Jules Hardouin-Mansart

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Jules Hardouin-Mansart

1646-1708

French architect who completed the Palace of Versailles, begun by Louis Le Vau (1612-1670). Grandnephew of the architect François Mansart (1598-1666), Hardouin-Mansart—he changed his surname in 1668—worked as building superintendent for King Louis XIV from 1675. In addition to his work on Versailles, a renovation rather than a building project, Hardouin-Mansart was responsible for the enlargement of the Château de Saint-Germain and the designs of the Place Vendôme, the Place des Victoires, and the dome of the Hôtel des Invalides. Architect of the Château de Clagny (1676-1680), Hardouin-Mansart designed a number of other châteaux, including de Dampierre, de Luneville, and de Sagonne.