Neoclassicism is a movement in architecture, design and the arts which was dominant in France between about 1760 to 1830. It emerged as a reaction to the frivolity and excessive ornament of the
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
and
rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
styles. In architecture it featured sobriety, straight lines, and forms, such as the
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
and
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
, based on
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
models. In painting it featured heroism and sacrifice in the time of the ancient Romans and Greeks. It began late in the reign of
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
, became dominant under
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
, and continued through 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 ...
, the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
, and the reign of
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 ...
, and the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* ...
until 1830, when it was gradually replaced as the dominant style by
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and
eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in ...
.
Prominent architects of the style included
Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel (23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of Ve ...
(1698-1782),
Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church de ...
(1713–1780),
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...
(1736-1806) and
Jean-François Chalgrin (1739-1811); painters included
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
(1748-1825) and his pupil,
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
(1780-1867).
History
Neoclassicism in France emerged in the early to mid-18th century, inspired in part by the reports of the archeological excavations at
Herculaneum
Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
Like the nea ...
(1738) and especially
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
(1748), which brought to light classical designs and paintings. The news of these discoveries, accompanied by engraved illustrations, circulated widely. The French antiquarian, art collector and amateur archeologist
Anne Claude de Caylus
Anne Claude de Tubières-Grimoard de Pestels de Lévis, ''comte de Caylus'', marquis d'Esternay, baron de Bransac (Anne Claude Philippe; 31 October, 16925 September 1765), was a French antiquarian, proto-archaeologist and man of letters.
Born in ...
travelled in Europe and the Mideast, and described what he had seen in ''Recueil d'antiquités'', published with illustrations in 1755.
In the 1740s, the style began to slowly change; decoration became less extravagant and more discreet. In 1754 the brother of Madame de Pompadour, the Marquis de Marigny, accompanied the designer
Nicolas Cochin and a delegation of artists and scholars to Italy to see the recent discoveries at
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
and
Herculaneum
Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
Like the nea ...
, and made a grand tour of other classical monuments. They returned full of enthusiasm for a new classical style, based on the Roman and Greek monuments. In 1754 they published a manifesto against the Rocaille style, calling for a return to classicism. Marigny, after the death of Louis XV, later became director of buildings for Louis XVI.
The style was given a philosophical appeal by the ''Philosophes'', including
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...
and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, who called for a restoration of moral values in society, and by the Abbé Laugier, who wrote ''L'essai sur l'architecture'', a call for a return to pure and uncluttered forms of architecture. The archeological sites in Greece and Italy became mandatory stops for aristocratic and scholarly visitors on the
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
of Europe. The best young painters in France competed for scholarships to the French Academy in Rome.
Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
studied there, and later became its director. In 1757 the French architect Jean-François Neufforge published ''Recueil élémentaire d'architecture'', an illustrated textbook of the style. The new taste was originally called ''le goût grec'' (the Greek taste). It called for geometric forms and decoration in "the sober and majestic style of the architects of ancient Greece."
In the last years of the reign of Louis XV and throughout the reign of Louis XVI, the new style appeared in the royal residences, particularly in the salons and furnishings of the Dauphine and then Queen
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
, and of the Paris aristocracy. It combined Greek, Roman, and what was loosely called ''Etruscan'' styles with
arabesques
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
and
grotesques
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
borrowed from
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
and the Renaissance, and with
chinoiserie
(, ; loanword from French ''wikt:chinoiserie#French, chinoiserie'', from ''wikt:chinois#French, chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of China, Chinese and other East Asia, East Asian artistic traditions, especial ...
and Turkish themes, Between 1780 and 1792, the style also appeared in architecture, in classically buildings including the ''
Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. T ...
'' in
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 ...
and the ''
Château de Bagatelle
The Château de Bagatelle is a small Neoclassical style château with several small formal French gardens, a rose garden, and an ''orangerie''. It is set on 59 acres of gardens in French landscape style in the Bois de Boulogne, which is loca ...
'' (1777). It also appeared in other art forms, including in particular the paintings of
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
, especially the ''
Oath of the Horatii
''Oath of the Horatii'' (french: Le Serment des Horaces), is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the p ...
'' (1784).
Architecture
Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
appeared in
French architecture
French architecture consists of numerous architectural styles that either originated in France or elsewhere and were developed within the territories of France.
History
Gallo-Roman
The architecture of Ancient Rome at first adopted the exter ...
during the reign of
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
. In 1667 the king rejected a baroque scheme for the new
east facade of the Louvre by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...
, the most famous architect and sculptor of the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
era, in favor of a more sober composition with pediments and an elevated colonnade of
coupled
''Coupled'' is an American dating game show that aired on Fox from May 17 to August 2, 2016. It was hosted by television personality, Terrence J and created by Mark Burnett, of '' Survivor'', ''The Apprentice'', '' Are You Smarter Than a 5th G ...
colossal Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
columns, devised by a committee, consisting of
Louis Le Vau
Louis Le Vau (1612 – 11 October 1670) was a French Baroque architect, who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was an architect that helped develop the French Classical style in the 17th Century.''Encyclopedia of World Biography''"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
Claude Perrault
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.[Italian architecture
Italy has a very broad and diverse architectural style, which cannot be simply classified by period or region, due to Italy's division into various small states until 1861. This has created a highly diverse and eclectic range in architectural des ...]
, "resolves itself into the greatest palace façade in Europe."
Under Louis XIV, the Roman dome and facade of monumental columns became the dominant features of important new churches, beginning with the chapel of
Val-de-Grâce
The (' or ') was a military hospital located at in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016.
History
The church of the was built by order of Queen Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII. After the birth of h ...
