Charles Percier (; 22 August 1764 – 5 September 1838) was a
neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer, who worked in a close partnership with
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, originally his friend from student days. For work undertaken from 1794 onward, trying to ascribe conceptions or details to one or other of them is fruitless; it is impossible to disentangle their cooperative efforts in this fashion. Together, Percier and Fontaine were inventors and major proponents of the rich, grand, consciously-archaeological versions of neoclassicism we recognise as
Directoire style
Directoire style () was a period in the decorative arts, fashion, and especially furniture design in France concurrent with the Directory (November 2, 1795–November 10, 1799), the later part of the French Revolution. The style uses Neoclassica ...
and
Empire style
The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...
.
Following Charles Percier's death in 1838, Fontaine designed a tomb in their characteristic style in the
Pere Lachaise Cemetery Pere may refer to:
*Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county
* Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand educationalist and spiritual leader
* Wi Pere (1837–1915), a Māori Member of Parliament ...
. Percier and Fontaine had lived together as well as being colleagues. Fontaine married late in life and after his death in 1853 his body was placed in the same tomb according to his wishes.
Biography
Percier was born at Paris in 1764. In 1784, at age nineteen, he won the
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
, a government-funded fellowship for study in Rome. There he met Fontaine. One early product of their collaboration was ''Palais, maisons et autres édifices modernes dessinés à Rome'' ("A palace, houses and other modern buildings designed in Rome"), which attracted the attention of prospective clients when they returned to Paris. At the end of 1792, near the end of the first phase of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, Percier was appointed to supervise the scenery at the
Paris Opéra
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...
, a post at the center of innovative design. Fontaine returned from the security of London, where he had been exiled, and they continued at the Opéra together until 1796. was a third member of their team.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
liked their work. The calculated theater of the Empire style, its aggressive opulence restrained by a slightly dry and correct sense of the antique taste, and its neo-Roman values, imperial yet separate from the ''
ancien régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
'', appealed to the future emperor. He appointed them his personal architects and never wavered in his decision; they were at work on imperial projects almost until the very end of Napoleon's time in power. The relationship only dissolved when Napoleon retired to Elba. After the
restoration of the House of Bourbon in 1814, they found themselves associated too intimately with the Empire ever to earn an official commission again. From that time forward, Percier conducted a student ''atelier'', a teaching studio or workshop. One of Percier's pupils,
Auguste de Montferrand
Auguste de Montferrand (; January 23, 1786 – July 10, 1858) was a French classicist architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg.
Early ...
, designed
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is ...
in
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
for Tsar
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
.
They worked for ten years (1802–1812) on the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
. The old palace had not been a royal residence for generations, so it was free of any taint associated with the detested Bourbons. It stood in the heart of Paris, so that the vain Emperor could be seen coming and going, unlike
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
, which, besides, had been rendered uninhabitable through destruction and looting.
They worked on the
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...
that faced the Louvre across the
Place du Carrousel
The Place du Carrousel () is a public square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, located at the open end of the courtyard of the Louvre Palace, a space occupied, prior to 1883, by the Tuileries Palace. Sitting directly between the museum and the T ...
and the
parterre
A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...
s. In that prominent square, Percier and Fontaine designed the
Arc du Carrousel (1807–1808), commemorating the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...
,
They also worked at Josephine's
Château de Malmaison
The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison.
Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileri ...
, at the
Château de Montgobert
The Château de Montgobert in the midst of the Forest of Retz, near Soissons, in Montgobert, Aisne, Picardy, is a neoclassical French château that was built for Antoine Pierre Desplasses between 1768 and 1775 on the site of an ancient seigneuri ...
for
Pauline Bonaparte
Paula Maria Bonaparte Leclerc Borghese ( French: ''Pauline Marie Bonaparte''; 20 October 1780 – 9 June 1825), better known as Pauline Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess, the first sovereign Duchess of Guastalla, and the princess cons ...
, and did alterations and decorations for former Bourbon palaces or castles at
Compiègne
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...
