Thomas Francine

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Château neuf in Saint-Germain-en-Laye with the Grande Terrasse furnished by Thomas Francine

Thomas Francine , Italian Tommaso Francini (born March 5, 1571 in Florence , † April 15, 1651 in Villepreux near Saint-Germain-en-Laye ), was a fountain master from Florence, who was brought to France by King Henry IV to equip royal gardens with grottos, fountains and water features previously unknown in France in the style of the Italian gardens of that time. Soon after, he was appointed general director of the eaux et fontaines royales (roughly: general director of the royal water pipes and fountains). Thomas Francine became the founder of a dynasty of royal fountain masters who carried this title until 1784.

Life and works

Tommaso Francini was the eldest son of the Florentine citizen Pietro Francini and his wife Clemanza Pagni. Nothing is known about his training. In the service of Ferdinando I de 'Medici , Grand Duke of Tuscany , he must have earned a reputation as a designer of grottos and water features early on.

At the request of Henry IV , King of France, he and his brother Alessandro (later: Alexandre ) were allowed to travel to France in 1598 in order to equip the Grande Terrasse at the Château neuf of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which extends down to the Seine . Tommaso Francini's works included cascades and several grottos with sculptures, water features and automatons , ie artificial people driven by water pressure such as the organ-playing Demoiselle in the Grotte des Orgues (Grotto of Organs). This work lasted until 1608.

Meanwhile, he and his brother received their naturalization certificate on February 1, 1600. At that time he became director of the Eaux et Fontaines du Roi . On August 26, 1606, he married Loyse Porcher. This union resulted in eight children, including three sons, François, born in Paris on January 15, 1617, Pierre, born in Paris on February 21, 1621, and Paul, born on February 27, 1626, who joined an order. In 1607, Thomas Francine acquired a plot of land in Villepreux , about 12 kilometers from Saint-Germain, to build his residence on - the later Château de Grand'Maisons .

Thomas Francine also supported his brother Alexandre, who mainly worked at Fontainebleau Palace , with the construction of a larger water pipe and a fountain.

The project of a water pipeline to Paris begun by Henry IV was continued after his murder in 1610 by his wife Queen Maria de 'Medici . Thomas Francine advised on the tendering and planning for the management later known as Aqueduc Médicis and during its construction from 1613 to 1623 he was responsible for monitoring the execution and advising on difficulties. The Maison du Fontainier (house of the fountain master), which concluded the management , was planned by him.

The Jardin du Luxembourg, also laid out by Maria de 'Medici, was supplied with water from the Maison du Fontainier . Thomas Francine created the Grotte du Jardin du Luxembourg requested by the Queen , which later - relocated and expanded - became today's Fontaine Médicis .

Even during Maria de 'Medicis reign for her son Louis XIII. Thomas Francine was appointed Ingénieur du roi Louis XIII et contrôleur de la maison de la Reine in 1617 . Louis XIII appointed him in 1623 as director general des eaux et fontaines de France .

Thomas Francine also carried out (defunct) works for Jean-François de Gondi in the park of the Saint-Cloud castle and in the later, also defunct Hôtel de Condé in Paris and in various other locations. In 1635 he carried out the nymph grotto in Wideville Castle in Crespières .

He died on April 15, 1651 at the age of 80 in his Château de Grand'Maisons in Villepreux near Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

posterity

One rue Thomas Francine each in the 14th arrondissement and one in Rungis as well as one rue Francine in Villepreux commemorate him.

literature

  • Chiara Stefani:  Francini, Tommaso. In: Fiorella Bartoccini (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 50:  Francesco I Sforza-Gabbi. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1998, also  treats his brother Alessandro .
  • Victor Bart: Recherches historiques sur les Francine et leur œuvre, nombreuses rectifications . In: Ministère de l'Instruction Publique, des Beaux-Arts et des Cultes, Direction des Beaux-Arts (ed.): Réunion des sociétés des Beaux-Arts . tape 19 . E. Plon, Nourrit et Cie., Paris 1895, pp. 518-523 ( bnf.fr [accessed May 7, 2017]).
  • Odette Dufourcq-Latron: Francine (Les) . Ed .: Larousse mensuel illustré. tape 8 . Librairie Larousse, Paris 1931, p. 723-724 ( bnf.fr [accessed May 7, 2017]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Les Francine on the French Senate website
  2. ^ Les Francine - Intendants des Eaux et Fontaines du roi on the website of the Palace of Versailles
  3. ↑ Grotto in Château-Neuf: La Demoiselle qui joue des orgues.
  4. ↑ Département de Seine-et-Oise (ed.): Commission des Antiquités et des Arts . Séance du 25 Avril 1895. Volume 15 . Cerf et Cie., Versailles 1895, p. 62 ( bnf.fr [accessed May 7, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Thomas de Grand'Maisons on the website of the Société d'Histoire de Villepreux
  6. ↑ Chronology of events related to Villepreux (French)
  7. ^ A b Autour de Tommaso et Alessandro Francini - Hydraulique et fontaines ornementales en France (vers 1590-1640). Summaries of lectures at the Sorbonne 2014
  8. ↑ Note N ° PA00086607 on Base Mérimée
  9. ^ La Fontaine Médicis on the website of the French Senate
  10. ↑ La Fontaine Médicis on eutouring.com
  11. ↑ Victor Bart: Recherches historiques sur les Francine et leur œuvre, nombreuses rectifications, p. 518 (see web links)
  12. ^ Domaine national de Saint-Cloud on les-enfants-du-patrimoine
  13. ↑ Château Notre-Dame dit Château de Wideville on Architecture - Mérimée
  14. ↑ The information that can be read in all sources that he died in his house in Saint-Germain-en-Laye can only refer to his Château de Grand'Maisons , 12 km away .
personal data
SURNAME Francine, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Francini, Tommaso
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian-French fountain master
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1571
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1651
Place of death Villepreux near Saint-Germain-en-Laye