(1645-1710), by
Mansart,
Jacques Lemercier
Jacques Lemercier (c. 1585 in Pontoise – 13 January 1654 in Paris) was a French architect and engineer, one of the influential trio that included Louis Le Vau and François Mansart who formed the classicizing French Baroque manner, drawing ...
and
Pierre Le Muet
Pierre Le Muet (7 October 1591 – 28 September 1669)Mignot 1996. was a French architect, military engineer, and writer, famous for his book ''Manière de bâtir pour toutes sortes de personnes'' (1623 and 1647), and for the châteaux he construc ...
, followed by the church of
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
(1680-1706). While the basic features of the architecture of these churches were classical, the interiors were lavishly decorated in the baroque style.
Louvre Kolonnaden.JPG, The east facade of the Louvre by Louis Le Vau
Louis Le Vau (1612 – 11 October 1670) was a French Baroque architect, who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was an architect that helped develop the French Classical style in the 17th Century.''Encyclopedia of World Biography''"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 Claude Perrault
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.[Hotel de la Marine
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...]
on the Place de la Concorde (1761–70)
File:Petit Trianon.JPG, Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. T ...
(1764)
File:Eglise St Philippe du Roule - Intérieur.jpg, Interior of Church of Saint-Philippe-du-Roule, Paris (1765–70)
In the latter part of the reign of
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
, the neoclassical became the dominant style in both civil and religious architecture. The chief architect of the king was
Jacques Gabriel
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
from 1734 until 1742, and then his more famous son,
Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel (23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of Ve ...
until the end of the reign. His major works included the
École Militaire
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
, the ensemble of buildings overlooking the Place Louis XV (now
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
...
(1761-1770)) and the
Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. T ...
at Versailles (1764). Over the course of the reign of Louis XV, while interiors were lavishly decorated, the facades gradually became simpler, less ornamented and more classical. The facades Gabriel designed were carefully rhymed and balanced by rows of windows and columns, and, on large buildings like those the Place de la Concorde, often featured grand arcades on the street level, and classical pediments or balustrades on the roofline. Ornamental features sometimes included curving wrought-iron balconies with undulating rocaille designs, similar to the rocaille decoration of the interiors.
The religious architecture of the period was also sober and monumental and tended, at the end of the reign, toward neo-classical; major examples include the Church of Saint-Genevieve (now the
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...
), built from 1758 to 1790 to a design by
Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church de ...
, and Church of Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (1765-1777) by
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – 21 January 1811) was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
Biography
His neoclassic orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neoc ...
, which featured an enormous barrel-vaulted nave.
File:Chateau benouville.jpg, Château de Bénouville
The Château de Bénouville is a building in Bénouville, Calvados, Bénouville, Normandy, near Caen (northern France). It was designed in 1769 in architecture, 1769 by architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux and built in 1770-74 and 1776-80 at the reque ...
by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...
(1770-1780)
File:GrandTheatreBordeaux2.jpg, Grand Theater of Bordeaux by Victor Louis
Victor Louis (10 May 1731, Paris – 2 July 1800, Paris) was a French architect, disqualified on a technicality from winning the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1755.
Life
He was born Louis-Nicolas Louis in Paris. He did not adopt the name Vic ...
(1780)
File:Grand escalier de l'opéra de Bordeaux.jpg, Stairway of the Grand Theater of Bordeaux, Victor Louis
Victor Louis (10 May 1731, Paris – 2 July 1800, Paris) was a French architect, disqualified on a technicality from winning the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1755.
Life
He was born Louis-Nicolas Louis in Paris. He did not adopt the name Vic ...
(1780)
File:Château de Bagatelle, Paris 17 July 2016 004.jpg, Chateau de Bagatelle by François-Joseph Bélanger
François-Joseph Bélanger (; 12 April 1744 – 1 May 1818) was a French architect and decorator working in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassic style.
Life
Born in Paris, Bélanger attended the Académie Royale d'Architecture (1764–1766) whe ...
(1777)
File:Hôtel de Salm, Paris May 2014.jpg, The Hôtel de Salm
Salm may refer to
People
* Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck
* Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan
* House of Salm, a European ...
, Paris, by Pierre Rousseau
Pierre Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (11 February 1905 – 1983) was a French essayist, epistemologist, astronomer and journalist who authored numerous popular science essays and articles. He helped promote hard science to the general public and advocat ...
(1751-1810)
File:Petit Trianon - Belvédère 2012.jpg, The Belvedere of the Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. T ...
at Versailles by Richard Mique
Richard Mique () (18 September 1728 – 8 July 1794) was a neoclassical French architect born in Lorraine. He is most remembered for his picturesque hamlet, the ''Hameau de la Reine'' — not particularly characteristic of his working style — f ...
(1789)
2014-09-03 13-33-46 monument-historique-PA00085438.jpg, Transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
of Notre-Dame de Guebwiller
Notre-Dame (Church of Our Lady) is a Neoclassical Catholic parish church in the town of Guebwiller, in the Haut-Rhin department of France. The church is classified as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture since 1841. The bui ...
(1762–1785)
File:Pantéon (Francia).jpg, The Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
(1764-1790), by Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church de ...
File:Intérieur du Panthéon.jpg, Interior of the Paris Pantheon
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
During the reign of Louis XVI, neoclassical was the dominant architectural style in Paris and in the provinces. Notable examples include the
Hotel de la Monnaie in Paris (1771–76) by
Jacques Denis Antoine
Jacques Denis Antoine (6 August 1733, Paris - 24 August 1801) was a French architect, whose most notable masterwork is the Hôtel des Monnaies in Paris, which gained him entrance to the Académie royale d'architecture in 1776. He is also known ...
, as well as the
Palais de Justice in Paris by the same architect; and the theater of Besançon (1775) and the
Chateau de Benouville in the
Calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...
