Renaissance art in France. Is this the uniqueness of the French Renaissance? Topics of abstracts and reports

The Renaissance in France had basically the same prerequisites for its development as in Italy. However, in the socio-cultural preconditions literary process There were significant differences between both countries. Unlike Italy, where in the northern regions already in the 13th century. A political revolution takes place and a number of completely independent urban republics arise; in France, where bourgeois development at that time was slow compared to Italy, the nobility continued to remain the ruling class.

From all this follows a certain backwardness of the French bourgeoisie in comparison with the Italian or even English and, in particular, its weak participation in the humanistic movement. On the other hand, humanistic ideas found significant support in the circles of the nobility, who came into direct contact with the culture of Italy.

In general, the strong influence of Italy is one of the most important features French Renaissance. The rapid flowering of humanistic thought coincides with the first half of the reign of Francis I (1515-1547). The Italian campaigns, which began under his predecessors and continued by him, greatly expanded cultural relations between the two peoples. Young French nobles, having arrived in Italy, were dazzled by the wealth of its cities, the splendor of its clothes, the beauty of its works of art, and the elegance of its manners. Immediately, increased imports of Italian products began Renaissance culture To France. Francis 1 attracted the best to his service Italian artists and sculptors - Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Benvenuto Cellini. Italian architects build him castles in the new Renaissance style in Blois, Chambord, Fontainebleau. Appears in large quantities translations of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, etc. penetrate into the French language big number Italian words from the field of art, technology, military affairs, social entertainment, etc. Of the Italian humanists who moved to France at this time, the most outstanding was Julius Caesar Scaliger (d. 1558), physician, philologist and critic, author of the famous “Poetics” on Latin, in which he outlined the principles of scientific humanistic drama.

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It was going on in parallel in-depth study antiquity, which also came partly through Italian media. In the first years of his reign, Francis I ordered the publication of translations of the works of Thucydides, Xenophon and others “for the instruction of the French nobility.” He ordered a translation of Homer’s poems and convinced Jacques Amiot (1513-1593), a teacher of Greek and Latin languages, a translator, to begin his famous translation of Plutarch's Lives.

Francis I wanted to personally lead the French Renaissance in order to guide it and keep it under his control, but in fact he only followed the mental movement of the era. Of his advisers, the true leaders of the movement, first place should be given to Guillaume Bude (Guillaume Bude, 1468-1540), who first held the position of secretary of Francis I, then his librarian. Budet owns a huge number of works in Latin on philosophy, history, philology, mathematics and legal sciences. Budet's main idea was that philology is main basis education, since the study of ancient languages ​​and literature broadens a person’s mental horizons and improves his moral qualities. Much in Budet's views on religion, morality, and education brings him closer to Erasmus of Rotterdam. Budet's biggest undertaking was the plan to create a secular university, carried out by Francis I. According to Budet's plan, teaching in it should be based not on scholasticism and theology, as at the Sorbonne, but on philology. This is how the College de France arose in 1530, which immediately became a citadel of free humanistic knowledge.

Second the most important point, which determined the fate of the French Renaissance, is its special relationship with the Reformation, which was at first in tune with humanism, but then sharply diverged from it.

In the history of French Protestantism, two periods must be distinguished - before the mid-1530s and after. The first Protestants of France were scattered intellectuals of a humanistic way of thinking, who approached all issues critically, including the foundations of religion, but were little inclined to preaching and fighting. The outstanding mathematician and Hellenist Lefebvre d'Etaples (1455-1537), who visited Italy and became imbued with the ideas of Platonism through conversations with Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, returned to France to interpret Aristotle in a new way, i.e. turning exclusively to primary sources and trying to penetrate their true meaning, not distorted by scholastic comments. Following this, Lefebvre had the idea of ​​​​applying the same method to the books of Holy Scripture - and here he discovered that nothing was said in the Gospel about fasting, nor about the celibacy of the clergy, nor about most of the “sacraments”. From here the idea arose for him and his friends to return to the original purity of the evangelical teachings, to create an “evangelical” confession. Delving further into the consideration of the principles of Christianity, Lefebvre in 1512, i.e. five years before Luther spoke, he put forward two provisions that later became fundamental for Protestantism of all persuasions: 1) justification by faith, 2) Holy Scripture as the only basis of religious teaching. To strengthen the new doctrine, Lefebvre published his translation of the Bible - the first in French.

