ROCHEBRUNE de, O. G. - Ecouen façade des esclaves de Michel Ange.

Ecouen Castle stands on the hillside north of Paris. It was the work of the owner of Chantilly, the omnipotent Anne de Montmorency. Milestone irreplaceable Renaissance architecture, it houses a fascinating museum dedicated to this magnificent period of history.
At the center of the south wing, finally, stands a monumental portal of the Greek style, called "Portal Slave", due to John Bullant. La porte ouvrant sur l'escalier est enserrée entre deux paires de colonnes corinthiennes cannelées. Des niches basses abritaient autrefois deux statues de Michel Ange. The door to the staircase is sandwiched between two pairs of fluted Corinthian columns. Niches low once supported statues of Michelangelo. Le pape Jules II (1503-1513) les avait commandées au célèbre artiste toscan pour orner son tombeau. L'ensemble ne fut jamais achevé et Robert Strozzi, membre d'une riche et illustre famille florentine, les offrit au roi François Ier. Pope Julius II (1503-1513) had commissioned the famous Tuscan artist to decorate his grave.