The first royal entrance to Fontainebleau, decorated with a fresco by the Primaticce, is accessible to the public. It was under this magnificent basket-handle vault that Charles V passed at Christmas in 1539.
The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire came there to meet his best enemy, the master of the house. Today, the non-ruined parts of the decor, one of the first traces of Italian mannerism at the French court, are revived and much more readable. The restoration was carried out by Marie-Christine Labourdette, president of the estate, and Patrick Ponsot, chief architect at Historic Monuments. On her scaffolding, sometimes she rubbed with a cotton swab. Sometimes she acted with a laser. It is one of a number of works of art that have been restored by the French government in recent years, including the National Gallery in Paris and the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. For more information on the restoration, go to: http://www.historicmonuments.org/.