The Sorbonne condemned this translation, as well as the entire new heresy in general. Several of Lefebvre's followers were executed, and he himself had to flee abroad for a while. Soon, however, Francis I rehabilitated him and even appointed him as his son’s tutor. In general, during this period the king favored Protestants and even thought about introducing Protestantism in France. However, in the mid-1530s, there was a sharp turn in his policy, which was caused by the general offensive in Europe of reaction and the associated counter-reformation - a revolution caused by the fear of the ruling classes of peasant uprisings and the too bold aspirations of humanistic thought, which threatened to overthrow “all the foundations " Francis's tolerance for all kinds of freethinking - religious or scientific-philosophical - has come to an end. Executions of Protestants and free-thinking humanists became commonplace. One of the cases of blatant arbitrariness was the burning at the stake in 1546 of the outstanding scientist and typographer Etienne Dolet.

At this very time, French Protestantism entered its second phase. Its head becomes Jacques Calvin(1509-1564), who moved from France to Geneva in 1536, which henceforth became the main center of Calvinism, leading the entire Protestant movement in France. Also in 1536, Calvin finally formulated his teaching in the “Instructions for the Christian Faith,” which originally appeared in Latin and was republished five years later in French. From this point on, contemplative, utopian evangelicalism gives way to stern, militant Calvinism.

The bourgeois essence of the Reformation clearly appears in the teachings of Calvin, who recommends frugality and accumulation of wealth, justifies usury and even allows slavery. The basis of Calvin's doctrine is two provisions - about “predestination” and about the non-interference of God in the life of the world, subject to immutable laws. According to the first of them, every person from birth is destined either to eternal bliss or to eternal torment, regardless of how he behaves in life. He does not know what he is destined for, but he must think that salvation awaits him and with his whole life he must show this. Thus, this doctrine of “predestination” does not lead to fatalism and passivity, but, on the contrary, is an incentive to action.

Followers of Calvin and his basic tenets of predestination and the non-intervention of God develop the doctrine of a “secular calling”, according to which everyone should strive to extract as much profit and benefit as possible from his profession, and of a “secular asceticism”, which prescribes frugality and moderation in the satisfaction of his needs for the sake of increasing their property. Hence the view of work as a “duty” and the transformation of the thirst for accumulation into the “virtue of accumulation.”

Despite the clearly expressed bourgeois nature of Calvinism, it found numerous supporters among those layers of the nobility who did not want to come to terms with absolutism, mainly in the south, which was annexed relatively late (in the 13th century), as a result of which the local nobility had not yet forgotten about their liberties and tried to behave independently. Thus, if in the second quarter of the 16th century. Protestantism spread almost exclusively among the bourgeoisie, and more or less evenly throughout France; then, starting from the middle of the century, it spread intensively among the southern French nobility, the stronghold of feudal reaction. When in the second half of the 16th century. religious wars broke out, it was the Calvinist nobles who fought against absolutism who acted as the organizers and leaders of the uprising; Moreover, at the end of the war, many of them willingly joined Catholicism.

At the same time, the character of Protestantism is changing, abandoning the principle of freedom of inquiry and becoming imbued with the spirit of intolerance and fanaticism. A striking example is the burning by Calvin in 1553 of Miguel Servetus (1511 - 1553), a Spanish theologian, doctor, natural scientist, accused by him of belonging to the revolutionary sect of Anabaptists.

