CDR-1364: SR Set: Italian Infuence on French Art

The influence of Italian art in France arose largely during the Renaissance and Mannerist periods. From the 1497 French invasion of Italy, the importation of artists and ideas joined those from Burgundy and Flanders to create what is now known as the French Renaissance. In 1516 Leonardo Da Vinci was invited by François 1er to the Chateau d'Amboise, where he spent the remainder of his life. François also invited Italian artists such as Primaticcio, Cellini, and Rosso Fiorentino, to work on his Chateau at Fontainebleau. These collaborations resulted in the School of Fontainebleau with its elegant, elongated Mannerist figures. In the following century Bernini was invited to design the east front of the Louvre; designs that were ultimately rejected as France chose to go her own flamboyant way without the influence of Italian artists.

---

---