Fouquet’s dazzling property contains a number of lavish rooms spread across the ground and first floors, furnished with period furniture, elegant tapestries and numerous bronze busts. But, architecturally, Vaux-le-Vicomte is different from other châteaux of the era. Here, chief architect Le Vau introduced a new concept: rather than placing rooms on top of one another, he decided to position them side by side, doubling a building’s width.
Such a change meant the traditional tall, straight roof had to be altered to account for the greater width, leading to the introduction of the hipped style which would thereafter define Le Vau’s architecture. This new structure allowed for greater freedom in terms of room layout, and created additional space (enough for two further suites) on the ground floor, which meant grand ceremonies could be accommodated.
One of the many impressive rooms is the Grand Salon. “Look up!” shouts my guide, Hortense. This large reception area, 19 metres long and 18 metres high, was considered unusual in 17th-century France, with its idiosyncratically oval proportions. It is also remarkably plain. The simple reason, my guide tells me, is that Le Brun ran out of time. The great artist had grand intentions for the dome’s ceiling: retrieved sketches show Le Brun wanted to mimic designs featured in the new Château de Versailles – signs of the zodiac; months and seasons; a giant serpent biting its tail; and the distinctive squirrel, selected by bouquet to be his animal-symbol in paintings. But all that covers it today is a blue sky with clouds and an eagle passing over them: a simple design commissioned by the property’s 19th-century owner.
From there, we pass into the Cabinet des Jeux, overlooking the gardens, which is decidedly light, thanks to the use of antique mirrors. It was in this sumptuous room, smothered floor-to-ceiling in gold, that Fouquet would receive guests.
On the east-facing wall hangs a painting in which a group of large cats are chasing a serpent and threatening a squirrel; an image thought to represent Fouquet’s unwavering loyalty to the king during the series of civil wars known as La Fronde.