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In France, divided into two camps - Catholics and Protestants, there was no completely national party, since both fighting sides, to the detriment of their homeland, often acted in alliance with foreign rulers. The Huguenots (as Protestants were called in France), who had no support among the people, constantly called on their co-religionists from Germany, Holland and England for help. As for the Catholics, at first they represented a party of national and religious unity, but over time, especially after the Catholic League was created in 1576, the leaders of the party began to seek support from Spain and even thought about transferring the French crown to the Spanish king Philip II . True patriotism could be found in those days only in the masses: among the peasants or among the urban plebeian masses, who, completely ruined civil wars and, driven to despair, suddenly rose up, like their great-grandfathers in the Hundred Years' War, to beat both the Spanish soldiers and the German reiters, and most importantly, their own nobles - landowners of any political group and of any religion. But these peasant uprisings, of which the largest took place around 1580 and around 1590, could not succeed and were ruthlessly suppressed, often with the help of betrayal and treason.

Humanism had some points of agreement with both parties, but even more divergences. Many humanists were attracted to the Catholic Party by the idea of ​​national unity (Ronsard and other members of the Pleiades), but most of them could not tolerate the narrowness of thought and superstitions of Catholicism. And humanists were repelled from Calvinism by its bourgeois narrow-mindedness and ever-increasing fanaticism. But still, the rationalistic leaven of Calvinism, its heroic spirit, high moral demands and the dream of some kind of ideal structure human society attracted many humanists to him (Agrippa d'Aubigné, and from an earlier time - Marot). However, the most profound humanists, such greatest writers French Renaissance, like Rabelais, Denerier, Montaigne, eschewed religious strife, equally alien to the fanaticism of both faiths, and most likely inclined towards religious freethinking.

Writers of the French Renaissance, compared to early medieval authors, are characterized by an extraordinary expansion of their horizons and a wide range of intellectual interests. The greatest of them acquire the features of a typical Renaissance " universal man”, receptive and involved in everything. Most shining example This is the work and activity of Rabelais, a doctor, naturalist, archaeologist, lawyer, poet, philologist and a brilliant satirical writer. Greater versatility can also be observed in the works of Marot, Margaret of Navarre, Ronsard, d’Aubigné and others.

Typical features common to more or less all writers of the century are, on the one hand, spontaneous materialism, receptivity to everything material and sensual, on the other hand, the cult of beauty, concern for the grace of form. In accordance with this, new genres are born or old ones are radically transformed. A colorful and realistically developed short story appears (Margarita of Navarre, Denerier), a unique form of satirical novel (Rabelais), a new style of lyric poetry (Marot, then especially Ronsard and Pleiades), the beginnings of secular Renaissance drama (Jodelle), an anecdotal-moral descriptive type of memoirs (Brantome), civil accusatory poetry (d'Aubigné), philosophical "experiments" (Montaigne), etc.

Both poetry and prose of the French Renaissance are characterized by a broader, more realistic approach to reality. The images are more specific and individual. Abstraction and naive edification are gradually disappearing. Artistic truthfulness becomes a measure and means of expressing ideological content.

In the French Renaissance, several stages can be distinguished. In the first half of the century, humanistic ideas flourished, optimism and faith in the possibility of building a better, more perfect way of life prevailed. Although this mood had been clouded by impending reaction since the mid-1530s, the religious and political schism had not yet had time to fully manifest its destructive effects.

In the second half of the century, in the context of the beginning or preparation of religious wars, the first signs of doubt and disappointment were observed among humanists. Nevertheless, in the third quarter of the century, powerful efforts are being made to create a new, completely national poetry and a rich national language. Since the 1560s, the crisis of humanism reaches full strength, and literature reflects, on the one hand, the battles and fermentation of minds caused by civil wars, on the other hand, in-depth quests that prepare for later forms of social and artistic consciousness.

Questions and tasks

• 1. At what time does the Renaissance begin in France?
• 2. What are the specifics of the origin and development of the Renaissance in France in comparison with Italy?
• 3. What was the role of Francis I in the development of the French Renaissance?
• 4. Using reference books and encyclopedias, get an idea of ​​what the Reformation and Calvinism are.
• 5. What are character traits worldview and creativity of representatives of the French Renaissance?
• 6. Make a table of the stages of the Renaissance in France, reflecting in it: 1) historical events; 2) main ideas; 3) brief description the most significant authors; 4) names and dates of the main works.

