Mansard

Mansard
   A mansard roof, instead of forming an inverted V, has rafters that are broken up and the lower slope is almost perpendicular, the upper more nearly flat; thus it has a double slope on each side. The roof allows for high rooms and useful space within the building. The lower slope of the roof, fitted with dormer windows, forms an additional story to the house. In the seventeenth century, Parisian householders were taxed according to the number of stories they had "under roof." This design enabled the house owner to have an added story, unseen, without paying an increase in taxes.
   The roof was named for the French architect Nicolas Francois Mansart (1598-1666), who is credited with having designed it. Another French architect, Pierre Lescot, employed a similar roof plan on the Louvre many years before Mansard was born.
   Mansart's designs epitomizes French Renaissance classicism. Some of Mansart's monumental works include the churches of Sainte-Marie de Chaillot and Visitation de Sainte-Marie, the Hotel de la Villiere in Paris, and several chateaux. Victorian architects adopted the mansard roof about two centuries later, and in America many houses have a mansard roof.
   In 1636, Louis XIII appointed Mansart the royal architect. He was asked by the newly appointed Surintendant des Batements to provide a design for the east facade of the Palais du Louvre. When Mansart refused to agree to any alterations of his plans, he was replaced by Roman architects headed by the famous Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Mansart's grand nephew by marriage, Jules Hardouin Mansart (1645—1708), designed the magnificent Hall of Mirrors at the palace of Versailles, the Hotel des Invalides (Napoleon's final resting place), and the Place Vendome.

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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  • mansard — UK [ˈmænsɑː(r)d] / US [ˈmænˌsɑrd] or mansard roof UK / US noun [countable] Word forms mansard : singular mansard plural mansards Word forms mansard roof : singular mansard roof plural mansard roofs a roof that slopes at a steeper angle at the… …   English dictionary

  • mansard — ● mansard ou mansart nom masculin Autre nom du pigeon ramier. mansard ou mansart [mɑ̃saʀ] n. m. ÉTYM. 1549, mansard; coulon manssart, 1420; orig. obscure, p. ê. du lat. médiéval mansa. ❖ ♦ Régional. Pigeon ramier …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Mansard — (spr. Mangsahr), 1) François, geb. 1598 in Paris u. starb daselbst 1666 als erster königlicher Baumeister. Viele Gebäude von ihm schmücken Paris, die Umgebung u. die Provinzen. An der Vollendung der Kirche Val de Grâce 1645 hinderten ihn seine… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Mansard — (Mangsahr), Jules Hardouin, franz. Baumeister unter Ludwig XIV., geb. 1615 zu Paris, ward zuletzt Generaldirector der königl. Bauten und st. 1708 zu Marly. Seine vorzüglichsten Bauten sind das Schloß in Versailles, der Dom der Invaliden, die… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • mansard — ou mansart (man sar) s. m. Nom vulgaire du pigeon ramier …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • mansard — 1734, from Fr. mansarde, short for toit à la mansarde, a corrupt spelling, named for French architect Nicholas François Mansart (1598 1666), who made use of them …   Etymology dictionary

  • mansard — ► NOUN ▪ a roof having four sides, in each of which the lower part of the slope is steeper than the upper part. ORIGIN named after the 17th century French architect François Mansart …   English terms dictionary

  • mansard — man|sard [ˈmænsa:d US a:rd] n also mansard roof technical [Date: 1700 1800; : French; Origin: mansarde, from François Mansard (1598 1666), French architect] a roof whose lower part slopes more steeply than its upper part …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • mansard — /man sahrd, seuhrd/, n. 1. Also called mansard roof. a hip roof, each face of which has a steeper lower part and a shallower upper part. See illus. under roof. Cf. French roof. 2. the story under such a roof. [1725 35; < F mansarde, named after N …   Universalium

  • mansard — 1. adjective having two slopes on each side, the lower being steeper than the upper 2. noun a) A mansard roof b) The upper …   Wiktionary

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