Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
- July 08, 2017
- by
- The Glambassador
Dress ~ The House of Foxy
Shoes ~ Rocket Originals
Living so close to France (about 45 minutes to the French border), we are fortunate enough to be able to travel to some of the most amazing places in France. For the 4th of July weekend, we decided to see two chateaus we’ve not yet been to and of course visit Disneyland Paris again.
There are a number of châteaux in the ile-de-France region, and we will certainly be visiting more in the future. But for this trip we decided on Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau (stay tuned for that post). See below for a short history of this château.
A little history about the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
It was constructed from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances for King Louis XIV. He was young, 26, and very ambitious, and the king was quite suspicious of this. At the inauguration of Vaux-le-Vicomte in 1661, a Moliére play was performed, along with a dinner event to include the King himself, as well as an impressive firework show.
However the celebration had proven to been far too impressive and the superintendent’s home too luxurious. Fouquet’s intentions were to flatter the king: part of Vaux-le-Vicomte was actually constructed specifically for the king, but Fouquet’s plan backfired.
Shortly after the fête, Nicolas Fouquet was arrested by the famous d’Artgnan, lieutenant of the king’s musketeers, and placed in prison. This is due in part to the fact that Jean-Baptiste Colbert led the king to believe that his minister’s magnificence was funded by the misappropriation of public funds. Later, Voltaire was to sum up the famous fête: “On 17 August, at six in the evening Fouquet was the King of France: at two in the morning he was nobody.” Fouquet died in prison in 1680.
It is believed that the magnificence and splendor of decoration was a forerunner of the Palace of Versailles and where he brought together three artists that the King would later take up for Versailles: the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun and the garden designer André Le Nôtre.
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4 Comments
goatsandhounds
8th Jul 2017 - 3:46 pmI love your dress! I wonder if he was actually misappropriating funds… If he wasn’t, then this would be a sad story.
The Glambassador
8th Jul 2017 - 4:13 pmIt is quite sad. I don’t believe there was any evidence that he was misappropriating funds. It’s said that Colbert and the King had it out for him and not only fixed his arrest, but also fixed the trial. He was originally sentenced to be banished, but the King “commuted” the sentence to imprisonment for life instead. It’s a sad story. There is a great book called “The Man who Outshone the Sun King” by Charles Drazin that tells the story, if you are interested.
Camilla
9th Jul 2017 - 11:17 amOh my what a place to visit, it’s absolutely amazing! I would love to have photos taken at a place like this! 🙂 I love your dress and shoes as well! xo
Moni K
9th Jul 2017 - 12:02 pmWunderbare Bilder und ein wunderschönes Kleid!
Wonderful pictures and a beautiful Dress!
LG Monika