1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Wilson. Uh. 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: And this is a two parter. This is the first 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: of a two parter. And this has been the word 6 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: works for a long time. It has been since our 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: trip to France in June, so like six months. Uh, 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: And it has taken a while for a few reasons. 9 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 1: Um when we had Sarah Roberts from the Atlanta History 10 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: Center on to talk about the center's historic gardens. As 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: we were talking after we had recorded, I mentioned to 12 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: her that I was working on an episode about French 13 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: gardener Andre Lenore and that I thought it was going 14 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: to have to be two episodes because there was so much, 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: And she responded, how are you going to get it 16 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: all into just two episodes? Admittedly she comes at this 17 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: from the perspective of someone who is steeped in horticulture, 18 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: and so to her it could have been a whole 19 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: podcast series. But even if you are not from that background, 20 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: it's a lot. Because Na was a very busy man. 21 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: He worked on many, many very high profile landscapes and 22 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: gardens in France and throughout Europe, including most famously the 23 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: grounds of Versailles, and his work really defined the French 24 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: formal garden in the seventeenth century, and a lot of 25 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: that work is still being enjoyed today, more than three 26 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: hundred years after his death. He also was very long lived, 27 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: so that is part of why he was so influential 28 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: and there is so much to talk about. You will 29 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: find statues and memorials to him in a number of 30 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: different locations in Paris and the surrounding areas, because his 31 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: work was really instrumental in developing the cultural identity of 32 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: France as an epicenter of design and style. If you 33 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,199 Speaker 1: walk around Toulri, there is a bust of him there. 34 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: If you are driving through the town of Versailles going 35 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: up to the palace, you will see a statue of him. 36 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: I saw another smaller one just in a little neighborhood 37 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: while we were walking around at the end of our trip, 38 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: when everybody had left but Brian and my sell and 39 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: so like. He clearly is very very important. Um So 40 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: today in part one we are going to cover his 41 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: life up to and including a project that was controversial, 42 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: not for Lenussle's part in it, but because of its 43 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: implications for the property's owner, there was scandal, but it 44 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: did not impact Lenore negatively. And then on part two, 45 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: we're going to talk a lot about Versailles, and then 46 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: the last years of Leno was life. Before we get started, though, 47 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: we're going to do a little level set on the 48 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: use of the word gardener versus another term like landscape 49 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: architect or something else that might seem a little more 50 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: descriptive of what he was actually doing. The term landscape 51 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: architect didn't exist at all during Lenore's time. It wasn't 52 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: coined until the mid nineteenth century. So even though we'll 53 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: default to some degree to using the term gardener or 54 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: master gardener because that's often named as his profession, historically, 55 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: his work really went way way beyond that as his 56 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: role under Louis the fourteenth evolved and expanded. Not only 57 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: did he turned his intellect into learning geometry and mathematics 58 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: to ensure that his landscape designs were sound, but he 59 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,279 Speaker 1: also ended up needing to learn a lot about engineering 60 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: for his more large scale works, and he had to 61 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: develop management and leadership skills. Also. In the mix of 62 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: all of this, was a love for an understanding of art, 63 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: and that informed all of his other work. So even 64 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: though we're going to call him a gardener, there's no 65 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: disrespect intended with that, and he was much more than 66 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: what we might describe as a gardener today. Yeah. I 67 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: think if someone working professionally today did the types of 68 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: things he did and you called them a gardener, they 69 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: would be super insulted. That is not the intent. Um. 70 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: It is this impressive combination of his of skills and disciplines, 71 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: as well as a very calm and humorous temperament that 72 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: enabled him to collaborate with a variety of strong minded people, 73 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: and that has given Andre Lenoza an important place in 74 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,119 Speaker 1: French history and has made his work something that continues 75 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: to influence landscape architecture around the world today. Centuries after 76 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: he was born, he was really born into his life's 77 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: work and consequently into his legacy. His father, Jean Lenore, 78 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: was royal gardener. He worked for King Louis the thirteenth 79 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: and his expertise was employed at the gardens at Twilerie. 