The Académie Royale d'Architecture (; ) was a French

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

founded in 1671. It had a leading role in influencing

architectural theory Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, and writing about architecture. Architectural theory is taught in all architecture schools and is practiced by the world's leading architects. Some forms that architecture theory takes are t ...

and education, not only in France, but throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

from the late 17th century to the mid-20th.Cleary 1996.

History

The Académie Royale d'Architecture was founded on December 30, 1671, by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, king of France under the impulsion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Its first director was the mathematician and engineer François Blondel (1618–1686), and the secretary was André Félibien (1619 –1695). The academy was housed in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

for most of its existence, and included a school of architecture. Its members met weekly. Jacques-François Blondel describes the academy quarters in his ''Architecture françoise'' of 1756. The main rooms were on the ground floor and included two lecture halls, one for meetings of the academy members on Mondays and mathematics lectures on Wednesdays (B3), and another for public lectures on architecture on Mondays (B4). There was also a large room for the display of architectural models (B5). The rooms for the secretary of the academy were in the mezzanine level, reached via the staircase. The academy quarters were temporarily roofed at the level of the main floor (''premier étage''), since much of the Louvre still lacked a roof at the level of the attic. The attic roof was finally added under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. File:Louvre - Plan au rez-de-chaussée - Architecture françoise Tome4 Livre6 Pl5 (Académie d'Architecture).jpg, Louvre ground-floor plan of 1754 showing the Académie rooms (yellow), located in the north wing (bottom) File:Louvre - Plan au rez-de-chaussée - Architecture françoise Tome4 Livre6 Pl5 (Académie d'Architecture, detail).jpg, Detail showing the Académie rooms File:Palais du Louvre on the map of Turgot 1739 - Kyoto U.jpg, The Louvre on the 1739 Turgot map of Paris, showing the parts which remained unroofed The Académie d'Architecture was suppressed in 1793, but later revived and merged in 1816 into the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

, together with the Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture (Academy of Painting and Sculpture, founded 1648) and the Académie de Musique (Academy of Music, founded in 1669). In addition, the traditions of the Académie d'Architecture were maintained and spread by the architecture section of the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

up to 1968, when the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

completely reorganized architectural education. The Académie des Beaux-Arts is now one of the five academies of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

Design competitions

From 1720 to 1968, the Académie Royale d'Architecture and its successors held annual competitions for the Grand Prix de Rome in architecture. The winner was typically required to study for several years at the Académie de France in Rome. In 1763 Jacques-François Blondel established less ambitious monthly competitions, which encouraged students to devote more time to their school work during their time in their supervisor's studios.

Members

The eight members upon the academy's founding in 1671 were: * François Blondel, professor and director, * André Félibien, secretary * Libéral Bruant, architect * Daniel Gittard, architect *

Antoine Lepautre Antoine Lepautre () or Le Pautre (1621–1679) was a French architect and engraver. Born in Paris, he was the brother of the prolific and inventive designer-engraver Jean Lepautre. Antoine Lepautre has been called "one of the most inventive archi ...

, architect * François Le Vau, architect * Pierre II Mignard, architect * François d'Orbay, architect Subsequent edicts of the crown increased the membership. By 1793 there were 33 members, divided into two classes, plus a third consisting of correspondents living in the French provinces and in foreign countries. Later members included: *

Claude Perrault Claude Perrault (; 25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.Jules Hardouin-Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Gra ...

(1646–1708), elected member 1675 *

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...

(1613–1700)), elected member 1681 * Pierre Bullet (1639–1716), elected member 1685 *

Philippe de La Hire Philippe de La Hire (or Lahire, La Hyre or Phillipe de La Hire) (18 March 1640 – 21 April 1718)

(1640–1718), elected member and professor 1687 *

Robert de Cotte Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...

(1656–1735), elected member 1687, director 1687 or 1699 * Antoine Desgodetz (1653–1728), elected member 1698, second class 1699, first class 1718, and professor 1719 *

Jacques Gabriel Jacques Gabriel (1667 – 23 April 1742) was a French architect, the father of the famous Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Jacques Gabriel was a designer, painter and architect of the 17th and 18th centuries and one of the most prominent designers of t ...

(1667–1742), elected member 1699, director 1736 * Ange-Jacques Gabriel (1698–1782), elected member 1728, director 1743 * Jacques-François Blondel (1705–1774), elected second-class member 1755, professor 1762 *

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 ...

(1709–1773), elected member 1756 * Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728–1799), elected second-class member 1762, promoted to first-class 1780 * Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806), elected second-class member 1773 *

Richard Mique Richard Mique () (18 September 1728 – 8 July 1794) was a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical French architect born in Lorraine. He is most remembered for his picturesque hamlet, the hameau de la Reine — not particularly characteristic of h ...

(1728–1794), elected member 1775, director 1783Le Bas 1840, p. 84; see also Lemonnie
vol. 8 (1924), pp. 321–323, 331–333

Documentation

From 1911 to 1929, the French

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

Henry Lemonnier published the proceedings of the academy in ten volumes with the title ''Procès-verbaux de l'Académie royale d'architecture 1671–1793'':
Vol. 1 (1671–1681)

Vol. 2 (1682–1696)

Vol. 3 (1697– 1711)

Vol. 4 (1712–1726)

Vol. 5 (1727–1743)

Vol. 6 (1744–1758)

Vol. 7 (1759–1767)

Vol. 8 (1768–1779)

Vol. 9 (1780–1793)

Vol. 10 (Table générale)

Notes

Bibliography

* Blondel, Jacques-François (1756). ''Architecture françoise'', vol. 4, book 6. Paris: Charles-Antoine Jombert
Copy
at Gallica

at Kyoto University Library. * Cleary, Richard (1996). "Paris, VI. Institutions, 2. Académie Royale d'Architecture", vol. 24, pp. 169–171, in ''

The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

'', 34 volumes, edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. . Also available a
Oxford Art Online
(subscription required). * Le Bas, Philippe, editor (1840). ''France. Dictionnaire encyclopédique'', volume 1 (A–Az). Paris: Didot Frères. See the articl
"Académie d'architecture", pp. 82–85
(at Google Books). * Lemonnier, Henry ( 929. ''Procès-verbaux de l'académie royale d'architecture. Tome X: Table générale''. Paris: Armand Colin.
Copy
at Internet Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Academie Royale D'architecture

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 construction, constructi ...