French Baroque architecture

French Classicism was a style of architecture during the reigns of Louis XIII (1610–1643), Louis XIV (1643–1715) and Louis XV (1715–1774). Characterized by harmonious sobriety, monumental regularity, and ornamental clarity, it was preceded by French Renaissance architecture and Mannerism and was followed in the second half of the 18th century by French Neoclassical architecture. Although some refer to it as "French Baroque architecture", the term Baroque has a meaning in France more specifically linked to its etymological sense of intricate irregularity, allowing for surprise, distorted grotesquerie, and reflecting a taste for the singular and the unusual which is "characterized by over-ornamentation, excess, emotion, metamorphosis, illusion, and movement". Similarly to literature with Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné or Pierre Corneille's L'Illusion comique, the architectural "Baroque style" in the strict sense therefore primarily relates to art from the early 17th century in France (for instance the Luxembourg Palace, albeit already displaying classical influences, or the baldachin and high altar of the Val-de-Grâce church). Indeed, the style was originally inspired by the Italian Baroque architecture style, but, particularly under Louis XIV, it gave greater emphasis to regularity, the colossal order of façades, and the use of colonnades and cupolas, to symbolize the power and grandeur of the King.

Notable examples of French Classicism include the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles, and the dome of Les Invalides in Paris. In the final years of Louis XIV and the reign of Louis XV, the colossal orders gradually disappeared, the style became lighter and saw the introduction of wrought iron decoration in rocaille designs. The period also saw the introduction of monumental urban squares in Paris and other cities, notably Place Vendôme and the Place de la Concorde. The style profoundly influenced 18th-century secular architecture throughout Europe; the Palace of Versailles and the French formal garden were copied by other courts all over Europe.