Introduction: The chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte was built between 1657-61 by Nicolas Fouquet (1615-80), Superintendent of Finance under Louis XIV and his regent, Cardinal Mazarin. Hoping to build the most beautiful estate in France, Fouquet employed the services of Le Vau, Hardouin-Mansart, Le Brun and Israël Sylvestre who, with Le Nôtre, designed the gardens.
From a historical point of view, Vaux-le-Vicomte is significant in that it provides a glimpse into Louis XIV’s attempt to acquire absolute power. Even before taking office, Louis XIV was suspicious of Fouquet. For the most part, his suspicions had their roots in jealousy. At the beginning of the 1660s, Fouquet’s wealth and authority nearly rivaled those of the throne. Fearing the idea of a powerful nobility, especially after the revolts of the Fronde (1648-53), young Louis saw Fouquet as a threat to his reign. The antipathy of the young king was aggravated by the fact that, at the same time that the royal treasury was experiencing great difficulties, the private resources of the Superintendent allowed him to lead a luxurious life. Fouquet, grandson of a merchant from Nantes, effectively established himself as a nobleman, surrounding himself with financiers, diplomats, women, artists, and men of letters (including La Fontaine and Molière) of the highest rank. His ostentation and ambition, illustrated by his way of life as well as by his motto, Quo non ascendet (To which heights will he not scale?), made Fouquet a formidable adversary in royal circles.
From the time of Louis XIV’s ascension to the throne, Colbert set his sights on Fouquet’s position. In fact, some claim that Colbert falsified the documents which finally served to condemn the Superintendent. In any case, the king and Colbert considered Fouquet an arrogant obstacle to the consolidation of their power.
In effect, the chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte emerged as the main symbol of Fouquet’s influence. To inaugurate his splendid residence, the Superintendent organized an extravagant party on August 17, 1661. He invited the king, Colbert and the entire court. Molière presented his play, Les Fâcheux, which Fouquet commissioned especially for the occasion. Jean-Baptiste Lully wrote a ballet. The ball, the chateau and Fouquet were a sensation, and the head of the House of Bourbon believed himself surpassed by a bourgeois whose family was unknown two generations before. Filled with animosity toward the king, Fouquet, according to certain historians, pursued the king’s favorite, Mademoiselle de la Vallière. Furious and humiliated, Louis XIV had Fouquet arrested three weeks later, accusing him of misappropriation of public funds. Found guilty after a lengthy trial, Fouquet spent the rest of his life in prison at Pignerol, where he died a forgotten man. Rid of his main rival, Louis XIV thereafter assumed personal control of the government. Colbert became Minister of Finance and hired Le Vau, Hardouin-Mansart, Le Brun and Le Nôtre to undertake work at Versailles.
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