Jules Hardouin-Mansart (Paris, 16 April 1646 –
Marly-le-RoiMarly-le-Roi is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris . from the centre....
, France, 11 May 1708) was a French
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
whose work is generally considered to be the apex of
French Baroque architectureFrench Baroque is a form of Baroque architecture that evolved in France during the reigns of Louis XIII , Louis XIV and Louis XV...
, representing the power and grandeur of
Louis XIVLouis XIV , popularly known as the Sun King , was King of France and of Navarre His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch.Louis began personally governing France after the death...
. Mansart, as he is generally known, was one of the most important European architects of the seventeenth century.
Born Jules Hardouin, he studied under his renowned great-uncle
François MansartFrançois Mansart was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France...
, one of the originators of the classical tradition in French architecture; Hardouin inherited Mansart's collection of plans and drawings and adopted his well-regarded name.
Jules Hardouin-Mansart (Paris, 16 April 1646 –
Marly-le-RoiMarly-le-Roi is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris . from the centre....
, France, 11 May 1708) was a French
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
whose work is generally considered to be the apex of
French Baroque architectureFrench Baroque is a form of Baroque architecture that evolved in France during the reigns of Louis XIII , Louis XIV and Louis XV...
, representing the power and grandeur of
Louis XIVLouis XIV , popularly known as the Sun King , was King of France and of Navarre His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch.Louis began personally governing France after the death...
. Mansart, as he is generally known, was one of the most important European architects of the seventeenth century.
Biography
Born Jules Hardouin, he studied under his renowned great-uncle
François MansartFrançois Mansart was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France...
, one of the originators of the classical tradition in French architecture; Hardouin inherited Mansart's collection of plans and drawings and adopted his well-regarded name. He also learned from
Libéral BruantLibéral Bruant , was a French architect best known as the designer of the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris, now dominated by the dome erected by Jules Hardouin Mansart, his collaborator in earlier stages of the construction...
, architect of the royal veteran's hospital in Paris known as
Les InvalidesLes Invalides in Paris, France, is a complex of buildings in the city's 7th arrondissement containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose...
. Hardouin-Mansart served as Louis XIV's chief architect, first enlarging the royal château of
Saint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-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 19.1 km from the center.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
, then at
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
from 1675. He became the
surintendant des Bâtiments du RoiThe Bâtiments du Roi was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.-History:...
(Superintendent of royal works). He designed all the extensions and rebuildings at
VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles, the Île-de-France region of France. In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles....
for the King, including the north and south wings, the Royal Chapel (with
Robert de CotteRobert de Cotte was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, he later became his brother-in-law and his collaborator...
, 1710), and the celebrated Hall of Mirrors decorated by
Charles Le BrunCharles Le Brun was a French painter and art theorist, one of the dominant artists in 17th century France.-Early life and training:...
his collaborator. Outside the château proper, he built the
Grand TrianonThe Grand Trianon was built in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles at the request of Louis XIV, as a retreat for the King and his maîtresse en titre of the time, the marquise de Montespan, and as a place where the King and invited guests could take light meals away from the strict...
and the Orangerie, as well as subsidiary royal dwellings not far away, such as the
Château de MarlyThe Château de Marly was a relatively small French royal residence located in what has become Marly-le-Roi, the commune that existed at the edge of the royal park. The town that originally grew up to service the château is now a dormitory community for Paris....
(begun in 1679).
Among his other best-known works, in Paris, are the
Pont-Royal, the
Église Saint-RochThe Church of Saint Roch is a late Baroque church in Paris. The first stone was laid by Louis XIV in 1653, accompanied by his mother Anne of Austria. Originally designed by Jacques Lemercier, construction was halted in 1660 and was resumed in 1701 under the direction of architect Jacques...
, the Invalides great domed royal chapel
Église du Dôme des Invalides dedicated to
Saint LouisLouis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was a member of the House of Capet, the son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile...
(designed in 1680), the
Place des Victoires (1684–86) followed by the
Place VendômePlace Vendôme 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 is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the...
(1690). Most of these works still set their stamp on the character of Paris and can be seen by a modern-day tourist.
His most prominent position in France put him in place to create many of the significant monuments of the period, and to set the tone for the restrained French Late
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
architectural style, somewhat chastened by
academic detailingAcademic detailing is “university or non-commercial-based educational outreach.” The process involves face-to-face education of prescribers by trained health care professionals, typically pharmacists, physicians, or nurses...
, that was influential as far as
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
and even echoed in
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
. At the same time, the size of support staff in his official bureaucratic position has often raised criticisms that he was less than directly responsible for the work that was constructed under his name, criticisms that underestimate the discipline control within a large, classically-trained studio.
Hardouin-Mansart used the
mansard roofA Mansard or mansard roof in architecture refers to a style of hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its four sides with the lower slope being much steeper, almost a vertical wall, while the upper slope, usually not visible from the ground, is pitched at the minimum needed to shed water...
(
mansarde), named for his great-uncle François Mansart, at the château of Dampiere-en-Yvelines, built for the
duc de ChevreuseCharles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes, de Chaulnes et de Chevreuse , more simply known as the duc de Chevreuse, was a high-ranking French official under King Louis XIV....
,
ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. He was described by Mme de Sévigné as "Le Nord", because he was cold and unemotional. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister...
's son-in-law, a patron at the center of Louis XIV's court. This French
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
château of manageable size lies
entre cour et jardin as even Versailles did, the paved and gravel forecourt (
cour d'honneur) protected behind fine wrought iron double gates, and enclosed by the main block and its outbuildings (
corps de logis), linked by balustrades, symmetrically disposed. A traditional French touch is the modest pedimented entrance flanked by boldly projecting pavilions. Behind, the central axis is extended between the former
parterreA parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s, now grass. The park with formally shaped water was laid out by
André Le NôtreAndré Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
. There are sumptuous interiors. The small scale makes it easier to compare to the approximately contemporary
Het LooHet Loo Palace is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. The symmetrical Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman and Johan van Swieten and was built between 1684 and 1686 for stadtholder-king William III and Mary II of England...
(Netherlands), for William III of Orange.