Influential Architects and Landscape Architects
Andre Le Notre
Andre Le Notre was one of the most influential landscape architects of the Baroque Era. Being entrusted and appointed by the King of France, he was in charge of designing the gardens at the king's Palace of Versailles which would cover more than 15,000 acres of land. Le Notre had great landscape knowledge as his father was very good with gardening. King Louis XIV was attracted by Le Notre's work with great blocks, waterworks, and, of course, landscape that he put him in charge of designing the gardens that displayed the king's wealth and power.
Louis Le Vau
Leading architect of the Palace of Versailles, Louis Le Vau, was trained by his father who was influenced by Italian architecture. In his early days, he was the designer for the Hotel de Bautru in 1634 amongst other structures like Hotel Lambert and some townhouses. In his designs, he used a mix of baroque and classical French styles. He also did a collaborative design for one of new wings for the Louvre. Having all this experience, he was appointed the first architect to the king of the time, King Louis the XIV. One of his most notably baroque style designs was the design he did for the wealthy minister Nicolas Fouquet. The monumental design conveyed a sense of power which was highly celebrate during the baroque era. In the year 1667, Le Vau was one of the main architects, along with Charles Le Brun, for the the first phase of the Palace of Versailles as the monumental palace was built piece by piece.
Charles Le Brun
Le Vau’s co-architect was the famous painter, Charles Le Brun. Le Brun was the son of a sculpture and was discovered by a man named Pierre Seguier who became the chancellor of France. At the young age of eleven, Le Brun continued painting under the watch of Simon Voulet. Catching the attention of many, many took him under their wing and he learned a lot from all his experience. He was then commissioned by King Louis XIV in the 1660s to paint for him. From then on, all the paintings in the royal palaces were under the direction of Le Brun. He was later responsible for the beautification of both the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.