Louis Le Vau, France's most important builder Ballard, Richard creator (Historian), author text bibliography monographic eng

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x, 236 pages : 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm. A must-read for those seeking to understand the intersection of politics and art in a pivotal moment of European history. This is a study of royal absolutism in a most extreme form in modern European history, and of the nature of Louis XIV's concept of personal glory and of the embodiment of France as a new superpower. It is a study of political ideas expressed in architecture to establish Versailles as the centre of French world power and royal prestige. It is also a personal story, full of social, cultural, and economic history of the period as seen in the life and work of Louis Le Vau, from a humble family of craftsmen, who was a self-taught architect in the early history of the profession, skilled in technical craft skills and even grand design. He was a major contributor to the architectural glories of Paris including the Louvre, Vincennes, Versailles and the College of the Four Nations. And all achieved despite interference from the great magnates of the age like Mazarin and Colbert and constant mind-changing by the King who wanted every feature in the buildings to reflect his concept of personal, royal, prestige. Le Vau was Louis XIV's First Architect from 1654 until his death and disgrace in 1670. The social, cultural, economic and political backdrop is striking with court intrigue, scandal, corruption, luxury, indulgence and the rise of a rich bourgeoisie, but the main thrust of the story concerns Louis XIV and the royal personal ambition, and the work of a stone-cutter's son who became the Sun King's instrument. The study is good on the more technical features of architectural history - reminiscent of Pevsner's marvellous Buildings of England series Preface iv -- Chapter 1. A Family in the Building Trade 1 -- Chapter 2. The Architect and his Clients 21 -- Chapter 3. Vincennes: A Royal Project 40 -- Chapter 4. Mazarin’s Louvre 55 -- Chapter 5. Vaux-le-Vicomte: Fouquet 66 -- Chapter 6. Colbert: A Difficult Taskmaster 88 -- Chapter 7. The King in All His Glory 104 -- Chapter 8. Mazarin’s Memorial 135 -- Chapter 9. A Metallurgical disaster 153 -- Chapter 10. In the Shadow of his Successors 172 -- A Glossary of Architectural Terms 201 -- Notes to the Text 206 -- Acknowledgement 207 -- Notes 209 -- Select Bibliography 227 -- Index 229 -- Includes bibliographical references and index. English Architecture Political aspects History 17th century France Architecture and society History 17th century France Biography and Autobiography NA1053.L38 B35 2023 9781399054195 pucpr 260611 20260611142127.0 eng