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There are two elements of major significance that contribute to Vaux le Vicomte's lasting fame.

Vaux was the tragic setting for the downfall of Fouquet, a faithful minister who paid the price of life imprisonment, because of an embezzlement he did not commit, because of the jealousy of others and also because he went a little too far in bestowing lavish hospitality.

For a period of ten years under Fouquet's protection, Vaux was also a haven for leading French artists. Writers, poets, painters and sculptors gave the best of their talents to the glory of Vaux

In the early seventeenth century, between the royal residences of Vincennes and Fontainebleau, a small castle stood at the confluence of two small rivers. The domain was called Vaux-le-Vicomte: it was then just a place on the map and its reputation had still to be made.

In 1641 a 26 year-old parliamentarian, Nicolas Fouquet, purchased the estate.

Fifteen years later the first stone of a unique masterpiece was laid; it was to be the finest château and garden in France.

This achievement was brought about through the collaboration of three men of genius whom Fouquet had chosen for the task: the architect Le Vau, the painter-decorator Le Brun and the landscape gardener Le Nôtre. The artistic and cultivated sensibility of their patron was a great stimulus to their talents.

They were not alone; the poet La Fontaine, Molière, playwright and actor, Madame de Sévigné, Pellisson and Scarron formed the circle around this great patron of literature and the arts

Vaux-le-Vicomte was, moreover, the setting for one of the finest "fêtes" or celebrations, of the seventeenth century. It was lavish, refined, and dazzling to behold, but rich in hidden drama. The King had asked to visit, to throw Fouquet off the scent; secretly he had decided that Fouquet would die. Overcome with joy at the chance of parading Vaux-le-Vicomte before the sovereign whose faithful servant he remained, Fouquet assumed that he would take over the post of prime minister vacated by Cardinal Mazarin.

Two weeks later Fouquet was arrested. He was never to leave prison alive.