Louis Le Vau : Mazarin's Collège, Colbert's revenge / Hilary Ballon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ballon, Hilary, author.

Contributor:

Princeton University Press, publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architecture--France--Paris--History.

Architecture.

College buildings--France--Paris--History.

College buildings.

Paris (France)--Buildings, structures, etc--History.

Paris (France).

France--Paris.

Collège des quatre-nations.

Université de Paris--Buildings.

Université de Paris.

Le Vau, Louis, 1612-1670--Criticism and interpretation.

Le Vau, Louis.

Genre:

Art criticism.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 236 pages) : 109 illustrations (some color), plan

Place of Publication:

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Summary:

"From Vaux-le-Vicomte to Versailles, the buildings of Louis Le Vau shaped the image of French court society. None, however, has had as dramatic an effect as Mazarin's Collège (1661-70), the Parisian landmark that now houses the Institut de France.... Hilary Ballon deftly portrays the brilliance and controversy of Le Vau's late career through an exploration of this masterpiece, a hybrid of baroque and classical styles. She tracks the design and construction of the Collège on the basis of splendid drawings, fully illustrated here, integrating into this account previously unknown dimensions of Le Vau's creative personality, his financial entanglements, and his feuds with government leaders. The story of the Collège begins in 1661 with the death of Cardinal Mazarin, who left an extravagant sum of money for a school to be built in his memory. Le Vau responded with an ambitious architectural tribute intended to launch the development of Paris in a new artistic direction. As Ballon shows, many personal factors figured into the final product, including Le Vau's activities as a real estate developer and entrepreneur, and his explosive response to the Italian baroque master Gianlorenzo Bernini, who visited Paris in 1665. The project ended up significantly over budget, and officials charged Le Vau shortly after his death with embezzling funds. The chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, led the attack on Le Vau, turning the ethical scandal into an aesthetic crusade to maintain a "classical" look for central Paris"--Publisher's description.

Contents:

1. Mazarin's bequest

2. Architecture and imagery : the new rome

3. Le Vau's library

4. Charges of embezzlement

Appendix A. Projects for Mazarin's tomb

Appendix B. D'Orbay's drawings for the Spanish Steps (1660)

Appendix C. Drawings of Mazarin's Collège : a checklist

Appendix D. Louis le Vau's library : the inventory.

Notes:

Description based on print record and online resource (A&AePortal, viewed on September 18, 2019).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-226) and indexes.

ISBN:

9780300251692

0300251696

OCLC:

1119734883