Métezeau, Louis

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Métezeau, Louis (1559–1615). French architect, brother of Jacques-Clément Métezeau. He may have designed the Hôtel d'Angoulême (begun 1584), the first example of a Giant Order of pilasters in Paris, probably inspired by de l' Orme's premier Tome (1567). From 1594 he worked at the Louvre, the Tuileries, and other royal palaces, contributed to the design of the Place des Vosges from c.1603 and, like his brother, designed other town-planning schemes for the Paris of Henri IV with du Cerceau. He may have been responsible for the south façade of the Grande Galerie, and contributed to the interiors of the Petite Galerie and Salle des Antiques, all at the Louvre, Paris (1601–8). He worked with Dupérac on the interiors of the Hôtel de Jean de Fourcy, Paris (1601–10). He visited Florence in 1611 to study the Palazzo Pitti, an event that inspired the design of the Luxembourg Palace, Paris. He made a major contribution to the evolution of French Mannerism.

Bibliography

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