View of the Château de Fontainebleau (1718/1723) by Pierre-Denis MartinChâteau de Fontainebleau
Part of a series on the eight Royal Houses commissioned in 1718, this representation of an elevated view of Fontainebleau by Pierre-Denis Martin provides a panorama of the château, its gardens, the village, and the forest seen from the south.
In the foreground, we can see a royal hunt in action.
The character dressed in scarlet on a white horse is probably the Duke of Orléans, who became the Régent after the death of the King.
On the left the dogs are chasing a deer among the rocks, while horsemen are playing the horn.
The gardens are the greatest achievements in Fontainebleau during the reign of Louis XIV and they can be very clearly seen in the painting.
The Grand Parterre, created between 1660 and 1664 by Le Nôtre and Le Vau on the site of François I "Grand Jardin", is in the middle of the picture. It is the largest formal garden in Europe, extending over 14 hectares (35 acres), adorned with intricate box hedge work in the French style.
The square pool in the center is decorated with a fountain called "le Pot bouillant" (which was replaced by another fountain in 1817).
To the south, on the forest side, the round basin called "le Romulus" (surrounded by the basin called "le Bréau") is decorated with a 16th century bronze statue representing the Tiber after the Antique (which no longer exists and was replaced by a copy).
The castle itself stretches between the gardens and the village. On the left you might recognize the Courtyard of the White Horse, where the famous Horseshoe Staircase is located (hidden in the picture).
North of the castle is the town of Fontainebleau, with the Saint-Louis church built in 1613 and established as a parish in 1661, and the many mansions built for house members of the court during the time of the King.
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