, both by Ledoux. The
École de Chirurgie
The École de Chirurgie ("School of Surgery") is a historic building located at 10–12 rue de l'École de Médecine in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Today it is the headquarters of the Paris Descartes University.
Background
In the 18th cent ...
, or School of Surgery in Paris by
Jacques Gondoin
Jacques Gondouin de Folleville, or simply Gondouin (7 June 1737 – 29 December 1818) was a French architect and designer.
He was born in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, the son of a gardener at the château de Choisy.
He died in Paris, aged 81 ...
(1769) adapted the forms of the neoclassical town house, with a court of honor placed between a pavilion with a colonnade on the street and the main building. He also added a
peristyle
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=fou ...
and another floor above the columns, and transformed the entrance to the courtyard into a miniature triumphal arch.
The new theaters in Paris and Bordeaux were prominent examples of the new style. The architect
Victor Louis
Victor Louis (10 May 1731, Paris – 2 July 1800, Paris) was a French architect, disqualified on a technicality from winning the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1755.
Life
He was born Louis-Nicolas Louis in Paris. He did not adopt the name Vic ...
(1731-1811) completed the
theater of Bordeaux (1780); its majestic stairway was a forerunner of the stairway of the Paris
Opera Garnier
The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...
. In 1791, in the midst 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 ...
, he completed the
Comedie Francaise
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
. The
Odeon Theater in Paris (1779-1782) was built by
Marie-Joseph Peyre
Marie-Joseph Peyre (1730 – 11 August 1785) was a French architect who designed in the Neoclassical style.
Biography
He began his training in Paris with Jacques-François Blondel at l'École des Arts, where he met Giovanni Niccolo Servan ...
(1730-1785) and
Charles de Wailly
Charles de Wailly () (9 November 1730 – 2 November 1798) was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédi ...
(1729-1798). It featured a portico in the form of a covered gallery and columns in advance of the facade.
One of the best-known neoclassical buildings of the period is the
Chateau de Bagatelle (1777), designed and built by
François-Joseph Bélanger
François-Joseph Bélanger (; 12 April 1744 – 1 May 1818) was a French architect and decorator working in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassic style.
Life
Born in Paris, Bélanger attended the Académie Royale d'Architecture (1764–1766) whe ...
for the Comte d'Artois, Louis XVI's brother. The small chateau was designed and completed in just sixty-three days, to win a bet with
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
that he could build a chateau in less than three months. Marie-Antoinette had a similar small neoclassical belvedere created by architect
Richard Mique
Richard Mique () (18 September 1728 – 8 July 1794) was a neoclassical French architect born in Lorraine. He is most remembered for his picturesque hamlet, the ''Hameau de la Reine'' — not particularly characteristic of his working style — f ...
, who had also designed her picturesque rustic village in the gardens. It was completed in 1789, the year of the French Revolution.
Another notable example of the neoclassical style in Paris is the
Hôtel de Salm
Salm may refer to
People
* Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck
* Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan
* House of Salm, a European ...
(now the
Palais de la Légion d'Honneur
The Palais de la Légion d'honneur ( French for "Palace of the Legion of Honour") is a historic building on the Left Bank of the River Seine in Paris, France. It houses the Musée de la Légion d'honneur ("Museum of the Legion of Honour") and is ...
), built by
Pierre Rousseau
Pierre Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (11 February 1905 – 1983) was a French essayist, epistemologist, astronomer and journalist who authored numerous popular science essays and articles. He helped promote hard science to the general public and advocat ...
in 1751-83. The facade is distinguished by its simplicity and purity, and its harmony and balance. A colonnade of Corinthian columns supports the entablement of the rotunda, which is surmounted by statues. The facade is also animated by busts of Roman emperors in niches, and sculptures in relief above the windows of the semicircular central
avant-corps
An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...
.
File:France arc et senas saline royal main building 1.jpg, Director's house at the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans
The Saline Royale (Royal Saltworks) is a historical building at Arc-et-Senans in the department of Doubs, Eastern France. It is next to the Forest of Chaux and 29.2 kilometres (18.1 miles) to the southwest of Besançon. The architect was Claude- ...
by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...
(1775–79)
File:Paris Rotonde de la Villette 2004.jpg, ''Rotonde de la Villette'' by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...
(1785–89)
File:Newton memorial boullee.jpg, Project for a monument to Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
by Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée (12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects.
Life
Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain Boff ...
(1784)
File:Bibliotheque nationale boul.jpg, Project for the Royal Library by Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée (12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects.
Life
Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain Boff ...
(1785)
A few architects adapted the neoclassical style to more functional purposes.
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...
designed the
Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans
The Saline Royale (Royal Saltworks) is a historical building at Arc-et-Senans in the department of Doubs, Eastern France. It is next to the Forest of Chaux and 29.2 kilometres (18.1 miles) to the southwest of Besançon. The architect was Claude- ...
with exaggerated neoclassical buildings arranged in circles around a central "temple", where the director's home and office was placed. He also designed several rotundas for the new customs barriers installed around Paris between 1785-89. These barriers became highly unpopular (due to the taxes, not the architecture) and most were destroyed during the Revolution, though those at La Villette and Monceau still stand.
The most visionary French neoclassical architect was certainly
Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée (12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects.
Life
Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain Boff ...
. His designs for an immense spherical monument to Isaac Newton (1784) and a vast new royal library in Paris in the form of a giant barrel vault (1785) were never seriously considered, but foreshadowed the architecture of the 20th century.
Revolution, Directorate and Empire
During the French Revolution construction virtually stopped in Paris. The aristocrats fled, churches were closed and sacked. The one large project carried out between 1795 and 1797 was the building of a large new chamber within the
Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the ''Rive Gauche'' of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concor ...
