The Bâtiments du Roi (French pronunciation: [bɑtimɑ̃dyʁwa] , 'King's Buildings') was a division of the Maison du Roi ('King's Household') in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.
The Bâtiments du Roi was created by Henry IV of France to coordinate the building works at his royal palaces. [1] Formerly, each palace had its own superintendent of works. Henry gave the task of supervising all works to Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully. [1]
In the 17th century, the responsibilities of the Bâtiments du Roi extended beyond pure building works, to include the manufacture of tapestries and porcelain. [2] In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert was entitled surintendant et ordonnateur général des bâtiments, arts, tapisseries et manufactures de France ("superintendent and director-general of building, art, tapestries and factories of France"). [2] This title was retained by several of his successors. Other areas that came within under the control of the Bâtiments du Roi included botanical gardens, and the Royal Academies of painting and sculpture, and of architecture. [3]
The wide scope of the responsibilities meant that the superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi was effectively a minister of the French king. [4] The director general was assisted by the first architect to the King (premier architecte du Roi) and the first painter to the King (premier peintre du Roi), a staff of inspectors, architects and several hundred workmen. [4] Much of the work was left to the director's first lieutenants, such as Robert de Cotte and Gilles-Marie Oppenord.
According to a royal decree of 1 September 1776, the Bâtiments du Roi was responsible for:
Its responsibilities includes all buildings with a royal connection:
From 1602 to 1708, and from 1716 to 1726, the head of the Bâtiments du Roi was known as a superintendent (surintendant général). From 1708 to 1716, and from 1726 to 1791, the head was known as the director general (directeur général).[ citation needed ]
Jules Hardouin-Mansart was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles. His monumental work was designed to glorify the reign of Louis XIV of France.
The Château de Marly was a French royal residence located in what is now Marly-le-Roi, the commune on the northern edge of the royal park. This was situated west of the palace and garden complex at Versailles. Marly-le-Roi is the town that developed to serve the château, which was demolished in 1806 after passing into private ownership and being used as a factory. The town is now a bedroom community for Paris.
Jacques Lemercier was a French architect and engineer, one of the influential trio that included Louis Le Vau and François Mansart who formed the classicizing French Baroque manner, drawing from French traditions of the previous century and current Roman practice the fresh, essentially French synthesis associated with Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIII.
The Grand Trianon is a French Baroque style château situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built at the request of Louis XIV as a retreat for himself and his maîtresse-en-titre of the time, the Marquise de Montespan, and as a place where he and invited guests could take light meals (collations) away from the strict etiquette of the royal court. The Grand Trianon is set within its own park, which includes the Petit Trianon.
The Place des Victoires is a circular square in central Paris, located a short distance northeast of the Palais-Royal and straddling the border between the 1st and the 2nd arrondissements. The Place des Victoires is at the confluence of six streets: the Rue de la Feuillade, Rue Vide-Gousset, Rue d'Aboukir, Rue Étienne-Marcel, Rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs and Rue Catinat.
Robert de Cotte was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, he later became his brother-in-law and his collaborator. After Hardouin-Mansart's death, de Cotte completed his unfinished projects, notably the royal chapel at Versailles and the Grand Trianon.
Jacques Gabriel was a French architect, the father of the famous Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Jacques Gabriel was a designer, painter and architect of the 17th and 18th centuries and one of the most prominent designers of the Palace of Versailles in his lifetime. For his unique creativity and selflessness, he was always attended by Louis XIV and eventually became a trusted advisor to the monarch. He made important contributions to him during his years of service of which the construction of the Palace of Versailles was the most important.
