Mansart, François

(1598-1666)

   architect

   Born in Paris and trained within his family, François Mansart was responsible for the introduction of a purer, more classical mode into the prevailing French baroque style. His style and talent are already evident in his early works, including the hôtel de la Vrillère (1633) in Paris; the Orléans wing (1635-38) of the uncompleted château of Blois (done for gaston, duke of Orleans; and Maisons (1642), a private estate on the Seine River, known also as Maisons-Laffitte. Mansart's work for the queen mother marie de' medici on a palace and church to be added to the convent of the Val-de-Grâce in Paris was never completed, and he was dismissed, probably because of the project's expenses. By 1664, however, he was restored to royal favor and, in that year, was asked to submit plans for an extension of the louvre. He refused, nonetheless, to accept the restrictions imposed by King louis XIV on the work. Mansart also worked in Paris on the hôtel d'Aumont and on the hôtel carnavalet, both in the Renaissance style. in his project for the Bourbon chapel in the church of Saint-Denis, he developed a plan for a cupola that greatly influenced English architect christopher Wren (who met him in Paris in 1666), and also inspired his own nephew, jules hardouin-mansart. He had a significant influence, too, on the Austrian architect Johann Bern-hard Fischer von Erlach. Although Mansart is traditionally associated with the mansard style of roof, he did not actually devise the form, which is derived from italian architecture, but popularized it.