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Nicolas Fouquet
1615-1680
Historical FigurePatron
His party cost the kingdom its most brilliant surintendant. Nicolas Fouquet, surintendant of finances under Louis XIV starting in 1653, amassed immense wealth and power.
He had the château de Vaux-le-Vicomte built, bringing together Le Vau, Le Brun, and Le Nôtre for the first time. On August 17, 1661, he hosted the king there with extraordinary splendor, fountains, fireworks, and a new work by Molière.
Three weeks later, d'Artagnan arrested him on the king's orders. After a sensational trial, Louis XIV commuted his sentence to life imprisonment; he died in 1680 at the fortress of Pignerol.