Topics of abstracts and reports

• 1. The role of Italy in the development of the French Renaissance.
• 2. Italian masters in France: Leonardo da Vinci and Benvenuto Cellini.
• 3. Reformation in France.

Features of the Renaissance in France.

The Renaissance in France had basically the same prerequisites for its development as in Italy. However, there were significant differences in the socio-political conditions of both countries. Unlike Italy, where in the northern regions already in the 13th century. A political revolution takes place and a number of completely independent urban republics arise; in France, where bourgeois development was relatively slow, the ruling class continued to be the nobility.

In the 15th century The layer of hereditary bureaucracy from the bourgeoisie, formed in the previous century, greatly expanded in the courts and in the administration. At the same time, part of the bourgeoisie became noble, buying up the lands of the bankrupt nobles. However, the French bourgeoisie did not embark on bold enterprises and, without developing, due to the lack of convenient markets, large foreign trade, they preferred a quiet and sure income: they were mainly engaged in usurious activities, selling government loans and investing money in Agriculture. This implies a certain backwardness of the French bourgeoisie compared to the Italian or even English and, in particular, its weak participation in the humanistic movement.

In general, the strong influence of Italy is one of the most important features of the French Renaissance. The rapid flowering of humanistic thought coincides with the first half of the reign of Francis I (1515 - 1547). The Italian campaigns, which began under his predecessors and continued by him, greatly expanded cultural relations between the two peoples. Young French nobles, having arrived in Italy, were dazzled by the wealth of its cities, the splendor of its clothes, the beauty of its works of art, and the elegance of its manners. Immediately, the increased import of Italian Renaissance culture into France began. Francis I recruited the best Italian artists and sculptors into his service - Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Benvenuto Cellini. Italian architects build him castles in the new Renaissance style in Blois, Chambord, Fontainebleau. Translations appear in large numbers Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio etc. a large number of Italian words from the fields of art, technology, military affairs, social entertainment, etc. penetrate into the French language. Among the Italian humanists who moved to France at this time, the most outstanding was Julius Caesar Scaliger(died 1558), physician, philologist and critic, author of the famous "Poetics" in Latin, in which he outlined the principles of scientific humanistic drama.

In parallel, there was an in-depth study of antiquity, which also came partly through Italian media.

Francis I personally wanted to lead the French Renaissance in order to direct it and keep it under his control, but in fact he only followed the mental movement of the era. Their advisers, the true leaders of the movement, must be put in first place Guillaume Budet(1468 – 1540). Budet owns a huge number of works in Latin on philology, history, philosophy, mathematics and legal sciences. Budet's main idea was that philology is the main basis of education, since the study of ancient languages ​​and literature expands a person's mental horizons and improves his moral qualities. Much of Budet's views on religion, morality, and education bring him closer to Erasmus of Rotterdam. Budet's biggest undertaking was the plan to create a secular university, carried out by Francis I. According to Budet's plan, teaching in it should be based on philology. This is how the “College of Three Languages” (Hebrew, Greek and Latin) arose in 1530, which later received the name “College de France”, which immediately became a citadel of free humanistic knowledge.

The second most important point that determined the fate of the French Renaissance is its special relationship with the Reformation, which was at first in tune with humanism, but then sharply diverged from it.

In the history of French Protestantism, two periods must be distinguished - until the mid-1530s. and after. The first Protestants of France were scattered intellectuals of a humanistic way of thinking, who approached all issues critically, including the foundations of religion, but were little inclined to preaching and fighting. Outstanding mathematician and Hellenist Lefebvre d'Etaples(1455 - 1537), interpreter of Aristotle in a new way, i.e. turning exclusively to primary sources and trying to penetrate their true meaning, not distorted by scholastic comments. Following this, Lefebvre had the idea of ​​​​applying the same method to the books of Holy Scripture - and here he discovered that neither fasting, nor the celibacy of the clergy, nor most of the “sacraments” are spoken of in the Gospel. From here the idea arose for him and his friends to return to the original purity of the evangelical teachings, to create an “evangelical” confession. Delving further into the consideration of the principles of Christianity, Lefebvre in 1512 put forward two provisions that later became fundamental for Protestantism of all persuasions: 1). Justification by faith, 2). Holy Bible as the only basis for religious teaching. To strengthen the new doctrine, Lefebvre published his translation of the Bible - the first into French.

