Vaux-le-Vicomte Essay Example for Free

Vaux-le-Vicomte Essay Architecture is the style of art in which spatial configuration is most important. The way in which the body of the building situates itself on the landscape, the way in which the building rises and falls with the horizon and the way in which Vaux-le-Vicomte’s facade and garden is what this essay will seek to explore. The Vaux-le-Vicomte is located in Maincy, was built in 1656-1661, with the intention of housing artists/poets/writers by the parliamentarian/financial secretary of France. The essay will focus on the element of light as it applies to the chateaux as well as how the building can be considered a Baroque masterpiece (Blunt 108). The basis of the Vaux-le-Vicomte’s design was a castle. The building actually an offshoot of a castle which explains its grand design. Three men are attributed to the design of the Chateau, which was purchased by Nicolas Fouquet: The architect Le Vau, the painter/decorator Le Brun, and the landscape artist Le Notre (Vaux-le-Vicomte 2008). The structure of the once castle turned into one of the â€Å"predominant chateau’s of France† (Sitwell 100) begins with the Baroque age architecture. Baroque architecture is known for its lavish nature, its supreme accoutrements to buildlings increasing in size and grandeur and the culmination of which is seen in Vaux-le-Vicomte. The elements which define the Baroque era in art and which are exemplified in Vaux-le-Vicomte are fanciful, extravagant and theatrical, each of which are extremely dominant in the facade of the chateaux with the dome, in the spire/gazebo atop the dome and the high windows with Corinthian columns as a faux facade to the architecture. Baroque art was in opposition to the previous artistic movement of the Renaissance in many ways. The Baroque era was the flowering of the Renaissance in different ways: While the Renaissance was static the Baroque had a certain dynamism or movement in their architecture. The Baroque style and the fact that the castle was redesigned into a grand chateaux had a lot to do with the expansion of France in the 1600’s. This is when colonization was very popular and strong and nationalistic monarchs such as Louis the VIIII were pressed into creating such grand scale items in order to prove their powerful positions. The imprisonment of Nicolas Fouquet in fact had to do with him outshining the king during a royal visit to the chateaux. The focus of the Baroque movement can be found with the scientist Galileo. Galileo changed how people see the world around them and thus their place in the world. Space of universe becomes fascinating aspect of Baroque art. Light becomes just as fascinating and symbolism of light and scientific point of view can be seen through the architecture of Vau-le-Vicomte, in the way the windows are situated in the building to the way in which the sun’s reflection from the rivers and the fountains plays upon the building itself. The theme of Baroque art is sensuality with emotion; thus there must be passion in the architecture (despite the Catholic Church’s resistance to such design avenues). Thus, the chateaux was in defiance of religious points of view (which also attributed to Nicolas’ imprisonment) as well as supporting this new scientific outlook on the world while also encapsulating light/sun as a main architectural element of the building (Wolf 45). The truly beautiful and Baroque encompassing element of the chateaux is it’s wide garden space. This space truly sees Galileo’s philosophy of the scientific point of view and one’s relationship with the outer design of things in the gardens pure geometrical forms made with bushes, fountains, walkways and more. Le Vau designed the house to have a pavilion which is in turn surrounded by wings. The crowning achievement of Le Vau is found with the cupola which is extravagant in itself as it is the highest point of the chateaux and therefore the first symbol anyone sees upon coming up to the once castle (McCarthy 3). As well as the copula there is also a pedimented entranceway found on the front of the chateaux – thus the design aspect of the outside of the house if dichotomized in a relaxed form as well as a formal form. This dichotomized nature, â€Å"This dual personality, severely formal on one side, grandiloquent on the other, was repeated in the treatment of its walls. Originally designed in brick, then altered, presumably at Fouquets request, to Creil stone, a concave recession pulls the visitor inward toward the great entrance vestibule, then thrusts him through the immense airy space of the saloon out to the garden terrace† (Shama paragraph 16). It is from this formal standpoint of the raised threshold that the spectator can see the vibrant and lush design of Le Notre. Le Notre’s design encapsulates everything Baroque: The pattern of the plants (i. e. hedges, shrubs, etc. ) there is a distinct nature of lavishness mixed with formality (as is the Baroque style). The element of water and subsequently light is essential in the portrayal of Baroque