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Louis Le Vau
1612-1670
ArchitectHistorical Figure
Before Versailles, there was Vaux. Louis Le Vau designed the château de Vaux-le-Vicomte for Nicolas Fouquet (1658-1661), where he brought together painter Charles Le Brun and gardener André Le Nôtre for the first time.
As the king's first architect starting in 1654, he later brought this same team into the service of Louis XIV. At Versailles, beginning in 1661, he wrapped Louis XIII's château in a new façade facing the gardens, an envelope that established the palace's silhouette.
He is also responsible for the Collège des Quatre-Nations (1662-1688), facing the Louvre, which today houses the Institut de France, as well as several mansions on the Île Saint-Louis.
