Vaux-Le-Vicomte: A Private Invitation - Hardcover

by Guillaume Picon (Author), Bruno Ehrs (Photographer), Alexandre de Vogüé (Foreword by)

This comprehensive monograph is an exclusive look inside the ch teau that inspired the design of Versailles and today continues to enchant visitors and film directors alike.

Vaux-le-Vicomte's rich history began in 1641 when infamous French finance minister Nicolas Fouquet, the original owner, surrounded himself with the most skilled and talented artisans of the time: the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun, and the garden designer Andr Le N tre, to create a perfect harmony between architecture and landscape. The Ch teau de Vaux-le-Vicomte and its spectacular gardens fascinated Louis XIV and were the inspira­tion for Versailles. Classified as a historical monument since 1875 under the impetus of the owner at the time, the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte quickly became a model of the artistic genius of the seventeenth century.

This volume traces the ch teau's history from the seventeenth century through the Belle poque, World War I, and its public opening in 1968. Exclu­sive photography and archival documents offer unprecedented access to the ch teau, furnishings, and gardens, and illuminate the extraordinary secrets of court life and centuries of celebrations that include the enchanting candlelit tours held today.

Author Biography

Guillaume Picon is a French historian, specializing in the study of institutional archives, an editor, and an exhibition curator. He is the author of Versailles: A Private Invitation (Flammarion, 2019). Bruno Ehrs is an award-winning Swedish photographer; his work has been published in Château de Villette, Villa Balbiano, A Day at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, and Chaumet.