Crowning the sky: the forgotten art of Renaissance rooftops unveiled at the Château d’Écouen

At the Château d’Écouen, a few kilometers north of Paris, the National Museum of the French Renaissance (Musée national de la Renaissance) opened on September 18, 2026 the exhibition “Couronner le ciel, épis de faîtage et décors de toiture de la Renaissance française,” translated as “Crowning the sky,” which will remain open until January 11, 2027. The exhibition is dedicated to a little-known art of the Renaissance: roof ornaments — “épis de faîtage” (rooftop finials or crests), weathervanes (girouettes), vases, sirens, birds, figures of children, soldiers, musicians and monsters — crafted in lead, in glazed multicolored ceramics or in wrought iron.

The discoveries underpinning this exhibition emerged during the restoration of the château’s courtyard façades, begun in September 2023. The removal of several rooftop finials led to a complete revision of their dating. The impressive warrior figures crowning the château’s peaks turned out to be only from the late 19th century — not from the Renaissance, as thought until now — while the beautiful vases and child figures are much older and may date back to the time of the château’s construction, in the 16th century.

The exhibition is built in three sections. The first, “Truth and falsehood at the Château d’Écouen,” separates Renaissance originals from 19th-century additions. The second, “A remarkable roof,” reveals the masters’ techniques: cast or beaten lead, wrought iron and glazed ceramics. The third, “Musicians, monsters and others,” is dedicated to the creative freedom of the artisans — like the pelican of Bourges cathedral, symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, appearing among the decorations.

The exhibition’s curators are Thierry Crépin Leblond, the museum’s director, and Guillaume Fonkenell, heritage conservator. Works that usually stand far from view, atop rooftops, are now shown “at eye level,” as part of the European Heritage Days program (September 19–20, 2026), during which museum entry is free.

Source: Musée national de la Renaissance / Sortir à Paris