LEMERCIER, Jacques
(b. ca. 1584, Pontoise, d. 1654, Paris)

View of the Château de Richelieu

begun 1631
Engraving
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

The Château de Richelieu was of the usual form round three sides of a square court, with a low closing wall on the fourth; but in front of this spread a forecourt enclosed by two lines of offices. The entrance gate was set in a semi-circular wall with pavilions at the ends.

The engraving by Jean Marot represents the château from the garden side. It gives an idea of the general character of the ensemble, with the buildings of the office block in front of the château itself disappearing into the distance on the left. The construction of the château begun in 1631 and it was demolished in 1805. Of all the château there remained only two small garden grottos, the entrance gate, and one domed pavilion of the office block.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.