, which eventually became the home of the French
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
. The
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
was re-organized and reconstituted, with the architecture department under
Quatremère de Quincy
Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy (21 October 1755 – 28 December 1849) was a French armchair archaeologist and architectural theorist, a Freemason, and an effective arts administrator and influential writer on art.
Life
Born in Paris, ...
(1755-1849). De Quincy was an amateur archeologist and a classical scholar, as well as an architect. He was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in 1793, but was spared by the downfall of Robespierre. He was charged with the conversion of the Church of Saint-Genevieve into the modern
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...
, and assured that architectural studies taught the classical traditions.
File:Paris - Jardin des Tuileries - Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel - PA00085992 - 003.jpg, Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel () ( en, Triumphal Arch of the Carousel) is a triumphal arch in Paris, located in the Place du Carrousel. It is an example of Neoclassical architecture in the Corinthian order. It was built between 1806 and 1808 t ...
by Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer.
Life and work
Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked in such close partnership with Charles Percier, ...
(1806–08)
File:Madeleine Paris.jpg, Church of the Madeleine
, other name =
, native_name =
, native_name_lang = French
, image = Madeleine Paris.jpg
, landscape =
, imagesize =
, caption =
, imagelink ...
facade by Pierre-Alexandre Vignon (1807–43)
File:Paris, Triumphbogen -- 2014 -- 1624.jpg, Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
by Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – 21 January 1811) was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
Biography
His neoclassic orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neoc ...
(1808-1838)
File:Palais Bourbon, Paris 7e, NW View 140402 1.jpg, Facade of the Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the ''Rive Gauche'' of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concor ...
, added by Napoleon in 1808
After
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 ...
came to power, the most influential architects were
Charles Percier
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, originally his friend from student days. For ...
(1764-1838) and
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer.
Life and work
Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked in such close partnership with Charles Percier, ...
(1762-1853). Their grand projects for Napoleon included the
Rue de Rivoli
Rue de Rivoli (; English: "Rivoli Street") is a street in central Paris, France. It is a commercial street whose shops include leading fashionable brands. It bears the name of Napoleon's early victory against the Austrian army, at the Battle of Ri ...
, with its uniform neoclassical facades, modeled on the squares built by Louis XIV and Louis XV. They also designed the interior of the
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 ...
, the residence of Napoleon, into the model of the neoclassical style. (1803) Fontaine designed another Napoleonic landmark, the
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel () ( en, Triumphal Arch of the Carousel) is a triumphal arch in Paris, located in the Place du Carrousel. It is an example of Neoclassical architecture in the Corinthian order. It was built between 1806 and 1808 t ...
(1806-1808) in the courtyard of the Louvre.
Other Napoleonic neoclassical projects included the grand stairway of the
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...
(1801) by
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – 21 January 1811) was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
Biography
His neoclassic orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neoc ...
(1801), and the
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
(begun by Chalgrin in 1808, but not finished until 1836). Pierre-Alexandre Vignon (1763–1828), a student of Ledoux, was charged with remaking the
Church of the Madeleine
, other name =
, native_name =
, native_name_lang = French
, image = Madeleine Paris.jpg
, landscape =
, imagesize =
, caption =
, imagelink ...
, begun in 1761 but abandoned during the Revolution, into a "Temple of Glory" dedicated to Napoleon's army. This project was abandoned in 1813 after a series of defeats of Napoleon's army; it became a church again, but was not completed until 1843. Napoleon also added a neoclassical facade with twelve Corinthian columns to the facade of the
Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the ''Rive Gauche'' of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concor ...
. It was in an entirely different style than the palace behind it, and was not aligned with it; it was aligned instead with the new Temple of Glory (now the
Madeleine) which he was building, facing it, on the far side of the
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
...
.
The Restoration and arrival of romanticism
After the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the neoclassic style continued to be used during the
French Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history during which the House of Bourbon returned to power after the first fall of Napoleon on 3 May 1814. Briefly interrupted by the Hundred Days War in 1815, the Restoration lasted until the J ...
, particularly in Paris churches. Examples include
Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (1823–26) by
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas and
Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (named after Saint Vincent de Paul) may refer to:
* Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Gironde, France
* Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Landes, France
* Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paris, 10th arrondissement of Paris, France
*Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Que ...
by
Jacques-Ignace 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 Beaux ...
(1824–44). By the 1830s, the architectural style was succeeded by
Baroque Revival
The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptur ...
and
Beaux-Arts architecture
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...
.
A change of style began to appear early in the 19th century, particularly after the publication in 1802 of ''le Génie du christianisme'' by one of the leading figures of French
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
,
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...
(1768-1848). He appealed for a return to the
Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, which, as the style of the great cathedrals, he considered was the only truly great French style. The movement toward romanticism and gothic was accelerated by the publication of the hugely successful novel ''
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
'' by
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
in 1821, and then the program of restoration of French Gothic monuments led by
Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...
and conducted by
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
(1814-1879). This, along with the
French Revolution of 1830
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
, brought to a close the era of French neoclassicism.
File:Notre-Dame-de-Lorette-Paris-DSC 6121.jpg, Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (1823–26) by Louis-Hippolyte Lebas
File:Eglise Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Paris 11 July 2014 013.jpg, Interior of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
File:Saint-Vincent-de-Paul-Paris.jpg, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (named after Saint Vincent de Paul) may refer to:
* Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Gironde, France
* Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Landes, France
* Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paris, 10th arrondissement of Paris, France
*Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Que ...
by Jacques-Ignace 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 Beaux ...
(1824–44)
Painting
The dominant figure in French neoclassical painting, even before the Revolution, was
Jacques Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
(1748-1825). He began as a classical and religious painter, an admirer of
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Jean-Baptiste Greuze (, 21 August 1725 – 4 March 1805) was a French painter of portraits, genre scenes, and history painting.
