In addition to anew translation ofBoullee'sEssai, itsfirstappearance in english, theoriginalFrench texthas been included in thisbook. Frompage40topage 65in theMSisfound thedraftoftheEssal, which begins on page 69. Theaccents and punctuation have beenadapted to present use in order to facilitate reading. The number of erasuresmakeitcertain that thetext.isinthemaster'sown
In addition to anew translation ofBoullee'sEssai, itsfirstappearance in english, theoriginalFrench texthas been included in thisbook. Frompage40topage 65in theMSisfound thedraftoftheEssal, which begins on page 69. Theaccents and punctuation have beenadapted to present use in order to facilitate reading. The number of erasuresmakeitcertain that thetext.isinthemaster'sown
In addition to anew translation ofBoullee'sEssai, itsfirstappearance in english, theoriginalFrench texthas been included in thisbook. Frompage40topage 65in theMSisfound thedraftoftheEssal, which begins on page 69. Theaccents and punctuation have beenadapted to present use in order to facilitate reading. The number of erasuresmakeitcertain that thetext.isinthemaster'sown
Archiiecture, Bssai surl'art forms part of'the Boullepapers andnotes.
Thesearebound in onevolume, preceded byan inven-
tory, obituary notice, noteson archtectureand art andreports on competitionsin MSand inprint. Thereatealsodraftsofletters and several notes.inBoule'sown hand. Frompage40topage 65in theMSisfound thedraftoftheEssai, whichbeginson page 69. Particularly revealingisthedescription ora youngrnan.destined tobean architect, whomBoullesenton.toDavid inorderto study paintng. Itcorroborates thegenerous and unembittered attitude whichBoulledisplayed upto hisdeath (MS Francais 9J 53p. 38v). Inaddition toanewtranslation ofBoulle'sEssal, itsfirstappearance in English, theoriginalFrench texthas been included in thisbook.J n arder topreserveitscharacter, theauthentc eighteenthcentury spellinghasbeenmaintaind, although rnisleadingerrors have been corrected, The accents and punctuation havebeen adapted to present use in order to facilitate reading, Itistobenotdthat Boulle'sspellingisidiosyncratic, evenfbr theeighteenthcentury.Effethespells withan accentaigu onthefirst"e", (jofsaG~thsarebothfound inhistext, and hiscapital "S" issmetimes almost indistinguishablefrom thesmall one. Thegreat number of erasuresmakeit certain that thetext.isinthemaster's own hand, It revealsthe interestinminutedetil coupled withphilosophical thought socharacteristc of'hisdrawings, Theoriginalpaginationof volume9153ishereshown inthe insdemargins of'theoriginalFrench versin. translated by Sheila de Valle edited and annotated by Helen Rosenau PartofMS Francai's 9153 Bibliothque Nationale, Pars by Etienne-Louis Boulle Architecture, Essay on Art * Friendsenlightenedby the artsl I r 1havenot wontheprzefor pleasingyou I shall at leasthavethehonour of havingtried they have on our senses, their similaritiesto the human organismo1flattered myself that ifI went back tothesource of al! thefinearts I should findnew ideas and thus establish principles that would beall themorecertain for havingtheir source innature. You who are fascinated by the fine arts, surrender yourselves completely to all thepleasure than this sublime passion can procure! No .other pleasure is sopureoItisthis passon that makes us love to study, that transforms our painintopleasure and, withitsdivineflame, forces geniusto yieldupits oracles, I n short, it isthis passion that summons us to irnmortality. Itsto you whocultivatethearts that 1dedicate thefruits of f11Y longvigils; to youwho, withall your learning, areper- suaded=-and doubtless rightly so--that we must not presumethat all wehaveleft I S toimitate theancients! J udge for yourselves whether I have understood what no one beforeme, to my knowledge, has attempted to understand. "Amis clairs des arts! S i deVOusagrer je n'emporte leprix, j'aurai du moinl'bonneur del'avoir entrepris'? La Fontaine" 82 Dominated by anexcessivelovefor my profession, 1have surrendered myself to it completely. But although 1have yielded to this overweaning passion, 1have made it arule that 1shall work for the benefit of society and thus merit public esteem. 1should confess straightaway that 1haverefused to con- finemyself totheexclusivestudy of our ancient masters and havenstead tried, through thestudy of Nature to broaden my ideas on my profession which, after much thought, 1 consider to bestill inits infancy, What little attention has been paid in the past to the poetry of architecture, which is a S UTemeans of adding to inan's enjoyment and ofbestowng on artists thefamethey deserve! That is rny belief. Our buildings-and our public buildings in particular-e-should be to sorne extent poems. The impression they make on U8. should arouse in us sen- sations that correspond to the function of the building in question. Itseemedto methat if I wasto incorporate inmy Architecture all the poetry of which it was capable, then I should study thetheory of volumes and analysethem, at the sametimeseekingto understand their properties, thepower To MenwhocultivatetheArts , ARCHI TECTURE, ES S A yON ART 83 most educated men shared Prault's opnon.' And now Reader, let meask you, "Am1not tesorneex- tent justified inmaintaining that architecture isstill initsin- fancy, for wehave no clear notion ofits basic principies?" In common with all educated men, 1admit that tact and sensibilty can result inexcellent work. 1admit that evenar- tists who have not acqured suffcient knowledge to search out the basic principies at the root of their art will nevertheless becompetent, providedthey areguidedby that gift of Nature that permits men to choose wisely. . But it is nonetheless true that there arefewauthors who haveconsidered archtecture fromthe artistic point of'view; what 1mean isthat fewauthors have attempted to study in -depththat sideof archtecture that I term art, inthe strict sense of the word. Wehave sorne precepts based on good exarnples but these arefewand far between. Vitruvius's commentator" does inforrn us that a prerequisite of architecture is aknowledge of'those sciences related to geometry, such as Mechancs, hydraulics and astronomy, and also Physics, Medicine, etc. He concludes byaskng.for sorneknowledgeof thefinearts. Bu, if'wecon- sider that science and thefinearts both have their placein architecture considered as art, and since, moreover, Prault defines his architectureas-rfantastic", Franeois Blondel in hisrebuttal has.norprcved thecontrary, andnor hasanyone-- elseupto thepresent; if wesucceed indscoveringthat basic principies of architecture and what is their source, then 1 believethat, without rashness, wecan conclude that these principies have remained unknown or at least have been neglected by those who have discovered them, 1have met competent men who haveobjected that since the discussion between Prault and Francois Blondel had degenerated intoaquarrel andthat they weretherefore over- comebyanger and aspirit of rivalry, no conelusion should, under thecircumstances, bebased ontheir pronouncements for Perault's true opinions werecertainly very differentfrorn those heprofessed,5However, oneof thosewho had spoken thus confessed that thequestion wasdifficultto solve. At the Academy, I heard himread a memorandum debating this queStionwithout corning any closer to asolution. When contemplating the Peristyle of the Louvre in the company of other Architeds, 1haveonoccasion chosenthe moment whenthey werelos inadmiration at its beaty to declare a completely opposite opinion. As you can well ime agine, they asked me to explain myself. Then 1reminded themof Peratilt's opinion. 1said tothem, "Yo admirethis work of art but the architect himself has admitted that it is based on pure fantasy and owes nothing whatsoever to nature. Your admiration is therefore the result of a par-' ticular point of viewand youshould not besurprisedto heat _._ it criticized, for theso"calledbeauty that youfindinithasno ~llllext!;m with na{ure; which Is the soufce of al! true ~I!qty." 1added, "You may admire thetechniques used in its construction and 1admit that it IS acompetent construc- tion, evenoileofGenius, bu in viewofthe architect's oWn What is architecture? Shall 1join Vitruvius indefiningit asthe art of building? Indeed, no,for thereisaagrant error inthisdefintion. Vitruvius mistakes theeffectfot thecause. In order to execute, itis first necessary to conceive. Our earliest ancestors built their huts only when they had apie- tureof theminther mnds. Itisthisproduct ofthe mind, this process of creation, that constitutes architecture and which can consequently be defined as the art of designing and brnging to perfecton any buildingwhatsoever. Thus, the art of construction 1S merely an auxiliary art which, inour opinion, could appropriately be called the scientific sideof architecture, Art, inthe true sense of'.theword, and scence, these we believehave their placein architecture, The majority of Authors writing on this subject confine themselves to discussing thetechnical side.That isnatural if we think about ita .little, Itwas necessary to study safe building methods before attempting to build attractively. And sincethetechnical sideisof paramount importance and consequently the most essential, it was natural that ths aspect should bedealt with first. Moreover, it must beadmitted that thebeauty of arr can- not be demonstrated like a mathematical truth; although this beauty isderived fromnature, 10senseit and apply it fruitfully certain qualites are necessary and nature is not very generous withthem. What do wefindinBooks on architecture? Ruins of an- cient temples that we know were excavated in Greece. However perfect these examples may be, they are not suffieientto provide acomplete treatise on arto Vitntvus's commentator Iists for us everything an architect should know. According to the commentator, his knowledge must beuniversal. in Francois Blondel's pompous prefacewefindadescrip" tion of theexcellenceof architecture. The author informs us that to punish his people God threatenedthem with taking away their architects. 1haveheard Witsexclaim, "Youmust beamong thechosenfewtodaretotake upthat profession!" Reader, you Willbeastonished to learn thatneither inthis pompous preface nor in Vitruvius's commentator do 1find anyindication ofthe meaning of architecture. Whafis more, neither of these authors has any notion of the basic prin- cipies on which their profession is based. My opinion may offendsornepeople to begin with; but it is easilyjustifiable for my suggestion is in fact taken frorn one of the two authors just quoted. You are familiar with the famous quarrel between Perault, the architect of the Peristyle of the touvre and Fran90is Blondel, the arcruted of the Porte StoDenis. the former denied that architectUre hlid its source in nature: he called it fantastic art that. was pure invention. When Fran90is Blnaertried to refute Petault's opinion, the arguments heusedwereso weak that thequestion rernained unsolved. When 1raised itagain, 1dd not get any satisfac" tory anSwer. On the contrary, 1soon became aware that Introduction ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART 84 admission, 1believethat when you think you are admiring mortal .statuary of Greece,offer usgods thatincorporate all what you call thebeauty of its architecture, you areinfact the majestic beauty of the human race; whether they admiring what your eyeis accustomed to insomething that succeed in gathering arich harvest fromthe vast storethat has no true beauty." My colleagues stammereda fewwords Nature has provided for themand their names are handed without givingmeananswer. 1was not surprised for itisnot down gloriously to posterity, theY--C1fil procure pure hap- easy to explain what the beauty of the Peristyle of the piness by themselves and every one of them isjustified in Louvre or ofany other monument has to do withNature,if saying,,"AH my fame 1oweto myself alone." one has not given deep thought to the matter, What does These aretheincomparable joys and incalculable advan- surprise meisthat no onehas triedto elucidateanobjection tages of whichtheyoung Architect isdeprivedfor histalents of such importance. wouldremain buriedifhe devotedall histimeto Study. Heis " * :\Y_hat, then, has impeded the progress of that part of obligedto sacrifcethelatter ifhe isto becomewell knownto a~ct.ur.e_con.-einea witliJ mJ i1-fhest:rtcnel!.se~()fJ h~ those in power, without whose goodwill he cannot develop ~ This is clear to me. _ _ bis talento For an art to attain perfection, it isnot sufficientthat the This is without doubt an abundant source of acute pan men who practise it loveit passionately. Itis also vital that and bitter regret to those who carepassionately about their there beno impediment to thestudies they must undertake. profession; and so1wasnot surprised when1heard tell that Their geniusmust beableto spread itswingsfreely andthey a very competen! man, who had suffered the privations 1 must beencouraged by theexpectation that their effortswill have described, was in the throes of the deepest despair. 