Institut de France

The building you are approaching was originally commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin as the College of the Four Nations. Mazarin intended it to be a school for students from provinces recently annexed by France, but its design served a greater political purpose. The architect Louis Le Vau positioned the college directly across the river from the Louvre Palace, creating a deliberate visual connection for the King to enjoy from his royal apartments. Its concave facade and prominent dome were meant to project an image of authority, drawing heavily on Italian Baroque influences to establish a sense of grandeur on the Left Bank.