Louis Métezeau
Illustration — Court facade of the Hôtel d'Angoulême Louis Métezeau (1559 – 18 August 1615) was a French architect.
Also recorded as Louis Metezeau · Louis Métézeau
Louis Métezeau
Jacques Androuet II du Cerceau / Louis Métezeau / Louis Le Vau / Jean Marot · This file comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID bpt6k10402607.f378 · Public domain
- Died
- 1615. · Paris.
- Nationality
- France.
- Occupation
- architect.
- Known for
- hôtel d'Almeyras and collège Henri-IV de La Flèche.
- Languages
- French.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Court facade of the Hôtel d'Angoulême Louis Métezeau (1559 – 18 August 1615) was a French architect.
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Note VALÉORINE
Louis Métezeau (1560–1615) was an architect, of French nationality. The architect was born in Dreux and died in Paris. Louis Métezeau worked in France.
Among the works are collège Henri-IV de La Flèche and hôtel d'Almeyras. Languages used include French.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q361489 · wikipedia · Louis Métezeau
In this article
Life and career
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. Métezeau probably undertook the construction of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre (the eastern section is traditionally attributed to him) 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. It is now suggested that Louis' father, Thibault Métezeau, more likely designed it. 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. At his death, Métezeau was identified as Premier Architecte du Roi of Henry IV of France. • Illustration — The eastern section of the Louvre's Grande Galerie, from an engraving by Jean Marot (c. 1670)
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Louis Metezeau and Louis Métézeau. His recorded language was French. He was the child of Thibault Métezeau.
Identity
Identity
Louis Métezeau is recorded as architect.
Louvre Palace. Elevation of the south facade of the eastern section of the Grande Galerie as it appeared c. 1665. From Jean Marot's L'Architecture française.
Louis Métezeau / Louis Le Vau / Jean Marot · This file comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID bpt6k10402607.f378
Louvre Palace. Elevation of the south facade of the Louvre as it appeared c. 1665. From Jean Marot's L'Architecture française.
Jacques Androuet II du Cerceau / Louis Métezeau / Louis Le Vau / Jean Marot · This file comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID bpt6k10402607/f378.item
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1560
Louis Métezeau born at Dreux.
1615
Louis Métezeau died at Paris.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Dreux.
Birth place
Paris.
Death place
Literature
Literature
Literature
Métezeau, Louis, Oxford Art Online, 2003
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Babelon 1996, p. 345.
- 2.Les Échos. La place Ducale, coeur battant de Charleville. 20 July 2006.
- 3.Sturgis 1901.
- 4.The Louvre. Reprise des travaux.
- 5.Ballon 1991, pp. 39–40.
- 6.Thomson 1984, p. 152; Ballon 1991, p. 43.
- 7.Gady 2008, p. 180.
- 8.Ayers says the architect of the Hôtel d'Angoulême is unknown (Ayers 2004, p. 99).
- 9.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).
- 10.Babelon 1996, p. 346.
- 11.Université du Québec. Chapelle Saint-Louis, Prytanée militaire, La Flèche, France.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 6
- 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. .
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q361489: Louis MétezeauWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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