Château de Maisons-Laffitte: Detail, central frontispiece and staircase of the southeast-facing garden front

In 1642 Mansart was commissioned to design the Château de Maisons (now Château de Maisons-Laffitte), Yvelines, near Paris, for René de Longueil, who proved to be his most satisfactory patron, for his wealth increased as the work proceeded. Mansart was for once able to pursue his search for perfection, and every part of the scheme, from the subterranean vaults and unusually deep foundations to the finest decorative detail, was designed and executed with the utmost care and precision. An elaborate series of forecourts, entrance gates and avenues was laid out. On one side of the outer forecourt stood one of the largest stables in France, containing a riding-school and an elaborately decorated watering-place, preceded by a frontispiece that rivalled that of the château itself. Much of Mansart’s interior decoration at Maisons survives intact.