RAMBOT, Jean-Claude - b. 1621 Franche-Comté, d. 1694 Aix-en-Provence

French sculptor and architect, active in Aix-en-Provence. In the seventeenth century Baroque developments, characterized by a taste for monumentality and trompe l’oeil, gave Aix its present appearance. Large workshops developed in which architects, painters and sculptors worked closely together. The Parisian architect Pierre Pavillon (1612-70), with the sculptor-architect Jean-Claude Rambot (1621-94) and the sculptor Jacques Fossé (1613-1703), rebuilt the Hôtel de Ville (1655-70), notable for its striking staircase consisting of twin interlocking spirals, as well as the Pavillon Vendôme (1667; enlarged 18th century).

The Parc Rambot, a public park in Aix-en-Provence, is named in his honour.

Quatre-Dauphins Fountain

Aix-en-Provence was the accomplished model of a town that was also the seat of a provincial parlement. From 1646 Cardinal Michel Mazarin (brother to the king’s minister) had the “Mirabeau” neighbourhood (called Quartier Mazarin) laid out to the south of the former main street. Private residences with noble, sober fa�ades were set along rectilinear streets enlivened by fountains, such as the one called Quatre-Dauphins, made by Jean-Claude Rambot.