ue in general, though to a less degree. The Renaissance is
_maitresse_ within and without; the other moods are wholly subservient
to her grace.

There is hardly an apartment in all the world of palaces in France, or
beyond the frontiers, to rank with the great Galerie Francois I at
Fontainebleau, though indeed its proportions are modest and its lighting
defective to-day, for Louis XV blocked up all the windows on one side.
It remains, however, one of the richest examples of the Franco-Italian
decoration of its era, though somewhat tarnished by the heedlessness of
Charles X.

Never were there before, nor since, its era such mythological
wall-paintings as are here to be seen. The aspirants for the Prix de
Rome protest each year against such subjects being set them for their
_concours_, but their judges, recalling how effective such examples are,
are insistent. The best examples of the School of Fontainebleau are a
distinct variety of French painting. The veriest dabbler in art can say
with Michelet: "There is no reminiscence of anything Italian therein."

Frankly, these works were the product of secondary artists and their
pupils. Leonardo da Vinci, too old to do anything more than direct, saw
himself succeeded by Del Sarto, Rosso and Primaticcio. Cellini may have
contributed, too, but his labours were doubtless blotted out to a great
extent by the orders of the all-powerful Duchesse d'Etampes who feared
his competition with her protege, Primaticcio. One of the masters of
this coterie was Nicolo dell' Abbate, better known, perhaps, for his
works painted at Bologna than for his frescoes at Fontainebleau.

[Illustration]

The Galerie Henri II is notable also for its decorations, the harmonious
juxtaposition of sculpture and painting, and, although "restored" in
late years, presents an astonishing pristine vigour. This apartment
ranks with the Galerie Francois I, all things considered, as one of the
chief show apartments of the palace. Its length is thirty metres, its
breadth ten, with five ample round-headed windows letting in a flood of
light on either side, one set giving on the Cour Ovale, and the other on
the Parterre and the magnificent facade of the Porte Doree. The ceiling
is broken up into octagonal _caissons_, their depths alternately laid
with gold or silver, bearing the monogram of the monarch and his
_devise_. The parquet is laid in divisions reproducing the design of the
ceiling. On either side the walls a