The French term ''goût grec'' (; "Greek taste") is often applied to the earliest expression of the

Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and refers specifically to the

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

s and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

of the mid-1750s to the late 1760s. The style was more fanciful than historically accurate, though the first archaeological surveys of Greece had begun to appear at this time. James Stuart and Nicholas Revett's ''James Stuart (1713–1788)#Antiquities of Athens, The Antiquities of Athens and Other Monuments of Greece'' (London, 1762) led the way. It was characterized by severe rectilinear and

trabeated In architecture, post and lintel (also called prop and lintel or a trabeated system) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold up ...

forms with a somewhat crude Greek detailing incorporating bold

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

, Ionic

scrolls A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...

, Greek key and scroll frets and guilloche. The style's origin may be found in the suite of furniture designed by

Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain (Paris, 1715- 1760) was a French painter and engraver. He studied design and engraving with Jacques Dumont. He then moved to Rome, becoming known in artistic circles before returning to Paris to join the Academy. He spe ...

for the Parisian financier Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully (now in the

Musée Condé The Musée Condé – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the c ...

, Chantilly). In comparison to the prevailing

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, the austerity of these pieces is stark, and found praise from the contemporary authority on Greek antiquity, the

Comte 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 ...

. Also influential were the engravings of the architect

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 ...

, the architecture of

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 ...

, and the designs of

Philippe de La Guêpière (Pierre Louis) Philippe de La Guêpière (c. 1715 – 30 October 1773) was an 18th-century French architect whose main commissions were from Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. Early life Philippe was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, south of Paris ...

. The ''goût grec'' was a style of

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

circles in upper-class Paris, but was ignored at the court at Versailles, where a more conservative, stiffened

Louis XV style The Louis XV style or ''Louis Quinze'' (, ) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV style ...

and modified "Transitional" style obtained. The ''goût grec'' was short-lived and replaced quickly with the delicate, linear (or insipid, according to preference) ''goût étrusque'' and ''goût arabesque'', neo-Etruscan and "arabesque" fashions with closer parallels in contemporary British

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 ...

of the 1770s and 80s.

Notes

References

*Svend Eriksen, ''Early Neo-Classicism in France''. (London: Faber). Translated by Peter Thornton. Decorative arts Architectural styles Neoclassical architecture in France Greek Revival architecture {{decorative-art-stub

See also

Notes

References