1 berewarded. would not be surprised either ifsome architects thought 1 Let us imagine now that ayoung Architect makes sorne was exaggerating. But 1 am sure'that such men would progress and begins to make aname for himself andto win bearchitects innameonly andthat joy tothemwouldmean theconfidenceofthe PublicoHewill beoverburdened witha wealth. stack of requests anddetailsof all kindsandforcedtodevote However, suppose we assume for a moment that my all histimetothecontracts which aregivenhim. Becausehe opinions areinsornerespects falseoSuppose weassumethat is continually busy withtheprocedures made necessary by an arcbitect is inthe most advantageous position possible, the confidence shown in him, the artist can no longer con- Le. hehas talent, money and patrons. Such advantages are tribute to the progress of his art and consequently cannot extremely diffcult to come by all together and where will hope to winthe true glory to which he could have aspired. they lead him? Hecanoot givesuffeenttimetothestudy ofhis art andthus Itis afact that whenthemost straightforward individual finds himself forced to abandon it. You will say that the starts to build, he sorely tries the patience of his architect, architect should refuselucrative business soas to beableto withwhose deoisions lerarely concurso pursue his purely theoretical st'gdies; Alas! Who would It is also afact that those in high places who givecon- willinglysacrfceafortune thatis offeredhimandwhich, in tracts for public monuments are not in general any more many cases, hedesperately needs? Youwill say that such a amenable than private individuals. And so what happens? sacrifice should be easy in viewof the expectation that he" What happens isthatthe arcbitect findsthat heisobliged to will one day be commissioned to build several great obey orders fromaboye and abandon hisbest ideas. Whatis buildings. But how can he really believe in such expec- rmore,-ifthearchitectis very gifted, bisprojects will beeven1 tations? The opportunities are so few. Howcan hebe.sure 'i less acceptable to his judges who will not be sufficientJ y '. ,~ ten or fifteenyears in advance that his services will beused enlightened to either understand or appreciate thebeauty of ~<. by those inpower at thetime. Youwill perhaps reply that a L~sT.dheeSiggIP.ftSe .. d architeot will not beunderstood and this wl' .. 11 .\~. worthy man has theright to expect just .that. And 1would answer you, "Will justice bedone? Can hereally expect to cause hima thousand irksome setbacks; ami if hewants to . be given preference?" 1 credit patrons with the utmost keep his position, then hemust refrain fromany resistance; \ honesty and thepurest intentions andyet 1amforced.to ad- hemust not listento the voiceofhis genius but descend to -;. mit that ther lack of knowledge often leads them to aet \_-.!he level of those he must please, 11is evident that this blindly, and that it is a lucky chance whenthey choose flexibilityis difficulttofindinanexceptionalman; and since competent manoHowmany timespreference hasbeen given in architecture, there is often a curbon genius, as wehave to ignorant schemers at the expense of worthy men who demonstrated, it isconsequentIy verydifficultto findagifted spend their timeworking and do not scheme! architect in a position, where he .can produce good How preferable sthefateofPainters andmenofletters!6 architecture. '. _' They are freeand independent; they can choose their sub- An architect cannever besurethathe will begiventheop- J ects and follow the bent of their genius. Their reputation portunity todevelophis tmly superior geniusby beingmade depends on nOone but themselves. They have exceptional responsble fm one of those public buildings that should talent? Then no human force can prevent it flowering, bringglory to thecountry that has ordered themand should _Whether theydistinguish themselves in theW<lYof all g'elit arOUset)leadmiration of a1lconnoisse).lfs. menwho arouse our admiration; whether they fil1our helirts J fhe succeeds inbeing <;hosentobeginsuchaproject, will withvoluptuous. pieasure asLucretius didwithheaqy words he be permitted to complete it? What a sorry example W e or whether they say with Correggio, "1too amapainier", h<lvebefore us in the. heart of our capital city. How many they enchant us with the grace of their inimitable pictures. centuries ago did work beginon the palace of the Louvre! Whether, by vying wit)l the genius of Raphael who gaveliS For example,the fa;adegivingontotheTuileries Gardens, the sublme imlige of the Creator unr<lvellingchaos, they what arhapsody! The centre ffOllprojection isby different hold all our fa(:ultiesinsuspense lind, inimitation ofthe im- hands whoseindividual styles are easily recognizable. The ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART 85 (Q.rmlhati-Rllre inventi!!:__~_ If by the strength of his mind artd the techniques it devises, a rhan could arouse in us with his art those sen~ sations we' experience when we look at nature, such art wouldhefarsuperior toanything that wepossess,for weare" The Present Problem Is arc~tectu.re ieferyf~ntasti~art ~el~ngingtootherealm'\ ? of pure mVention oc are ItSbaStc pnnclples denved from ~. Nature? ...J Allowmefirst of a1lto cha11enget~existence of a~ a!.!___, Consideration ofthe discussion that oceurredbetween Prault, architect of the Peristyle ofthe LOuvre, and Fran90is BlondeJ , architect of the Monument at the Porte StoDenis the comparison you are suggesting?" "What! They are comparable with the creations of the Divine Being ... the DivineBeing!" criedthe young painter, "If hewould come down toearth and deignto stoop so 10wasto useonly'the means at our dsposal, then, Sir, you wouldhavea far ap- preciation ofour great men." Wecoldnot but percevethe truth intheyoung.man's outburst, Supposingthat wehadno knowledge of an artst's techniques and had never seen anyone paint. If wewerehanded apalette aftr'seeingapie- turethat was sotrueto lifethat wecould not believettobe real=-such pictures do exist-we would not believethat it was possible to create withso titile, something that had madesucha vividimpression onusoHowisit possibletoim- aginethat withfiveor sxdifferent colours, themultitude of colours, the nuances, a11the effects of nature can be reproduced! How is'that man can convey the warmth and freshness ofthe ar, canreproduce theeffectsoflight?How -canhehave succeededin drawngthepassions that moveus and by revealingthemtousaliveonthecanvas, make usfeel themin our very being? ~- Perhaps, you will object, thatif'indeed architects havenot acquired the high degree of perfection that other artists appear to have.attained, this may bebecause thelatter have the advantage that their art is close to nature and con- sequently more likelyto rnoveuso 1wouldreply-that-this isthevery queston 1amtrying to answer; that what 1understandby art is ey'_~I"Y!l1in.K,thaf aims at imiJ atingn.atute; thatno atchrtect has attempted the ..'task.I haveundertaken; ,andthat ir1succeed; as1dare hope 1shall, in proving that architectute, asfaras 1tsrela:tions ~tut:e-ate_~nce-#.!~a~.J 1a~~1ip$,!!!l;~Y~!l,];r~ater~~- vantage than th.e_other arts-then you wIll have to admlt 1lat if arcmtecfure liis-nfihade as many advances as the other arts, theblamedoesnot liewithArcmtects aJ orre,ror"1 consider, they have an excuse on the grounds of the obstacles listed wmch have hampered and continue to hamper arcmtecture inits progress towards perfection. God forbid that it is my intention to offend the dis- tinguished Architects of this age. 1respect and lovethem andthehighesteeminwhichI holdtheroleads metobelieve that they wiIl listen, without displeasure, to the words of a Iilanwhose soleaimisto contribute to the advancement of hisprofession. If1am mistaken, m)' ideas will hurt no one but myself; ishould not be suspected of bad intentions. lf, 011the e011trary, r have understood certain truths, then 1 shall certainly not upset ,disngished men, who have always considered truth with loveand respecto ARCHITECTURE, ESSA YON ART b~ck projecti0I} and the comer pavilions are also by different architcts, Itseems to methat this Palace can be compared to apoem, each part of which is composed by a different poet, . But, you. wi11say, i11spite ofall these irnpediments to progress, wedo have masterpieces that areevidenceofthe beauty of architecture anddemonstrate theperfection ithas attained, My ownviews on this will be revealed Iater and, meanwhile, 1 will merely state that if .archtecture had acquired the perfection attained by the other arts, and if there were as beautiful examples, we would not today be reduced to trying to establish whether architecture has its source in nature or whether tis pure invention. 1can cer- tainly maintain, without fear of shocking anyone, that a demonstration is clearly needed sincethe architect of the Peristyle of the Louvr considers that aIl famous monuments are merely products ofthe imagination. 1feel 1must confess straightaway that 1myself belive that thereisagreatdi.~encebetween architectural master- pieces and those .whictti~rouse our admiration in Painting, sculpture and Poetry,?This s a consequence of the obser- vations 1have made aboye on the advantages of the Poet and the Painter. TheIatter have not been hampered intheir choice of subject; they have exhausted every subject, whereas in the whole of Europe we can find vefy few examples of beautiful architecture, And so, if we want to affirmthat architecture 1Stheeqyal ofthe other arts,what ptooIdo wehave?lt iscertainthat for thepurposes ofcom- parison there are nowhere near as many masterpieces in architecture asintheother arts andthat it isonlypossibleto rheasure the succesS of an art thtough the plethora of experiments ofall kinds. iamreminded of arather curious conversation. 1was in thecountry withan art Iover and ayoung Painter. WeWere taking a walk together wMediscussing paintingS and1Was Speaking to 'the art lover. 1 exto11edooe of the most Toeautiful] pietures of Vovhemens that we had seen together. ~s this picture had givenmeenormous pleasure, 1 Waspraislilg it passionately. The art J over remained un- rhoved. Nooneis moreexactingihan aman whois not con- versant with a given att for he Isunable to imagine a11the difficultiesthearlist has had toovercome. Hehasnopityror himand believes that everything is possible, The art lover pointed to nature and said ironically, "Vovhermens has forgotten so much." 1quickly teplied, "You are paying Vovhermens a greater tribute than you realize when you compare the works of that gredt master to nature. Do you really tmnk that the work of hulilblemortals can withstand \r -.. 1 theimpression that objects makeonusbytheir clarity, w:i1a~~'. !!!!lkes-u~LI)gleoy_t.J ".egu~lI-cpartic_u1ads.t~_Q,t that t~ul~d their symmetry representorder, and ordejs..cla~ -c._c,~_c ~,._.-~ ---------.- ~ is obvious from the aboye-renrarks that man had no clear idea ofthe shape f volumes before hediscovered the concept of regularity.P Once1hadobserved that theshapeof aregular volumeis d.et.er. mined.by~.laritY.: ._s.ym.me.trY.~I!.d ...vv.~ ar..iet..\th.enl.un- derstoo? thatyroportiQ~~ori:@J 1atiorl of these properties. Bytheproportion of'avolume, 1meantheeffectproduced by its regularity, its symmetry and its variety. Regularity gives it>a,_).:leau1iM._s~(!, symllle!ry_giyC!s, .. _ lLQr~.l!Lill1 l?roportion, vari~!y__gLvesi(pIanes,-that diversify as weIook --ll~m._ lhs the cornbination and-Ulerespective concord which are the result of all these properties, give rise to volumetric harmony. _c_cFor example, asPherecanbeconsidered asincorporating all theproperties of volumes, Every point on its surface is equidistant fromits centre, Theresult of this unique advan- tage is that from whatever angle welook at it, no optical effect can ever spoil the magnificent beauty of its shape which, to our eyes, will always beperfecto The sphere provides the solution to a problem which might be considered a paradox, if it. had not been geometrically preved that a sphere is an undenable polyhedron, This paradox isthat themost.infnite variety is derived fromthe most perfect symmetry. For ifwe assume that the surface of our globeis divided.intodifferent points, only oneof thesepoints wiIl appear perpendicular to it and therest will b at amultitude of different angles. The sphere has other advantages: it offers the greatest possible surface to the eye and this lends it majesty. It has thesimples! possibleforrn.the beauty of'which derives from its uninterrupted surfaee; and, in addtion to all-these qualifies, ithas grace for its outline and is as smooth and fiowingas it could possibly be. T~oJ ?-lusiol1-f sUthese observationsis that asphere ~alLr.espects,J he111age ofperfection. 