François Le Vau (; 1624 – 4 July 1676) was a French architect and a founding member of the

Académie Royale d'Architecture The Académie Royale d'Architecture (; ) was a French learned society founded in 1671. It had a leading role in influencing architectural theory and education, not only in France, but throughout Europe and the Americas from the late 17th centur ...

(established in 1671). He is also known for being the youngest brother of the more famous French architect,

Louis Le Vau Louis Le Vau (; c. 1612 – 11 October 1670) was a French Baroque architect, who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was an architect that helped develop the French Classical style in the 17th century.''Encyclopedia of World Biography''"Louis Le ...

Early life and training

Born François Le Veau, he was the youngest son of Louis Le Veau, a mason who died in February 1661,Feldmann 1996, p. 262. and Étiennette Louette, who died in December 1644. In the late 1630s and early 1640s, François trained with his older brother

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, and both brothers worked together with their father, building houses on the

Île Saint-Louis Île Saint-Louis (), in size, is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame de Paris is located). Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by fo ...

. In 1638 his brother Louis changed the spelling of his surname to Le Vau to avoid the lower-class stigma of "Le Veau" ("the calf"). François followed suit several years later. All his life François worked in the shadow of his brother Louis, who was very successful, becoming Premier Architecte du Roi after the death of

Jacques Lemercier Jacques Lemercier (; c. 1585 in Pontoise – 13 January 1654 in Paris) was a French architect and engineer, one of the influential trio that included Louis Le Vau and François Mansart who formed the classicizing French Baroque manner, drawin ...

in 1654.

Early career

François Le Vau is described as "architecq Ingenieur du Roy" in 1648, suggesting he may also have been involved in designing fortifications. He began working more independently of his brother around the time of the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...

(1648–1653), when he became an architect in the

Bâtiments du Roi The Bâtiments du Roi (, 'King's Buildings') was a division of the Maison du Roi ('King's Household') in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris. History The Bâtiments ...

and the architect of a participant in the Fronde,

Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

. He designed her apartments in the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

(before 1652; destroyed);Feldmann 1996, p. 267. remodeled the interior courtyard and her apartment in her Château de Saint-Fargeau (1652–1657; restored after a fire in 1752), where she resided during her exile; and later remodeled her apartments in the

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

(1662; destroyed). He also worked for other Frondeurs, "supporters of the losing side who were slipping into political obscurity." He designed and added apartments for the townhouses of

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

(

Hôtel de Sully The Hôtel de Sully () is a Louis XIII style ''hôtel particulier'', or private mansion, located at 62 rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais, IV arrondissement, Paris, France. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, it is nowadays the seat of the ...

; 1651); Louis de La Rivière ( on the Place Royale; 1652); and Armand-Charles de la Porte, Duke of La Meilleraye (in the , begun 1654; destroyed). He also designed for high-level government officials: for Jérôme de Nouveau, Grand Maître des Postes, he rebuilt the Château de Lignières (Cher) (1654–1660); for

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, he modernised the Château de Seignelay (begun 1658; demolished 1798–1815); for Charles-Henry de Malon, he designed the

Château de Bercy A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

(after 1658–c. 1668; destroyed during the Second Empire); for Charles de Sainte-Maure, Duke of Montausier, he made modifications to the

Château de Rambouillet The Château de Rambouillet (), also known in English as the Castle of Rambouillet, is a château in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the region in northern France, southwest of Paris. It was the summer residence of the Presi ...

(begun 1659); and for Louis de Rochechouart, he created the Montpipaux project. He has also been credited with the design of the Château de Sucy-en-Brie (begun 1660) for Nicolas Lambert (who in 1644 had inherited from his brother Jean-Baptiste the Hôtel Lambert, built by Louis Le Vau in 1640–1644). At some point in this part of his career, François Le Vau visited

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, probably before 1662–1663, when he joined the office of Bridges and Roads. File:Saint-Fargeau - Château de Saint-Fargeau 04.JPG, Interior courtyard of the Château de Saint-Fargeau File:Lignieres 04 2009.jpg, Entrance front of the Château de Lignières (Cher)

Work for Colbert

In 1662, François Le Vau began to work in the royal office of the Ponts et Chaussées (Bridges and Roads) under Louis XIV's minister

. This work continued until 1673.

