BOOKS

Vaux-Le-Vicomte: A Private Invitation by Guillaume Picon Paris: Flammarion, distributed by Rizzoli International Publications, New York, $85 304 pages, 280 color photographs

Built between 1658 and 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s superintendent of finances, this baroque chateau was the collaborative work of three remarkable artists: architect Louis Le Vau, muralist and interior designer Charles Le Brun, and garden designer André Le Nôtre. Standing in solitary splendor a few miles southeast of Paris, it is a perfectly symmetrical pile of creamy limestone topped by a rare oval dome and furnished richly but not ostentatiously. It rests happily on Le Nôtre’s 80 acres of suitably formal landscaping, which gave birth to what came to be known as the French garden. In his introduction to the book, fashion designer Christian Lacroix praises the whole composition for its “aristocratic pageantry, wit and eloquence beyond luxury.”

After Fouquet fell out of favor with the King (becoming “The Man in the Iron Mask”) the designer trio was called to expand Versailles, where their additions included the Escalier des Ambassadeurs and the Galerie des Glaces. But the restrained elegance of the much smaller VauxLeVicomte would never be surpassed.

The text of this attractive volume is by Guillaume Picon, the author of a similar “Private Invitation” to Versailles. Alexandre de Vogüé, who contributes a prelude, is a member of the family that for many generations has lived on the upper floor of the chateau and is responsible for the property’s fine condition. (They opened it to the public in 1968.) The numerous excellent illustrations are the work of Swedish photographer Bruno Ehrs. This is a handsome introduction to handsome interiors, the first book showing the work of Clements Design, a Los Angeles firm founded by the motherson team of Kathleen and Tommy Clements. In his felicitous introduction, Mayer Rus, who is the former editor in chief ofInterior Design, notes that their choices include furniture by Alberto Giacometti, Eileen Gray, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand; and art by Alexander Calder, Giorgio Morandi, Pablo Picasso, and Cy Twombly, but that these pieces are only occasional highights in rooms of exceptionally quiet poise—“compositions of livability and comfort. . .that allow the furnishings space to breathe.”

Very seldom does the design of a book show an affinity for the designs its pages present. This one does, and the effect is brilliant. Done by London’s Graphic Thought Facility, the monograph is printed on thick creamy paper within a slightly warmer linen cover. Each photograph commands a page of its own, and there are no captions to divert us. (This deprives us of information we might want, of course, but—just this once—it feels appropriate. We are not even told the locations of the houses.) Among the interior views, we sometimes see a spread of fabric and upholstery swatches—again, with no comment. And occasionally the visual serenity is interrupted by a single page of comment, one by noted architect Howard Backen, one by furniture designer Ingrid Donat, and another by eighttime Clements Design clients Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi.

Eight Homes: Clements Design by Mayer Rus New York: Rizzoli International Publications, $75 212 pages, 128 color photographs

books edited by Stanley Abercrombie

The Legend of Chris-Craft by Jeffrey L. Rodengen Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Write Stuff, $16 272 pages “In my research on the history of private aircraft, I discovered a book that Jeffery had written on Cessna planes, and subsequently learned that he had written on a range of subjects including this one on boatbuilder ChrisCraft, which I sought out at Strand Book Store in Union Square.

Having recently completed the interiors of a Gulfstream G550 jet for a client and being in the process of restoring a ChrisCraft of my own, I've been compelled by the history of how planes and boats have evolved and inspired by the innovation introduced by fellow designers in this field, such as Raymond Loewy and Marc Newson. Both aeronautic and maritime design and engineering are informed by a strict adherence to strengthtoweight ratios for the purposes of durability and aerodynamics. As a result, each element of an aircraft or a seafaring vessel has a distinct purpose and must meet rigorous standards.

As an interior designer, I inherit a context in which my work operates. I'm often tasked with repositioning the interior of an existing building, which formerly was used for a different purpose. My process always begins with studying the building’s history, construction type, and former utility. Understanding this background provides a ‘sense of place.’”

David M. Sullivan

Founder of David M. Sullivan