in the garden, â€Å"The play of water intersects the view, not with the furious drama of the Versailles fountains, but rather the more modest gushing of cascades and drowsy pools where water trickles from lichen-mottled stone mouths. Indeed, the whole house seems elevated on a platform or pedestal so that it appears to be not so much surrounded by a moat as actually floating on a body of limpid water. † (Shama paragraph 17). Another interesting element of the chateaux’s gardens is how very similar in construction it is to Frank Lloyd Wrights’ Falling Water house in Pennsylvania, and how conscious both landscape architects were to the landscape itself; from the horizon to the way in which the water reflected the sun on the facade of the chateaux; the viewer can tell that there was much thought in the placement of each water pool, and fountain (even with Nicolas’ diversion of the river by 45 degrees in order to have such spectacular natural architecture). The design of the gardens by Le Notre is so very singular in its approach and cohesive because Nicolas gave the landscape architect free rein over the garden. The word cohesion is used appropriately here as the entire estate would not have worked well if several gardeners were employed by Nicolas; the design would have been flawed because not every landscape artist can build with unification along with other designers; thus the design process by one ‘gardener’, Le Notre, is so important to the lasting impression of the chateaux. As has been mentioned the beauty of the landscape was achieved through harmony of the building and nature working as a combined force of Baroque architecture. The three architects of the chateaux, architect Le Vau, the painter/decorator Le Brun, and the landscape artist Le Notre, worked as a combined force of Baroque artistry as described by Shama, The result is a pleasing comedy of the unexpected: the house suddenly appearing in its inverted reflection in a mirror pool; steep escarpments that are abruptly made accessible with hidden flights of steps; teasing games of freedom and captivity made more poignant by the inescapable ghost of Superintendent Fouquet. From the stepped terrace at the back of the house, the frame of the great Oriental rug-garden is delineated by white pathways punctuated with mercilessly pruned conical topiary and statues of lions and tigers, the Graces and various deities. Within those borders, low hedges weave embroidery patterns that echo the curves and angles of the house itself. (Shama paragraph 19). Even the way in which the pathways are cut according to exact geometric measurements is breathtaking. The elements of mythology mix in with the complete design of the garden especially as the visitor goes from the promenade to the central allee and back into the grotto. It is this space in the garden that the nature of mythology and the extravagance that the Baroque period is best-known for come into fruition. The grotto is lorded over by two river god statues who are in a reclining mode carved within two niches. In the actual park, past the two reclining gods the viewer sees other elements of the Baroque mixed in with mythology such as little fountain or ‘water grille’ in which woodland deities romp around. It is at this point in Le Notre’s design that the active viewer begins to see how he had some fun with his design, â€Å"The ground drops sharply away toward a rectangular reflecting pool. Advance farther and another barrier interposes itself: a broad lateral canal, uncrossable, as elegant in form as its name, poele (frying pan), is homely. To reach the river gods requires another walk around the canals perimeter† (Shama paragraph 20). This essay has shown how the unification of landscape with construction has lead to one of the Baroque era’s finest accomplishments in architecture: Vaux-le-Vicomte. The design of the gardens could not have been exemplified as the genius that it is without the facade of the chateaux as well as the partnership between each architect (Wolf 67). The elements of water and light played an important role in the overall design in that they allow the chateaux the illusion of floating on water which adds that element of a fairy tale or otherworldliness which is further emphasized by the architects inclusion of various statues around the grounds of wood nymphs and river gods. Thus, the extravagance of the Baroque era is found in an enormous amount in Nicolas Fouquet’s chateaux. Works Cited Blunt, A. Art and Architecture in France: 1500 – 1700. Penguin Books. 1953.McCarthy, G. The Theatres of Moliaere. Routledge. 2002. Shama, S. Palaces and Pleasures: Vaux-le-Vicomte: A Perfect Chateaux Envied by a King. 20 October 1991. Online. 2 April 2008. http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9D0CE1DB1E3FF933A15753C1A967 58260sec=spon=pagewanted=all Sitwell, S. and Smith, E. Great Houses of Europe. Putnam. 1961. Vaux-le-Vicomte. 2008. Online. 2 April 2008. http://www. vaux-le-vicomte. com/en/vaux images-chateau. php. Wolf, J. Louis the XVI. W. W. Norton. New York. 1968.