Henry IV style

The Henry IV style was the predominant architectural idiom in France under the patronage of Henry IV (1589–1610). The modernisation of Paris was a major concern of Henry’s, and the Place des Vosges is the greatest monument to his architectural style and urban planning. Among Henry’s other works are the Pont Neuf, the Place Dauphine, and some renovations at the Château de Fontainebleau. Though the second school of Fontainebleau was active in painting at the time, it is not generally considered part of the “Henry IV style”. The style may be characterised by the Britannica’s statement that Henry was a man of “the grand concept who did not lose himself in detail”.

Style Henri IV is the artistic style, particularly in architecture and decorative arts, which predominated in France at the time of Henry IV (1589-1610). Its prolongation in the following decades is called the Luis XIII Style, both of which are between the Renaissance and the Baroque.

For the Encyclopædia Britannica, the style associated with this king is characterized by the character of this one, a man with a great concept, who did not get lost in details.

The architecture of the time follows the Italian models of Jacopo Vignola and the classic texts of Vitruvius.

The modernization of Paris was one of the king’s biggest concerns (to whom the phrase “Paris is worth a Mass” is attributed). As the greatest example of the new urban design was the Place des Vosges. Also to the reign of Henry belongs the Pont Neuf, the Place Dauphine, and parts of the Château de Fontainebleau and the Palais du Louvre (the lower gallery of Bord-de-l’Eau). The architect Louis Métezau built the first hôtels in 1605.

Flemish artisans were used, who settled in the Louvre as a seminar for meilleurs et plus souffisans ouvriers, among which was the cabinetmaker Laurent Stabre. Craftsmen were also sent to learn their trades in Flanders.

Also from Flanders a colony of Flemish upholsterers was brought in, which was established in the former dry-cleaner’s shop of the Gobelins. Among them were François de La Planche (from Antwerp) and Marc de Coomans (from Oudenaarde). Among his works were the History of Artemis and the History of Coriolan, with models by Henri Lerambert and Laurent Guyot.

Source From Wikipedia