80 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: He held the title of Jardignier ordinaire, which was sort 81 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:25,239 Speaker 1: of like a government contractor position under senior gardener Claude Moulle. 82 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: Andre's grandfather, Pierre Lenotre, had been one of the gardeners 83 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: employed by Catherine de Medici when the Tulry gardens were 84 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: first established, and this was also a time culturally in 85 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: France when family ties were routinely part of employment security. 86 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: All of the gardeners serving the crown in seventeenth century 87 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: France were from only a handful of families. When this 88 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: continued with the Lennotles, two of Andre's three sisters, Francoise 89 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: and Elizabeth, also married gardeners, and they also helped end 90 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: some of the royal gardens. His third sister, Marie, was 91 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: the only one who married outside of the gardening occupation. 92 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: Andre was born on March twelfth in Paris. His family 93 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: lived adjacent to Le Jardine de Tuli as part of 94 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: his father's employment arrangement. So it's from the really very 95 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: beginning of his life his environment was dominated by just 96 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: a very carefully managed and beautiful park setting. At this point, 97 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 1: these gardens weren't public, so he was lucky enough because 98 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: of his father's position to have access to the menagerie 99 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: and the gardens, all these things that had been created 100 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: at Katherine de Medici's order for Royalty to enjoy. As 101 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: a child, Andrea Lenotre is said to have watched his 102 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: father draft designs for hours, just mesmerized, so it seemed 103 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: like gardening was truly not just in his blood, but 104 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 1: was just a source of fascination for him. But despite that, 105 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: initially it didn't seem like gardening or landscaping or any 106 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: kind of work in that vein we're going to be 107 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: Andre's career calling because as much as he loved watching 108 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: his father work, he was way more interested initially in 109 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: becoming a painter. From the time he was sixteen until 110 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: his mid twenties, the Notre studied with painter Similan Buai Hua, 111 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 1: who painted the Italian Baroque style, was a prominent artist. 112 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: He served as Louis the thirteenth primary painter and portraitist. 113 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: Bua was situated in a studio at the Grand Gallery 114 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: that was built to connect the Louver to the Tutelary Palace, 115 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: so he was very close to the Notre's residence and 116 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: at this point, all the elements that are today part 117 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: of the Louver Museum complex, we're still royal residences and 118 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: art Academy spaces, and he also studied under architect Lancis Mansus, 119 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: and Mansut's influence on French culture and specifically Versailles is 120 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: pretty significant. His nephew by marriage, Jules Hardouin Mansut, would 121 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: become the main architect of the Chapel at Less and 122 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: Valid and the Grand Trianon at Versailles, as well as 123 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: a lot of renovation that happened at Versailles much later. 124 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: Studying under Vuai in particular opened a lot of doors 125 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: for Lenore. Because the painter was so connected to King 126 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: Louis the Thirteen, he knew everybody, so spending time in 127 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: Vouet's atlier meant that Andre Lenotre was meeting all the 128 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: powerful people who came to visit, and he in turn 129 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: visited those people with Voua. He was also part of 130 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: a group of young men who were studying with the 131 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: painter who would rise up to prominence in their own 132 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: right as they got older, including Charles Lebrun, who Lenotre 133 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: would collaborate with later on in his life. That, of course, 134 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: was the great uncle of Elizabeth b Lebron's husband, and 135 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: despite spending several years studying to be a painter. Lenotrea 136 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: eventually decided that he would follow in his father's career 137 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: