Jules Hardouin-Mansart, born Jules Hardouin, had studied under his renowned great-uncle François Mansart, one of the originators of the classical tradition in French architecture; Hardouin had inherited Mansart's collection of plans and drawings and adopted his well-regarded name.

He had also learned from Libéral Bruant, architect of the royal veteran's hospital in Paris known as Les Invalides.

Hardouin-Mansart serves as Louis XIV's chief architect, first enlarging the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, then at Versailles from 1675.

Becoming the surintendant des Bâtiments du Roi (Superintendent of royal works), he will design all the extensions and reconstructions at Versailles for the King, including the north and south wings, the Royal Chapel (with Robert de Cotte, 1710), and the celebrated Hall of Mirrors decorated by Charles Le Brun, his collaborator.

Outside the château proper, he builds the Grand Trianon and the Orangerie, as well as subsidiary royal dwellings not far away, such as the Château de Marly (begun in 1679).