Biography Early life
Greuze was born at Tournus, a market town in Burgundy. He is generally said to have formed h ...
, the history and genre painter. He was recommended to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts by a family friend,
François Boucher
François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
, master of the
rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome and went to study there in 1775. He discovered the treasures excavated from Pompeii and other ancient sites, and entirely changed his style. Beginning in 1784 he painted works based on stories from classical literature, including ''
Oath of the Horatii
''Oath of the Horatii'' (french: Le Serment des Horaces), is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the p ...
'' (1781), a celebration of duty and sacrifice in Roman times. When 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 ...
began in 1789, David became an active participant in the most extreme wing, the
Jacobins
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = Pa ...
, He supported the dissolution of the Academy of Fine Arts, and designed sets for revolutionary pageants and ceremonies. His most famous picture of the period, ''Marat Assassiné'' (1793), adapted the facial expression and the limp arm of Christ in Michaelangelo's ''
Pieta'' to depict the assassinated Jacobin leader,
Jean Paul Marat. When the Jacobins fell in 1794, he was imprisoned twice for several months, but then resumed an active career as a portraitist and then as court painter for
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 ...
. When Napoleon fell and the monarchy was restored, he went into exile in Belgium.
File:Jacques-Louis David - Oath of the Horatii - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Oath of the Horatii
''Oath of the Horatii'' (french: Le Serment des Horaces), is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the p ...
'' by Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
(1781)
File:Jacques-Louis David - La Mort de Marat.jpg, ''Death of Marat'' by Jacques-Louis David (1793)
File:Madame Récamier painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1800.jpg, ''Madame Récamier'' by Jacques-Louis David (1800)
French painting was dominated for years by David and his pupils, including
Antoine-Jean Gros
Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was given title of Baron Gros in 1824.
Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French R ...
(1771-1835), and later
Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867). The later neoclassical painters put aside the political messages and concentrated on idealized figures and ideas of beauty; they included
François Gérard
François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was It ...
, who like David, made a famous portrait of
Madame Récamier Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ...
, much to the annoyance of David;
Jean-Baptiste Regnault
Jean-Baptiste Regnault (9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter.
Biography
Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to I ...
(1754-1829);
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (, 4 April 1758 – 16 February 16, 1823) was a French Romantic Painting, painter and drawing, draughtsman best known for his allegorical paintings and portraits such as ''Madame Georges Anthony and Her Two Sons'' (1796). He ...
(1758-1823);
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (; 16 April 1755 – 30 March 1842), also known as Madame Le Brun, was a French portrait painter, especially of women, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Her artistic style is generally considered part o ...
(1755-1842) and
Anne Louis Girodet-Trioson
Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (or ''de Roucy''), also known as Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson or simply Girodet (29 January 17679 December 1824),Long, George. (1851) ''The Supplement to the Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of ...
(1767-1824).
File:LadyHamilton.jpg, Emma, ''Portrait of Emma, Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante'' by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (; 16 April 1755 – 30 March 1842), also known as Madame Le Brun, was a French portrait painter, especially of women, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Her artistic style is generally considered part o ...
(1790)
File:Jean-Baptiste Regnault - La Liberté ou la Mort.JPG, ''Liberty or Death'' by Jean-Baptiste Regnault
Jean-Baptiste Regnault (9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter.
Biography
Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to I ...
(1795)
File:Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson - Portrait of Mlle. Lange as Danae - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Mademoiselle Lange as Danae'' by Anne Louis Girodet-Trioson
Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (or ''de Roucy''), also known as Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson or simply Girodet (29 January 17679 December 1824),Long, George. (1851) ''The Supplement to the Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of ...
(1799)
File:Antoine-Jean Gros 009.jpg, ''Portrait of Christine Boyer'' by Antoine-Jean Gros
Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was given title of Baron Gros in 1824.
Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French R ...
(1800)
File:Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres - Oedipus and the Sphynx - WGA11843.jpg, ''Oedipus and the Sphinx'' by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
(1800)
File:François Pascal Simon Gérard 003.jpg, ''Portrait of Madame Récamier'' by François Gérard
François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was It ...
(1805)
File:Pierre-Paul Prud'hon - Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime.JPG, ''Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime'' by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (, 4 April 1758 – 16 February 16, 1823) was a French Romantic Painting, painter and drawing, draughtsman best known for his allegorical paintings and portraits such as ''Madame Georges Anthony and Her Two Sons'' (1796). He ...
(1808)
Sculpture
The most prominent French sculptor in the early neoclassical period was
Étienne Maurice Falconet
Étienne Maurice Falconet (1 December 1716 – 24 January 1791) was a French baroque, rococo and Neoclassical sculpture, neoclassical sculptor, best-known for his equestrian statue of Peter the Great, the ''Bronze Horseman'' (1782), in St. Pete ...
(1716-1791). whose work included the heroic statue of
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
on horseback in
Saint 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 ...
, Russia (model made in 1770, but not cast until 1782). He was named professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris in 1766, and from 1757 onward he directed the modeling of small sculptures in porcelain at the
Sèvres Porcelain manufactory. His work remained closer to the statues in full movement of the French baroque than the new, more serene style. In his later years he designed small ornamental sculptures of cast bronze such as the ''Seated Girl'' (1788), now in the Metropolitan Museum.
The first more clearly neoclassical major figure was
Jean-Antoine Houdon
Jean-Antoine Houdon (; 20 March 1741 – 15 July 1828) was a French neoclassical sculptor.
Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects included De ...