1tcombines strict symmetr_)':with the most pe~f~cJ Ieg_ularityand thegteat~st pQssbevaI'i~~y; its formlii developed to ihefltsf extet arrd is the simplest that exists; its shape is outlined by the most agreeable contour and, finaIly, the light effects that it produces are so beautifuIly graduated that they could not possibly besofter, more agreeableor morevaried. Theseun- iqueadvantages, whichthespherederivesfromnature, have an immeas'urablehold over our senses. A great man (Montesquieu) once said, "Symmetry is pleasing because tis the image of clarity and because the mind, whichisalways seekingunderstanding, easiiy acepts and grasps aU ihat is symmetrical."13 1 wouId add that symmetry is pleasing because it is the image of order and perfection. Variety, is pleasing because it satisfied a spirituaI need which, by its very nature, likes to be. stimulated and sustained by what isnew. And itisvariety that makesthings appear newto usoIt therefore followsthat variety puts new lifeinto OUT facuItiesby offeringus newpieasures anditis as pleasing to us in the objects that are part of any given volume, asit isinthelight effects soproduced. Grandeur, too, always pleases us whatever form it takes 86 TIpr_e.ssion .. How is it that we can recognize the shape of a regular volume at a glance? Itis because it is simplein form, its planes are regular and it repeats itself. But sincewegauge Onthe EssentialQuality o[Vol1Jmes.On their properties. On- their analogy with the human organisml1 . In my serch to discover the properties of volumes and their analogy withthehuman organism, 1beganby studying thenature of sorneirregular volumes. . What 1sawwere massesW'th-convex, concave, angular or planimetric planes, etc., etc. Next 1reaIized that the xatious ~~IJ 1()Urs_ofthe planes ofthese volumesdeflnedtheir shape and deterrnm-eotheir formo1also perceived inthem tfie-corifsion (1cannot Say variety) engendered by the number and complexity of their irregular planes. Weary of the mute sterility of irregular volumes, 1 proceeded to study regular volumes. What 1first not_edwas their reguIarity, their symmetry and their variety; and 1 perceived that that was what constituted their shape and their formoWhat ismore, 1realizedthatre~l,Ilarityalonehad givenman a clear c9ncepiTonof theshape' of volumes, and' sohegave tMmadefinition which, as wesnill see, reimIted not only from their regularity and symmetry but also from their variety. .. . Anirregularvolurne iscqmposed ofa multtude of planes, each of themdifferent and, as1have observed aboye, it les beyond OUT grasp. ThenU111ber andcomplexity ofthep1anes lave. uQthing, distiCti6oiiC-them' l1dc'gve a c?Ilfused .... :...~ lrnited to more or lessimperfect limitations. But there isno art that wecan create alone, for if such art existedit would mean that the DivineBeing, thecreator of Nature, had en- dowed us with a quality that is part of His own essential being, What, therefore, could Prault have meant by apurely in- -" ventiveart? Don't wederiveaIl our ideas fromnature? And i does_not~Qr~_forceful_m-~er i p _ w_4ic~.~ senses arereminded of nature~ -TConhink ofariyfclrr of fant~ art witho~m- a~s:t.mco11eCteaKl(ras:CattereOere an~J here inno order, aberratlons -Of1lierrund~ifslron, dreams.The Architect and engraver Pranesi was responsible for sorne such follies. Caricatures were invented by Italian painters. The famous engraver Callot has done many grotesque figures. The ancients created chimeras, etc., etc., etc.? All these creations of the imagination are misleading. what do we perceive in such works -l!t,__Il_!l,tural objects. =-exaggerated and disfigured it is tre--but natural objects aIl the same, Does that provetheexistenceof an art based on pure invention? To havetheright to advance this") allegedpossiblity, it would benecessary to prove thatlIlen( l;f>uIdconceve ofimages that bore no re1ationto natural ~s. But it isbeyond all question that no ideaexiststhat _doe~ot4erive frornnatur; Let us listen to lfmo-aern-Philosopher who tells us.i''All our ideas, all our perceptions come to us via external objects. Extemal objects make different mpressons on us according to whether they are moreor less analogous with the human organism.v'? 1should add that we consider "beautiful' those objects that most resemble the human organism and that we reject those' which, lacking this resemblance, do not correspond to thehuman condition. ARCHITECTURE, E~SA yON ART 87 Since the feast of Corpus-Christi~as celebrated by the Christia.ns, cah bemore inagruficent than any other feast; it seemsto inethat weshould ensure that iti8as splendid as possible by making it a truly unique celebration; I believe Monument lor (he reziliration 01Corpus-Ch'risti The aim of teligious cerenlOruesis to ihduce a state of profound reverence. Itis therefore necessary to use ev'ety possiblemeans ofinducing grandeur and majesty. ----=--=---.... -_, .. "",-......-.,_ . . ~rograIl1meSintended.taestablish that the Study of Nature lS necessary toarchitecture fourth or fifth, etc., without adhering to therules governing chords, Itisjust thesamewhenthey arecombined to create greater harrnony: whether theseLaws are the result of an i 1 analogy with the human organism 01' whether they have their source in nature, the ensuing sounds have made us realizethat it isimpossibleto deviatefromthemwithout the result grating on our ears. This preves that the harmonic _.-- ratio istheprimary lawgoverningthebasic principies of'the art of music, for it provides the sole means of'-producing harmony, Whatthen stheprimary lawohwhicharchitectural prin- ciplesare based? Let us consider anexampleof Architecture that has been imperfectly observedand lacks proportion. Thiswill certain- ly bea defect but the defect will not necessarily besuch an eyesore that wecannot bear to lookat theBuilding; and nor will it necessarily havethe sameeffectonour eyesthatadis- cord has on our ears. In.architecture a Iack of proportion 'is not generally very obvious except tothe eyeof the connoisseur. Itisthus. evi- ~dentthat although proportion is one of the rnost important elements eonstituting beauty in architecture, it is not. the primary lawfrom which its basic principies derive. Let us try, therefore, to discover what it isimpossble notto admit in architecture, and that fromwhich there can beno devia- tion without ~creatngareal eyesore, Let usimagine aroan withanosethat isnot inthemiddle of his face, with eyes that are not equidistant, .onebeing '. higher than theother, and whoselimbs arealso ill-matched, It s certain that we would consider such a roan hideous, Here wehaveanexample-that can readily beappliedto the subject underdiseussion. If'weimaginea Palacewith anoff- centre front projection, with no syrnmetry and with win- dows set at varying intervals and dfferent heights, the overall impression would be one of confusion andit is cer" tain that to Oureyes such abuilding wouldbebothhideous and intolerable. It iseasy for thereader to surmisethat the,basif. ruleand theo~thaigy_g~les of arcllitecture, Qminates ~~Y _!lndal~o~~at~nyd~~i~~i~n~~~fm~!E11 arehitectUl:.~ S-aSlil~oncelvable. 8,_~~ye the jJ li.esof harmon.till music. =Th~reis O'doub~y disparity inan att based onthe principies of Parity istepugnant.~ns. .aretrue and~e. Theslightest dlsorder, theslightest confu- sion becomes iI1tolerable. Order must be in evidence and paramount in any compsition based on symmetry. In~ short, the wheel ofreason shouldneve!'desert aharchilect's genius for he should always make a rule of the excellent maxim, "Nothing is beautiful if aUisnot judicious." ARCHITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART for we are ever eager to increase our pleasure and wouldlike to embracethe Universe. Pinally, the image of Grace is one which, deep in our hearts, is the most pleasing of all, Now we have preved that the proportions and harmony of any given volume have their source in nature, we shall . return to our consideraton of Prault's assertion as twhat constitute thebasic principies of architecture. Examination 01the Thesis 01Prault on the basic Principies of'architecture Prault compares the principiesof architecturewith those of music; he suggests that the beauty of both liesincorrect proportions, and goes on to concede that music is an art because harmony has itssourceinnature. But heclaims that it would bevain to try and prove that there arein architec- tureinproportions that also havetheir sourcein natureand it is for this reason that he considers himself justified in maintaining that architecture s fantastic artbased on pure inventon, IfPrault had admitted that .harmony was derivednature and had for this reason suggested that music was not fan- "tastic art before thediscovery that harmony hadits source in nature-a discovery we owe lo the scienoes+-then he wouldhavesaid about music exactly what hehas saidabout architecture. But hewouldhavebeenmistaken. Por thesen- sibilityof man produced harmony beforethis discovery was made, Musicians didnot knowthat harmony hadits source innature. Eventoday many excellent musicians pay scarce- ly any attention to this question; but their indifferenceis in no way prejudicialto the development of their talents. Itis obvious that Prault's assertion was made without due consideration. As 1havealready stated, artists can produce excellent works of art guidedonly bytheir sensibli- ty without any studies to determine the basic principies of 14eir art (by going back to its very roots) Prault and Pran90is Blondel provemypoint. They weredoubtless com- petent architects, and yet they falsely appliedtheprincipies of music to architecture; they did.notrealizethat these arts bear no relation to one another and have no analogy and that their basic principies. arethus totally different. Consideration 01kow we can with certitude define the basic principies 01an art aftd ofarchitecture in particular What constitute to perfection the principies of any given att arethose principies fromwhich no deviation ispossible. Por example, in music no harmony ispossible ifthe rules arenot folloWed.For it isimpos8ibleto produce any chord at aHwithout following the correct progression of notes. It would be vain to try and produce a chord of a third, or benefactors. " Where can such ideas beput into effect? To whomCan such anoble, such aworthy task beentrusted? To architec- ture. Itis atask for an architect to fhoose aplacewherehe can make a museum that incorpcrtes all the scattered beautes of nature and where, in addition, wefind.allthat is useful toIifeandthus all that canservetoprolong life.Final- Iy, the architect of this beautiful place would demonstrate the command of his art, which lies in the use hemakes of nature. Hereinthis placehewould, soto speak, givebirthto new delights at every step. We would experience the most profound pleasure at the sight of these charrning gardens that resemble the Elysian Fields described by the Poets of antiquity and now brought into beingthrough architecture, The charrn of these beautiful Lakes mirroring nature and multiplyng our pleasure and aJ l the vistas that they offer us giveinfinitevariety to all beforeusoThetragic appearance of thick woods andgloomy forests, wherethelack of'light gives us theimpresson that nature isinmourning and wherethe unpleasant noiseof astream surging fromthedepths of'the earth rnakes usthink that what wehear aregroans, givesus the opposite sensation and makes what is agreeable seem ever more delightful, Moreover, sombre scenes do not always make us sad. The grandeur of Nature raises our spirits and always gives us pleasure. When man is looking down on the earth from agreat height and seesit eludehis gaze, heisdazzled by thebrillianceand beauty .ofall before mmand, rejoicing in its vastness, heis in ecstasy, Finally, everything in nature would be lavshed and, so to speak, exhausted inthis delightful place made by man, who found nothing but pleasure inthehardest toil. On.thebasis of thevarious scenesthat wehaveattempted to describeandwhichareanintegral part ofthe monuments described aboye, it iseasy toconclude that whenVitruvius's commentator" definesarchitecture asthe art ofbuilding, he is speaking like.awork;man, not an Artist weUversed-inhis calling; it isasif aplayer ofmusic compared histalent with that of the c0rrlPoser of the music. Itis obvious that Vitruvius was familiar only with the technical sideof architecture. That a least iswhat hisdefini- tion proves; if I confinedmyselfto considering architecture //only inthe light of Vitruvius's tenets, 1belieye.amore valid definiliQ_lLW_Q.11lQ_g~LQ[~_Rerspectives throl!&L ; ~e~nLQJ . v()ll,tmes.But when we CQi1Si.aei the --scopeof architecture, weperceivethat itisnot ollIytheart of creating perspectives through the arrangement of volumes but that italso comprises aknowledgeofhow tocombineaH thescatteredl>eautiesof nature andtomakethemelfective.l cannot repeat too oftenthat anarchitect must makeelfective nature. Itisimpossible to cre~tearchitectural imagery without a Q[r!fQ:und:::$nOWleQge-e~!Ie-POetryOf--a:Chi~ les innatural elfects. That isw at makes architecture anart andthat art sublime. Architectural imagery iscreated when a project has Ii specific character which generates the required impact. - '--.,. 