c. 1520-c. 1585

French engineer and architect whose designs included the Pont Neuf bridge over the Seine in Paris. Cerceau designed a number of palaces for the French royal family, and wrote several books on architectural and decorative engravings. His plans for the Pont Neuf, for which building began in 1578, incorporated elements from two other famous bridges: the flat arches of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and the cow's horns of the Pont Notre Dame in Paris. Cerceau was the patriarch of a distinguished family of architects that included sons Baptiste (1545-1590) and Jacques II (c. 1550-1614), and grandson Jean I (1585-1649).