French Baroque architecture, usually called French classicism, was a style of architecture during the reigns of Louis XIII (1610–1643), Louis XIV (1643–1715) and Louis XV (1715–1774). It was preceded by French Renaissance architecture and Mannerism and was followed in the second half of the 18th century by French Neoclassical architecture. The style was originally inspired by the Italian Baroque architecture style, but, particularly under Louis XIV, it gave greater emphasis to regularity, the colossal order of façades, and the use of colonnades and cupolas, to symbolize the power and grandeur of the King. Notable examples of the style include the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles, and the dome of Les Invalides in Paris. In the final years of Louis XIV and the reign of Louis XV, the colossal orders gradually disappeared, the style became lighter and saw the introduction of wrought iron decoration in rocaille designs. The period also saw the introduction of monumental urban squares in Paris and other cities, notably Place Vendôme and the Place de la Concorde. The style profoundly influenced 18th-century secular architecture throughout Europe; the Palace of Versailles and the French formal garden were copied by other courts all over Europe.
The secretary of state of the Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi. The exact composition of the ministry and the secretary's duties changed several times over the Early Modern period, but in general, the Département de la Maison du Roi oversaw four main areas: the "Maison du Roi", the "Bâtiments du Roi", the General Affairs of the Clergy, Affairs of the RPR, and the administration of the capital city of Paris and the provinces. The post later reappeared as the minister for the Maison du Roi.
The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances, which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet. It did not hold any real political power until 1665, when First Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who had acted upon financial matters since Fouquet's embezzlement charge, was appointed to the office.
Jean Aubert was a French architect, the most successful of the Régence and designer of two of the most important buildings of the period: the stables of the Château de Chantilly and the Hôtel Biron in Paris. He also created innovative interior designs, the most notable, the separation of private and public spaces for the Palais Bourbon in Paris.
Germain Boffrand was a French architect. A pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Germain Boffrand was one of the main creators of the precursor to Rococo called the style Régence, and in his interiors, of the Rococo itself. In his exteriors he held to a monumental Late Baroque classicism with some innovations in spatial planning that were exceptional in France. His major commissions, culminating in his interiors at the Hôtel de Soubise, were memorialised in his treatise Livre d'architecture, published in 1745, which served to disseminate the French Louis XV style throughout Europe.
Gilles-Marie Oppenordt was a celebrated French designer at the Bâtiments du Roi, the French royal works, and one of the initiators of the Rocaille and Rococo styles, nicknamed "the French Borromini". He specialized in interior architecture and decoration, though he has been connected with the furniture of Charles Cressent. His surname has also been spelled Oppenord and Oppenort.
Under the Ancien Régime, the First Architect to the King was the direct assistant to the general director of the building industries, arts and manufactures of France and, consequently, number 2 of the Bâtiments du Roi, forming part of the Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi.
Antoine Lepautre or Le Pautre (1621–1679) was a French architect and engraver. Born in Paris, he was the brother of the prolific and inventive designer-engraver Jean Lepautre. Antoine Lepautre has been called "one of the most inventive architects of the early years of Louis XIV's reign". He was a protégé of Cardinal Mazarin, to whom he dedicated his Desseins de plusieurs palais, in which his imagination is given free rein.
Pierre Cailleteau (1655–1724), called Lassurance, was a French architect. He is not to be confused with his son Jean Cailleteau, also known as Lassurance, or Lassurance le Jeune to distinguish him from his father.
François d'Orbay was a French draughtsman and architect who worked closely with Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart.
The Louis XIV style or Louis Quatorze, also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the official style during the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715), imposed upon artists by the newly established Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture and the Académie royale d'architecture. It had an important influence upon the architecture of other European monarchs, from Frederick the Great of Prussia to Peter the Great of Russia. Major architects of the period included François Mansart, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Robert de Cotte, Pierre Le Muet, Claude Perrault, and Louis Le Vau. Major monuments included the Palace of Versailles, the Grand Trianon at Versailles, and the Church of Les Invalides (1675–1691).
Nicolas Delespine was a French master mason, entrepreneur and architect. He belonged to a dynasty of Parisian master masons.
Antoine de Ratabon was a French aristocrat who served as an arts and architecture administrator during the reign of Louis XIV. He was the first Director of the Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture from 1655 to 1670 as well as the Surintendant des Bâtiments from 1656 to 1664.
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