88 that there should be a place and a monument specifically assignedtothecelebration of'this feast and yet, evenwithall the resources of art and genius, it will never attain the magnifcence that such a subject calls foroIn order to give the monument that 1amdescribing the requisite dignity, 1 would first choose for it a high place dominating a city: Mount Valerius, for example, or Montmartre near Pars." There 1would instal a general seminary; and in this holy place inhabited by the most worthy mnisters of ReligioIl, who lead pure, innocent young souls to heaven, here, 1 repeat, would be the most suitable location for the monu- ment for the celebration of Corpus-Christi, If all the arrangements were suitably impressive, the celebration would beboth splendidandmagnificent; the wholewouldbe decorated with all that is most beautiful in nature; the buildings would be mere accessories, the base of the repository formed by asuperb open-sided Templecrowning the mountain topoThe Temple precincts would oonssr of fieldsof flowersexudingtheir sweet smell likeincenseolfered to theDivineBeing. Magnificent avenues oftrees wouldline paths laid out iri such a way that processions and ceremonies would everywhere be perfectly visible. These avenues wouldnot only connect all the buildings and serve as decoration but also shelter the procession of ministers during the ceremony, These .avenueswould lead to fertile fieldswhere alI the earth's useful crops-would befound, In themidst ofthese auspicious fieldsnatufe'sfirst crops would be offered to God and thus thanks would be given to the Supreme Being for his blessings. Itis from here that the singingof Hymns givingthanks would bear to theHeavens the adoration and vows of virtuous rnortals, . Thisbeautiful placewouldbetheJ mage of all that ensures our well-being;it wouldfiUour hearts withasenseofjoy and would befor us atrue earthly Paradise. Thebeauty of theplaceandthelarge throng inattendance " would aIso serve to make. the celebra1on even more im" pressive! Religious ministers, pure and nnocent youth, a gathering of amultitude of men all filIedwithjoy-all these would make this celebration not only moving in its magnificencebut truly heavenly. Monument ofpublic gratitude If ~imagine anation that isboth sensitiveand generous, and governed by men who truly merit thetitleguardians of thefatherland, I must alsoassumethat such anation will be eager to demonstrate its love and gratiturle towards its benefactors. I dare say Such'll,nation will want to convey these feelings in the form of a monument that will bear witness to themfor Posterity. How easy it isto understand but howdifficulttodescribe all that weexpect whenwehear theresplendent titleMonument ofpublic gratitude. It seems to methat this monument should belocated ina place endowed with aUthebeauties of nature, with all that serves to preserve life, soihat it will seemto say to all who visit it, "Here before Jiou are all the riches with which lhe Nation wouldlike loprolong and brighten the daJisleft lo its ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yQN ART 89 AReHITECTURE, ESSAyON ART Character, 0'tJ '-;,/y. /A r ~ rr ~i(l' '/ "s~ Letus consider anobject. Our first reaction s, ofcourse, What a sad time! The torch of heaven has disappeared! tl!(!I'esul of how the objectJ affects .us. And what I call Darkness 18all around us! Hideous winter comes and chills haracte .isthee ec the ob'ect wrufumkes sornekind our heartsl Itis brought by theweather! Night followsinits oTimp.ression-on..m. ~ . ~".~; wake, unfurlsher sombre shades over the.earth andspreads _:;;:;;:-~b~ character is to make judcial~ darkness everywhere, 'fhe shning crystal of tile ocean is evety meims ~ucmg no other sensatjons.than.thnse already tarnished by the blast of the north wind. What felated tothesubjecCftiordefloUl1de'tStid what 1meanby remains of the pleasant forest are no more than skeletons the character orexPected effect of different objects, Iet us , and nature isin mournng, The image of the good lifehas takealook at someofthcl'beauties ofnatute_and_.wt}.shall-se~ faded to besucceeded by that ofdeath! Everything has lost t~e are rorce to expres:s()urselv_esmaccotdncewith its brllance and colour, forms sag, outlines are hard and tl~-~ffectJ h~y-:_haYe.ori-:oui::Sl<n~es: . . - .'.". angular and to our eyesthe denuded earth resemblesan all 'What a charming spedadeuenghtsour eyes! What an embracing tomb! . . . . I agreeableday!How pleasant it is! Theimage of agoodlife . Oh, Nature! Howtrue itisthat youarethe bookof'books, i extends over the whole Earth! Nature 1Sbedecked withthe universal k11owledge!No, wecando nothing wthout you! ) charrns of youth and 1S a work of love! .Sweet harmony But although each year youbeginagainthernostinteresting \ reigns over aIl our impressins onsuch adelightful day; and -and instructing courseofstudy that exists,howfewmenpay \ its charm ntenses the colours and OuTsenses are drunk attention to your lessons and know how to benefit from \ with 'their freshness, their delicate nuances, their smooth, them! . .--' richtones, What apleasure.it 1Storun our eyesover al these Itfollowsfromtheseremarks occasioned by'theseasons things and how agreeable they are; their adolescent forms of theyear that to create somethingbeautiful wemust, asin have aje ne sais quoithat emphasizes thesmooth flowng nature, ensute..lhat the general impression given is gentle; curves that barely indicate their presence and .adds rrew colours must be soft and rnuted, their shades delicate; charms, The beauty of their elegant proputtillns lends them shapes must befowingwthlight, elegant proportions, . grace and unites in them all things thathave-the giff of '~~-'. The .art of makng things agreeable stems from Good pleasing us! . ~'. Taste.. But summer comes and forces a charrge of mood. The Good_!aste_ig..a :delicate., aesthetic .'discernment with~ glorious Hght makes us drunk with joy alJ d our sense or f~J -.Qj~9~~t!t..a.t-ar@~~ 9Y .tpleaS-ure.'ltishQt~riQugh/- worrder has no lirnits. 'fhis pleasure is truly divine! What to simplY_Rllt!:i~TnLu.s_Q_bjec.ts._that=give IJ s__pleasu.re~..l1iS. pure happiness wefeel in thebottom of oUrMarts at this ~@~.LatnPng.J :hen:Lt@t OULllt~sJ J J ejs_rll~d spectacle! What ecstasy! No, we..caMot possibly give and wefeel deligbtJ n_the-depthS-:N-()ur_being,, expression to it! . <Let us concentrate on arcrutecture and weshall seethat '.- - At trusseason nature's wock isdone; everything1Stheim- here Good Taste consists of providing more delicacy than ageof perfection; everytrunghas acquired adearly defined opulence, more subtlety than sltength, more elegancethan formthat isfull-blown, accurate andpureoOutlines areclear ostentation. Thus itis.gracethat isindi,cativeof Good Taste. and distinct; their maturity gives them noble, majestic We haye observed that during the summer season the proportions; fueir btight, vivid colours have acquired al! wholeof nature is bathed inJ ightwhich produces themost their brilliance. Theearth isdeckedout withallitsriches and magnificent effects; ihat this life-givinglight was diffused lavishes16themonour gaze. Thedepth ofhe light enhances over an extraotdinary multitude of objects all withthemost ~ourimpressions; itseffectsareboth vividanddazzling. AHis beautifulforms, all sruningwiththe brillianceofthe brightest /' radiant! TheGod ofday seems to inhabit theearth. Nature colours,;;tUoftheli1 developed.tothe full; and that theresult is adorned withamultitude of beatiflll trungsandoffers us of this beautiful assembly Was a vista of magnificent .._. a splendid vista of magnificence, splendour. But autumn has alread).'taken the place;-ofcsummerand r - As innature,the .ar.t._oLgiring_an impression ofgrandeut rai~esour spirits withnewpleasures; ~tisati.meoffulfilmen.t; "'" 1 in archite.c.ture.)!~iJ .Uh!Ldis'pQ.!llm}_~Cl_L!!!e YQlume~ spnng had already awakened our deslrefor lt. Theearth, still / LOL~~tl1e_~~.?l~..1.n such_~_~~~~e.!Ut_gtrun_deal-ot:- adorned with Flora's dazzling gifts, is now covered with j plaLTI!ggEe~ __ that their masses havea_UQbl~1J lajes!!_c Pomon~:s treasures. Hmvvaried are theimages! How gay \ movement ana~y ~eJ uUesLRilli~ipled,ey.elp- and srruling!Bacchus andthegentleGoddess of Folly have .~. The arrangementSliould be such that wecan absorb takell over the erth..'fhe God of li1irth,the spirit. of our Lat a glancefuemultplicityofthe separate elementsth~t con- pleasures, makes our hearts drunk withjoy! Itis as if the stitute the whole. The play of light on this arrangement of Goddess wanted to giyepleasute 10theOod by disguising volmes shouldproduce themost widespread, striking and the earfu. Colours are mixed, variegated, mottled..Forms varied effectsthat are all multiplied to the maximum. In a are...picturesque and have the, appealing .attraction 'df largeensemble, thesecondary components must beskilfully novelty; variety had-acldedtotheir spiceandtheplay oflight combined .to give the greatest possible opulence to the andshadowproduces countless surpriseeffectswhichareall whole; and it istheauspicious distribution of this opulence deJ ightful.17 that produces splendour and magnificence. Hut fin~days are superseded by the dark winter seasOn. It is just such expanded irnages that 1haye tded to \ humaJ :lmind; andno onecanflatter himselfthat heisableto \ go.beyond them. Man giveshomage to theinfinite8eing in \'-"vain; for such homage is, inevitably, in proportion to the weakness uf those who olfer it; with such asubject aUman can doisto fulfil hisreligiousduty asbest hecan-and that aloneis atremendous task. 1do not know whether {hearchitects of our modern temples hadthese thoughts inmind. Fromtheirde:;igns,it is cl~ar.thatthey havetried to incorporare nobility, splendour and opulence. We should doubtless begrateful to th~mfor the ord~r and proportions of their .architecture. But does t}leirart go so far as to induce a senseof ven~ration at the mer~sight of their Temples? Are we afraid of desecrating them by recklessly setting foot there? Do they inspire.the rprofound respect that results fromreligious belief? Do they f havethat quality of grandeur belongingtogeniusthat surges / forth and imposes itself on the onlooker, fillinghim with L. Baslicas 90 Wh~cmtec.!iDtend~ ~~teonu~andln_g~- ~ect. Onceheha~sped such aspects, then he will pernaps succeed ingivingthe a ro riate character .~ and further study ands. eculatlQnwill enable mmto grasp the fundamentaIs of the problem he has set mmself.22 An edificefor theworsmp of thl'\Supreme Being! That i8 indeed a subject that caUs[01' sublime ideas and to which '.a:rcmJ ectire-must giv~charact~r. ~t t~e~c~tQ_ ~j:..s...s_a"!y,:",t.p st~b.,_t.p ~l-ofthe ideasitisdesti.nedJ oput mtoelfectand ~them tnsuch ~aL~~ soto speak, 2nessoleinspiration andguide. But what Artist having triedto rIseto thecontemplatio;Qffue Creator, wiII dare to design aTemple for mm! !flere the limitations of art correspond to those of the ?Y~ produce in several of my projects, notably thePalaee at Sto i 11!Y~ monuments, an. are . ctural" skeleton . Germain-en-Laye, theMetropolis and ~~tAQQ_. thro~bare-waUt!-an~ ~e.J .ri!:_d~aiLm self of all the means put at m .dis- 'animpression of buried arcmte<itI,IXl'\ J :>.x.1!sing...onLy;J Q2Y, I?J !.s.aLby._nat-ure-arul-t~e theim- "SaggingPropomotfJ i@~:-d:j-ibe....ear~~ and, finaHy, by ageof grandeur.T would suggest that thereader consu!t rny using liglit::-aI5SOr6!ng mat~rials,J o'1':rrilf~)lb!cl!, illlageof plans fnplace f all possible explanatons, for 1am per- an: architecture of sl{aQJ l5YLo"litfilled_.-byeve:di~er suadedthat what should berequired ofan Artist aboyeaHis shidows.- - . o ~-~ --, not that he explainwell but that he.execute well, r~~--stype of architecture based on shadows s my own 1.';-'\0 We have observed that the smiling mages of autumn . artistic discovery. It is anewroadthatlhave opened and, if . were produced by great varety, by the play of light and 1am not mistaken, Artists will not refrain from followng ) shadow, by picturesque forms and their lack of similitude, -.; it.20 <: bythe uniqueand bizarre nature of'their variegated, mottled I wilI add one last observation to those 1have already colours. . made-s-one that seems to meof great importance. Itisthat Itfollows from these remarks that if we are to produce ~eyiates ini~erything gay, smilngimages, itisnecessary to.befamiliar withtheart '----~s--the--g.QaI~on.15OeS of diversification; for this onemust depend onflashes of in- Nature offerusagreeableimages, nobleimages, pleasant im- <sp;iratio~forothey .ma~~obje~ts new, di~e:~nt .and more ag~~, s~~images? ~s.-?ijft:',~U1aturtUeta!ns stimulating, and dlv~rslfy design. J hey 'ut}iz~I:>.lct:gr~~ID!~~a!. characte~~f~gJ 1gsmsUQP' away that nOtnlI1_~ "..~ormj_QJ ! __ 1~L~~Ei~J lll.d_j!ldivi9~aliz~h~ T~ ~CQ1ltLadfCtin, .~e~ois,--iOL::-&Efi-1s; __rior 'iiil1t lay on shadow to prQduces11u tm e cts..that-hy ~ and al! thmgs m.yJ L ..respects -ha:ve'a perfect ~xing_~ce .. mo.ttled.~. lou..rs;_!~. ug..hJ o._._ .. r.! ..u., ?at~, ~p,-peFfectanal.Qgy' __ !!~~.har~9pY. ~~.. g. i!~~al-?r~~t~tJ :~~-:.~~~.~~e[_iIg.g~t.a . -fiL.{i.l. fi~. ~. ~~;.~J ~ Tms.is, for me, a crtical moment: 1amgoingto put my tombinatioi1'ano "iiaexpected progressions they create un- casebeforetheReader by describing myownwork. Hecan- expected vistas that proffer the stimulating attraction of not accuse meof trying to force it onhimtomake my case novelty, seemfavourable, for 1shall strongly critcize sornefamous This type of arohitecture would be suitable for rnonuments and insodoing 1shallprovide weapons against Vauxhalls," fairs andhealth spas whichalmost always have myself which he can easily use to destroy- lDYown work picturesque.locations, for aTheatre withpleasant surround- utterly. 