The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France. It was begun in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and the great chapel of the Trinitarian monastery, but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments, and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy, under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino, or Primaticcio, in the new Renaissance style. The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi; they are decorated with the coat of arms of France and the salamander, the emblem of the King. The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco. The frescoes depicted mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King.
The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France It was begun in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and the great chapel of the Trinitarian monastery but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino or Primaticcio in the new Renaissance style The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi; they are decorated with the coat of arms of France and the salamander the emblem of the King The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco The frescoes depicted mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King