Project for the east façade of the Louvre

Around the end of 1662, Colbert asked François Le Vau to prepare a design for the east facade of the Louvre, which François offered to present to Colbert in a letter of 4 December 1664. A large presentation drawing ( Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; undated) and several engravings of designs by François, one by Isaac Durant and several by Claude Olry de Loriande, have been identified by several architectural historians as belonging to the project described in the letter of December 1664.Hautecoeur 1924, pp. 158–159; Hautecoeur 1927, pp. 148, 167; Hautecoeur 1948, pp. 120, 275; Berger 1970, p. 396; Berger 1982, p. 695; Picon 1988, pp. 162–163; Pérouse de Montclos 1989, fig. 288; Berger 1993, pp. 13–14; Feldmann, 1996, p. 268; Neumann 2013, p. 297. Petzet 2000, who gives "1664?" in the picture caption (Fig. 62), allows that a later date ("1667/68?", p. 53) is possible, but describes the drawing as a member of the series of French rival projects from 1664. The design is similar to the scheme that was eventually adopted in many important respects, in particular a trabeated, free-standing colonnade of coupled columns raised above the ground floor. The drawing shows two alternatives for an attic story (omitted as executed), with arched windows on the left (matching those of Pierre Lescot's Pavillon du Roi) and rectangular windows on the right. File:François Le Vau Louvre project drawing – Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.jpg, Drawing of an unexecuted project for the

east façade of the Louvre The Louvre Colonnade is the easternmost façade of the Louvre Palace in Paris. It has been celebrated as the foremost masterpiece of French Baroque and Classicism, French architectural classicism since its construction, mostly between 1667 and 16 ...

by François Le Vau, which may be his proposal of 1664 File:François Le Vau, design for the central pavilion of the east façade of the Louvre, engraved by Isaac Durant – Berger 1993 Fig. 28.jpg, Design for the central pavilion, engraved by Isaac Durant The dating of François Le Vau's Louvre project to 1662–1664 has been disputed by some authors, who suggest it was actually created sometime after 14 May 1667, when Louis XIV selected the colonnaded design proposed to him by the Petit Conseil, but before the decision to double the width of the south wing in the spring of 1668.

Claude Perrault Claude Perrault (; 25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...

claimed in his memoirs that Claude was the sole author of the colonnade design. In 1670, when much of the facade was substantially completed, Olry de Loriande published a poem, ''Le superbe dessein du Louvre'', in which, according to the architectural historian Robert W. Berger, he credits François Le Vau with the design. It begins with the following lines:

O Palace, the most attractive in the universe, True miracle of art, worthy of the most beautiful verses, Since the profound wisdom of the great Colbert Destines you to be a masterpiece of the world, And since ''according to the designs of the famous Le Vau'', ''I have engraved your marvelous picture on copper''; I want to portray you anew in this book, Since my hand knows the arts of engraving and writing.

Late career

Eglise St Louis en l Ile - Inside the church

It is now thought that François Le Vau created the initial designs for the Église Saint-Louis-en-l'Île,Blunt & Beresford 1999, p. 288, note 48
Saint-Louis-en-l'Île : Historique de l’Eglise"
formerly attributed to Louis Le Vau. Begun in 1664, only the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

and part of the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

had been completed at the time of François's death in 1676. Further construction was carried out by . In 1667 François created a project for the south portal of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

of the Cathédrale d'Orléans. In 1664–1665, according to the Comptes des Bâtiments, François Le Vau received an "exceptional" salary of 3,467 '' livres'', as well as 1,000 ''livres'' per year as an architect in the Bâtiments du Roi. In 1671, he became one of the eight founding members of the

(created by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

), for which he was paid an additional 500 ''livres'' per year.Felkay 1983, p. 264. On 15 July 1675 the members of the Académie Royale d'Architecture gathered in the church of the Collège des Quatre-Nations to consider three alternative locations for

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

's tomb: centered under the dome (as originally intended by Louis Le Vau, the architect of the Collège); in the altar on the right side; or in a niche in the far (west) wall, opposite the courtyard entrance. In March 1676 they submitted their opinions (''avis''). François was one of the majority opposing a location under the dome, because, as he put it, "this church is not a mausoleum, like the Valois Chapel", thus disagreeing with the premise of his brother's design and (according to the architectural historian Hilary Ballon) "giving vent to rivalrous feelings that evidently outlasted Louis's lifetime." François Le Vau died at his residence (today 49, quai de Bourbon) at the western tip of the Île-Saint-Louis in Paris.Dumolin 1931, pp. 97, 247; maps after p. 172.