1.amaware of it but 1amwriting to further the ad- ings, 01' agreeable public promenades, such as Boulevards, vancement of the arts and 1cannot make an effectivecon- etc., etc. ." '. tribution if 1do not tenthetruth, evenagainst myself. What Wehaveobserved that duringtbe:wnter season, thelight author isnot aware of hisweakness? Who doesnot desireto issad and gloomy, that everythinghas lost itsbrillianceand gobeyond mscapabilities? AHablem~naretormented by a its colour, that ou!_li!le.s_a.r(:.!w'.g, ..an.(ti\ngula~~~ sense of their own inadequacy. They cannot hide jt from denudedeart-ha:s-the-apperu:.nce...Q(!Lan~eJ 1!!>raclU_gjomb ..,' themselves. The mOreknowledge.they have, the more dis- Itfol!owsfromthese observations that to produce asad, satisfied they are with their own work and the more'often .... sombre impression, Itisnecessry to try to pr~sent, as! did 'they findthey are at war withthems~lves.21 ARCHITECTURE. ESSA yQN ART 91 symmetry, that iswhat results fromtheorder that extendsin every drection and multiples them at our glance untl we can no longer count them. By extending the sweep of an avenue sothat its endis out of sight, thelaws of optics and theeffectsof'perspectve gve animpression of'immensty; at eachstep, the objects appear inanewguiseand our pieasure is renewed by a succession of dfferent vistas. Finally, by sornemiracle whch in fact is the result of our own move- ment but which weattribute to theobjects aroiind us, the latter seemto move withus, as if wehad imparted Lifeto them." Allow us to make sorne further observations on Sto Peter's. Suppose, for example, that in the nave and side- aisles of this Temple, the straight, unweildy bases, which destroy the overall effect of the Temple wththeir sizeand thickness, werereplaced by pleasing, delicate volumes and immense rows of peripheral columns in the Greek style; -each one is separated fromthe next in such away that our eyecan wander over thewholeexpanseandabsorb thismul- .titude of forms, inthe opulence of whichthe onlooker can lose himself, for their attractiveness aways leads him to believethat they are even more numerous. Who can doubt butthat thistemple, thedimensions of whicharereduced by theorder ofgigantic arcades that extendeverywhere, would then appear infinitely larger, for themethods whichwehave just described (as weknow) far fromreducing itssize,great- ly helpto make itappear much larger. Inthe light of these remarks, which are based only on known facts, 1consider that I amentitIed to suggest that there is aserious defect in awork of architecture whenthe overall effect reduces .its sze, And all St. Peter's apologists were wtong when they cIaimed to have proved that this defect was a source of beauty! Animpression of sizehas suchpower over our sensesthat evenaS~l!min~atit isrepulsve, it still arouses our admira- tion.(~ Y ..2!f~_ g)breathing fire and death has a repulsive beauty! ~ It istherefore truethat izcJ sine.vi~llLpea!lli' and.J .!lill.",.in....differenLGG~Ptatigtls, i.~.whether wefind QQliCts_ pt~;~~tb,~L?:~,nl_ !~ _ _ !!igl.I.~ul.siY e,J h~J ~ct 'that...they.!.l!I?-Qe,rJ .a[g~~ect whatsoever, lS m- d.J stj.Y e-OLsup.eIi9~ities. ~---- A poetic impression of grandeur has sometimes ledusto confuse grandeur and immensity. If man is depicted a:tsea with only sky and water ar6und him, this spectacIe is for ma..n.on.eOf. t.rueimm..e.ns~ty... In~s.cha.situati.on,every. th.in?is heyond our understandmg. We have no means of makmg comparisons. Itis the same o a Balloon floating in the heavens, having lost sight of everything on earth and seeing nothing of nature but thesky.25/WanderingthUsinimmensi- ty, in this abysmal expanse,;Man is overwhelmed by the extraordinary spectacle of in60nceivable space. Let uSnowbroach thepleasure Wegainon earth fromthe great vistas of nature. It is thesethat wll allowusto make comparisons and calculations and whichwill giveusaclear ideaof what weshould understand by grandeur inorder to apply it spedfically to art. Whoofus has not onamountain top enjoyedthepleasure of discoveting all that theeyecan take in? What do wesee there? A vast expansecontaining alargenumber of different objects, too numerous to becounted. Now, inarchitecture, ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART Vstonishmi.mt and wonder? Is the general impression that they surpass human capactes and are, SOto speak, in- conceivable? And, fnally, have all the resources thatnature has to offer art been tapped to endow the subject wth the majesty it calls for? Such were my first thoughts on Temples. . Greek architecture is recognized asbeingso superior that to-day its precedents are laws, Let me tell you that the Greeks decorated their templeswithmagnificent colonnades and it must beadrnittedthat architecture possesses no other more majestic or moreagreeable technique, Itwastherefore to be expected that there would be imitations of such beautiful examples handed down to us by our famous architects, Why then have our modero Architects in their Temples substituted for thenobleopulenceof architecture a form of decoration that consists of cumbersome arcades, with straight, massive bases decorated with nothing more than a coat of plaster a few centimetres thick that we architects call apilaster! This unweildy, ignoble order s crowned with vaulting pierced by lunettes resembling cellar skylights, The sharp, unpleasant angles of the lumettes make the vault appear horrificlly heavy. The unsuitable'ornamentaton only exacerbates the defectswehavejustdescribed bydrawing attention tothem. Anddo not imaginethat these observations apply Qnlyto afewmonumentsthat arenot worth mentioning. Consider thevast Basilicof StoPeter inRome, StoPaul's inLondon, andthe church of theInvalides inPars or theoneat Val-de- Grce, theSorbonne, etc., etc., and you will seethat all are decorated inthe manner described. Sincemanis always impressed by sze, itis certain that a Templebuilt inhonour of'the Divinity should always beim- mense. Such a temple must be the most striking and the largest image of all that exists; it should, ifthat werepossi- ._ _ _ _ :ble, appear to be the universe, To be reduced to what is caUednecessity whn designing atempleis to forget one's sbject. Why then does St. Petet'S inRome appea:rmuch smallet than it s? This intolerable defect i8 dUetothe fact that the Architect ha:snot givenanimpression of space by themere presence of the numerous objects a large space should naturally contain but instead has reduced the overall effect by making each object of colossal proportionsj andthus, in" stead of building big, as artists say, what he has buiR is gigantic. When I observed that aTemple should appear large, 1 was not referring only to its size. 1meant to includetheuse of that ingenious technique which makes itpossible to ex" tend and enlarge the impression we have; this is done by juxtaposing objects insuch away that thelt overall effect1s full)' developed aswelookat them, andbyarranging themin such a way that we appreciate their multiplicit)', the successive aspects in which they are revealed to us are removed continuously until wecan no longer count them. Such an effect is produced, for example, by the regular, symmetrical arrangement of a quincunx. If we stand out- side, near oneof the..angles,theoverall effectisdevelopedto amaximum, for wecanobservetwoof itssurfaces at once.23 Thus the objects arearranged insuchaway that alI con- tribute to our enjoyment. Their multiplicity givesthe effect of Opulence. Thegreatest magnificenceandthemostperfect Peter's basilica. Hewantedtoimprove onthemost beautiful rnonuments in Rome, notably the Rotunda which he had always heard praised. He proposed building one as Iarge and added that hewould support this immensemass onthe vaulting ofthe templehehad desgrredrtrr such away that it merely reposed on it like a crown. The idea was so gran- diose, ;;Obold, serastonishing that if it had not already been executed, its feasibilty would surely bequestioned if it were proposed to-day." It must be admitted that the idea for this Dome is not generalIy attributed to Michelangelo, What is certain isthat Bramante, agiftedarchitect, had donesorneof'theplans for theconstructon ofSt. Peter's beforeMichelangelo. Thereis a Dome in the plan that weknow was done by Bramante. Bramante's project appears preferable to Michelangelo's in many respects and it was followedin part by thelatter. Although theGoths built at atimewhenthearts werenot very advanced and although they do not seemto havebeen familiar with any good architecture, they nevertheless managed to confer ontheir temples acharacter of grandeur. We are amazed by their extraordinary height which seems to surgeup into the clouds. They ntroduced magic into art by concealing the supporting structure of their temples in such a way that they appeared to be supported by some supernatural power. TheGoths succeededinmany respects because they followed the bent of their genius for man is always. something when heuses the resources given him-by nature whereas apeman becomes depravedand isabsolute- lynothng." . Itis evident fromthese observations Onmodern temples that they arestill far fromtheperfection towhichthey could be.brought andthat iswhy1felt1shouldenter thefray. I was well aware (as 1 have already remarked) that the elucidations I wasofferingmy criticswouldnot betomy ad- vantage, but 1was concerned with the advancement of the arts; and 1shall havemy consolation inadvance for having provded weapons against myself if my remarks, which are prejudicial tomy own work, areof sorneuse. When I plunged into my subject, 1 was immediately halted by difficulties which 1thought insuperable. At the beginning 1asked myself hQWI was goingto beableto give my templetherequired character? Didarchtecture havethe technical possibilities necessary to inspire aHthe religious feeling approprite to the worship of the Supreme Being. 1 must confess that these questions overwhelmed meandthe moreIthought about them, themorediscouraged 1became. Itwasa thispoint that mylovefor my profession causedme incalculable anguish. 1say.,it openly. 1do not know of arty llJ odern temple wherethereisany evidertcethat tbearchitect appliedhimself to, or ["even" erased] thought about introducIng character. In spiteof all their elforts, modem Architects giveustheim- pression of beirtgmen wh~~e."b~t \ , Y . ! ! hm.:siiply ~(j::tj:eJ aeas:f)ftheJ r predecessors and \ Shlvishly.sgpied;:Uem._ _. --.._--,~----- ' L~-rpndered for a long time without any success. But 1 grew accustomed to bracing myself against obstac1es and continued my ponderings without becoming c:iiscouraged. And finallytherewas aray ofhope whert1recalledthesom- bre 0!:-J ll~steriouselfectsthat I had ob~er.vedinthe forest arur--the varous mpressons th~Y _:fj.iLm:,l!d_!":-~on me. 1_ perceiv.9.J hat-if_any_measexistec:i. of putting theideas thaL ", - _.- . -'- . .' . - ., :", _. .-_.-,----_.,--- _-_,- 92 do wewant to givean impression of grandeur? In a large project, we must use the ingenious techniques we have described to multiply objects to thegreatest possibleextent, but in the exact proportion to the whole that we find in Greek temples, so that the objects areneither multipliedto excess as in our Gothic churches, nor do they have such colossal proportions that they aregigantic, J ikeS1.Peter's in Rome." . Themost famous Architects haverealized that nothingin architecture ismore magnficent.than colonnades. Why isit then that modern Architects have not used them in our temples where all theresources of art should belavished? 1 believethat I have understood thereason. Ancient Temples, in the strict sense of the word, were merelysanctuaries wherethepriests carried outthe dutiesof thier ministry without any communication withthe people; this didnot require alargespacenor, inconsequence, anin- genious arrangement, But our modern Baslicas aredestined to hold a congregation as well as the priests, The most solemnceremonies arefrequently heldthereinthepresence of a very large congregation and these Baslicas therefore had to bespacious and inproporton to thenumber of peo- pIein attendance." Our architects had to solvea thousand diffculties. They had to finda means of supporting theim- mense vaulting of the main naves, the side-aisles and the chapels; and it is doubtless for this reason that they didnol dare to'decorate their temples withcolonnades whichwould not provide sufficient support for the Enromous weight of the vaulting. They had to find a means of reconciling this delcate, elegant decoration with the necessary resistance. Time and study procure all. . Greek temples were decoratedbotlt utside and in with colonnades which surrounded the whole building. A magnifcent.Porch, withadoublerowof columns formedthe entrance; theTemple stood alone, risingmajestically inthe ' middleof its vast precincts, Our temples are far fromhaving such anoble and con- sequently suchanappropriate aspectoTheentrarrceisrarely adorned with a porch and even the most opulent have at most onerow of columns. As for their portals, they almost all consist of two or three orders of architecture, oneontop of another, as if the Temple were built on severa! floors. When discussing the St. Gervais portal, Voltaire was not afraid topraise it.z8 far frombeingsurrounded by colonnades, our churches areencIosedby wallswithbuttresses ihat resemblefortifica~ tion walls. Our temples do not stand apart and nor do they have precin<;ts;and not only do Wenot prevent their being profaned by the proximity of private homes, wea.low the peopletobuild against themhovelsthat bouse themost vile establishments. ThePorch of theRotunda inRomeisconsidered tobean architectural masterpiece. We admire the noble order and proportions ofits architecture. It is cited by aUour famous .writers. Is"itnot extraordinary that amodel that has beenthe sJ lbjec;tof so much admiration has not yet been imitated in our capital? 