Origin and history
The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, located in Maincy in Seine-et-Marne, is a 17th century architectural gem (1658-1661), commissioned by Nicolas Fouquet, Superintendent of Finance of Louis XIV. This emblematic monument of French classicism brings together the talents of architect Louis Le Vau, painter Charles Le Brun and landscape designer André Le Nôtre, forming a harmonious ensemble where architecture, interior decorations and gardens unite to create a total work. Fouquet, wishing to impress the king and the court, organized sumptuous festivals there, including the one of 17 August 1661, which remained famous for his fascist and his role in the disgrace of his sponsor, arrested shortly afterwards for malfeasance.
The design of the castle breaks with medieval traditions by adopting a "massed" plan and a double string of pieces, an innovation for the era. The oval living room, a central room decorated with sixteen terms carved by François Girardon, symbolizes the seasons and the zodiac, while the gardens, organized according to perspective axes, play on optical illusions to enlarge the space. Embroidery beds, cascade basins and the cave decorated with allegorical sculptures illustrate the genius of Le Nôtre, who will transpose these techniques in Versailles. After Fouquet's arrest, the estate was seized, partially dismantled, and then passed into the hands of several owners, including the Marshal of Villars and the Dukes of Choiseul-Praslin.
In the 19th century, the castle, then at risk, was saved by Alfred Sommier, an industrial sugar refiner, who began a major restoration in 1875 with architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailler. The gardens, which have been abandoned since the Revolution, are recreused and replanted according to the original plans, while the interiors, stripped of their original furniture, are refurnished in a neo-17th century style. The Sommier family, then the Marquis de Vogüé, continued this preservation work, opening the estate to the public in 1968. Today, Vaux-le-Vicomte remains an exceptional testimony of the Great Century, attracting more than 300,000 visitors annually.
Significant historical events include the auction of furniture after Fouquet's disgrace, the transformations brought by the Marshal of Villars in the 18th century, and the degradations suffered during the French Revolution, where the royal emblems were hammered. The castle also served as a setting for film and television productions, such as the Versailles series (2015) or international advertisements. Since 2016, restoration campaigns, such as the one in the table Le Triomphe de la Fidelité, aim to preserve this heritage listed as a Historic Monument since 1875.
The park, with an area of 500 hectares, is a model of the French garden, with its aisles of classified plane trees, its geometric beds and its large canal of 875 meters. The cave, waterfalls and golden statue of Hercule Farnese, added in 1891, underline Fouquet's symbolic ambition to compete with the king. The candlelight evenings, held since the 1980s, perpetuate the spirit of baroque festivals. Managed today by the Vogüé family, the estate combines heritage conservation and innovation, as evidenced by its recognized association of public utility, Les Amis de Vaux-le-Vicomte, founded in 1983.
Announcements
Please log in to post a review