Architect Drawings : A Selection of Sketches by World Famous Architects Through History

Hardouin-Mansart, Jules (1646–1708)
Chateau de Clagny, niche sketch, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, B.N. Estampes Va 360 8,
12.9 15.3cm, Dessin a la sanguine
As conferred Royal Architect in 1675, Premier Architect in 1685, and Superintendent of Buildings
from 1699 until his death in 1708, Jules Hardouin-Mansart defined the style of architecture in the
reign of King Louis XIV. Being the king’s primary architect, he (along with a large staff of architects),
perpetuated the pageantry and grandiosity of the royal court at a time when the monarchy
was building with unprecedented magnitude. His buildings included work on Versailles in 1671,
along with other châteaux and projects in the city of Paris such as townhouses, churches, and city
squares.
Born in 1646, Hardouin-Mansart was a great nephew of the famous architect François Mansart.
He started in the king’s employ with garden projects around Versailles and proceeded to remodel the
château in 1678. The most celebrated of his projects at Versailles is the Hall of Mirrors. Honoring
Louis XIV’s accomplishments, the hall contains mirrors juxtaposed with arched windows opposite
and a decorated vaulted ceiling, all of which essentially transformed the old royal apartments with
themed architectural decoration. These illusionary effects, although their elements are classical, typify
the grandeur of the French classical baroque. Several of his other renowned projects include: the
Hôtel des Invalides with Libéral Bruant, Château du Val in St. Germain and other urban scale projects,
Place des Victoires, and Place Vendôme with both of the last two located in Paris (Ward, 1926:
Briggs, 1967; Van Vynckt, 1993).
On this page (Figure 2.5) is a drawing of a niche for the Château in Clagney for Madame de
Montespan, the mistress of Louis XIV. This dwelling was crucial to Hardouin-Mansart’s practice
since it afforded him an introduction to the king. The drawing appears carefully ruled with limited
detail. Although ruled with straight lines, it fulfills the definition of ‘sketch’ as an outline, and also
preparatory to something else.
The niche has been presented in elevation with a small half plan seen below. To the right, tight to
the margin, has been displayed a section identified as a ‘B,’ providing an enlargement of the pedestal
which is possibly holding a sculptured figure. Much of the ornament is sketched freehand, such as the
two Corinthian pilasters that flank the niche, and likewise the panel above. Perhaps the image was
used to sketch changes and details onto an unfinished elevation, much as an architect today would
‘redline’ a construction document. In this way, it may have served Hardouin-Mansart as a medium to
think through a detail implementing the ruled elevation as a basis for changes. The niche could have
been built from the drawing, but the ornament of the capitals and the figures are incomplete thoughts
and would need another drawing to explain them fully. Also apparent is the formality of the sketch
by labeling the refined piece as ‘B,’ Hardouin-Mansart was perhaps suggesting that the image be
transferred to someone else for construction implementation or redrawing.
Hardouin-Mansart may have indeed been questioning the ability of an elevation to relate the
whole story he needed to convey. He was certainly expressing the limits of the drawing by adding
freehand shading lines to describe the depth of the niche.
For the architects of the classical baroque, architecture depended on a three-dimensional interpretation
of wall using ornament. This page does not describe a section view which might have
been a more important drawing to explain his thoughts to himself or others. With the employment
of orthographic techniques such as elevation (which successfully facilitated Renaissance architecture),
Hardouin-Mansart may have been reevaluating them as a way to achieve his goals.
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