Main entry:

Ballon, Hilary.

Title & Author:

Louis Le Vau : Mazarin's Collège, Colbert's revenge / Hilary Ballon.

Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1999.
©1999

Description:

ix, 236 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-226) and indexes.
INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1. MAZARIN'S BEQUEST -- CHAPTER 2. ARCHITECTURE AND IMAGERY: THE NEW ROME -- CHAPTER 3. LE VAU'S LIBRARY -- CHAPTER 4. CHARGES OF EMBEZZLEMENT -- CONCLUSION --- APPENDIX A. PROJECTS FOR MAZARIN'S TOMB -- APPENDIX B. D'ORBAY'S DRAWINGS FOR THE SPANISH STEPS (1660) -- APPENDIX C. DRAWINGS OF MAZARIN'S COLLEGE: A CHECKLIST -- APPENDIX D. LOUIS LE VAU'S LIBRARY: THE INVENTORY.
Current Copyright Fee: GBP51.60 0.
Dust jacket.

Summary:

From Vaux-le-Vicomte to Versailles, the buildings of Louis Le Vau shaped the image of French court society. None, however, has had as dramatic an effect as Mazarin's Collège (1661-70), the Parisian landmark that now houses the Institut de France. In this first English-language book on Louis XIV's celebrated architect, Hilary Ballon deftly portrays the brilliance and controversy of Le Vau's late career through an exploration of this masterpiece, a hybrid of baroque and classical styles. She tracks the design and construction of the Collège on the basis of splendid drawings, fully illustrated here, integrating into this account previously unknown dimensions of Le Vau's creative personality, his financial entanglements, and his feuds with government leaders. The story of the Collège begins in 1661 with the death of Cardinal Mazarin, who left an extravagant sum of money for a school to be built in his memory. Le Vau responded with an ambitious architectural tribute intended to launch the development of Paris in a new artistic direction. As Ballon shows, many personal factors figured into the final product, including Le Vau's activities as a real estate developer and entrepreneur, and his explosive response to the Italian baroque master Gianlorenzo Bernini, who visited Paris in 1665. The project ended up significantly over budget, and officials charged Le Vau shortly after his death with embezzling funds. The chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, led the attack on Le Vau, turning the ethical scandal into an aesthetic crusade to maintain a "classical" look for central Paris.

Resources:
Table of contents
Publisher description

ISBN:

0691001863 (cloth ; alk. paper)
9780691001869 (cloth ; alk. paper)
0691048959 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
9780691048956 (pbk. ; alk. paper)

Subject:

Le Vau, Louis, 1612-1670 Criticism and interpretation.
Le Vau, Louis, 1612-1670 Critique et interprétation
Le Vau, Louis, 1612-1670
Le Vau, Louis 1612-1670
Mazarin, Jules 1602-1661
Mazarin, Jules, 1602-1661.
Mazarin, Jules, (1602-1661) Et la France.
Le Vau, Louis, (1612-1670) Critique et interprétation.
Le Vau, Louis.
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, 1619-1683
Collège des quatre-nations.
Institut de France
Amerika Haus Berlin Video Lending Library
Collège Mazarin (Paris) Histoire.
Institut de France Histoire.
Paris / Collège des Quatre-Nations.
Architecture France Paris History.
Architecture France Paris.
Architecture France Paris 17e siècle.
Architecture France Paris Histoire.
21.71 commercial and industrial buildings.
Architecture.
Architektur
Schoolgebouwen.
Architecture France Paris (France) 17e siècle.
Urbanisme France Paris (France) 17e siècle.
Arkitektur historia.
France Paris.
Frankrike Paris.

Form/genre:

Aufsatzsammlung.
Bildband.
Katalog.
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 207419
Call No.: NA44.L656.25 C6 1999
Status: Available