At this time, French Protestantism entered its second phase. Its head becomes John Calvin(1509 – 1464). Calvin finally formulates his doctrine in "Instructions for the Christian Faith", originally appeared in Latin and republished five years later in French. From this point on, contemplative, utopian evangelicalism gives way to stern, militant Calvinism.

The bourgeois essence of the Reformation clearly appears in the teachings of Calvin, who recommends frugality and accumulation of wealth, justifies usury and even allows slavery. The basis of Calvin's doctrine is two provisions - about “predestination” and about the non-interference of God in the life of the world, subject to immutable laws. According to the first of them, every person from birth is destined either to eternal bliss or to eternal torment, regardless of how he behaves in life. He does not know what he is destined for, but he must think that salvation awaits him, and with his whole life he must show this. Thus, this doctrine of “predestination” does not lead to fatalism and passivity, but, on the contrary, is an incentive to action.

Thus, if in the second quarter of the 16th century. Protestantism spread almost exclusively among the bourgeoisie, and more or less evenly throughout France; then, starting from the middle of the century, it spread intensively among the southern French nobility. When in the second half of the 16th century. religious wars broke out, it was the Calvinist nobles who fought against absolutism who acted as the organizers and leaders of the uprising; Moreover, at the end of the war, many of them joined Catholicism.

In France, divided into two camps - Catholics and Protestants, there was no completely national party, since both fighting sides, to the detriment of their homeland, often acted in alliance with foreign rulers. The Huguenots (as Protestants were called in France), who had no support among the people, constantly called on their co-religionists from Germany, Holland, and England for help. As for the Catholics, at the beginning they represented a party of national and religious unity, but over time, especially after the Catholic League was created in 1576, the leaders of the party began to seek support from Spain and even thought about transferring the French crown to the Spanish King Philip II.

FRENCH RENAISSANCE- era Renaissance in the culture of France in the 16th century. Unlike Italian And Northern Renaissance, V in this case The French form sounds more organic term (French renaissance - “rebirth”).

Art French Renaissance has significant features that distinguish it from similar trends in the art of other countries, primarily Italy . Activity French artists was closely connected not with the ideals of freedom of city-republics, but with the interests of the royal court and Catholic Church.

The next feature is that French Renaissance developed later than the Renaissance trends in the Netherlands and Italy and therefore was largely of a secondary nature. The ideas of the Renaissance matured in medieval France, but new artistic forms brought to France by Italian masters.

Italian artists relied on ancient traditions of their homeland, for the French national tradition - gothic art. And although the ancients Romans left on the territory of France, especially southern - in Arles, Marseille, Nimes, Aix, Avignon , a significant amount architectural monuments that formed the basis for the development of medieval Romanesque art, classicist forms remained alien to the French.

Therefore in art French Renaissance XV-XVI centuries. and even later Gothic traditions were preserved. Moreover, in architecture French Renaissance composition of buildings and planning the solutions remained traditionally medieval, and the Renaissance style seemed to be superimposed on the surface of the walls decor. In the same way, individual “Italianisms” were manifested in the design interiors.

Under the French kings Charles VII (1422-1461) and Charles VIII (1483-1498), the influence of Italian art was superficial. When Italian masters worked directly and actively at the French court (the middle and second half of the 16th century), there was a decline in artistic activity and ideals in Italy. High Renaissance gave way to art Mannerism . Therefore, it was the mannerist style, combining with local Gothic traditions, that determined the characteristic "Fontainebleau school style", or "French work" (Italian: opera francese).

