Jacques II Androuët
du Cerceau (c. 1550/1560-1614)

Jacques II Androuët du Cerceau was present on construction sites launched by Henri IV towards the end of the 16th century. He is especially known as the architect of the Reformed church in Charenton near Paris.

He was an architect well-involved in royal circles

  • Montceaux-les-Meaux Castle (77)

Jacques II, the son of Jacques I Androuët du Cerceau, was born in Orléans or in Paris between 1550 and 1560. In 1581 he was appointed « valet de chambre et architecte de monseigneur frère du roi » (manservant and architect to his lordship the king’s brother).

In 1595 Jacques II and Louis Métezeau were together appointed as architects for Henri IV’s constructions at the Louvre palace.

Towards the end of the 16th century, Jacques II worked on the castles of Véretz and Montceaux-les-Meaux (Seine et Marne, east of Paris).

The Reformed church in Charenton

  • Temple de Charenton (94) (embroidery) © S.H.P.F.

However Jacques II is especially known as the architect of the Charenton Reformed church, built for the Parisian reformed community in 1607.

In 1609 he was mentioned as the architect for the work on the hotel de Soissons, owned by Charles de Bourbon.

In 1602 Jacques II Androuët du Cerceau married to Marie Malapert. He died in Paris in 1614. and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Saint-Germain, near Paris.

Bibliography

  • Books
    • COOPE Rosalys, Salomon de Brosse and the Development of the Classical Style in French Architecture, A. Zwemmer, London, 1972
    • THOMSON David (présenté par), Les Plus Excellents Bastiments de France par J.A. Du Cerceau, Sand et Conti, Paris, 1988
  • Articles
    • CIPRUT Edouard-Jacques, "Le premier grand temple de Charenton, son architecte, les dates de sa construction", Bulletin de la SHPF, SHPF, Paris, 1968, Numéro 114
    • GUICHARNAUD Hélène, "Approche de l’architecture des Temples protestants construits en France avant la Révocation", Études théologiques et Religieuses, Institut Protestant de Théologie, Montpellier, 2000, Tome 75

Associated notes

  • Charenton (Val-de-Marne)
    This was one of the major works of Salomon de Brosse, the architect who designed the Palais du Luxembourg (Senate) for Marie de Médicis (1623).

  • Jacques I Androuët du Cerceau (before 1520-1585 or 1586)
    The influence of his many publications on architects was immense. He refused to convert to Catholicism despite his attachment to the King of France.

  • Salomon de Brosse (1571-1626)
    Born in one of the most renowned families of architects of the 16th century, Salomon de Brosse was the famous architect of the Luxembourg Palace (nowadays housing the Senate) for...