Jules Hardouin-Mansart

Jules Hardouin-Mansart (16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder. His major projects included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690), Place Vendôme (1690), the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand Trianon at the Palace of Versailles. His work was intended to glorify the reign of Louis XIV.

Born Jules Hardouin in Paris in 1646, he trained under his great-uncle, the noted architect François Mansart. Hardouin inherited his great-uncle’s plans and drawings and added the Mansart name to his own in 1668. He began his career as a building contractor with his brother Michel, but in 1672 he decided to focus solely on architecture. In 1674, he became one of the royal architects working for Louis XIV. His first major project was the Château de Clagny, built for the king’s consort, Madame de Montespan. He proved skilled at bureaucratic diplomacy, gaining the support of Madame de Montespan and later of François-Michel le Tellier, the Marquis de Louvois and Minister of War. He studied with and later worked alongside landscape designer André Le Nôtre before working directly with the king.

In 1677, he began work on expanding the Palace of Versailles, a project that occupied him for the rest of his life. Soon after, he joined the Académie royale d’architecture. In 1678, he became director of work at Versailles and the leading architect in the royal circle. He was named First Architect of the King in 1681 and was made a noble in 1682. He became intendant of the King in 1685 and royal inspector-general of buildings in 1691, serving under the elderly superintendent Villacerf, whom he replaced in 1699. His rise was due not only to his ability to please his patron with his designs but also to his talent for managing large, complex projects with many contributors. He would sketch an idea, then step back, intervene and adjust as needed, visit the site occasionally, and keep the budget under control. In his later career, he left more details to architects working under him, especially Robert de Cotte, his chosen successor. He was made Count of Sagonne in 1702 but died six months later at the royal Château de Marly.

Hardouin-Mansart was the leading master of the Louis XIV style, or French classicism. He could create a wide variety of structures—châteaux, churches, pavilions, private homes, parks, and urban squares—and could adapt, modify, enlarge, and rehabilitate buildings without losing their original character, adding his own variations. This was especially clear at the Palace of Versailles. Much of his success came from selecting and guiding talented collaborators, including interior designer Charles Le Brun, who designed many of Versailles’ interiors in harmony with his architecture, and Robert de Cotte, who became his brother-in-law and successor in 1708. His architecture is marked by simplification: large smooth surfaces, repeated forms (especially arcades with semicircular arches and detached columns), long horizontal lines, and open spaces. He often used long rows of columns in front of a façade to create grandeur and hide irregularities. He used architectural orders to give majesty to interior surfaces, particularly in the chapel of Versailles and the interiors of the Palace of Versailles and the Grand Trianon. He was skilled at creating a sense of awe, as seen in the dome of Les Invalides (completed 1706), the garden façade of Versailles, and the Hall of Mirrors.

On 1 March 1676, Louvois summoned Hardouin-Mansart to take over construction of Les Invalides, the hospital and chapel the king was building in Paris for wounded soldiers. The project had begun in 1671 under Libéral Bruant, and some residential buildings were finished and occupied, but the soldiers’ chapel had not been started. The king was unhappy with Bruant’s plans and complained about the slow pace. Louvois dismissed Bruant and called on Hardouin-Mansart, then little known outside the royal household, to take over the church. Bruant’s original chapel plan was modest. Hardouin-Mansart proposed a much grander project with two adjoining parts: a choir for the pensioners and a majestic domed royal church for the king. This went beyond what the minister had suggested, but it pleased the king, and after long discussion, Hardouin-Mansart was given the project for both the church and the Hôtel. He quickly organized and completed the residences and infirmaries. In 1676, he began work on the choir for the pensioners. By summer 1677, the roof was in place; in April 1678, he ordered the woodwork for the stalls, and in 1679, the cabinetry for the organ. Work on the royal chapel proceeded more slowly.