The gallery of the Hotel Lambert, which has a vaulted ceiling painted by Charles Le Brun in the 1650s, is a sumptuous affair, a beautiful conception with harmoniously painted, sculpted and gilt elements that suggest an overall design. Who was the author ? Was it Le Brun, who would have demonstrated here, before Vaux, the Louvre, and Versailles, his multi-faceted talent as master of the works ? What then is the contribution of the architect, Louis Le Van, who built the hotel ? In the absence of any documents relating to the gallery, the hypotheses proposed in this article are based essentially on stylistic analysis. The traits that one can attribute to the architect are noted in the structure of the gallery and the architectural decoration, as are those characteristic of the artist in the painting of the illusionistic vault, especially the quadratura, where care is taken to integrate the architectural design and unify the decorative programme.
