Le Vau, Louis

(1612-1670)

   architect, decorator

   One of the principal designers of the Palace of Versailles, Louis Le Vau was born in Paris. He often worked in collaboration with his brother, François Le Vau, and together they designed and built numerous houses and mansions in Paris and elsewhere, including the châteaux of Vaux-le-Vicomte (built for Nicolas fouquet, it aroused the envy of King louis XIV), Meuden, and Raincy. In 1654, Le Vau also redesigned the facade of the louvre and developed the plans for the main building of the Collège des Quatre-Nations. In 1654, he was named first architect to the king and, in 1669, began work on Versailles. Supervising a brilliant array of artisans, he was responsible for the central building, the garden facade, and the first orangerie at Trianon. His style recalls noble classical proportions and overwhelming scale. Le Vau's interiors are marked also by baroque ornateness and a sense of grandeur. His ideas and forms helped to define the French architecture of the period.