Along with the French Renaissance is characterized by a special “joie de vivre” (French, “joy of life”) - an expression that is often used to denote the characteristic Gallic attitude, moods of courtliness and knightly traditions of the late Gothic era.

In 1542, a treatise on the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius. In 1541-1543 in the service of King Francis I was the Italian architect G. Vignola, the author of the treatise " Rule of five orders of architecture"(1562). Since 1541, at the invitation of King Francis I Fontainebleau have worked Italian architect Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1554), who built in the “rural style” in his homeland. In Paris he published two books on geometry and perspective (1545), treatises “On Temples” (1577), “On Portals” (1551). In 1559 J.-A. Ducersault the First, who studied Serlio's treatises, published his own " A book about architecture".

Medieval castles along the river The Loires "dressed in Renaissance costumes." Renaissance in mood, but Gothic in form are French hotels , famous hospital buildings in Bonnet (1443-1448) and the house of the banker J. Coeur in Bourget (1445-1451). Architect P. Lescot and sculptor J. Goujon in 1546-1555. erected a new, Renaissance western façade of the Louvre in Paris.

Even during the Hundred Years' War, the process of the formation of the French nation and the emergence of the French national state began. The political unification of the country was completed mainly under Louis XI. By the middle of the 15th century. This also includes the beginning of the French Renaissance, which in its early stages was still closely associated with Gothic art. The campaigns of the French kings in Italy introduced French artists to Italian art, and from the end of the 15th century. a decisive break with the Gothic tradition begins, Italian art is rethought in connection with its own national tasks. The French Renaissance had the character of court culture. (The folk character was most manifested in French Renaissance literature, primarily in the work of François Rabelais, with his full-blooded imagery, typical Gallic wit and cheerfulness.)

As in Dutch art, realistic tendencies are observed primarily in miniature of both theological and secular books. The first major artist of the French Renaissance was Jean Fouquet (c. 1420-1481), court painter of Charles VII and Louis XI. Both in portraits (portrait of Charles VII, circa 1445) and in religious compositions (diptych from Melun), careful writing is combined with monumentality in the interpretation of the image. This monumentality is created by the chasing of forms, the closedness and integrity of the silhouette, the static nature of the pose, and the laconicism of color. In fact, the Madonna of the Melun diptych was painted in just two colors - bright red and blue (the model for her was the beloved of Charles VII - a fact impossible in medieval art). The same compositional clarity and precision of drawing, sonority of color are characteristic of numerous miniatures by Fouquet (Boccaccio. “Life J. Fouquet. Portrait of Charles VII. Fragment, famous men And women", Paris, Louvre circa 1458). The margins of the manuscripts are filled with images of Fouquet's contemporary crowd and landscapes of his native Touraine.

J. Fouquet. Portrait of Charles VII. Fragment. Paris, Louvre

The first stages of Renaissance plastic art are also associated with Fouquet’s homeland, the city of Tours. Antique and Renaissance motifs appear in the reliefs of Michel Colombe (1430/31-1512). His tombstones are distinguished by a wise acceptance of death, in tune with the mood of archaic and classical ancient steles (the tomb of Duke Francis II of Brittany and his wife Marguerite de Foix, 1502-1507, Nantes, cathedral).

Since the beginning of the 16th century, France has been the largest absolutist state in Western Europe. The courtyard becomes the center of culture, especially under Francis I, a connoisseur of the arts and patron of Leonardo. Invited by the king's sister Margaret of Navarre, the Italian mannerists Rosso and Primaticcio became the founders of the Fontainebleau school (“Fontainebleau is the new Rome,” Vasari would write). The castle in Fontainebleau, numerous castles along the Loire and Cher rivers (Blois, Chambord, Chenonceau), the reconstruction of the old Louvre palace (architect Pierre Lescaut and sculptor Jean Goujon) are the first evidence of liberation from the Gothic tradition and the use of Renaissance forms in architecture (first used in the Louvre ancient order system). And although the castles on the Loire are still externally similar to medieval ones in their details (ditches, donjons, drawbridges), their interior decor is Renaissance, even rather manneristic. The castle of Fontainebleau with its paintings, ornamental modeling, and round sculpture is evidence of the victory of a culture that was Italian in form, ancient in subject and purely Gallic in spirit.