footsteps after all, and so he started working with his 138 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: father at Tuleri. And this definitely was not a situation 139 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: where those years of study of art had been wasted 140 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,239 Speaker 1: due to this shift in direction, though, because Lenotre throughout 141 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: the rest of his career applied the artistic principles that 142 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: he had learned to his work designing gardens. In sixteen 143 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: thirty five, when he was twenty two, his career as 144 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: a gardener officially began. Through the connections that he forged 145 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: through Simone Vue and through his father's good reputation, he 146 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: was brought on as head gardener for Louis the thirteenth 147 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: brother Gaston the Duke d'Or leon. The Luxembourg Gardens ground 148 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: of the Luxembourg Palace where the Duke lived, served as 149 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: Leonotia's first professional responsibility. These grounds had already been laid 150 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: out and established, though, so there wasn't a whole lot 151 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: of change or innovation on his to do list. It 152 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: was more about maintenance and upkeep. When Andre's father, Jean 153 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: Leno retired from the Tuilerie in sixteen thirty seven, his 154 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: son was named as his replacement. I ran into some 155 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: sources that incorrectly reported this event as taking place because 156 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: Jean le Notre died. That is not the case. The 157 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:51,199 Speaker 1: senior gardener, Lenotrea lived another eighteen years after he quit 158 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: working and went to a life of retirement. As was 159 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: the case with the Luxembourg Gardens, tou Lerie at this 160 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: point was designed and in pretty good shape. This did 161 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: not end Andre Lenatre's work, by the way, at Luxembourg Palace, 162 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: he managed the grounds of both the Duke d'arleon and 163 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: the grounds at Tulerie, as well as other side projects 164 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: for wealthy clients. Lenotre married Francois Langrois in sixteen forty. 165 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,959 Speaker 1: Her father was an artillery officer and her family was 166 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,559 Speaker 1: considered low level nobility. This marriage match seemed to be 167 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: a good one. The two of them had three children 168 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: over the course of their marriage. They were Jean Francois, Marianne, 169 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: and Jeanne Francoise. All of them died very young, though 170 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,200 Speaker 1: their first born, Jean Francoise, had been born just shy 171 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: of three years into the marriage, and the two daughters 172 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: were born much later on sty three, King Louis died 173 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: and his son Louis the fourteenth, who was just four 174 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: years old at the time, became the King of France. 175 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: Of course, there was a regent involved when he was 176 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 1: still a child. Lenotre's work continued after this transition in monarchs, 177 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: just as it had before louist death. We'll come back 178 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:00,319 Speaker 1: to the next step in his career, but first we 179 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: will have a quick sponsor break. In sixteen fifty seven, 180 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: Lenore was granted the title of General Controller of Buildings, Gardens, 181 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: arts and Factories, and this was an appointed position for 182 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: the crown, but Lenotre was still, to some degree kind 183 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 1: of a cog in the much bigger machine of maintaining 184 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: optimally beautiful surroundings for the King, the king's family, and 185 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: his guests. Lenota at this point was sort of like 186 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: a company man being promoted through the ranks, but he 187 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: actually had to pay for the privilege of being promoted 188 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: into this role, which was customary for the time. This 189 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,719 Speaker 1: was not a post that Lenotre held exclusively. The controller 190 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: roles were usually shared among three men, with each man 191 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: serving for a year at a time. On this three 192 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: year rotation, Lenore paid forty thousand livre for the job, 193 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,440 Speaker 1: while the annual salary for it was only three thousand. 194 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: But this also meant that he was given the title 195 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: of advisor to the King, and that was sort of 196 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: like social security. The job gave him enough cloud that 197 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: the side projects he took on more than made up 198 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: for the money that he had paid for this title. 