Scenic forest, royal palace, and INSEAD - Palace and Park of Fontainebleau 160; Gastronomic meal of the French 00437; Compagnonnage, network for on-the-job transmission of knowledge and identities 00441
What and Why
Fontainebleau means the fountain of Blizwald, and is one of the favourite getaways from Paris, like Chartres. It is now renowned for its scenic forest and the royal palace. It is also home to the world famous business school INSEAD (French: Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires).
It is inevitable for me as a Chinese to recite an interesting story of the city name. The famous Chinese poet Zhu Ziqing (Chinese: 朱自清) famously coined and transliterated a poetic name in 枫丹白露 (fengdanbailu), when he was staying in the area during his study. The name sounds almost the same as that in French and means red maple and white dew, although maple is not a common French tree in the region.
The site itself is the imperial residence and hunting ground of French kings for more than six centuries for 29 emperors. While the residence dates back to the 12th century CE, the main present-day structure was largely commissioned by Francis I (François Ier, né François Valois-Angoulême). He brought in Italian artists and architects to rebuild a palace in the new Renaissance style, and wanted to make it his 'new Rome (Italian: Roma)' in the early 16th century CE.
Toponymy
Ditto, the origin of Blizwald means a blizzard wood in Old German.
See
Palace of Fontainebleau (Château de Fontainebleau)
The Palace of Fontainebleau is one of the largest French royal palaces. The mediaeval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence for the French monarchs from Louis VII (né Louis Capet) to Napoleon III (né Charles Bonaparte), including Napoleon Bonaparte.
The palace is not that massive, especially compared to counterparts like Versailles. As in most of the European palace-museums, you simply follow the course and you will see pretty much everything.
Grand ballroom - a highly impressive array of frescos on columns and ceiling for an area originally designed to serve as a corridor.
Chapel of Trinity - a supremely decorated and frescoed chapel.
Francis's gallery.
Room of the guard.
Throne room of Napoleon - In 1808 CE Napoleon Bonaparte decided to install his throne in the former bedroom of the Kings of France from Henry IV (né Henri de Bourbon) to Louis XVI (né Louis de Bourbon), on the place where the royal bed had been. Under the old regime, the King's bed was a symbol of royal authority in France and was saluted by anyone who passed by it. This is called the justice bed (lit de justice).
Grand salon.
Park of Fontainebleau palace.
From the time of Francis I, the palace was surrounded by formal gardens, representing the major landscaping styles of their periods; the French Renaissance garden, the French formal garden, the later French landscape garden, inspired by the English landscape garden. Napoleon claimed that his happiest time was spent in the residence and the garden.
Art
I am definitely not an art person, but there is definitely some clear (but something I could not define clearly) distinction of what I witnessed in Fontainebleau, which they call mannerism. During the late French Renaissance during the 16th century CE, the decoration of the Palace of Fontainebleau engaged some of the finest artists and craftsmen from Italy and France. The style of painting and decoration they created became known as the School of Fontainebleau.
Forest of Fontainebleau (Forêt de Fontainebleau)
Another getaway, a fully lush forest and is also known for peculiar rock shapes which resemble all sorts of animals.
Buy and Do
Compagnonnage
There are many art shops and ateliers around Fontainebleau, in particular the area of Barbizon. Barbizon is considered a 'painters' village' and is a major perpetuator of the School of Fontainebleau art. Clearly I am not as artsy as I would wish to be and I am unqualified to appreciate any of their art.
I had, however, an interesting conversation with one of the painters and atelier owners to understand the local culture and he told me about the way they were trained to become a painter. A lot of occupations and professions, including painters, chefs, craftsmen, builders and even repairmen, join a guild that tours around the country to learn and pick up skills. This guild tradition, called compagnon or compagnonnage, dates back from the Middle Ages and perpetuates until today where skills are transferred and accumulated generation after generation. During the tour around the country, called the Tour de France (not to be confused with the totally unrelated namesake cycling competition Tour de France) these apprentices (stagiaire) will live and learn with various masters under the various residentships. During this residentship the master also teaches his / her pupils professionalism, ethics, moral, spirituality and of course the tradition of compagnonnage.
The atelier that I went to turned out to be a residential community of this compagnonnage, and the painter's wife took up the job of a matron or manager. In this particular atelier, the house was housing more than 20 stagiaires during my visit, all working for the atelier.
This tradition is now deservingly listed as one of the UNESCO ICH. Try to look for one and speak to these owners.
Eat and Drink
French cuisine (Cuisine française)
It is quite incredible that after blogging a few French cities, I have not described at all what is French cuisine. French cuisine is so highly regarded that I actually did not dare to touch upon it in this blog yet as there is such an aura around it. As a matter of fact, French gastronomy is itself is one of the earliest UNESCO ICHs.
During this trip I visited a Michelin-recommended restaurant in Nemour, called the Div-20 (pronounced like divine in French). I shall discuss more about my obsession to French cuisine in a later blog. In a nutshell with my experience, French food leaves many cooks or patrons with such a feeling that they have to live up to a certain unattainable artform, elegance and flair, it is really a divine experience.
By the way, in spite of its humble appearance and the ride to the restaurant, Div-20 did not disappoint. Highly recommended and very affordable haute-cuisine.
Getting There and Around
The entrance fee into the palace is EUR €9. Fontainbleau is definitely worth more than a day-visit. The town is well served by train, although if you do wish to explore the forest, one needs to drive.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Used by the kings of France from the 12th century, the medieval royal hunting lodge of Fontainebleau, standing at the heart of a vast forest in the Ile-de-France, was transformed, enlarged and embellished in the 16th century by François I, who wanted to make a 'New Rome' of it. Surrounded by an immense park, the Italianate palace combines Renaissance and French artistic traditions.
The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary social practice for celebrating important moments in the lives of individuals and groups, such as births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and reunions. It is a festive meal bringing people together for an occasion to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking. The gastronomic meal emphasizes togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature. Important elements include the careful selection of dishes from a constantly growing repertoire of recipes; the purchase of good, preferably local products whose flavours go well together; the pairing of food with wine; the setting of a beautiful table; and specific actions during consumption, such as smelling and tasting items at the table. The gastronomic meal should respect a fixed structure, commencing with an apéritif (drinks before the meal) and ending with liqueurs, containing in between at least four successive courses, namely a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert. Individuals called gastronomes who possess deep knowledge of the tradition and preserve its memory watch over the living practice of the rites, thus contributing to their oral and/or written transmission, in particular to younger generations. The gastronomic meal draws circles of family and friends closer together and, more generally, strengthens social ties.
The French Compagnonnage system is a unique way of conveying knowledge and know-how linked to the trades that work with stone, wood, metal, leather, textiles and food. Its originality lies in its synthesis of varied methods and processes of transmitting knowledge: national and international educational travel (known as the ‘Tour de France’ period), initiation rituals, school-based teaching, customary learning and technical apprenticeship. The Compagnonnage movement involves almost 45,000 people, who belong to one of three groups of compagnons. Those aged 16 years or over who wish to learn and/or develop their skills in a given profession can apply to join a Compagnonnage community. Training lasts on average five years, during which apprentices regularly move from town to town, both in France and internationally, to discover types of knowledge and ways of passing them on. To be eligible to transmit this knowledge the apprentice must produce a ‘masterwork’, examined and assessed by the compagnons. Compagnonnage is popularly perceived as the last movement to practice and teach certain ancient craft techniques, to deliver true excellence in craft training, to closely integrate the development of the person and the training of the worker, and the last to perform trade initiation rites.
References
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