The Renaissance in Anjou owes much to the artistic and architectural production of this master builder.
Today he is attributed about forty works, almost all located in the former province of Anjou.
Jean Delespine was, at his beginnings, the student of Jean Mariau, an architect in Angers, to whom he succeeded, in 1535, as Commissaire des œuvres et réparations de la ville of Angers.
His official functions were at the origin of contacts with the Controller General of the Bâtiments de France, Philibert Delorme, a great Renaissance architect, (Palais des Tuileries, Château d'Anet) attached to Anjou as commendatory abbot of the Abbaye Saint-Serge d'Angers [fr; lt].
His tomb bore an epitaph to the glory of his architectural talents: ... mais qui n’admireroit ta hardie entreprise / de ta brave lanterne au pignon de l’église / posée en l’air si hault entre deux piramides / dont les poincts eslevez touchent aux nues liquides / .... Brunno de Tartifune [fr] also reports some extracts of this epitaph: On cognoist l'arbre au fruit, l'ouvrier à l'ouvrage / les tiens portent assez, L'Espine, tesmoignage / De l'excellent esprit dont Dieu t'avoit pourveu / quand parmi les plus grands en crédit on téa veu.