# Bird's-eye view of the Palais-Cardinal [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [LEMERCIER, Jacques]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Engraving ## Commentary Bird's-eye view of the Palais-Cardinal c. 1641 Engraving Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Jacques Lemercier was Richelieu's architect. Around 1633, he designed the Palais-Cardinal \(now Palais-Royal\) in Paris, which featured spaces for Richelieu's collections. France's first minister Cardinal Richelieu \(1585-1642\) built this stately complex to serve as his Parisian home. Located in the heart of Paris just a short distance from the Louvre, the Palais-Cardinal was under construction throughout the height of Richelieu's career. Its large theatre, completed just before his death, was the best-equipped performance space in the city. Richelieu left his palace and its theatre to the royal family upon his death, making the Palais-Cardinal the Palais-Royal. It transferred hands several times and underwent numerous renovations, remaining one of the key performance sites in Paris for more than a century. Perhaps most notably, it served as the site of the public performances of Molière's plays between 1661 and 1673. After 1673, the theatre became the site of the Paris Opéra under the management of Molière's rival Jean-Baptiste Lully. <p> <table align=left cellpadding=5 border=1 width=320 bgcolor="\#99cccc"> <tr valign=middle><td><img src="/support/gif/listen.gif" border=0 valign=middle> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 17 minutes\):<br><a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/17\_cent/lully\_bourgeois.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><b>Jean-Baptiste Lully: Le bourgeois gentilhomme, suite</b></a> </td></tr></table> ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Façade of Hôtel de Liancourt]() - [Reconstruction of Château de Richelieu]() - [View of the Château de Richelieu]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()