1havenowmade aUthecriticisms 1considered necessary and will now pay homage to modero architecture. 1 am going to discuss Domes. Mjchelangelo, a gifted Painter, Sculptor and Architect astonished everyone when hewas making theplans for St. ARCHITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART 93 archtecture has to offer. The columns in the foreground facilitate the mysterious diffusion of daylight, for they jut out and prevent our seeinghowthelight enters thetemple." The latter arrangement has many advantages. In the first place, the number of casements can be increased to the desired extent without worrying about their formsincethey cannot beseen, Inaddition, it facilitates both the construction and . decoration: theconstruction inthat thevaultingissupported by fueengaged piers inthebackground andthus itls possi- bletomultiplyor reinforcethemasnecessary andat will;the decoraton inthat the casements situated inthe attic below the vaulting no longer require those lunettes .resemblng cellar skylights that have a very ugly effect; in that the vaulting canbedecorated inany way, either withpainting or sculpturein that the vaulting extends beyond the colon- nades and into the background and its ["Iarge" erasedl diameter necessarily enlarges the whole and crowns fue colonnade in most rnajestic fashion; inthat the columns are ot overloaded bythemassivevaultingaboye thernandthus preserve their dignity and characteristic grace; fnally, in that fuearchitecture wouldhavethemost stmulating effect on the onlooker at every step--the stimulatng effect that stems from the fact that our glance cannot wander over isolated objects arranged symmetrically in every direction without our forming the impressn that the objects move with us and without tappearing that wehaveimparted life tothem, Through an extenson of this arrangement, the resting points of my Dome areplaced in away that enabled meto enhance my Cupola-with a double colonnade outside and another one inside. 1have benefited from this advantage both to add immensity to the tower of the Dome and to isolate the temple which adorns the inside of the Cupola, The painting on the vaulting extends right down onto the rear wall fromwhichthecolumnsjut out, withtheresult that the expanse of the Heavens and of glory that adorns the valting andcupola becomeimmense, thus, inaddition, they contribute to makethearcmtecture oftms domeaslightand airy asit couldpossibly be. TheDomeisplacedinthecentre of the monurhent and is designed to impress immediately anyorte who enters thetemple and to hold his gaze\Vithits brilliant effect, its opulence artdits size. This temple would berid ofthose massivepiUarsthat inOurmodern Churches, obstruct and deplete the main section; the columns in its aisles\Vouldjoinupwiththoseofthe Dome, thus conferring on it aH the riches of atchitecture; immense rows of columns inthe arrangement of thequincunx wouldbemul~. tiplied to such a degreethat the eyewould loseitself inthe opulence; and the bptical effects and tbose of perspective woUld prolong the columns, thus giving us, as we have already observed, aglimpseofimmensity. Tms encIosure, which as 1have stated aboye is destined for the Ministers OI Religion is crowned by an open~sided templewith an aerial effect. This templewould appear tobe thesanctuary ofthe DivineBeing, whosepresence \Vouldbe indicated by its glorious magnificence. Triple rows of casements, Set in such a way..I!:snot to be visible, would diffuse in the cupola the. brigp.fest possible light.. Hidden fromthe eyesofthe onlooker,;\}'thaquality ofmystery, the effects produced by the light tliainedonly Onthe vauIting would beboth brilliant and sur.pr.ising.Thebrilliant shades ARCHITECTURE, ESSAYON ART preoccupied me into effect'}!_I'l1ust IieillJ be wayIight was filtered intqJ !1e Temple ..T~g w:a~ll()\Yl(eas.one~. ------rrls'TijIt tn8.cpl'Oduces impressions which arouse in us varous contradictory sensations depending on whether they are brilliant or sombre. If 1could manage to diffuse in my temple_magnificenUigl1t~fi'~~ts !_~I_leo_l}~~ .jQy~b_uJ _ih on. the.,.CQQ1:rary~-Cfuy tel~pL~d only sombre effects,J _would fill hiIn\V1tI: sadless. IfI co\i~ l!i!i.f1Q~~!:~J i~out the onlooker being aware ofifs-sou~ce, the ~nsuing~~~ daylight wJ ~tprodllCeJ nG0I1celyable itnpressions a~d, in~_ tfuly ench!j.rlting magic quality. Once 1 cold crltf01the .amnt flight at will, 1would be abletoreduceit toinspire in our souls composure, compunction, and even religious dread, particularly if for mournful ceremonies tending to arouse such sentments, 1was careful to decorate thechurch in a similar vein, If, onthe contrary, for joyful cerernones, the light effects were brilliant and the temple strewn with flowers-which areall that is most pleasant innature-the result would beamajestc, rnovngspectacle that wouldfin out hearts withdelight. These reexions restored my courage. Now, 1thought only of'how to avail myselfof all that nature had tooffer, 1 then said to myself-and I amproudto confess it~"Your profession will make you master ofthese resources; andyou too will beableto say 'fiat lux'; at your wishthetemplewill be flledwith light, or it wilI be no morethan the dwelling place of shadows." And soon I no lnger thought of anything but architecture. I believed that the only way of ensuring that thetemple had animposing appearance wouldbethrough agrand and nobleorder of architectur, I made every effort to achieve this inthe exterior decoration, 1havelearned by experience that man generally measures himself against the space around mm'and, inaddition, 1wantedto suggestthemajesty ftheplaceby anextremely imposing Entrarrce. I therefore thought that I could not do better than to concntrate on designing an entrartce to theTemplethat wouldcompletely overwhelmtheonlooker. And sO1dared to raisetheheight ofthe entrance uptothetopofthe vaulting andtomakeit as wideas thenave. Sometimepreviously 1had hadthe ideaof combiningthe beauties of Greek architecture with-I cannot saythebeau- ty of GotmC arcmtecture-but withthe techniques known and used oruy by the Goths. The latter, as 1have already remarked, knew how to conceal cleverly the supporting structure of their temples with delicateworkmanship, with the result that their buildings seemed to stand by some mitac1e. I tried to decideon theinterior arrangement of my temple in accordance withthesetenets. Once 1haddevised the supporting structure and had reinfol"cedit with the number of engaged piers necessary to carry theDome and support the vaulting of the nave, the side-aisles and the chapels, 1then surrounded aHthese massive volumes with rows of columns inevery direction; and I thus managed to draw the eye of the onlooker away from these massive volumes by means of ali that ls most agreeable in arcmtecture. Theresult ofthis Gothic arrangement i8that thesupport- ing structure ls screened and the temple too will Seemto stand by sornemiracle; and, inaddition, it\ViIIbedecorated, in imitation of the Greeks, with all the opulence that > induces pleasure; that it has its abode and refuge here 'is evident frorn-the temple's aspecto Itwasduringthesemoments of reflexionandinsightthat 1 concbivedthe.projectfor my Theatre, When1madeitpublic i1was rather successful; I had reason to suppose that 1 wouldbe'ableto executeitinthecentre ofthe Garden of the RevoJ ution (formerly.the PalaiscRoyal) wherethelargelake ;vaspreviously located.33Thisideaimpressed meand1tried to desigri _myThe,atreso that it would take advantage of all its attractiorrS. 'Surroundingwa:lls contribute morethan aHttleto enhan- cingmonuments thus theAncients werecareful toset thero apart to gvethemdignity, andlo surround themin order to multiply the sourees of charaeter. .Itis easy to imagine the overall etfect of an auditorium placed inapleasant garden surrounded by aPalace andim- posing buildings adorned with rows of columns and Ar- cades. The Public would arrive fromall sides drawn either by the lure of the performance oroby that of a walk, or perhaps by the desire to enjQY the sight of this large gathering which, withitsfestiveaspect, wouldembeUishthe locatlon artdmakeit seemmost agreeable. Ther'eisnothing more attractive than theimage this aUditoriumwould have Theatre . j. lumnate the Painting. With no other intention? This is so true that if hehad any special aims similar to theoneI am suggesting, he would certanly have camouflaged the main apertures which are located in his cupola. These apertures are so detrimental to the decoration-of ..that par of the Dome, and areinsuch contradiction to it, that it isimpossi- bletolook at thepaintng hereor anywhere elsewithout fin- ding a solid mass blocking one's view. Isn't there direct lighting in the chapels and the main temple? Doesn't the light enter here in the same way as in all our modern Churehes, where the light, beeause ir is not devisedfor the objects, is detrimental to theminstead ofsetting themoffto advantage? Isn't is cause for lamentation that in the In- valides and elsewhere, the rnain figures which decorate the ehapels areplaced aboye the altars and litfrom behind? Thesefacts provethatshe aimsof'thisArchitecr'Fhave no connexion withthephilosophical aims that guidedmewhen 1was searching for a means of arousing in men's souls feelingsinkeeping'withteligious ceremonies. This wasnot, however, the only reason that I considered, Of this, too, 1 mus givean explanation, When light enters a. templedirectly, art is pitted against nature, especially if. thsre Is also Painting, The light. IS refiectedinthose places.where it fallsdirectly and hurts the eyes; or lsetheobjeotsareabsorbed inthecontrasting light, My system .sin total opposition to usual practice, 1am extremely careful to avoid any conict between art..ami. -....nature. I borrow the valuble effects'of thelatter, I adapt themtoart, and itis'thesegiftsof nature that enable meto rase art to thesublime. ~ 94 A theatre is a monument to pleasure; what delicacy and what good taste must preside over its construction! The public attending our entertainments can, it seems to me, be compared with the Gnidian festivals so agreeably, described byMontesquieu. 1seethemembers of themoreat- tractive sexenter our placesof entertainment, givingtheim- pression that they are gathered there Qnlyto viewith each' other's charms, to delight our hearts, to demonstrate their power and also to receive the respects of the presiding Genius which, inspired by loveand the Graces, oftentakes' pleasureincelebrating theattractions qfthis enchanting sexo How true it ls that a place of entertainment should be thought of asatempleto Gqod Taste. In this beautiful tem- ple I can see Genius and Good Taste..combine to erect a magnificent amphitheatre where brilHant rivals make their appearance; lseeJ he latter raised ona superb throne from which they enjoy theeffect of their charms and fromwhich they spread that delightful confusion aroused by an abun- dance.of pleasure andforceman to exclaim, "My soul isnot equal tot." I can also seethedecoration intheinterior Qfthetemple offeringin its most pleasant guise al! that is attractive and pleasing; everywherethereisafestivespirit that heralds and of the painting would be seen to advantage .andthe eye would have difflculty in supporting the brilliance of'these magical effects, T]1l}-Celest~WA~ its sublime cl!ID:a~lu:alQ!!rces and woulctthus-bear- witness_tothefactthat if therei88.arrwb1c a esusto V alI ourSe1v~ture, ilien1tlS unquestionably themost wQtlhyotllthe _Nts.