French family of architects. Absalon Mansart (d 1610) was a carpenter whose son (1) François Mansart became one of the most important architects of the mid-17th century in France, perfecting a subtle and distinctively French classicism. After François’s death, his great-nephew (2) Jules Hardouin Mansart, who became the most important architect at the court of Louis XIV, added the name of Mansart to his own, as did his cousin Pierre Delisle, thereby ensuring that it was carried through to a dynasty of architects in the next generation and, at the same time, enhancing their own reputations. Jules Hardouin’s brother Michel Hardouin (1647–87) was a draughtsman and contractor and worked with Jules on some of his projects; he was appointed Contrôleur des Bâtiments at Versailles in 1684. Jules Hardouin’s grandsons Jean Hardouin Mansart de Jouy (?1700–54) and (3) Jacques Hardouin Mansart de Sagonne also became architects, the latter producing some of the most Baroque developments of French classicism....