In the early 1540s, Benvenuto Cellini designed a bronze ensemble to frame the Porte Dorée, the main entrance to the Fontainebleau palace (Figure 10). The sculptural project featured a tympanum depicting the ‘Nymph of Fontainebleau’ in a forest setting with hunting dogs, a prominent stag head, and wild creatures. Although several scholars have explored Cellini’s project in detail, further investigation of its site-specific meaning is warranted. Previous interpretations have addressed the biographical role of the tympanum in Cellini’s transition from goldsmith to sculptor, as well as its role in his rise as a court artist. Studies of the iconography have noted all’antica influences and identified allegorical subtexts that shed light on relationships among the king, Cellini, and Cellini’s mistress. In part because the project was never installed or completed, a fresh examination can help us reimagine the intended uses and associations of this work in situ. This essay will examine the portal’s planned location as a point of intersection for different modalities of circulation that occurred at Fontainebleau: interior and exterior, formal and informal, fast and slow, walking and riding horseback while engaged in the hunt. Seen together, these various forms of motion shaped the experiences of visitors and allowed Francis I to perform his royal persona.

Fontainebleau: The Renewal of the Palace and the Revival of the Foundation Myth

Cellini’s portal was to occupy the lunette space beyond the archway and porch, the recessed area around the doors leading into the vestibule.