Two centuries after having opened to the public, Chambord remains one of the most awe-inspiring Renaissance constructions, arousing admiration and fascination throughout the world. Far from serving as a residential palace or a mere hunting lodge, the chateau is a stupendous work of art; imagined by King François I and inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, it has yet to divulge its innermost secrets.
ONGOING WORK PROJECTS
- Work on the moat at the foot of the château is due for completion by mid-october.
- Conclusion of the lantern restoration project: after two years of work, one of the largest Chambord restoration projects has come to fruition. It consisted in permanently safeguarding six lanterns and restoring their lead ornamentation (salamanders, fleur-de-lis, parapets..), which had disappeared. Thanks to the sustained efforts
of exceptionally gifted craftsmen, visitors can once again fully admire the chateau!
BOTTICELLI: TWO MADONNAS AT CHAMBORD
Exhibition from October 20th, 2024 to January 19th, 2025 (in the château chapel)
An unexpected treasure in the church of Saint Félix, at Champigny-en-Beauce, north of Blois, the Virgin Mary, Infant Christ, and the young St. John the Baptist, long thought of as a 19th century copy, has recently been authenticated as an original 16th century piece from the studio of Italian painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510).
The painting is on loan to Chambord for two years, and will be displayed in the chapel at the château until 19 January 2025 alongside its model made a few years before by Botticelli himself. This painting, housed in the Palatine Gallery at the Pitti Palace in Florence, has exceptionally been loaned by the Uffizi Galleries.
Presenting these two paintings together provides a wonderful opportunity to highlight the social, aesthetic and commercial practices of one of the major studios active in Florence during the Renaissance, a hub of ideas, processes and relations which shed light on the period during which certain postulates of the Italian Renaissance nurtured the thinking of King Francis I and his contemporaries.
