SoCultures October 2018

SoCultures October 2018
India & France
Architects and their masterpieces
The most important showcase of the French Baroque was the Palace of
Versailles, though with the evolving times there were contemporary designs
embodying creative spirit and beliefs.
o Salomon de Brosse (1571-1626) was the one of the first French architects to
adopt the style which started new narratives in designs for royal residences,
with pavilions on the corners, lateral wings, and a grand central entrance
surmounted by a cupola. It’s more dominant in the construction of the Palais
du Luxembourg he built for the mother of Louis XIII, Marie de
Medici between 1615 and 1624.
o François Mansart, a progressive visionary who stressed upon
perfectionism and introduced the full Baroque to France continuity between
the French Renaissance style and the new style. He used the sloping
Mansard roof so effectively that it took his name especially in his
design for the Château de Maisons in Maisons-Laffitte, (1630–51),
o Louis Le Vau was another central figure.
o Exemplified by the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont by Claude Guérin
(1606–21) , the architecture is visible in the Prix de Rome, Saint-
Sulpice and Saint-Eustache .
o The cupola or dome over the central nave, originally from the Italian
Baroque was major innovation of French Baroque religious architecture.
o The residential building style known as the Hôtel Particulier was best
described as less beautiful than palaces and more beautiful than simple
residences.
”
33 | P a g e