André le Notre

André Le Nôtre (1613 - 1700) French landscape architect, son of the Tuileries chief gardener Jean Le Nôtre - court gardener of Louis XIV, since 1657 - general controller of royal buildings. First of all, he is known as the author of the project for the creation and subsequent reconstruction of the royal gardens and park in Versailles. Even before his work on the gardens of Versailles, Le Nôtre, together with Louis Leveaux and Charles Lebrun, worked on the creation of a park in Vaux-le-Vicomte. Among his other works can be noted the planning and creation of a park in Fontainebleau, Chantilly, the castle of Saint-Cloud, Saint-Germain palace. He is also the author of projects for St. James's Park in London and Greenwich Park. Le Nôtre is considered the recognized creator of the French regular park system that prevailed in Europe until the middle of the 18th century. Along with this, he made a great contribution to the practice of urban planning: he expanded the Tuileries alleys to the west, where the Champs Elysees later appeared, and contributed to the creation of the historical axis of Paris.