(1741-1828). He studied at the French Academy in Rome, where he made detailed studies of the anatomy of the ancient Roman and Greek statues on display there. He became famous for his busts and portrait sculptures, most notably his seated statue of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
(1779–81), now on display at the
Comedie Française, and his busts of Benjamin Franklin and other political figures of the day. He also created several allegorical works illustrating winter and summer in a style entirely more expressive than traditional classicism, such as his ''La Frileuse'' (woman in winter), in the Musée Fabre in
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
.
The sculptor
Claude Michel
Claude Michel (20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814), known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta.
Life
He was born in Nancy to Anne Adam and Thomas Michel, an un ...
(1738-1814), also known as
Clodion
Claude Michel (20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814), known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta.
Life
He was born in Nancy to Anne Adam and Thomas Michel, an un ...
, also studied at the Academy in Rome between 1762 and 1771. His works varied widely from neoclassical to rococo; he conceived a terra-cotta model for an extraordinary monumental sculpture, covered with statuary of angels and cupids, to celebrate the first balloon flight in Paris (1784).
Augustin Pajou
Augustin Pajou (19 September 1730 – 8 May 1809) was a French sculptor, born in Paris. At eighteen he won the Prix de Rome, and at thirty exhibited his ''Pluton tenant Cerbère enchaîné'' (now in the Louvre).
Selected works
Pajou's portrait ...
(1730-1809) also studied at the French Academy in Rome from 1752 and 1756. He returned to Paris to teach at the Academy of Fine Arts, and became rector in 1792. He made a series of highly expressive statues on mythological subjects, including ''
Psyche
Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή).
Psyche may also refer to:
Psychology
* Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious
* ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...
'' and ''Amour''.
File:Buste de Voltaire.jpg, Bust of Voltaire by Jean-Antoine Houdon
Jean-Antoine Houdon (; 20 March 1741 – 15 July 1828) was a French neoclassical sculptor.
Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects included De ...
(1778), National Gallery
File:Jean-Antoine Houdon-La frileuse.JPG, ''La frileuse'' (woman in winter), Jean-Antoine Houdon
Jean-Antoine Houdon (; 20 March 1741 – 15 July 1828) was a French neoclassical sculptor.
Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects included De ...
(1783)
File:Seated girl MET 148037.jpg, ''Seated Girl'' by Étienne Maurice Falconet
Étienne Maurice Falconet (1 December 1716 – 24 January 1791) was a French baroque, rococo and Neoclassical sculpture, neoclassical sculptor, best-known for his equestrian statue of Peter the Great, the ''Bronze Horseman'' (1782), in St. Pete ...
, in bronze (1788), Metropolitan Museum
File:'Faun Family', terracotta relief by Claude Michel, c. 1785, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.jpg, ''Faun Family'' Terracotta by Claude Michel
Claude Michel (20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814), known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta.
Life
He was born in Nancy to Anne Adam and Thomas Michel, an un ...
(1785), National Gallery, Washington DC
File:Mercury Pajou Louvre RF1624.jpg, ''Mercury'' by Augustin Pajou
Augustin Pajou (19 September 1730 – 8 May 1809) was a French sculptor, born in Paris. At eighteen he won the Prix de Rome, and at thirty exhibited his ''Pluton tenant Cerbère enchaîné'' (now in the Louvre).
Selected works
Pajou's portrait ...
(1780), Louvre
File:Madame Vigée Le Brun par Pajou.JPG, Bust of Madame Vigée Le Brun by Augustin Pajou
Augustin Pajou (19 September 1730 – 8 May 1809) was a French sculptor, born in Paris. At eighteen he won the Prix de Rome, and at thirty exhibited his ''Pluton tenant Cerbère enchaîné'' (now in the Louvre).
Selected works
Pajou's portrait ...
(1785), Louvre
Music
The effects on Neoclassicism in art are very spotted through artworks and sculptures, but when it comes to music, it is at times overlooked. With the emergence of new ideals, and the shift towards independence from the crown, French society began to see a change in architecture and design, as well as in the arts. Their shift in music commenced the beginning of the romantic era in musical history. The revolts in France at the time, created an environment of hostility and uneasiness, forcing many opera writers to look to France's past in order to portray a sense of unification for the French commoners. In many senses, these operas, and musical settings played political roles in being able to pass on political beliefs on topics, in order to evoke a greater sense of unity in the viewers, believing that many others saw the causes as they personally did.
![Chénier, Méhul](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Ch%C3%A9nier%2C_M%C3%A9hul.-_Le_chant_du_d%C3%A9part%2C_1794.jpg)
In the era of the French Revolution, particularly under the rule of Napoleon, the famous composer
Étienne Méhul
Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 16 November 1765 ~ 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the Classical period (music), classical period. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the French Revolution, Revolution". He wa ...
was known for composing many patriotic pieces for the people and nation of France. Most famous of which is
''Le Chant du depart'', later becoming the official anthem of the French Empire in 1794. Often compared to the current national anthem of France, ''
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
'', ''Le Chant du depart'' holds ties to the unity of the French people, as well as the diversity of French society. The points of view of those who sing range from a deputy to their soldiers, mother, wives, husbands, and fathers, depicting the roles they must take and live through during this era of revolution. The grammatical composition itself from the piece generalizes the characters, for them to see each other as equals under the premise of victory and success.
Banned by both Napoleon and
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
for its revolutionary ties, ''La Marseillaise,'' achieves the similar goal of uniting the people of France by evoking from them a sense of patriotism, as it was nicknamed “Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin” (War song for the
Army of the Rhine). Written by
Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (), sometimes spelled de l'Isle or de Lile (10 May 1760 – 26 June 1836), was a French army officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. He is known for writing the words and music of the ''Chant de guerre pour l'armé ...
