Vaux-le-Vicomte: A Private Invitation

A Private Invitation

Guillaume Picon Photography by Bruno Ehrs Foreword by Alexandre de Vogüé Introduction by Christian Lacroix

is comprehensive monograph is an exclusive look inside the château that inspired the design of Versailles and today continues to enchant visitors and lm directors alike.

Vaux-le-Vicomte’s rich history began in 1641 when infamous French nance minister Nicolas Fouquet, the original owner, surrounded himself with the most skilled and talented artisans of the time: the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun, and the garden designer André Le Nôtre, to create a perfect harmony between architecture and landscape. e Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and its spectacular gardens fascinated Louis XIV and were the inspira tion for Versailles. Classi ed as a historical monument since 1875 under the impetus of the owner at the time, the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte quickly became a model of the artistic genius of the seventeenth century. is volume traces the château’s history from the seventeenth century through the Belle Époque, World War I, and its public opening in 1968. Exclu sive photography and archival documents o er unprecedented access to the château, furnishings, and gardens, and illuminate the extraordinary secrets of court life and centuries of celebrations that include the enchanting candlelit tours held today.

Guillaume Picon is a Fren ch historian, specializing in the study of institutional archives, an editor, and an exhibition curator. He is the author of Versailles: A Private Invitation (Flammarion, 2019). Bruno Ehrs is an award-winning Swedish photographer; his work has been published in Château de Villette, Villa Balbiano, A Day at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, and Chaumet. HC w/jacket 304 pages 280 color illustrations 9 ¾ × 12 in. (24.4 × 30.5 cm) ISBN: 978-2-08-151352-5 US $85 / Can. $115 / £65 / 75 € Publication: September 2021