Vaux le Vicomte
Nicholus Fouquet, finance
minister to King Louis XIV
Architect—Le Vau
Painter—Le Brun
Gardener-Andre Le
Notre—His first major work
Work began in 1656---Ended
in 1661
Size: The garden is approximately 200 acres,
with 1200 acres of surrounding woods.
Results of the elaborate
landscape:
Triumph in every way but
one—
• For the court circles of the day: a glorious place to rub shoulders with the other leading figures.
• For
the history of art and landscape architecture: an exquisite example of creative
human handiwork.
• But
for Fouquet, in a personal sense, it was an absolute disaster.
Fouquet
imprisoned for life.
The Site Plan
One dominant site
line-central to the entire scheme
Several secondary site lines
cross the main one, visually perpendicular to it.
The slightest difference in
grade change adds interest to what is really a fundamentally flat area
Four integrated parts-all
assembled on the dominant central line.
• Upper
level of highly ornate parterres.
• Slightly
lower level of the main garden, still rich, but less intricate than the
parterres near to the chateau.
• Large canal lying across the central site line.
• Long grassy allée moving up over the hill and off into the unseen distance.
Secondary sight lines
Selected Features in the Garden:
The Rondeau
The Parterres
The Mirror of Water
The Cascades
The Grottoes
The Turf Allées
The Bosquets
Statue of Hercules