Aerial view
by LE VAU, Louis, Photo
French château c. 6 km north-east of Melun, in the d�partement of Seine-et-Marne. It was built in 1656-61 for Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s Surintendant des Finances, by Louis Le Vau with the assistance of Charles Le Brun. The gardens were laid out by Andr� Le N�tre under Le Vau’s guidance.
The forerunner of Versailles, it is the most important château built in France in the mid-17th century; it was here that Le Vau, Le Brun and Le N�tre learnt to work as a team and to produce the unity of architecture, interior decoration and garden layout that distinguishes the Louis XIV style.