199 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 1: And the job duties of the notalist controller post were 200 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: varied and they covered a lot of different things, as 201 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: indicated by that wording of buildings, gardens, arts and factories 202 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 1: that he was like a very wide swath of potential things. Uh. 203 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: He had to supervise all kinds of projects that were 204 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: going on in any of the royal buildings, and he 205 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: also had to review financial records of contractors before payment 206 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: for work could be issued by the treasury, essentially like 207 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: approving invoices would happen today. And he was also himself 208 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: a contractor, working as the King's designer and submitting his 209 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: own paperwork for payment. That would be very frowned upon 210 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: today in most places, but at this point it was 211 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,679 Speaker 1: not at all unusual. When he rose to the controller position, 212 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: the Nore was already a year into a significant undertaking. 213 00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: In sixteen fifty six, he had started work on a 214 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: project for Finance Minister Nicola Fouquet. He designed the landscaping 215 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: at the Chateau de Vaud de Viconte near Milneux, France, 216 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: that was about thirty miles outside of Paris, and that's 217 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: a famous example of French Baroque architecture. Over the course 218 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: of five years, as the chateau on site was being built, 219 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,199 Speaker 1: Noture worked to create a design that took advantage of 220 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: this natural rise and fallow the ground. He also used 221 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: water features to make an already very large landscape look 222 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,559 Speaker 1: almost infinite from ground level. Fouquet entertained King Louis the 223 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: fourteenth vau le Vicomte by staging a historically famous party, 224 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: and the king was wildly impressed with what Lenotre had 225 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: accomplished there. Lenotre had worked alongside the famed architect Louis 226 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: Leveaux and the artist Charles Lebrun, who painted the lavish 227 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: chateaus interiors and designed all of the sculpture. And Lebron 228 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: in particular had a reputation for being headstrong, but because 229 00:12:56,679 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 1: he and the very good natured Lenore were old friends 230 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: from their days. Under the tutelage of simul Vue, the 231 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 1: master gardener was able to negotiate most conflicts among the 232 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: three creators and keep things pretty even keel. The party 233 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: thrown to show off this new estate was just mind blowing. 234 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: It featured an eight course meal served to a thousand 235 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: guests on gold plates. That was just the beginning. Moliere 236 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: staged a play in the gardens. Jean Baptiste Lulie, sometimes 237 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: called the grandfather of ballet, staged a ballet for the guests. 238 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: Partygoers could roam these beautifully laid out parterre or sit 239 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: by Lenotre's water features as they watched the spectacular end 240 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: of the evening fireworks display. Allegedly, the stillness of the 241 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: night made the water reflect the fireworks so perfectly the 242 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: guests lost track of whether they were looking at the 243 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: fireworks or the water. And you might think that all 244 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,679 Speaker 1: of this, which sounds like a pretty fantastic party, was 245 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: a feather in his cap situation. For Fouquet, he had 246 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: built an incredibly impressive estate fit for an entertaining the 247 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: guest of honor at his marvelous fete, the King of France. 248 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: But three weeks after the party Nicola, Fouquet was arrested 249 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,319 Speaker 1: by none other than the musketeer d'Artagnan on charges of 250 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: embezzling money from France's treasury, with the implication that he 251 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: had used those funds to build Voule Viconte. This story 252 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: is often told in sort of a shorthand, as though 253 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth was jealous of Fouquet's dazzling, hunderd Acre 254 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 1: estate and then had him arrested because of that jealousy. 255 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: According to this version of the story, the king was 256 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 1: affronted that somebody of lesser rank than he was would 257 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: dare to create a grander chateau than a royal palace. 258 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: We should mention here that there were also rumors that 259 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: Fouquet had even offered all of Volviconte to the king 260 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: at the end of the night as a gift. But 261 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: there is a whole lot of additional context to this story. 