Métezeau, Jacques-Clément

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Métezeau, Jacques-Clément (1581–1652). French architect. The brother of Louis Métezeau, he was involved in town-planning and architectural schemes for the Paris of Henri IV (1589–1610). His designs looked forward to the style of le Vau, and derive from that of de Brosse, with whom he worked on the Luxembourg Palace, Paris (1615). Other buildings include the Place Ducale, Charleville (1610), the Orangerie du Louvre (1617), the Hôtel de Brienne, Paris (1630–2), and the Château de la Meilleraye (From 1620—destroyed). He was the contractor responsible for the handsome west front of St-Gervais, Paris (1616–23), with an assemblage of Orders placed on a tall Gothic church therefore requiring three Orders instead of the two on Il Gesù, Rome, by Vignola and della Porta. The design of St-Gervais has been attributed to de Brosse, but Métezeau may have contributed to it. With Jean Thiriot (c.1590–1647) he designed the sea wall at La Rochelle (1627–8), which gained him renown.

Bibliography

Babelon (1991);
Berty (1860);
Blunt (1982);
Jane Turner (1996).