, it displayed the primary aspects of neoclassical music of this era, ''La Marseillaise'' tells the story of the strength of the people and army, in this scenario of their strength against the Austrian and Prussian troops. Uniting them through a renewal of both baroque and classical music, it is not of the glorious history of France, but of the resilience of its people who fought, and still fight to create the nation in which they dreamed to build. Eventually being brought back as the song of the people, it was restored to its position as national anthem, as it remains to this day.
File:La Marseillaise.png, Manuscript of ''La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
''
File:Rouget de Lisle1.JPG, Portrait of Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (), sometimes spelled de l'Isle or de Lile (10 May 1760 – 26 June 1836), was a French army officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. He is known for writing the words and music of the ''Chant de guerre pour l'armé ...
File:Étienne Méhul 1799 portrait by Antoine Gros - Insecula.jpg, Étienne Méhul
Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 16 November 1765 ~ 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the Classical period (music), classical period. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the French Revolution, Revolution". He wa ...
(1763-1817) composed '' Le Chant du depart''
Interior decoration
The ''goût Grec'' or "Greek taste" in design was introduced in France in 1757 by
Jean-François de Neufforge
Jean-François de Neufforge (1 April 1714 – 19 December 1791) was a Belgian architect and engraver, known for his ''Recueil elementaire d'architecture'', a book of architectural engravings.
Biography
Jean-François de Neufforge was born on 1 A ...
in his book ''Recueil élémentaire d'architecture'', which praised "the majestic and sober style of the architects of ancient Greece." He offered engravings of classical vaults, garlands of laurel leaves, palmettos and ''guilloches'' (braided interlaced ribbons) and other motifs which soon appeared in Paris salons.
[Riley, Noël, ''Grammaire des arts decoratifs''(2004), pg. 126]
Beginning in the 1770s, the ''style pompéien'' or Pompeii style came into fashion in Paris, based on reproductions of designs found in Pompeii, augmented with
arabesques
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
,
griffons
Griffon may refer to:
* Griffin, or griffon, a mythological creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle
Businesses
* Griffon Aerospace, an American aerospace and defense company
* Griffon Corporation, a multinational cong ...
,
sphinxes
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
, horns-of-plenty and vases on tripods, interlaced with vines and medallions and painted on tall rectangular panels on the walls painted white and bordered with gilded stucco. The new style also took inspiration from the decorative grotesques of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
painted at the Vatican in 1510. The boudoir of Marie-Antoinette at the
Palace of Fontainebleau
Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...
, designed by Rousseau de la Routière in 1790, just after the Revolution began, is a notable example.
During 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 ...
, the aristocracy fled Paris, and most of the palaces and town houses were stripped of furnishings and decoration. A new version of neoclassicism appeared briefly during the
French Directorate (1795–99), which mingled elements the Pompeiian style with the
Adam style
The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (173 ...
from England. When
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 ...
seized power from the Directory, the neoclassical style began to take on a new form, called
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 ...
(1799-1815).
File:Boudoir de la reine, Château de Fontainebleau.jpg, Boudoir of Marie-Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...
, Palace of Fontainebleau
Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...
(1790)
File:Château de Malmaison - Appartement de Joséphine 002.jpg, Apartment of the Empress Josephine
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
at the 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 ...
(1800)
File:Château de Malmaison - Bibliothèque 001.jpg, Library of the 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 ...
, made for Empress Josephine by Percier and Fontaine (1800)
File:Versailles Grand Trianon Napoleon's Chamber.jpg, Napoleon's bedroom at the Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon () is a French Baroque style château situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built at the request of King Louis XIV of France as a retreat for himself and his ''maîtresse-en ...
, Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...
The Empire Style had extraordinary coherence and audacious simplicity, thanks to Napoleon's two energetic chief designers,
Charles Percier
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, originally his friend from student days. For ...
(1764-1838) and
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer.
Life and work
Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked in such close partnership with Charles Percier, ...
(1762-1853). The motifs were usually symbols of empire, including crowns and laurel wreaths, medals, lyres, horns of plenty, and classical heads seen in profile. Rooms sometimes had the walls draped in fabric, representing the tents of an army on campaign. Interiors and furniture often featured classical columns carved of wood. Egyptian motifs and mythical beasts from antiquity, such as the
sphinx
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
, griffon and the
chimera
Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to:
* Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals
* Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...
, were popular. Imperial emblems, including the eagle, the bee, and the letter N with a crown, were also common.
Furniture
The first "Greek taste" furniture in France, made in 1756 and 1757 to designs by
Jean-François de Neufforge
Jean-François de Neufforge (1 April 1714 – 19 December 1791) was a Belgian architect and engraver, known for his ''Recueil elementaire d'architecture'', a book of architectural engravings.
Biography
Jean-François de Neufforge was born on 1 A ...
(1714-1791) and
Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1791), was massive, rectangular and heavily decorated, with gilded columns, friezes and hanging garlands. However, soon afterwards the royal cabinet maker
Jean-Francois Oeben produced much lighter and more graceful works for
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
and
Madame Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...
. These were a hybrid of the curves of rococo with the right angles of neoclassicism. The chairs had curving ''à cabriolet'' legs and cartouche-shaped backs, combined with neoclassic garlands and friezes. Oeben refurnished Versailles and other royal palaces with innovative new kinds of furniture; the cylinder, or roll-top desk; the table with a mechanical writing surface that could be raised; and the drop-front desk.
After the death of Oeben, his place was taken by two of his disciples,
Jean-Henri Riesener
Jean-Henri Riesener (german: Johann Heinrich Riesener; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassicism, neoclassical "Louis XVI style".
Life and ...
