A Party At Vaux-le-Vicomte…

“On 17 August, at six in the evening Fouquet was the King of France: at two in the
morning he was nobody.”
This quote by Voltaire sums the evening of August 17 in 1661 perfectly up. In the early
evening hours of that warm summer day, Nicolas Fouquet’s star shone bright on the
firmament over Vaux-le-Vicomte. Only a few hours later, he was a persona non grata. A
person one should not associate with for one’s own safety.

Nicolas Fouquet painted by Édouard Lacretelle

Nicolas Fouquet seemed to be that kind person that could not be stopped by anything.
Coming from a family of former cloth merchants, he made it to the very top of the
French nobility and rose to surintendant des finances. He became the wealthiest man in
France and one of the most influential people of the Kingdom.
As Fouquet bought Vaux-le-Vicomte in 1641 it was a place of no special importance. Its
location was strategical between the two Royal Residences Vincennes and
Fontainebleau, but that was pretty much it. Vaux-le-Vicomte was a old and small castle
amidst farmland. Nothing spectacular at all. There was a barn, a winepress, a sheepfold
and some stables.
Twenty-years later, Fouquet had turned this quite unimportant place into the greatest
Palace of France. Hills were created and others destroyed to create a magnificent
garden, fountains placed everywhere, statues flanked the paths. In the middle of all the
tamed and adorned nature, a new chateau crowned by a large dome had been build.
The architect Le Vau, the painter and decorator Le Brun and the landscape gardener Le
Nôtre had all worked together to create a Palace Of Dreams, worthy for a King. It was
the first time those three cooperated and what they created is truly magnificent.
Vaux-le-Vicomte
There was one small problem however. Fouquet was not the King of France.
Louis XIV had visited Vaux several times already in the previous years. In June 1659,
he was there in company of his brother and mother and in July 1660, Louis stopped by
with his wife. As he arrived at Vaux in the afternoon on August 17, 1661, it was for a
fete meant to honor him, but the whole thing did not went into the direction his host
aimed for. He already had hosted a party only a few days earlier in honor of Henriette
de France, which was quite a success and probably thought this party for Louis XIV
would be one too. He was only partly right. While the whole court seemed to enjoy this
spectacular party and while it would go into history as the first fete of its kind, Louis XIV
was not amused at all.
It was the official opening-ceremony of the chateau, not too different from how we open
things like the Olympic Games these days. Louis XIV arrived in company of his mother
and a large part of the court in the early afternoon and was warmly greeted by Fouquet.
The Royal Guests and court admired the gardens. Lakes and fountains created a
feeling of awe, which was heightened at the sight of the grottos, cascades, flawless
lawns, bosquets with blooming and wonderfully scented flowers, and a unique view of
the chateau. François Vatel, a master of courtly entertainment, supervised the meal that
followed. Only the best of food, the best of wines, skilfully arranged and almost too
delicious in taste. It seemed that everyone and everything in Vaux-le-Vicomte was doing
their very best to please the King, from the servants, to the flowers that smell especially
sweet, the food that tastes especially good, to the candles that seem to shine especially
bright and reflect from the shiniest marble possible.

Fireworks above Vaux-le-Vicomte

After the meal was served, the guests returned to the vast gardens to witness the
premier of Molière’s Les Fâcheux, The Impertinents. A play about a young man in love
that tries to meet his beloved in private, but the guardian of said beloved has a bit of an
issue with it. He tries to keep them from meeting during an evening soiree by getting
them into silly conversations with nine impertinent people. All of those nine were played
by Molière himself. The King loved the play, most likely the only thing he really enjoyed
that day, and ordered it to be performed again by Molière’s Troupe de Monsieur in the
Palais Royal.
A large firework display followed above the grottos of Vaux, the twinkling lights reflected
in the water of the cascade and canals, making it seem like the whole place sparkled
like diamonds. A great artificial whale swam down the canal and let more fireworks off.
(Something that was repeated in 1664 at the The Pleasures of the Enchanted Island)
Everyone is in awe once again, while Louis XIV’s mood goes downward. As the night
sky turned dark again and the firework display was over, the King returned to the
chateau and was greeted by more fireworks. This time fired from the dome of the
chateau.
The Grand Salon of Vaux-le-Vicomte. One of the sets for Versailles.
Louis XIV was probably innerly fuming by then. This fete was meant to honor him, but it
truly honored the man who arranged for all of it, Nicolas Fouquet. Who showed off his
splendid chateau in such a way, while none of the King’s residences were half as
splendid. Especially to cold and dark Louvre, a place Louis hated. Fouquet was more
King than the actual King. Even his bedroom was much nicer than that of Louis XIV. He
paid for all of this himself, while Louis needed to beg for money. Money, Fouquet was
supposed to get for him. Louis was aware of the whole situation for months already and
Fouquet already out of favour, which he did not know, but this evening, this cheeky
display of wealth, sealed his fate.
If it had not been for Anne d’Autriche, who calmed her son as he left Vaux at two in the
morning, Louis XIV would have ordered Fouquet to be arrested on the very spot.
For the next weeks, this party at Vaux-le-Vicomte was the talk of all of France and it
only changed as its host was arrested on September 5 and Vaux confiscated. It was the
first party of its kind that set the standards high for all that followed.