Claude Perrault
physician and architect; b. 1613 (at Paris); d. October 9, 1688.
Claude Perrault was a mathematician, scientist, and practising physician, who acquired a taste for architecture. In 1664 Louis XIV undertook the construction of the eastern facade of the quadrangle of the Louvre (Paris). The designs made by Levau not being acceptable, a scheme was elaborated by Bernini, which was begun October 17, 1665, and soon afterward abandoned. Before the arrival of Bernini, Perrault had presented a plan for the building, which was rejected at the time; but this was presented again in 1667 and accepted. This building, forming the eastern side of the great court, and having on its outer face the famous colonnade of the Louvre, was completed in 1674. The southern facade (the river facade) was also built by Perrault. These buildings were not actually roofed over until 1755. (See Gabriel, J. A.)
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