Wednesday, April 29, 2015

la faïence au château d'Amboise


2015 is the 500th anniversary of François I becoming the king of France.  Francis I, as he is called in English, is largely credited with bringing the Renaissance to France.  This included convincing Leonardo da Vinci to spend his last years in Amboise at Clos Lucé.   Francis led a fascinating and influential life and you can read a summary of it here.

In honor of Francis and the Renaissance, a fascinating collection of ceramics is on display until November at the château.  Pictured here is one of my favorites which depicts the emblem of Francis I (which is explained in the link above).  The ceramics (faïence in French) are provided by famous French manufacturer Gien (here is a link to a video about Gien).

6 comments:

  1. Francis of the Large Nose, that is a good nick-name.

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  2. Well it's a little hard not to notice le nez... It's huge :) Gosh dragons were very symbolic in days gone by. Would be a fascinating collection to see Stuart.

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  3. Well it's a little hard not to notice le nez... It's huge :) Gosh dragons were very symbolic in days gone by. Would be a fascinating collection to see Stuart.

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  4. happy anniversary king francois! love the ceramic!

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  5. This is an impressive work, and fitting given the anniversary year.

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