Château de Maisons, Baroque château in Maisons-Laffitte, France
The Château de Maisons is a 17th-century castle in Maisons-Laffitte with symmetrical facades, intricate carved stone details, and multiple roof levels showcasing French architecture of that era. The building features a central section with side wings, where the main area is emphasized by a wide open staircase and tall windows.
René de Longueil, a president of the Parlement of Paris, built the château from 1630; it was habitable by 1649 and finished around 1650. Its attribution to François Mansart rests on contemporary testimony and a 1657 payment, though no contract survives. Louis XIV dined here in April 1651. After the Longueil heirs, the comte d'Artois remodelled interiors from 1777, and the State bought the château in 1905, classifying it as a monument historique in 1914.
The left-hand state apartment, the Appartement des Captifs, keeps its original decor; its corner-room chimneypiece carries a bas-relief medallion of Louis XIII supported by captives, carved by Gilles Guérin after drawings by Jacques Sarazin, who oversaw all the sculpture at Maisons. The Seasons bas-reliefs in the stone entrance vestibule are also Guérin's, and the wrought-iron grilles that once enclosed it are now at the Louvre. The right-hand apartment, the Appartement de la Renommée, was redecorated by François-Joseph Bélanger for the comte d'Artois.
The château stands between the Seine and the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, with the garden front facing southeast and the courtyard front northwest. The state rooms to see are the Appartement des Captifs, which keeps its original decor, and the Appartement de la Renommée, redecorated by Bélanger for the comte d'Artois. The wrought-iron grilles of the entrance vestibule are now at the Louvre, and of the stables only a grotto remains.
The wide open staircase at the center was a new idea for French castles and became a model for many buildings afterward. This innovation allowed large staircases to be built without walls, making the interior spaces feel more open and bright.
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