-:. ... . /~ ---In ~efiexions 1havemade ontheimpotence of menwho dare toerect temples to the Divinity, you will not imaginethat 1am satisfiedwith my work. No, that 1am cer- tainly notoMy pretensions (if, that is, an artist can permit himself to have any in such circumstances) would be con" finedto allowingmeto assume that the arrangement of my temple comprises some technques which had not been ob- vious up to now, and which will enable my successors to benet from the advantage 1 am giving thern, as 1have benefited fromthose givento meby our forebears, What 1 fnd satisfyingTanadditional "satisfying" erased] at present is that 1believethat I was thefirst to devisethis way of in" troducing lightinto atemple andthat my viewsonthis sub" ject seemto meboth new and philosophical. Uneducated arguers or those given to dishonesty will perhaps exclaim, "What is this innovation that the author clamshesofferingus? Isit n01afactthat part of'theDome ofthe Invalides islit, ashewants tolight.histemple, andthat thesource ofthe light intheupper vaulting isinvisible?" A frivolous objection, What a.dfference there isbetween the aimsofthat architecture andthosethatl amprofessing! Isit not obvious that the sole intention of' that architect was simply to introduce daylight into that large vaulting to il- ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yQN ART 95 doors opening onto theperistylewould bearranged in such a way that at the slightest alarm, a simple pull on a cord would sufficeto open themall at the sametime so that the whole auditorium would benothing but open doors. 1nave already successfully tried this mechanism at the Ecole Militaire;" 'it consists of a dented pinion to actvate the serrated rackswhich inturn raisethe catches of theIocks, It is certain that the mass of exits and their proximity to thefacade of myTheatre wouldbereassuring innroments of danger, but that wouldnot forestall thedanger; and 1hadto try and avoid even the possibility of such an appalling danger, Fireisdangerous only whenitisfed. To avoidfeedingit 1 make no use at all of wood but build with stone andbricks right uptothebalconies, Thus theonlyinflammable parts of the building would be the oor of the Theatre and the scenery. If a disaster did oCCUr,these would burn, but without a~y unfortunate consequences." But to parry al! objections and to reassure the public and the Government that 1had taken every precaution, 1placed under thewhole lengthof theTheatre alargereservoir of water intowhichal! the wood would fall and be extinguished as the fire con" sumed the structure. Moreover, twould be possible to arrange for the floor structure ofwhich 1havespoken aboyetofal!al!atonce ina single piece. Do we not have the proof that much more extensivedemolition canbecarried out intheremoval of'the centrepiece ofthe Neuilly bridge?38 1have already stated that 1would not use wood in my construction: in fact, since the auditorium of the Theatre would be vaulted, thehigh: runners on top of the Theatre would beof sheet metal, resting on iron rods supported by large, strong hooks; al! the service ropes would be of brass wire and enough crampirohs to bear their ",eight would be distributed over the whole curve of the Vaulting and arranged soas to facilitate a1lthechanges and meet al1 operational needs. Theseprecautions wouldmeanthat even if the wholeTheatre burned, neither spectators nor themaln structure of thebuildingwould beinany danger; andin ad- ditiontherewould,bepo needto feanhat theVaulting ofthe Theatre. would bedamaged. 1amsosureofthis that if r had bult this Th'eatre, as1was givenreason tosUPf>Os~ 1would, 1had decidedto sacrificeat myown risk a,floor anqasetof scenery' which 1would have set ,alight to to prove to the PUblictheeffectivenessofmy methods.39 The problemofehsuring thegreatest possiblesafety was thus solved and i1:remained for meto turn my attention to thelayout and decoration of this ffiOnument. Four latge outer VestibulesinrlicatethemalngroundfIoot eritrances. TWb of these vestibules are meant for thelower baleonies and, onthemaln entrahce. side, they areplaced in front of the maindouble staircases that leadto them. Three inside Vestibules lead to the staircases for the other three rows ofbalconies. Byincreasing thenumber of these sipr- caseS and vestibutes and by dividingthem so that rtone'of them communicates with any other,I can forestal1thefur- moil, panic and confusionof the audience which, until now was inevitable at the exit after any performance. A vast arcade al ground leve1sUrrounds the whole cir- cumference of thebuilding. Itcommunlcates withevrypart of the building and'thus relieves congestiono But its main purpose would beto accommodate theservants waitingfor ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART offered in the middle of all that beauty. Deterrnined torefuse all these advantages, 1rejectedthis ste in favour ofthe Carrousel, which has a magnificent location." There 1designed an aditorium standing freeon all sides. Bordered bythequays andtheadjacent streets, this vast sitepossesses all that one could desirefor easy access. One of the Palaces=-the most impressive on account of its size and opulence--already decorates this superb setting. Onecan circulatefreely thereduringtheperformance, since the Palace courtyards would more than sufficefor all the carriages, Theisolaton ofthe auditorum would meanthat there would beno danger to the neighbouring houses, The most suitable sitefor this monument wouldnaturally bethis largeareawhichdoesnot havethenconvenience of all other sites, where the purchase price would exceed the construc- tion expenses. The auditorium would also be in the neighbourhood of the Theatre warehouse, and would thus beconvenient for therunningof thetheatre. Nothing would be simpler than to connect the auditorium with the warehouse by means of a covered underground passage, Thus the transport of scenery and costumes would cost almost nothing and could be carried out with the utmost speed; and, what is an even greater advantage, itculd be done without fear of the runous damage which could in- evitably result fromtransporting tbemin theopen. Attracted by theadvantages of ibis placeandthoroughly absorbed in my project, 1concentrated on graspng ll the fundamentals of it, 1first pondered on thefatal events that have occurred in almost all the largecitiesof Europe, .andwhichwerecaused solely by themanner inwhich OUrauditora are built. A glance at our Theatres is sufcent to convince usthat they aregruesome funeral pilesandthat aspark issufficient to setthem onfireand seethembutnt out inaninstant.35 The proof existsinthe.:firesat thetwo Theatres onthesiteofthe .(Qtmer Palais Royal. Should the Public fear for its'J ifeina placedevoted toits pleasure? What dreadful confusion, whadire calamities whenpan- ic takes hold of people because they apprehend sorne catastrophe, as happened inthe old ltalian Theatre! Suchthoughts made meshuddet and 1told myself that I would not build aTheatre unIess1couldfindaway tomake it fireproof. 1thought that 1should first arrange for the Public the fastest possible escape, and 1think 1have succeeded. At the sideofthe main entrance to my Theatre isa vast perron climbing the whole height of the substrcture and more than 200 feet inwidth. Ontheplatformof this perron, i.e. on the peristyle of the auditotium, 1have placed forty" two French windowsthat areseparated fromtheboxes only by a corridor and the foyer, so that everyone on this floor can leavealmost all abreast at the same time; to beoUtside the building, thatis.in safety, theyhaveonlytoctoss thecor- ridor. Nine large doors which open onto the thtee groundfloor vestibules givethesame advantage to those sit- tinginthepit andthe small boxesbehind it. Theexitsdo not communicate with".lhg~e on the' first floor. The upper balconies woul, iaddition, haveto descend their respec- tiVestaircases downtothe firstlevel and fromtheregolo the main perron. This would be the shortest possibledsmce for hem to' cover. Itis essential to note that theforty-two varous authors have heaped upon it; and it is about time that weconcerned ourselves withthemethods most likelylo preserve thetheatrical iIlusion. Itis doubtless equally'_diffifu!tto conceal both the im- perfect state of this aspect of our Theatres and the sublime perfection they could attain. There have been smiles and laughter on more than one occasion at the sight of those mobilelinesof washng" that separate thetransverse ribs of thevaulting fromtheir supports;or that movethesky asif'it were an image. No method has yet been discovered for making skies and ceilings; 1will not describehereideas that still requireexceptionally careful study tobefullyperfected, My desireistoseecompetent artists apply themselvestothis aspect and make ittheobject of their speculations. There is another aspect that has received evenless atten- tion; amass of observations about ithaveenabledmetodeal withit.Itconcerns methods of'lightnganauditorium accor- ding to the effect the work should have presented on the audience. If thetitleof aplay has induoedgloomy thoughts, nooneseatedinabrightly litauditorum, will not experience sornedfficulty intearng himself away-from the sensations induced by the brightness of the lighting when the curtain rises and suddenly reveals a sombre scene, The effort heis obligedtomaketoput himself'intheright mood destroys the iIlusion; the destructive effect on the performance is unknown, The same process occurs when weare seated in an iII-Ut auditorium and are suddenly confronted with festive brilliance. It is true that sometimes these sudden contrasts arepreparatory totheauction and servetheends of thepoet who may need instant surprise 01." asudden commotion. But 'that isevenrnorereason for trying to master thecreation or prevention of such affectsat will; nd itisdifficulttoimagine how many unlmown, powerful reSOUrcesihis method can add to the illusion and physical impression made by the entertainment. We sawat the beginning of'this section the ideas behind the decorati.ori ,o( the auditorum. As far as possible, 1ws aimingat the stjmulating effect of variety. That iswh_yI surrounded my auditoriumwithbuildingswith partieos creating a kind of fairground. 1placed a ballroom and concert hall inthe niiddleof these buildings for 1con- sideredthat 1must advertise thepleasures by cOQcentrating them. 1fo.undthis : pleasing and picturesque way to sur- round art auditorium and in addition it would be a stimulating contrast totheeffectofthl'l Palace opposite. My Theatre was to be a Rotunda surrounded by a cor- iibian order. 1thought that by using themost pleasing of shapes andthemost elegant order, 1wouldensurethat ithad appropriate character. The four principal Vestiqules form on the outside four largepedestals destined tosupport theFamous whowereto accompany the muses tothe temple of Goo.dTaste, These pedestals mark theIimitsof theperron whichforms thebase of the wholebilding. ltis easy to imagine theeffect.of this perron on abeautiful day, fuUof elegantly dressed women, embeHishedin particular by those charms ihat belong only to French women.42 1have madetheinsideof my auditoriumIQ theshapeof a semicircle~undoubtedly one of the m.ost beautiful shapes~for in architecture it is n axion that beautiful shapes are the necessa,ry basis of a beautiful decor. Moreover, this isthe only shape suitable focaTheatre. Itis 96 the end of the performance, and to protect them from exposure to the elements. Itis arranged in such away that the servants could arrive everywhere rapidly and without theleast confusin. Thestaircases leadingtothefirst foor balconies arelarge with free, simple, easy access. They lead to an extended public foyer which could be agreeably decorated, and located to ensure a most interesting glimpse of it to those entering O c leavingthe performance. 1havesurrounded my audtoriumwthafairly solidstruc- ture that will completely exclude al! outside noise, 1have placed my corrdors insuch away that they prevent theout- side air from directly penetrating straight into the auditorium; for we are well aware of the number of dangerous illnesses and fatal diseases that are caused by neglectingthis precaution, The actors' dressing rooms are on the promenade and directly accessble from the Theatre. The principal actors would only haveto cross thecorridors andtheproximity of the others would be related to the requirements of their work. Bythis rneanstheDirectors could, without leavingthe Theatre where their presence is required, givetheir orders, have the actors called as necessary and keep an eye on everything with unequalled ease, Itis easy to understand how such'anarrangement would facilitate good servicing. 