The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, a masterpiece of 17th-century French architecture, is currently owned and operated by the de Vogüé family. The estate has been in their family for five generations, since Alfred Sommier purchased it in 1875 to restore it to its former glory. Today, the three brothers—Jean-Charles, Alexandre, and Ascanio de Vogüé—manage the estate as a private historical monument. Unlike many other major French chateaus that are state-owned (like Versailles), Vaux-le-Vicomte receives no regular state subsidies for its daily operations, relying instead on tourism, events, and private donations. The family is credited with pioneering the "candlelit evening" tours and maintaining the original vision of the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun, and the landscape designer André Le Nôtre.