Le 550 Avenue Sainte-Marie

Painting on exhibit in Paris from November 23 to 25, 2025...

A mansard-roofed house dating from 1880, of undeniable heritage value. The gambrel roof, attributed to the architect François Mansart (1598-1666), dates from the 17th century in France and became popular in Quebec in the late 19th century, with its lace-trimmed woodwork.

François Mansart, an architectural genius active in Paris in the days of Richelieu and Mazarin, is wrongly credited with inventing the "à la Mansart" roof, that is, the broken roof, hence the name "mansard".

Yet the wing of the Louvre palace built by Pierre Lescot in 1546 (half a century before François Mansart was born) already had a BROKEN ROOF.

Pierre Lescot (1515-1578) had been chosen by François I to modernize the Louvre, which the king wanted to make his principal residence in Paris.

François I had the keep demolished and entrusted the architect Pierre Lescot with the construction of a modern palace in the spirit of the Renaissance.

Though the work had barely begun when the king died, his son Henri II decided to continue it and kept his trust in Lescot, who within a few years erected the prestigious central wing housing the ballroom.

The Lescot Wing (1546-1556).