Louis Métezeau (1559 – 18 August 1615) was a French architect.Babelon 1996, p. 345.
Life and career Métezeau was born in Dreux, Eure-et-Loir, and died in Paris. He was the son of Thibault Métezeau, the brother of Clément II Métezeau and the nephew of Jean Métezeau. The register of the city of Dreux refers to him as architecte du roi et contrôleur des bâtiments royaux.Sturgis 1901.
Métezeau probably undertook the construction of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre (the eastern section is traditionally attributed to him)Ballon 1991, pp. 39–40. and may have designed the Petite Galerie. He may also have conceived the Place des Vosges in Paris. An archival discovery of 1984 led some historians to name Louis Métezeau as the architect of the Hôtel d'Angoulême.Thomson 1984, p. 152; Ballon 1991, p. 43. It is now suggested that Louis' father, Thibault Métezeau, more likely designed it.Gady 2008, p. 180.Ayers says the architect of the Hôtel d'Angoulême is unknown (Ayers 2004, p. 99).
Métezeau was probably involved in the building of the Palais du Luxembourg for Marie de Medicis: she is believed to have sent him to Florence in 1611 to make drawings of the Palazzo Pitti, which was to be used as a model by the regent's order.The Architecture of the Renaissance by Leonardo Benevolo, p.706; The architecture of Paris by Andrew Ayers, p.130. Collins on the other hand says Salomon de Brosse, the main architect of the palace, sent Louis' brother, Clément Métezeau (Concrete by Peter Collins, Kenneth Frampton, Réjean Legault, p.166).
At his death, Métezeau was identified as Premier Architecte du Roi of Henry IV of France.Babelon 1996, p. 346.
Notes
Bibliography Ayers, Andrew (2004). The Architecture of Paris. Stuttgart; London: Edition Axel Menges. . Babelon, Jean-Pierre (1996). "Métezeau: (1) Louis Métezeau", vol. 21, p.p 345–346, in The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner, reprinted with minor corrections in 1998. . Also at Oxford Art Online. Ballon, Hilary (1991). The Paris of Henri IV: Architecture and Urbanism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. . Gady, Alexandre (2008). Les hôtels particuliers de Paris, du Moyen-Âge à la Belle époque, Paris, Parigramme. 2012 edition: . Sturgis, Russell (1901). "Métezeau, Louis", vol. 2 (F–N), col. 868 in A Dictionary of Architecture and Building. New York: Macmillan. Thomson, David (1984). Renaissance Paris: Architecture and Growth, 1475-1600, Berkeley, University of California Press. .
External links
"Louis Métezeau" at Structurae