# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MANSART, François]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The roof was to the overall character of a building what the staircase was to the interior arrangement. Sebastiano Serlio had described steeply pitched roofs as an original feature of French architecture. But later the handling of the roofs went through Mansart was credited with inventing the twin-sloped roof with small gable windows. This French-style roofing - known as Mansard - was applied by Mansart and Le Muet to numerous Paris mansions,, such as the Hôtel d'Aumont. The Hôtel d'Aumont was built as the seat of the ducs d'Aumont. It is sited south of the Marais in Paris. In 1648, an earlier structure was rebuilt and extended by Louis Le Vau to create the present structure. At around 1660, it was enlarged and enriched by François Mansart, who inserted a grand new staircase in the right wing, replaced the stairs in the corner pavilion, and provided it with decors painted by Charles Le Brun and Simon Vouet. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/m/mansart/2/aumont.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">plan of the staircase</a> of the building. The photo shows the garden side of the building. ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Château de Berny]() - [Château de Berny]() - [Château de Berny]() - [Church and Convent of the Feuillants, Paris]() - [Elevation of the Hôtel Carnavalet, Paris]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()