Notes

Bibliography

* Babelon, Jean-Pierre (1976). "Le château de Sucy-en-Brie, oeuvre de François Le Vau," ''Bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de Paris et de l'Île-de-France'', vol. 101–102 (1974–1975), pp. 83–102. . . * Ballon, Hilary (1999). ''Louis Le Vau: Mazarin's Collège, Colbert's Revenge''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. . * Berger, Robert W. (1970). "Charles Le Brun and the Louvre Colonnade", ''The Art Bulletin'', vol. 52, no. 4 (December), pp. 394–403. . * Berger, Robert W. (1982). "Le Vau, François", vol. 2, p. 695, in ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects'', 4 volumes, edited by Adolf K. Placzek. London: The Free Press. . * Berger, Robert W. (1993). ''The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV''. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press. . * Berger, Robert W. (1994). ''A Royal Passion: Louis XIV as Patron of Architecture''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * Berger, Robert W.; Tadgell, Christopher (1995). Letters concerning Tadgell's review of Berger 1993. '' Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', vol. 54, no. 2 (June), p. 265. . * Blunt, Anthony (1957). ''Art and Architecture in France, 1500–1700'', 2d rearranged impression. Middlesex: Hammondworth. . * Blunt, Anthony; Beresford, Richard (1999). ''Art and Architecture in France, 1500–1700'', 5th edition. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. . * Cojannot, Alexandre (2003)
"Claude Perrault et le Louvre de Louis XIV. À propos de deux livres récents"
''Bulletin Monumental'', vol. 161, no. 3, pp. 231–239. * Cojannot, Alexandre (2012). ''Louis Le Vau et les nouvelles ambitions de l'architecture française 1612–1654''. Paris: Picard. . * Dumolin, Maurice (1931). ''Études topographie parisienne. Tome III'', "La Construction de l'île Saint-Louis", pp. 1–288. Paris: Auguste Picard. . * Feldmann, Dietrich (1996). "Le Vau", vol. 19, pp. 262–268, in ''

The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

'', 34 volumes, edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. . Also available a
Oxford Art Online
(subscription required). * Felkay, Nicole (1983). "François Le Vau 1623 ?–1676", pp. 264–265, in ''Colbert 1619–1683'', exhibition catalog. Paris: Ministère de la Culture. . * Gargiani, Roberto (1998). ''Idea e costruzione del Louvre. Parigi cruciale nella storia dell'architettura moderna europea''. Florence: Alinea. . * Hautecoeur, Louis (1924). "L'auteur de la colonnade du Louvre". '' Gazette des Beaux-Arts'', series 5, vol. 9, pp. 151–168
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at Gallica. * Hautecoeur, Louis (1927). ''L'histoire des châteaux du Louvre et des Tuileries, tels qu'ils furent nouvellement construits, amplifiés, embellis, sous le règne de Sa Majesté le Roi Louis XIV, dit le Grand...'' Paris and Brussels: Librairie Nationale d'Art et d'Histoire, G. Van Oest. . * Hautecoeur, Louis (1948). ''Histoire de l'Architecture classique en France. Tome 2: Le Règne de Louis XIV''. Paris: J. Picard. . * Jal, Auguste (1867). ''Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d'histoire: errata et supplément pour tous les dictionnaires historiques''
"Le Vau", pp. 785–788
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at Gallica. * Laprade, Albert (1960). ''François d'Orbay: Architecte de Louis XIV''. Paris: Éditions Vincent, Fréal. . * Middleton, Robin (1993). Review of Berger 1993. ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation s ...

'', vol. 135, no. 1087 (October), pp. 701-702. . * Neuman, Robert (2013). ''Baroque and Rococo Art and Architecture''. Boston: Pearson. . * Pérouse de Montclos, Jean-Marie (1989). ''Histoire de l'architecture française. De la Renaissance à la Révolution''. Paris: Mengès. . * Pérouse de Montclos, Jean-Marie (1994). ''Le Guide du patrimoine. Paris''. Paris: Hachette. . . * Petzet, Michael (2000). ''Claude Perrault und die Architektur des Sonnenkönigs. Der Louvre König Ludwigs XIV. und das Werk Claude Perraults''. Munich/Berlin:

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

. . * Picon, Antoine (1988). ''Claude Perrault, 1613–1688''. Paris: Picard. . * Tadgell, Christopher (1980). "Claude Perrault, François Le Vau and the Louvre Colonnade", ''The Burlington Magazine'', vol. 122, no. 926 (May), pp. 326–337. . * Tadgell, Christopher (1994). Review of Berger 1993. ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', vol. 53, no. 4 (December), pp. 489–491. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Vau, Francois French Baroque architects French neoclassical architects 17th-century births 17th-century deaths Architects from Paris Members of the Académie royale d'architecture 17th-century French architects