Bullant, Jean

Bullant, Jean (c.1515–78). French Renaissance architect, much influenced by de l' Orme, who introduced the Giant Order to France at the entrance portico on the south side of the château at Ecouen, Seine-et-Oise (c.1560). He designed the monumental gallery at Fère-en-Tardenois (1552–62) to connect the fortified château to its dependent buildings, placing it on a tall series of arches, giving the impression of a Roman aqueduct. He designed the small château at Chantilly (c.1560), with a frontispiece featuring a monumental arch carried on coupled columns, a Mannerist device to enliven the façade. He also completed the gallery over de l'Orme's bridge at Chenonceaux (1576–8) for Catherine de' Medici (1519–89), the Queen Mother; again Mannerist devices and rhythms recur. In terms of style his Mannerism comes close to that of Jacques Androuet du Cerceau the Elder. Bullant's publications include Reigle Générale d'Architecture (1563) and Petit Traicté de Géometrie (1564).

Bibliography

Blomfield (1974);
Blunt (1982);
Jane Turner (1996);
D. Watkin (1986)