262 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: Even though Fouquet had been incredibly loyal to the throne, 263 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: even through an uprising of nobles against the crown that 264 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: was known as the Frond, which could be its own episode, 265 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: at some point Louis the fourteenth was turned against him 266 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: through the scheming of other members of the court. At 267 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 1: the point in time of the famed voe Viconfette Nicola, 268 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: Fouquet was the superintendent of finance for the king and 269 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: had been since Louis the fourteenth was fifteen, and some 270 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: accounts even suggested Fouquet was something of a father figure 271 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: to the monarch. The man who served as the primary 272 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: antagonist to Fouquet was Jean Baptiste Colbert. Over time, as 273 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: Colbert had managed the responsibilities of Cardinal Joue Mazarin, he 274 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: had become trusted by King Louis the fourteenth. Colbert was 275 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: the first person to accuse Fouquet of mismanagement at the treasury, 276 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: and his efforts to get him out of office began 277 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: in earnest In sixteen sixty one, letters written by the 278 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: king indicate that even before the famed vote Vicomfette, Louis 279 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: the fourteenth had already decided Fouquet's fate, but decided to 280 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: go to this lavish party and enjoy the meals and 281 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: festivities and see just what had been built before he 282 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: did anything about it. There is a famous quote by Voltaire, 283 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 1: who was writing on the subject, that says, quote on 284 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: Auguste that six in the evening, Fouquet was King of France. 285 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: At two in the morning, he was nobody. Fouquet is 286 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: sometimes characterized as a man who really seemed to have 287 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: no idea that the entire life that he had built 288 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: for himself was about to come crashing down. But if 289 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: you look a little closer, that doesn't really align with 290 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: what we know about the construction of the site and 291 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: the days leading up to that giant party. There were 292 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: plenty of intrigues about who had visited Vaux de Vicomte 293 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: during construction and whether they were reporting back to the 294 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: king about how suspiciously expensive it appeared. And then a 295 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: letter sent to Fouquet by his friend, the Marquis Duck 296 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: Says a few days before his events, stated quote, the 297 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: King would like to be rich, and he does not 298 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: love those who are more so than he, because they 299 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 1: undertake things he cannot do, and he has no doubt 300 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: that the great wealth of these others has been stolen 301 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: from him. Those were definitely some ominous words, and in 302 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 1: just a moment we'll talk more about how Fouquet and 303 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:10,200 Speaker 1: his project, including the creations of the nore, causes downfall, 304 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: But first we will have a quick word from one 305 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: of the sponsors who keeps the show going. So before 306 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: the break, we established that Fouquet undoubtedly knew that his 307 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:31,159 Speaker 1: situation was precarious before he had this ostentatious party, and 308 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: there probably was a little bit of jealousy in the 309 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: mix when it came to Louis the fourteenth sire, and 310 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 1: that the lavish display of vaili vicomte did seal Fouquet's 311 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: fate with the king. But to say that Louis the 312 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: fourteenth had Fouquet arrested for building a better house than 313 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: the king had its kind of tabloid e and it's 314 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: not really representative of all the machinations in play. After 315 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:53,640 Speaker 1: a three year trial, which is another thing that would 316 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 1: be a good future episode if I can get my 317 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: head around all of it, because there are a lot 318 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: of strange legal things involved, Fouquet was ultimately sentenced to 319 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: life in prison. As for the actual guilt of Fouquet, 320 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: that comes with a lot of questions on its own, 321 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: and some people see him as a villain, while others 322 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: portray him as a man who was part of a 323 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: very convoluted and bizarrely organized government who was behaving in 324 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: ways that were pretty normal for his station. There was 325 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: money flowing back and forth between Fouquet's private funds and 326 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: the Crown. The accounts were a big mess overall. He 327 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: mortgaged his wife's estate to give one point to million 328 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: liver to the crown, and then later borrowed a lot 329 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: of money for the treasury thirty million livre, but in 330 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 1: his own name and with his own property for collateral. 