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View of the Château de Versailles and the
Orangery. Etienne Allegrain.© RMN/Franck Raux |
If he were to walk the earth today, Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) might be surprised to discover that his name has gone down in history as a term describing a certain bit of building design, the Mansard roof, especially since …
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View of the Château de Versailles and the
Orangery. Etienne Allegrain.© RMN/Franck Raux |
If he were to walk the earth today, Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) might be surprised to discover that his name has gone down in history as a term describing a certain bit of building design, the Mansard roof, especially since Mansart was not even really his name
As an up-and-coming young Parisian architect, Jules Hardouin borrowed the last name of his great-uncle and teacher, François Mansart, when that famed architect died, and attached it to his own to give his career a little push. Coupled with his talent, drive, workaholic tendencies and ability to please and appease that most demanding of monarchs (who also fancied himself an architect), Louis XIV, his plan worked marvelously well.
Hardouin-Mansart might also be surprised and undoubtedly pleased to discover how much of his work has survived three centuries after his death. Certainly few architects could claim such a roster of prestigious constructions, still standing and universally admired: not only great sections of the Château de Versailles – including the Grand Trianon, the Hall of Mirrors and the royal chapel – but also much of what makes the city of Paris what it is today: the domed royal church Saint Louis des Invalides (now home to Napoleon’s tomb), the Place Vendôme, the Place des Victoires, the Palais Royal (built for the king’s brother, Monsieur) and more. He also built a famed château at Clagny for Madame de Montespan, the king’s mistress until 1680, and another at Saint Cyr for the girls’ school founded by her successor, Madame de Maintenon, as well as the Château de Marly, a “château de plaisir” where the king and his court could escape from the rigors of Versailles etiquette. Unfortunately, the buildings at both Clagny and Marly are no longer standing, but the marvelous grounds of the latter, designed by Hardouin-Mansart and André le Nôtre, can still be visited.
Unlike many of Louis’s mistresses, Hardouin-Mansart remained in the king’s favor right up until his death, because he worked so swiftly and was willing to adapt his designs to the king’s desires. The architect (and later his studio) was so prolific that his reputation was somewhat damaged both during his lifetime and in the succeeding centuries through the sheer ubiquity of his work.
The exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet, “Bâtir pour le Roi,” has set out to repair his reputation. It begins with portraits and other memorabilia demonstrating how Hardouin-Mansart became enriched through his role as the king’s favorite builder and even attained celebrity status during his lifetime, highly unusual for an architect at the time. It then shows the real labor and talent that went into constructing Hardouin-Mansart’s reputation through models, engravings, paintings and – best of all – beautiful architectural drawings that are works of art in themselves, many of them painstakingly drawn by Hardouin-Mansart himself.
Musée Carnavalet: 23, rue Sévigné, 75003 Paris. Métro: Saint Paul. Tel.: 01 44 59 58 58. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed Monday and public holidays. Admission: €7. Through June 28. www.carnavalet.paris.fr
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