is so sharp. Very interesting to see this as Louis XII's symbol.
ReplyDeleteThe three wings don't even look like the same building - so very different. I think Hampton Court outside London has the same kind of change in styles. I guess it's hard to stay in architectural fashion when the work spans a hundred years or so.
ReplyDeleteBlois is so interesting. The porcupine is almost as good as the salamander as far as symbols go.
ReplyDeleteThat porcupine icon above the door really made an impression on me when I first observed it! The salamander was another icon at that Chateau that was whimsical within such a royal and immense place. Of course, who wouldn't be impressed with the double stairway? We had chosen Bloir as our place to enjoy the Loire Castles and then planned on seeing Chenonceau, but we were too late and they wouldn't let us in 30 minutes before closing. That was in 2007 and I said, well, we'll see it next time.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting closer to that time, and I am so looking to returning to France and seeing those "next-time" goals. Thanks for the beautiful photos as a reminder. I will forward this to my daughter for a remembrance for her, too.
Hi Mary, I'm glad to see you again. Have you been unable to leave comments? I hope any problems are resolved now. When do you plan to come back to France?
DeleteSo glad to be able to leave comments again. Both for you and even now for Walt. (crazy thing - I just have to link to Walt's blog from the listing for you on the internet when I type in your blog title, your favorites or some description of your friends/etc. let me access his account!! I will be getting my passport ordered in the first the next year. No trips scheduled as yet - but I am hoping for 2026 ! I will keep you posted, when I am on FB you pop up as someone I could connect up with. I did nothing to my computer, no new apps, didn't remove anything. Just kept on trying, eventually, it worked!
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