331 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,880 Speaker 1: His own accounts and that of France were almost one 332 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: and the same, and he was not innocent in this. 333 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 1: He was making a lot of money by leveraging this 334 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,399 Speaker 1: fluidity and his position to make deals and acquire a 335 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,239 Speaker 1: greater personal fortune. Yeah. I don't know if anyone has 336 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: ever fully unable to untangle like where money was going 337 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: at any given point and how much was coming in 338 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: from Fouquet versus possibly going out. I have read accounts 339 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,959 Speaker 1: that suggests that there were certainly other people that were 340 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: in buzzling, which makes it even more complicated and convoluted. 341 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: But even during his lengthy trial, there were people in 342 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: France who came to support him and believe that he 343 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: had been less conniving and more just kind of really 344 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: bad at his job. And there have been plenty of 345 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: people through the centuries that contend that he was part 346 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 1: of a system that had enabled far worse behavior from 347 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: previous finance ministers, and to reiterate, Louis the fourteenth had 348 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: been very impressed with Vot de Vicomte, and with good reason. 349 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: He had heard of the splendor of the chateau and 350 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: its grounds from his brother, the Duke dour Leon, who 351 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:49,880 Speaker 1: had been at a smaller gathering there a month before 352 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: the famous party. The notes contributions were really extraordinary. It's 353 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: still considered by many to be his highest achievement, even 354 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: greater than Versailles, which will get two in Part two. 355 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 1: The gardens of Voile Vicante were, as we mentioned, made 356 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 1: to look as though they stretched out to infinity if 357 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: you stood at ground level and looked across the vista. 358 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,360 Speaker 1: But that was not the only optical illusion that Lenore created. 359 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 1: From some angles, particularly higher points that looked out onto 360 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 1: garden spaces, he was also able to make large expanses 361 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 1: of land appear to be small and intimate. If you 362 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: looked out into the gardens from the chateau, it wasn't 363 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 1: inviting and beckoning vista that did not look too far 364 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: to walk, an illusion Lenotre created with the placement of 365 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,879 Speaker 1: for reflecting pool basins of progressively larger sizes as they 366 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 1: sat farther and farther from the chateau. This use of 367 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: space is called anamorphosis abscondito, which translates to hidden distortion. 368 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 1: A paper written in twenty and published in the Journal 369 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 1: of Cultural Heritage used three D modeling to analyze the 370 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: layout of the Lenore's garden design and to analyze that 371 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: using the rules of linear perspective. This paper breaks down 372 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: the process of how he was tricking the mind of 373 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: the observer by offering up a wide variety of visual 374 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 1: information at various distances while arranging all of these things 375 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 1: around a strong central axis. But of course he achieved 376 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: all that without the use of any kind of three 377 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: D modeling. But while the math holds up when analyzing 378 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: Lenore's visual trickery, he undoubtedly learned how to fool the 379 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: mind's visual perception in Simone Vue's painting studio. Yeah, it's 380 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: sort of mind blowing to me that they when you 381 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: do the numbers. He was managing the space in like 382 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: the optimal way to trick the human mind. Based on 383 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: what we now know of, like vision and optics, which 384 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: were not things he probably knew about. Uh, he was 385 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: just a genius um. This whole space was basically one 386 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: big long rectangle with that central access line. It was 387 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: an open avenue that runs still from one end of 388 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: the property to the other, and the chateau is situated 389 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: on that line as a central element with a moat 390 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: around it. One description that I read of the landscape 391 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: design at Voilee Viconte described it as a vast outdoor room. 392 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: And into this outdoor room lenotre placed all of the 393 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: design elements that would become hallmarks of his work and 394 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,719 Speaker 1: of the formal French garden in this era. So there 395 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,439 Speaker 1: were pebbled walkways, there were low boxwood hedges, there were 396 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 1: statuary fountains, water basins that reflected the surroundings, a canal, 397 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: and various grottos. Lenore was the first garden designer to 398 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: oversee all of those things prior to Voilee Vicante. If 399 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: there was a similar chateau and grounds being assembled, different 400 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: people or departments would handle