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Claude Perrault (25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and an amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris."Claude Perrault. French physician and architect"
''Britannica'' online. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
He also designed the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histo ...
and was an
anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
and author, who wrote treatises on architecture,
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
and natural history.Hazard 2007.


Biography

Perrault was born and died in Paris.Tadgell 1996. His brother,
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tale ...
, is remembered as the classic reteller of the old story of
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
among other fables. As physician and natural philosopher, who received a medical degree from the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
in 1642, Perrault became one of the first members of the
French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at ...
when it was founded in 1666.Hermann 1982. A committee commissioned by
Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
, the Petit Conseil, comprising Louis Le Vau,
Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of ...
, and Perrault, designed the east façade of the Louvre. It was begun in 1667 and was essentially complete in 1674. By 1680, Louis XIV had abandoned the Louvre and focused his attention on the
Palace of 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 ...
. The wing behind the east façade was not finished until the 19th century with the advent of
Napoleon 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 wh ...
. The definitive design of the east façade is attributed to Perrault, who made the final alterations needed to accommodate a decision to double the width of the south wing. He also created projects for the joining of the Louvre with 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, f ...
Blondel 1756, pp. 9–15
and may have devised the use of iron tie rods behind the
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
of the east façade in order to solve engineering problems arising from forces causing stress in the masonry. File:Claude Perrault, perspective bird's-eye view of the Louvre from the east – Berger 1993, figure 67.jpg, Drawing of 1668, attributed to Perrault, showing a design for the east façade of the Louvre File:Louvre et Tuileries - Plan général suivant le second projet de Claude Perrault - Architecture françoise Tome4 Livre6 Pl2.jpg, General plan of Perrault's second project for the joining of 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 ...
and the
Tuileries 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 ...
, engraved by
Jacques-François Blondel Jacques-François Blondel (8 January 1705 – 9 January 1774) was an 18th-century French architect and teacher. After running his own highly successful school of architecture for many years, he was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Acad ...
Perrault designed the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histo ...
(1667–1669), a research institute of the Académie des Sciences. His design for a
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...
on Rue St-Antoine was preferred to competing designs of Le Brun and Le Vau, but was only partly executed in stone. When the arch was taken down in the 19th century, it was found that he had devised a means of so interlocking the stones, without mortar, that it had become an inseparable mass. He also created a design (unexecuted) which used free-standing columns for the reconstruction of the church of
Sainte-Geneviève Saint Genevieve or Sainte-Geneviève may refer to: * Saint Genevieve (419/422–512), the patron of Paris * Saint Geneviève de Loqueffret (10th century), a local saint from Loqueffret, Brittany Buildings * Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, a lib ...
in Paris. File:Claude Perrault, perspective bird's-eye view of the Observatoire, Paris – Berger 1993, figure 68.jpg, Bird's-eye view of the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histo ...
, 1667 drawing by Perrault File:Arc de Triomphe du Thrône, RP-P-1964-1779.jpg, Design for the Arc de Triomphe du Thrône on the Rue Saint-Antoine, 1670
Aside from his participation in the design of the Louvre, he became well known for his translation into French of the ten books of
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
, the only surviving Roman work on architecture. Begun at the instigation of Colbert, it was published, with Perrault's annotations, in 1673. His treatise on the five
classical order An order in architecture is a certain assemblage of parts subject to uniform established proportions, regulated by the office that each part has to perform. Coming down to the present from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilization, the arc ...
s of architecture followed in 1683. In addition, he made a valuable contribution in acoustics. His treatise on sound was a part of the book ''Oeuvres diverses de Physique et de Mecanique''. In his later book, he treats such subjects as sound media, sources of sound and sound receivers. In musical acoustics, he noted the importance of vibration on consonance and dissonance. His study "De la Musique des Anciens" in the ''Oeuvres diverses'' discussed how combinations of notes yields harmony. It also contains critical examinations of old manuscripts on European music.Perrault; Lesure.


Written works

* ''Les dix livres d'architecture de Vitruve, corrigez et traduits nouvellement en françois avec des notes et des figures''. Paris, Coignard, 1673.
''Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire naturelle des animaux''
1676
Memoirs for a natural history of animals: containing the anatomical descriptions of several creatures dissected by the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris
. * ''Essais de Physique, ou receuil de plusieurs traitez touchant les choses naturelles'', 4 volumes. Paris, Coignard, 1680-1688.
''Ordonnance des cinq espèces de colonnes selon la méthode des anciennes''
Paris, Coignard, 1683. * ''Ordonnance for the five kinds of columns after the method of the Ancients'', translated by Indra Kagis McEwen with an introduction by Alberto Pérez-Gómez. Santa Monica, California: Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1993. * *


Notes


Bibliography

* Ayers, Andrew (2004). ''The Architecture of Paris''. Stuttgart; London: Edition Axel Menges. . * Berger, Robert W. (1993). ''The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV''. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press. . * Blondel, Jacques-François (1756)
''Architecture françoise'', vol. 4
Paris: Charles-Antoine Jombert. * Daufresne, Jean-Claude (1987). ''Louvre et Tuileries: Architectures de papier''. Brussels: Pierre Mardaga. . * Gietmann, Gerhard (1913)
"Perrault, Claude", vol. 11, pp. 701–702
in ''
The Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'', edited by Charles G. Herbermann et al., 15 volumes. New York: The Encyclopedia Press. * Hazard, Jean (2007)
"Claude Perrault, architecte célèbre, médecin inconnu, chercheur indefatigable"
(in French) Claude Perrault, famous architect, unknown physician, untiring researcher"br>''Histoire des Sciences médicales'', vol 41, no. 4
pp. 399–406. . * Hermann, Wolfgang (1982). "Perrault, Claude", vol. 3, pp. 391–392, in ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects'', edited by Adolf K. Placzek. London: The Free Press. . * Michel, Christian (1996)
"Perrault family: (3) Charles Perrault"
vol. 24, p. 470, in ''
The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press ...
'', edited by Jane Turner. London: Macmillan. * Neuman, Robert (2013). ''Baroque and Rococo Art and Architecture''. Boston: Pearson. . * Perrault, Claude; Lesure, François. "Du bruit"; et "De la musique des anciens", extracts from ''Oeuvres diverses de physique et de mécanique'' (tome 2); and ''Préface manuscrite du Traité de la musique de Claude Perrault'' (Bibl. Nat. manuscr. fr. 25,350). Bibliothèque nationale de France. * Picon, Antoine (1988). ''Claude Perrault, 1613–1688, ou, La curiosité d'un classique''. Paris: Picard. . * Tadgell, Christopher (1996)
"Perrault family. (2) Claude Perrault"
vol. 24, pp. 470, in ''
The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press ...
'', edited by Jane Turner. London: Macmillan.


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrault, Claude 1613 births 1688 deaths Deaths from sepsis Architects from Paris 17th-century French architects French zoologists French Baroque architects 17th-century French physicians French architecture writers Members of the Académie royale d'architecture Members of the French Academy of Sciences