,
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest towns ...
, and
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
.
Percier and Fontaine designed every detail in their interiors: state beds, sculptural side tables, and other furniture, wall lights and candlesticks, chandeliers, door hardware, textiles, and wallpaper. On special occasions, Percier was called upon to design for the
Sèvres porcelain
Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for it ...
manufactory: in 1814 Percier's published designs were adapted by
Alexandre Brogniart
Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil conten ...
, director of Sèvres, a grand classicising vase 137 cm tall, that came to be known as the "
Londonderry Vase" when Louis XVIII gave it to the Marquess of Londonderry just before the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
.
[The vase, now at the ]Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
, is discussed by Lynn Springer Roberts, "The Londonderry Vase: A Royal Gift to Curry Favor", ''Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies'' 15.1 (1989:68–81+88) Percier and Fontaine published several later books, notably ''Recueil de décoration intérieure concernant tout ce qui rapporte à l'ameublement'' ("Collection of interior designs: Everything that relates to furniture", 1812) with its engravings in a spare outline technique. These engravings spread their style beyond the Empire; they helped put a French stamp on the English
Regency style and influenced the Dutch-British connoisseur-designer,
Thomas Hope.
Students
At the end of 1804, Charles Percier officially retired and devoted himself to teaching. The following are some of his students:
*
Auguste Caristie
Auguste Nicolas Caristie (6 December 1783, Avallon - 5 December 1862, Paris) was a French architect. He is best known for his restorations of public monuments.
Biography
He was part of a long line of architects; originally from Italy. His fath ...
(1783–1862)
*
François Debret
François Debret (27 June 1777 – 19 February 1850) was a 19th-century French architect and Freemason. He was one of a group of influential Academic art, academic architects in the 1820s and 1830s that furthered the precepts of Percier and Fontai ...
(1777–1850)
*
Joseph-Louis Duc
Joseph-Louis Duc () (25 October 1802 – 22 January 1879) was a French architect. Duc came to prominence early, with his very well received work at the July Column in Paris, and spent much of the rest of his career on a single building complex, ...
(1802–1879), prix de Rome 1825
*
Martin-Pierre Gauthier
Martin-Pierre Gauthier (1790–1855) was a French architect.
1790 births
1855 deaths
People from Troyes
19th-century French architects
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Members of the Académie des beaux-arts
Prix de Rome for architec ...
(1790–1855), prix de Rome 1819
*
Alphonse de Gisors
Alphonse-Henri Guy de Gisors (3 September 1796 – 18 August 1866) was a 19th-century French architect, a member of the Gisors family of architects and prominent government administrators responsible for the construction and preservation of many ...
(1796–1866), second prix de Rome 1823
*
Jacques Hittorff
Jacques Ignace Hittorff or, in German, Jakob Ignaz Hittorff (, ) (Cologne, 20 August 1792 – 25 March 1867) was a German-born French architect who combined advanced structural use of new materials, notably cast iron, with conservative Bea ...
(1792–1867)
*
Jean-Jacques-Marie Huvé (1783–1852)
*
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867)
*
Achille Leclère
Achille-François-René Leclère (29 October 1785 – 23 December 1853) was a French architect and teacher of architecture.
Achille Leclère studied architecture under Charles Percier and Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand. After finishing his stud ...
(1785–1853)
* (1795–1855)
*
Auguste de Montferrand
Auguste de Montferrand (; January 23, 1786 – July 10, 1858) was a French classicist architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg.
Early ...
(1786–1858)
* (1781–1861)
*
Louis Tullius Joachim Visconti (1791–1853)
References
External links
''Palais, maisons et autres édifices modernes'' (1798)*''Recueil de décoration intérieure''
18011812
{{DEFAULTSORT:Percier, Charles
1764 births
1838 deaths
Architects from Paris
French neoclassical architects
18th-century French architects
19th-century French architects
French designers
Currency designers
Prix de Rome for architecture
École des Beaux-Arts alumni
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
People associated with the Louvre