The Bâtiments du Roi (, "King's Buildings") was a division of the Maison du Roi ("King's Household") in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

History

The Bâtiments du Roi was created by

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

to coordinate the building works at his royal palaces. Formerly, each palace had its own superintendent of works. Henry gave the task of supervising all works to

Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully Maximilien de Béthune, 1st Duke of Sully, Marquis of Rosny and Nogent, Count of Muret and Villebon, Viscount of Meaux (13 December 156022 December 1641) was a nobleman, soldier, statesman, and counselor of King Henry IV of France. Historians emp ...

. In the 17th century, the responsibilities of the Bâtiments du Roi extended beyond pure building works, to include the manufacture of

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

and

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

. In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert was entitled ''surintendant et ordonnateur général des bâtiments, arts, tapisseries et manufactures de France'' ("superintendent and director-general of building, art, tapestries and factories of France"). This title was retained by several of his successors. Other areas that came within under the control of the Bâtiments du Roi included

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

s, and the Royal Academies of painting and sculpture, and of architecture The wide scope of the responsibilities meant that the superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi was effectively a minister of the French king. The director general was assisted by the first architect to the King (''premier architecte du Roi'') and the first painter to the King (''premier peintre du Roi''), a staff of inspectors, architects and several hundred workmen. Much of the work was left to the director's first lieutenants, such as Robert de Cotte and Gilles-Marie Oppenord.

Responsibilities

According to a royal decree of 1 September 1776, the Bâtiments du Roi was responsible for: *works of construction and maintenance of the main royal residences (the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, the

Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

) and other subsidiary residences (including

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, Fontainebleau,

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...

) and their parks and gardens; *designing and building public works, such as the Place Louis-le-Grand (now the

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It i ...

) and the

Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

; *managing the royal academies of painting and sculpture, and architecture; *production of tapestries at Gobelins and

Savonnerie The Savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious European manufactory of knotted-pile carpets, enjoying its greatest period c. 1650–1685; the cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted-pile carpets made at other centers. The manuf ...

, and porcelain at

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

; *oversight of the town of

. Its responsibilities includes all buildings with a royal connection: *

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed ...

Grand Trianon The Grand Trianon () is a French Baroque style château situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built at the request of King Louis XIV of France as a retreat for himself and his '' maîtresse- ...

Petit Trianon The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. ...

* Château de Marly *

Château de Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...

* Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye *

Château de Meudon Meudon Castle, also known as the Royal Castle of Meudon or Imperial Palace of Meudon, is a French castle located in Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine department. At the edge of a wooded plateau, the castle offers views of Paris and the Seine, as we ...

Palais du Louvre The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and the ...

Palais des Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, ...

* Palais-Royal *

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

* Château de Clagny *

Château de Madrid The Château de Madrid was a Renaissance building in France. It was built in Neuilly, on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, near Paris in the early 16th century. It fell into disuse in the 17th and 18th centuries and was almost completely demolis ...

* Château de La Muette * Château de Vincennes *

Château de Compiègne The Château de Compiègne is a French château, a royal residence built for Louis XV and restored by Napoleon. Compiègne was one of three seats of royal government, the others being Versailles and Fontainebleau. It is located in Compiègne ...

* Château de Blois *

Château de Chambord The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with cla ...

Château d'Amboise The Château d'Amboise is a château in Amboise, located in the Indre-et-Loire ''département'' of the Loire Valley in France. Confiscated by the monarchy in the 15th century, it became a favoured royal residence and was extensively rebuilt. K ...

* Château de Choisy * Château de Saint-Hubert * Château de Bellevue * Jardin des Plantes * Maison royale de Saint-Louis à Saint-Cyr-l'École *

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

Manufacture des Gobelins The Gobelins Manufactory () is a historic tapestry factory in Paris, France. It is located at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near Les Gobelins métro station in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally established on the site as a medieval ...

Manufacture de la Savonnerie The Savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious European manufactory of knotted-pile carpets, enjoying its greatest period c. 1650–1685; the cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted-pile carpets made at other centers. The manuf ...

Superintendents or directors-general of the Bâtiments du Roi

From 1602 to 1708, and from 1716 to 1726, the head of the Bâtiments du Roi was known as a superintendent (''surintendant général''). From 1708 to 1716, and from 1726 to 1791, the head was known as the director general (''directeur général'') *1602–1621: Maximilien de Béthune (1560–1641), duc de Sully (also ''surintendant des finances'') *1621: Louis d'Aloigny, baron de Rochefort *1622–1624: Jean de Fourcy de Corbinière *1625–1638: Henri de Fourcy de Corbinière *1638–1645: François Sublet de Noyers *1646–1648:

Jules Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

(1602-1661) *1648–1656: Étienne Le Camus *1656–1664: Antoine de Ratabon *1664–1683: Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683) (also '' contrôleur général des finances'' and

Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi The Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi (french: Secrétaire d'État à la Maison du Roi) was the secretary of state in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi. The exact comp ...

) *1683–1691: François Michel Le Tellier de Louvois (1641–1691) *1691–1699: Édouard Colbert de Villacerf (1629–1699) *1699–1708: Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646–1708) (also ''Premier architecte du Roi'') *1708–1736:

Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin Louis Antoine de Pardaillan (5 September 1664 – 2 November 1736) was a French nobleman, marquis of Antin, Gondrin and Montespan, and first Duke of Antin. Biography The legitimate son of Louis Henri de Pardaillan, ''marquis of Montespan'', a ...

(1665–1736), duc d'Antin *1736–1745: Philibert Orry (1689–1747) (also '' contrôleur général des finances'') *1745–1751:

Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem (1684–1751) was a French financier, a '' fermier-général'', or tax-farmer. He is best known for his connection with Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (1721–1764), future marquise de Pompadour. ...

(1684–1751) *1751–1773: Abel-François Poisson de Vandières (1727–1781), marquis de Marigny *1773–1774 : Joseph Marie Terray (1715–1778) (also '' contrôleur général des finances'') *1774–1789:

Charles Claude Flahaut de La Billarderie Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billarderie, comte d'Angiviller (1730–1809) was the director of the Bâtiments du Roi, a forerunner of a minister of fine arts in charge of the royal building works, under Louis XVI of France, from 1775. Through Fla ...

(1730–1810), comte d'Angiviller

References

*''This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article of the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

, dated 18 July 2006'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Batiments Du Roi Ancien Régime French architecture 1620 establishments in France

History

Responsibilities

Superintendents or directors-general of the Bâtiments du Roi

See also

References