Art & Architecture
article | Reading time5 min
When you think of the château de Maisons, the name François Mansart comes to mind. But how much do you know about the life of this famous architect ?
Born into a family of building craftsmen, François Mansart served his apprenticeship with his brother-in-law Germain Gauthier, sculptor and architect for the city of Rennes, and more specifically for the Palais du Parlement of Bretagne. As a mason's apprentice, he also trained in sculpture, still very much influenced by the Mannerist art of the Second Fontainebleau School, but familiar with ancient art thanks to the engravings and works in his personal library.
As an experienced architect, he was already working for the aristocracy, as well as for the royal family, when René de Longueil commissioned him, around 1630, to design a reception residence on the periphery of Paris.
As a complete artist with exceptional drawing skills, he created the plans and elevations of the facades, the layout of the framework, staircase balusters and ironwork, as well as the general design of the sculptural compositions. He surrounded himself with a team of talented sculptors - Philippe de Buyster, Gilles Guérin and Gérard Van Obstal - under the direction of Jacques Sarrazin, to bring to life a new type of castle.
A precursor of Le Nôtre's great landscape compositions, his contemporaries also credited him with designing the Château de Maisons's gardens.
© Caroline Rose / Centre des monuments nationaux
One of the very first "château à la française", anticipating classical architecture
The château de Maisons is a masterpiece of balanced form, with symmetry guiding its composition and layout.
Set on a broad, slightly elevated terrace, it dominates the park and its gardens, of which it forms the central pivot. Renouncing polychromy, Mansart used light-colored stone from the Chantilly area for the façade.
Two progressively widening forecourts converge on the main building, dominated by a front pavilion , framed by two small wings. The large slate roofs create a pyramidal effect.
© David Bordes / Centre des monuments nationaux
On the first floor, he created a prestigious vestibule, spacious and transparent, which leads to the various apartments. For the interior, Mansart chose stones of different grains, such as hard Vernon stone, according to the place and role he wished to assign to them.
Here, he innovates and surprises by playing with interior volumes, which he amplifies or shifts while maintaining the perfect symmetry of the façade.
Sculpted decor enlivens the architecture: projecting or receding bays punctuate the facades with columns, pilasters and niches, while the variety of antique-inspired motifs in dormers, friezes, pediments and balustrades are juxtaposed with mascarons, grotesques and masks, already heralding the Baroque spirit.
© David Bordes / Centre des monuments nationaux
