Delorme, Philibert

Delorme or de l'Orme, Philibert (fēlēbĕr`), c.1510–1570, French architect. Delorme was one of the greatest architects of the Renaissance in France, but unfortunately most of his work has been destroyed. Having traveled in Italy from 1533 to 1536, he introduced into France a form of classicism that endured until the mid-18th cent. As court architect to Francis I and Henry II, he designed the tomb of Francis I at Saint-Denis, a chapel at Villers-Cotterets, Château Neuf at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and part of the palace of Fontainebleau. For Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II, he planned (c.1550) the superb château at Anet. Upon the death of Henry II, Delorme fell into disgrace. During this time he wrote a treatise on architecture, Nouvelles Inventions pour bien bastir et à petits frais (1561), in which he proposed a modern French columnar order. In 1563 he was restored to favor by Catherine de' Medici, who commissioned him to design the Tuileries and the great gallery at Chenonceaux.

Bibliography

See study by A. Blunt (1958).