like the horticultural needs versus 401 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,360 Speaker 1: the water features versus the statuary. So this is where 402 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: it becomes very very clear that calling him just a 403 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: gardener doesn't really encompass what he was doing. One of 404 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,720 Speaker 1: the many innovations of the Voile Viconte garden was its 405 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: great water mirror, also called the If you face the 406 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: front of the chateau, about fifteen hundred feet out from 407 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,440 Speaker 1: the building, you can see the entire front of the 408 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,560 Speaker 1: structure perfectly reflected in the water. This water mirror was 409 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: the first of its kind, and even today people visit 410 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:17,679 Speaker 1: Vote of a cult which is now open to the public, 411 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: to capture this perspective photographically. Yeah, you can find modern 412 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: photos of this all over the internet if you care 413 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: to go looking, and they are really striking. That harmony 414 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: between the landscape and garden design and the design of 415 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 1: the chateau itself was all very very intentional. When the 416 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: site had been chosen, it was already a settlement, but 417 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: to fulfill the desires of Fouquet to create something entirely 418 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: new where all of these components were harmonious. The existing church, 419 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: cottages and farm were all leveled to be replaced with 420 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: the grand Chateau and the properties owned to design Hamlets 421 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: Jumeau and Maison Rouge. To execute the grand plans for 422 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 1: the estate Fouque provided lots of labor and estimated eighteen 423 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: thousand men worked on the chateau in the grounds. He 424 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,320 Speaker 1: also provided plenty of cash. Budget seems to not even 425 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: be a thing with this. If something was needed, that 426 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: money was available. The three creators were just giving carte 427 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: Blanche to do whatever they wanted. That sounds really magical 428 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,959 Speaker 1: right as as an art project, to have no budget, 429 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: like I think most people that work in any creative 430 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: field would just make heart eyes if they are those words. 431 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,200 Speaker 1: All of those resources meant that Lenore, who at this 432 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,920 Speaker 1: point was kind of in his middle age uh, and 433 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,879 Speaker 1: he was able to do something that was unheard of 434 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: on large estates. He designed and built a landscape that 435 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: looked absolutely beautiful from every possible angle. It would have 436 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: been entirely expected, for example, for the gardens to look 437 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 1: beautiful for visitors approaching the chateau from the front or 438 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 1: looking out at the vast property behind the chateau from 439 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: the terraces, but to look a little disproportionate or lackluster 440 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: from say the back of the property. But Lenota using 441 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: his symmetrical layout but subtly different specifics in each area 442 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:08,560 Speaker 1: to avoid a true mirror ring created a space that 443 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 1: was visually pleasing no matter where you stood, in what 444 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: direction you looked. And when you consider the visual trickery 445 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,200 Speaker 1: that we already talked about, that adds a whole other 446 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: layer of complexity to this really amazing achievement. Louis had 447 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: been so wowed by this whole thing that he wanted 448 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: the dream team of Lenore, Leveaux and Lebron to work 449 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: on a project specifically for him. He truly marveled as 450 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: his carriage approached the chateau. Some accounts suggest that Lenotre 451 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: was traveling with the king as he made his way 452 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 1: to the party, and that he explained all the various 453 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: landscape features as the king requested information about them. Yeah, 454 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,359 Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth is we'll talk about a little bit 455 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: in the next episode. Was really fascinated by gardening, uh, 456 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: and he undoubtedly would have had a lot of questions. 457 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: He was also a little bit of an information junkie, 458 00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: so probably Lena was there explaining how he had and everything. 459 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,200 Speaker 1: After Fouquet's arrest, the king took the furnishings and even 460 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: some of the more impressive foliage from Voile Vigante, including 461 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 1: the orange trees, and he moved them to his hunting 462 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: lodge at Versailles. And that lodge we've talked about on 463 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: the show before had started as a very very simple abode, 464 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 1: and Louis thirteen had rebuilt it in se to be 465 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: slightly more appropriate for royal housing. It was still considered 466 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: by some to be a little lackluster, but Louis the 467 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 1: fourteenth had much bigger plans for Versailles, and it was 468 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:35,640 Speaker 1: of course Lenore who he tasked with creating the gardens there. 