J. Clouet. Portrait of Francis I. Paris, Louvre

The 16th century was the time of the brilliant heyday of French portraiture, both painting and pencil (Italian pencil, sanguine, watercolor). The painter Jean Clouet (circa 1485/88-1541), the court artist of Francis I, whose entourage, as well as the king himself, he immortalized in his portrait gallery, became especially famous in this genre. Small in size, carefully painted, Clouet's portraits nevertheless give the impression of being multifaceted in characteristics and ceremonial in form. In the ability to notice the most important thing in a model, without impoverishing it and preserving its complexity, his son François Clouet (circa 1516-1572), the most important artist of France in the 16th century, went even further. Clouet's colors are reminiscent of precious enamels in their intensity and purity (portrait of Elizabeth of Austria, circa 1571). In his exceptional mastery of pencil, sanguine, and watercolor portraits, Clouet captured the entire French court of the mid-16th century. (portrait of Henry II, Mary Stuart, etc.).

The victory of the Renaissance worldview in French sculpture is associated with the name of Jean Goujon (circa 1510-1566/68), whose most famous work is the reliefs of the Fountain of the Innocents in Paris (architectural part - Pierre Lescaut; 1547-1549). Light, slender figures, the folds of whose clothes are echoed by streams of water from jugs, are interpreted with amazing musicality, imbued with poetry, minted and polished and laconic and restrained in form. A sense of proportion, grace, harmony, and subtlety of taste will henceforth invariably be associated with French art.

In the work of Goujon's younger contemporary Germain Pilon (1535-1590), instead of ideally beautiful, harmoniously clear images, concrete life-like, dramatic, darkly exalted images appear (see his tombstones). The richness of his plastic language serves a cold analysis, reaching the point of mercilessness in characterization, in which its analogue can only be found in Holbein. The expressiveness of Pilon's dramatic art is typical of the late Renaissance and indicates the impending end of the Renaissance era in France.

J. Goujon. Nymphs. Relief of the Fountain of the Innocents in Paris. Stone

The features of the crisis of the artistic ideals of the Renaissance were especially clearly manifested in mannerism, which emerged at the end of the Renaissance (from maniera - technique, or, more correctly, manierismo - pretentiousness, mannerism), - obvious imitation, as if secondary style with all the virtuosity of technology and sophistication of forms, aestheticization image, exaggeration of individual details, sometimes even expressed in the title of the work, such as in Parmigianino’s “Madonna with a Long Neck,” exaggeration of feelings, violation of the harmony of proportions, balance of forms - disharmony, deformation, which in itself is alien to the nature of the art of the Italian Renaissance.

Mannerism is usually divided into early and mature. Early mannerism - centered in Florence. This is the work of such masters as J. Pontormo, D. Rosso, A. de Volterra, G. Romano. The latter's paintings in the Palazzo del Te in Mantua are full of unexpected, almost frightening effects, the composition is overloaded, the balance is disturbed, the movements are exaggerated and convulsive - but everything is theatrically superficial, coldly pathetic and does not touch the heart (see the fresco "The Death of Giants", for example ).

Mature mannerism is more graceful, sophisticated and aristocratic. Its centers are Parma and Bologna (Primaticcio, from 1531 he was the head of the Fontainebleau school in France), Rome and Florence (Bronzino, a student of Pontormo; D. Vasari; sculptor and jeweler B. Cellini), as well as Parma (the already mentioned Parmigianino, his Madonnas are always depicted with elongated bodies and small heads, with fragile, thin fingers, with mannered, pretentious movements, always cold in color and cold in image).

Mannerism was limited to Italy, it spread to Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, France, influencing their painting and especially applied arts, in which the unbridled imagination of the mannerists found favorable soil and a wide field of activity.

French Renaissance XVI century