(1734-1806) (who married Oeben's widow); and
Jean-François Leleu
Jean-François Leleu (1729 - 1807) was a leading French furniture-maker (ébéniste) of the eighteenth century who was trained alongside his rival Jean-Henri Riesener, in the workshop of Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763). After his master's death, ...
. Riesener and Leleu produced furniture with superb wood-inlay, or marquetry, often in floral designs; and cabinets of mahogany decorated with glided bronze floral decor and column legs.
File:Bureau du Roi vue de face avec pièce.jpg, Desk for Louis XV by Jean-Henri Riesener
Jean-Henri Riesener (german: Johann Heinrich Riesener; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassicism, neoclassical "Louis XVI style".
Life and ...
(1760–69), Palace of Versailles
File:Mechanical table MET DP108860.jpg, Mechanical writing table by Jean-Francois Oeben (1761–63), Metropolitan Museum
File:Chest of Drawers (Commode), 1770-1780, Jean-Henri Riesener, France, oak, mahogany, kingwood, purple heart and unidentified exotic woods, gilt bronze, marble - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09797.JPG, Commode by Jean-Henri Riesener
Jean-Henri Riesener (german: Johann Heinrich Riesener; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassicism, neoclassical "Louis XVI style".
Life and ...
(1770–80), Art Institute of Chicago
File:Fauteuil Jacob cabinet méridienne Versailles.jpg, Armchair by Georges Jacob
Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent Parisian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical s ...
(1781), Palace of Versailles
File:Drop-front secretary (Secrétaire en armoire) MET DP106952.jpg, Drop-front desk by Jean-Henri Riesener
Jean-Henri Riesener (german: Johann Heinrich Riesener; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassicism, neoclassical "Louis XVI style".
Life and ...
(1783), Metropolitan Museum
File:Daybed (Lit de repos or sultane) (part of a set) MET DP158381.jpg, Day bed by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1788), Metropolitan Museum
In
Louis XVI furniture
Louis XVI furniture is characterized by elegance and neoclassicism, a return to ancient Greek and Roman models. Much of it was designed and made for Queen Marie Antoinette for the new apartments she created in the Palace of Versailles, Palace ...
, particularly in the 1780s, the furniture styles became lighter, more geometric, and more simply ornamented, following the tastes of
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
. The leading French designers during this period were
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748-1803) and
Georges Jacob
Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent Parisian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical s ...
(1739-1814). At the very end of the reign of Louis XVI, Sené and Jacob were producing highly original and imaginative forms, including chairs with lyre-shaped carved wooden backs and the "Etruscan chair", a type conceived by the painter
Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert (22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux. ...
for the fantasy "rural hamlet" of Marie-Antoinette at Versailles. The ornament on the chair, which remained popular long after the period ended, was borrowed from ancient Grecian vases.
File:Une chaise dans le petit Trianon.JPG, "Etruscan" chair for Petit Trianon by Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert (22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux. ...
and Georges Jacob
Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent Parisian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical s ...
(1787), Palace of Versailles
File:Secretary, about 1800, attributed to Bernard Molitor, France, mahogany on oak with ormolu mounts and marble top - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08824.JPG, Secretaire by Bernard Molitor Bernard Molitor (22 October 1755 – 17 November 1833) was a Luxembourgish cabinet-maker.
Molitor grew up in Betzdorf, Luxembourg as the son of a miller and went to Paris in 1777, where one of his cousins already worked as a cabinet-maker. During ...
(c. 1800), Cleveland Museum of Art
File:Armchair Josephine, by Jacob, Musée de Malmaison.png, Swan armchair for Empress Josephine, by Georges Jacob
Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent Parisian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical s ...
(1804) Chateau de Malmaison
The furniture craft was upended by the French Revolution; the aristocratic clients fled, and the furniture of the royal palaces was sold in enormous auctions; a large part went abroad. One positive development for furniture-makers was the abolition of the old guild rules; after 1791 the makers of furniture frames could collaborate with those who did the marquetry inlay. The Etruscan taste disappeared, but the neoclassic style flourished under the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
(1793–99), the
French Consulate
The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...
(1799-1804), and the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The last leading furniture designer for Louis XVI, Georges Jacob, formed a new firm with his two brothers, and, between 1796 and 1803, became the most prominent designer of the later neoclassical period. He made an effort to find classical forms that were more authentic. The type of Greek chair called the ''klismos'' became especially popular; Jacob produced a variety of neoclassical divans and stools, as well as the ''Lit de Repos'', or day bed, which appeared in
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
's portrait of
Madame Recamier Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ...
. Another popular form was the folding stool, modeled after those that were used in Roman army encampments. After Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798, Egyptian designs, in stylized geometric form, appeared on furniture. Gilded bronze ornaments of extremely fine craftsmanship were made in Paris workshops and exported to the royal houses of Europe. The continual European wars and blockades made it difficult to import exotic woods, and sometimes local woods such as lemon trees were used; mahogany remained the choice for prestige furniture. The master furniture craftsmen of the late Empire style included
Bernard Molitor Bernard Molitor (22 October 1755 – 17 November 1833) was a Luxembourgish cabinet-maker.
Molitor grew up in Betzdorf, Luxembourg as the son of a miller and went to Paris in 1777, where one of his cousins already worked as a cabinet-maker. During ...
, who made the furniture for the Chateau of Saint Cloud, and
the architects
Charles Percier
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, originally his friend from student days. For ...
and
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer.
Life and work
Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked in such close partnership with Charles Percier, ...
, who made furniture as authentic as possible to Greek and Roman models for the residences of Napoleon and for clients of the new Napoleonic aristocracy.
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{{Revivals , state=autocollapse
French art
Decorative arts
History of furniture
Interior design
Architectural styles
Ancien Régime French architecture
French architectural styles
Louis XVI