469 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,159 Speaker 1: And that is the end of part one. It is 470 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,119 Speaker 1: continually a marvel to me that the artists involved. As 471 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: much as I think it is easy for um modern 472 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: folks to characterize the Court of France and Louis the 473 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: fourteenth that's this sort of very vengeful and backbiting thing. 474 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: They did not punish any of the creators of that 475 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:02,240 Speaker 1: beautiful estate. Uh. They in fact stayed in great favor. 476 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: And Leno Tree in particular seems to have been a 477 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,640 Speaker 1: man that everyone loved. He just sounds like a great 478 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,479 Speaker 1: guy to hang out with. Everyone found him really chills, 479 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 1: super delightful, great and good natured, got along with everybody. Um, 480 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: So I love it. And we're gonna pick up with 481 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,119 Speaker 1: his his work at Versailles next time. I'm still working 482 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: through the many, many wonderful holiday cards we have been 483 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: sent by listeners, so I'm going to have a couple 484 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,640 Speaker 1: of knows today for listener mail, because there's a really 485 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: great stack. Um. Our first one is from our listener Catherine. 486 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: It is a card with the Elf on the Shelf 487 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: on the front, and it has little note that is 488 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,880 Speaker 1: Snitches get stitches, which is a little shaky. It makes 489 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: me laugh. Um. Everybody has feelings, but the show. She writes, 490 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 1: Tracy and Holly, you have always been on my nice list, 491 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 1: Wishing you both your cats and family the humans a 492 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,639 Speaker 1: merry Christmas and all of the best stuff in the 493 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: new year. Catherine. Uh. And she also included pictures of 494 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 1: her adorable cats, Witten and Walter, who send their Christmas greetings. 495 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 1: Witten is a very fluffy creature that has a tummy 496 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,400 Speaker 1: that begs for scritches, and Walter is a beautiful orange 497 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: tabby who is probably super sweet because orange tabby's usually 498 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,440 Speaker 1: are um. This next card delighted me utterly. It is 499 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 1: a repeat listener male that we have read his his 500 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: mail before and that is Germaine. In his note, it 501 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: is first of all a gorgeous pop up card with 502 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 1: a beautiful Christmas tree in it um and it is 503 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:33,399 Speaker 1: from our listener, Chip, and he writes, Happy Holidays from 504 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:35,879 Speaker 1: San Francisco. This is Chip again, and ladies, you have 505 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 1: rocketed me to stardom for side money. I drive for 506 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 1: Lift and Uber, and when I drive, I have stuff 507 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: you missed in history class playing my Riders, especially like 508 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: the episodes that involve San Francisco, since that is where 509 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: we live. In fact, your great quake and Fire's episode 510 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: had us riveted. And then you read the Halloween card 511 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: I sent. I went nuts and my Riders burst into 512 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 1: applause and cheers. They all subscribed to stuff you missed 513 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 1: in his tree class before I dropped them off, and 514 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: they called me san Francisco's History podcast celebrity. Learning about 515 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 1: our home city from the two of you is always 516 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: a blast. Please hurry back for another live show. I 517 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,360 Speaker 1: wish you and all you love have a very merry 518 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: Christmas and new year of fun adventures. Chip, that is 519 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 1: the sweetest story. I love it to pieces. So if 520 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: there's someone in the car with you right now, I 521 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: hope they appreciate that we love your cards and they're beautiful, 522 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,960 Speaker 1: and I'm glad that you're our history ambassador in San Francisco. 523 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:27,239 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 524 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at i heeart radio dot com. 525 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: You can also find us everywhere on social media as 526 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: Missed in History. If you would like to subscribe to 527 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: the podcast, you can do that on the I heart 528 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: radio app, at Apple podcasts, or wherever it is that 529 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: you listen. Stuff you Missed in History Class is a 530 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more 531 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 532 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.