Jean Benoît Vincent Barré (; Seine-Port,

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

, 22 January 1735 – Seine-Port, 27 January 1824) was a French architect. He was one of the most important architects of the 18th century and one of the creators of the 'Louis XVI style' of architecture.

Biography

Jean Benoît Vincent Barré learned architecture in the school of

Antoine Matthieu Le Carpentier Antoine Matthieu Le Carpentier (; Rouen, 1709 - Paris, 1773) was a French architect. Biography Antoine Matthieu Le Carpentier was born in Rouen, the son of a carpenter. He became a member of the Académie royale d'architecture in 1756. His studen ...

, from whom he also derived part of his clientele. He worked for very rich patrons, erecting sumptuous and elegant buildings, perfectly fitted to the taste of the day. His career nevertheless remains relatively unknown. He worked for financiers like Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, for whom he built the famous

Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière The Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière () was an hôtel particulier in Paris, in the corner between Avenue Gabriel and Rue Boissy d'Anglas. Description The layout of the rooms is known from a relief by the architect Johann Christian Kammsetzer, pres ...

in Paris,

Jean-Joseph de Laborde Jean Joseph de Laborde, Marquis of Laborde (29 January 1724 – 18 April 1794) was a French businessman, slave trader, ''fermier général'' and banker to the king, who turned politician. A liberal, he was guillotined in the French Revolution. ...

or for Laborde's father-in-law, Mathias de Nettine, banker at the Austrian court. Through Nettine's influence, he was commissioned to build

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

' Place Royale/Koningsplein, Church of St. James on Coudenberg, and French embassy. In 1770, Barré was named inspector of the buildings for the king's

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

and

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

, during which appointment he built his best-known work, the château du Marais (1772–1779), for Jean Le Maître de La Martinière, treasurer-general of the artillery. For Louis Georges Érasme de Contades, maréchal de Contades, he rebuilt the

château de Montgeoffroy The Château de Montgeoffroy () is an 18th-century manor house located in the commune of Mazé (Maine-et-Loire), France. History In 1676, Érasme de Contades acquired the property. In 1772, Marshal Louis Georges Érasme de Contades, governor of ...

, in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

. Underrated by his fellow architects, only one other backed he is presenting himself to the Royal Academy of Architecture. In 1772, Barré gave himself over to property speculation in the ''Nouvelle France'' quartier of Paris, in association with

Jean-François Perrin de Cypierre Jean-François () is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), ...

, intendent of the

généralité ''Recettes générales'', commonly known as ''généralités'' (), were the administrative divisions of France under the Ancien Régime and are often considered to prefigure the current '' préfectures''. At the time of the French Revolution, ther ...

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Antoine Roy, who married Barré's daughter Adélaïde-Sophie in 1793 and had two daughters by her. (Roy made a great fortune and became

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

upon 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: * Ab ...

.) In 1797, Barré retired to his property of La Chesnaye at Seine-Port where he died of old age in 1824.

Main projects

* ''Château d' Hénonville'' (

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

), between

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune north of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official (capital) of the Val-d'Oise '' département'', although in reality the ' ...

and

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

, rebuilt for Jean-Marie Roslin d'Ivry, 1765–1771. * ''

Château de Montgeoffroy The Château de Montgeoffroy () is an 18th-century manor house located in the commune of Mazé (Maine-et-Loire), France. History In 1676, Érasme de Contades acquired the property. In 1772, Marshal Louis Georges Érasme de Contades, governor of ...

'' (

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...

), 1772–1775, rebuilt for

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Louis Georges Érasme de Contades. * '' Château du Marais'' (

Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière The Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière () was an hôtel particulier in Paris, in the corner between Avenue Gabriel and Rue Boissy d'Anglas. Description The layout of the rooms is known from a relief by the architect Johann Christian Kammsetzer, pres ...

'', corner of Avenue Gabriel and Rue Boissy d'Anglas, Paris, for Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, 1775 (destroyed).Attribution given by Thiéry, 1787. * '' Château du Lude'' (

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

), 1785, for the marquess of La Vieuville : Barré realised an important landscaped garden in removing the previous courtyard, building a portico to the western rooms and constructing the wing in the Louis XVI style. To the east, he masked the towers using parallel pavillons with higher roofs than the central pavillon, created a unified facade. The somewhat archaistic allure of this facade also avoids too marked a rupture with the 17th century parts of the building. *For the financier

, Barré created interior decorative schemes and, above all, more of his famous garden landscapes (in collaboration with 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 ...

) : cenotaph of Cook,

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit ** podium * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ...

-type column, temple of filial

Pietas (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distinguishing virt ...

, Gothic tower, ruined bridge. * ''Hôtel Micault d'Harvelay'', quartier de la chaussée d'Antin, Paris, for Joseph Micault d'Harvelay, Jean-Joseph de Laborde's father in law (destroyed). * ''Hôtel d'Aubeterre'', quartier de la chaussée d'Antin, Paris (destroyed). * ''Hôtel de Cypierre'', 26 rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière, Paris, for

(destroyed). * ''Hôtel Barré'', 24 rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière, Paris, for himself. * ''Hôtel de Lalive'', rue d’Artois * ''Maison de Monsieur Girault'', Boulevard de la Chaussée d’Antin * ''Hôtel de Laborde'', Boulevard des Italiens * Transformation of the ''château de Chevilly'' (

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

), for Jean-François Perrin de Cypierre.

References

Bibliography

* Michel Gallet, ''Les architectes parisiens du XVIII^e siècle'', Paris, Éditions Mengès, 1995 – * Michel Gallet and Gérard Rousset-Charny, « Barré », ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects'', 1982

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barre, Jean-Benoit-Vincent 1735 births 1824 deaths French neoclassical architects 18th-century French architects