François Mansart Un Architecte Artiste Au Siècle De Louis Xiii Et De Louis Xiv

François Mansart's name is known to all because he is wrongly credited with the invention of the mansardes (attic), but his work is little known and often confused with that of his grand-nephew, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the architect of Louis XIV. François Mansart is now back in the limelight for his graphic invention and his passionate search for the perfect form.

On the occasion of the commemoration of the 350th anniversary of his death, this book offers a synthesis of the knowledge renewed by recent research and proposes a reading of the artist's most famous buildings: the "rotunda" chapel of the Visitation in rue Saint Antoine, the new castle of Blois, the castle of Maisons, the Hôtel de Guénégaud des Brosses and the Val-de-Grâce, the completion of which eluded him. A catalogue of François Mansart's works completes this study.