Louis Le Vau

Trained by his stone-mason father, Le Vau transformed the Île Saint-Louis in Paris with sumptuous private townhouses (Hôtel Lambert). In 1654, Louis XIV appointed him First Architect to the King. Between 1656 and 1661, he designed Vaux-le-Vicomte, harmonizing architecture with the gardens of Le Nôtre and murals of Le Brun.

After Fouquet's dramatic arrest, Louis XIV commanded the same triumvirate to transform his father's hunting lodge at Versailles into a colossal royal palace. Le Vau designed the 'Enveloppe' of Versailles, wrapping the old brick château in white stone facades facing the park.