1tswiththesameintentions that 1have.located ontop.of theTheatre two greenrooms, oneforthe singers andonefor thedancers," Thesewouldensurethemall thepractice they might need without disturbing each other, even during the performance. A Theatre is destined to.Greal~alI thescenes that theim- aginatiori can conceive~a"ud. thus cannot offer too large a" spacetothestagedesgner. Butthisspacemust hein propor- tiontothesizeoftheauditorium,. whichisitself res.lJ ictedby the limits of our visionand hearing and by the number of spectators who ca,nattend the performance. Itis doubtless- necessary'to take accountohhesc.indispensable Iimitations. But the Theatre must nevertheless be as large as possible. Space is also necessary for easy handling of the scenery. It is, moreover, essential to note that depth ismoreimportant than width. In crowd SCeneswith many. actors. ol stag~_,_ the acton that takes place at theback oftlleTheatre perpendicular to the front stage is not very apparent: tlie actors in the foreground hidethos.einthesecond rowandso-on.The ac- tion can only take place and' be completely effective diago.nally or parallel to the scenery. What is more, the depth of the Theatre, far from increasing theimpact ofthe scenery, can possible destroy it. The multiplicity of the succl'lssiveframes forces the designer to go into too much detail for them tobe perceptible and harmonious; theeffect is inevitably monotonous and the piled up sets, far from enhancing the whole, singularly destroy it. . J t is by pronounced contrasts that one succeeds: con- trasts need hardly more than two or three separate frames on abackdrop. This isthesecret of themagnificent scenerY that wehave often admired at our Italian Theatres, and we would be able to achieve again this beautiful style in the grand manner if theadministratio.ndevoted10this sector the attention it deserved a,nd entrusted its supervsion a-d executon only to. first rate Artists. This interesting aspect has up. to now been open to many deserved gibes, which ARCHlTECTURE" ESSA yON ART 97 beautiful element in architecture-e-I decide to decorate all the Palaces ln-lliesame rnanner, won't ths repetiton make the whole monotonous? If,inorder to preserve the not in- ___ considerable and beautiful effect of elongated lines which results from symrnetry combinedwith reguiarity, 1 sub- jected a11thebuildings to acommon height, would1beable to incorporate variety,... too'? Bt if, in order to avoid the defect of monotony and in order to Introduce variety throughout, 1tried to decorate each Palace differently; ir 1 built themat differentheghts nd if1decorated each onein- dividually, theresult wouldbeaneffectof'disparity, notof a single unit, for the combinaton of a11these different buildings would constitute akind of sma11town. The Palaces of the Nobles and the Royal residence should form, onthe contrary, awhole. Such were the remarks 1made to myself as 1plunged deeper into my subject. Itis evident that with such a vast consttuction, thete is always thefear that theresult wi11beaneffectofunformity if one tries to subject al!the Palaces to the same height to preserVeregulrity and to decorate them all in the same manner to maintain symmetry. 43 One must,kl1owhowto avoidthis by findingmethods of introducing variety without, however, excIuding either regularity or'llymmetry. 1wasvery conscious of thefact that to construct agroup of buildingsofthis size, 1had to choose afavoutable site; it isimpossible, fbr example, to create somethingimposing on afiat site, for when each part isonthesamelevel there isno development: thosein the foteground inevitably hidethose behind, thus limiting their effect; whereas when the siteis amphitheatricl, thereisevery possibility for developingthe effects and inttoducing movement; the diverse planes can have infinitevariations. Is there a singleoneof us who has not admired cities with such apropitious site, focthey offer themost extensive, themost impressiveandat thesametime most pleasing sight! Itwas in the light of such striking examples that 1decided that 1should look for aplacethat This project was completed long before there was any question of a revoluton in France, The author thought he shouldretain it, frstly, becausehehas nt worked sollyfor v, France and is convinced that an Artist's ideas should be available to a11who -mght find thern useful; secondly, because there is good reason to think that the project con- tains ideas that could be adapted to other monuments not destined to be a Sovereign's residencel When an Artist builds a residence for a Sovereign, he must incorporate all theopulenceof Archtecture andmake useofall the splendour and magnificente ofthe finearts. ~We: have already noted that the Ancients added to the dignity of their mouments by buildingwalls around them. But what type of surrounding wall would meet all the requirements and also contribute to improving the overall effectofa Palace? That is what weshall now considero Theimpact ofsplendour and magnificencehas ilSsource inthe grouping of objetts that arouse Ouradmiration. That is why 1decided that thesurrounding wallsof thePalace of theSovereignshouldconsist only of thepalaces bf thecourt nobles; that was the only form of wall that would be ap- propriate and that thislarge, majestic group bf buildings would result in lhe most exquisite effect; for example, its expanse w0uld make an extraordinary impression on us, bringing us closer to infinity; its magnificenceWoulddazzle us wilhitsimpat; and; finally, thesplendour resultingfrom thegtouping of beautiful objects wouldarouSeinus asense ofwonder. J t was on fhebasis of these ideas that 1wanted to begin work. But when 1began to refiect on howto planthis large group of buildings, 1found myself at a standstill as 1shall now describe. 1hope thereader wiIl fromtimeto timeaIlow meto puthim inmy place. 1saidto lTIy~elf' "T!w~palaceof Soveregn, whichwould besurroundfby the phlaces ofan thePrinces ofthe Court, should without doubt beaslargeas possible. Artdso, onac- count of its size, 1must vary the effects. But if, in order to preserve aIt effect of perfect symmetry-which isthemost ThePalaceof the Soveregn number of'extra seats Icould makeroomfor. 1haveenough to meet requirements; and all of themaregood, Nowthat 1 had satisfied these two needs 1could and doubtless even should think about how to givemy auditorium apleasing overall appearance correspondng toits function. 1beleved that theTemple of pleasure should giveus pleasure. Finally, 1wanted togivethemost pleasing effectpossible andthought that I couldachieveitby placingl)J espectators in such a way that they provided the decoraton for my auditorium. In fact, 1 believe that by assembling and grouping themembers of thebeautiful sex andplacingthem in such a way that they provide the bas-reliefs of my architecture, I have given my settng the stamp and character of grace. ARCHITECTURE, ESSAYON ART necessary to be able to see and hear perfectly and what shape fulfils these two requirernents better than the one whose exactly equal radii give the ear and eye the greatest and -most .equitably distributed freedom; where no point hides .another and where, for this reason, a11speetators on the same level can see and hear equally we11.Moreover, this shape enabled me to encIose m)' audtorium wth spherical vaulting which not only has the advantage of'being asimple form ofdecoraton in good taste, but whch is also the most favourable from an acoustic point of view. 1have decorated the inside of my auditorium and I was not afraid to use a11the riches of architecture to adorn it by incorporating columna. The proportions and layout 1used made me certain that it would be appropriate, agreeable and adequate; 1 did not want to debase art by calculating the ture by placng the entrance to the prisons underneath the Palace, \ Itseemedto methat if I placed this augustPalaceabove Itheshadowy lairof'Crime, 1shouldnot only showto advan- Uage the nobility of the archtecture on. accpunt of the resulting contrast, but 1 should also have an impressive metaphorical image of Viceoverwhelmed by the weight of J ustice. 98 Thedecoraton of thisPalace shouldbeboth majestic and impressive. Itis the archtecture that must produce this effect, But since there is more than one monument that requires a more or less similar character, 1decided that 1 should attempt to define this clearly by rneans of ap- propriate methods that were characteristic of this monu- mentalone. 1decided that 1couldincorporate the.Poetry of architec- ThePalace of Justice being any notion of work. He informs us that he became perfectlyfamiliarwiththeLatnlanguage, wthout evenbeing aware of it for alI those around himduring his childhood spoke to himonly inthat language- ~u'must admit that it would bepossibleto impart much knowledgeto children by placng them in the company of men who conversed with themonly on subjects they wanted to teach themand who would thus inculcate knowledge in them without their applying themselves to thetask. Montaigne's viewsseemed to me to offer many advantages that would facilitate the progress of our education inmoreways than one."1saidto myself, "Why should wenot reap thebenet ofthe viewsof this great man if, by following them, we can indeed find methods to facilitate education, especially that of Princes? Why should wenot make useof his viewswhich, it cannot be denied, would affect a man's happiness for it is certain that themore educated heis, thehappier hewill be?"47 I should deal here strictly with what concerns Architec- ture; which is why I will not proceed further withthis sub- ject. I will merely observe that on the basis of his obser- vations, I decidedthat I shouldlocatetheAcademies within the group of buildings constituting the Palace, not only so that theyoung Princes can bebrought up inthis sanctuary of knowledge but also so that those responsible for their education will beableto frequent themost learned menand sothat theMonarch himself will beableto enjoy theconver- sation of the rrostenlightened men inhis Kngdom, ' 1decided that thedignity of theSovereigndemanded that thethrone of justice beintheproximity ofhisown, In addi- tion, I assumed that it-might perhaps beappropriate for the young Princes'to complete their education intheTemple of Themis. In accordance with thecustoms ofthe Ancients, 1 havealsoplacedtherethebuildingsdestinedfor thephysical training of the young. Intheplan of thegeneral disposition, you will note that 1 havediverted water fromtheriver intheviHageofNanterre in order to create a canal two leagues long whch will pass through the Vezinet woods and arrive directly opposite the Palace; this canal will thus constitute a magnificent mirror whereall thebeauties of nature will bereflectedinthousands and thousands of dfferent ways. On thebanks of this large Canal 1have placed the avenues which will lead to the Palaceinthemost splendid and agreeable manner possible. Themore1thought about thebeauty onthesite,themore tempted I wastogointo detail. Why isour lifesoephemeral! wouldgivemeall theadvantages appropriate to rnysubject, and without which I could not bring it to a successful conclusion. Itseemed to me that the ideal location for such a residenceinFrance wouldbeStoGermain-en-Laye, 1was all the more resolved to choose this place, for by giving it preference I was also obeyingoneofthe most essentiallaws of architecture and onewhich Vtruvius" was right toinsist on: I amreferring to salubrity. For it is aknown fact that in St. Germain theair onebreathes ispureoItisalso afact that in this pleasant place one can enjoy all the beauties of nature. I have therefore set this Palace on the vast, magnificent amphitheatre formed bythemount of St. Germain-en-Laye, I have so placed it that it appeared to form a part of the Heavens, Although the superb surrounding wall formed by thePalaces of theNobles isvery high, itisstill dominated by the residence of the Monarch. An onlooker standing at an appropriate distance at a glance can seeand take inall the separate buildings that formthe whole. I drew up my plans insuch away that each Palace seen separately presented apleasing whole. Thanks to this beautiful setting 1was ableto arrange the buildings as 1 had intended so as to preserve perfect syrnmetry and fine regularity, without, however-or so 1 beleve=-falling into thedefect of monotony. Although time is a destroyer of customs it does allow sorne of them to persist long enough for us to be able to count on their survival. With respect to the household arrangements of aMonarch, thedispositionof hisPalace is subject tofrequent changes for, as'Yithmany other things, it is dependent oncurrent fashion. But thegeneral disposition, which concerns the majesty that isdueto theThrone, is, so to speak, immutable. Itisthis disposition that will reveal the . talents of the architect. I will not repeat here the explanations I have already given on this subject. My Memorandum ontherestoration ofthe Palaee-of Versailles can beconsulted. There, I havetriedtogivetheexplanations necessary to forman opinion of my work." I decided that I should givemy magination freerein in this project and 1have tried to incorporate all that I con- sidered .necessary and desirable in the Palace of the Sovereign, Montaigne gave mesorneideas of which1took advantage and whichenabled metoimprovethedisposition of my Palace. In his reflexions on education, heprescribes methods for educating chldren without, so to speak, there ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART 99 toIdmyselfthat a murticipal Palae was not merely aplace destined for the district magistrates, but that it belonged tb ano Itisin such aplace that the citizens givevoiceto their complaints and where they attend the most important debates. Theoutside of thisMonument must bedignified: itwbuld beappropriate to surround it withthearmed forces. :.....- _ 1was sixty"four years old when 1didthis project. An author cannot fiatter himselfthat heis at fuIl strength at that age; however, J considet that this construction is perhaps not oneof my lesser works. But it isnot my opinionthat we .are discussing here: ' When 1wasworking onthedesgn of t:hisbuilding, I tried to beinfortned oneverything that wasrelevant or essential; 1 Municipal Palace 1haveplaced an atrioaboyeitswalls; it isdecorated with a bas- reliefIrepresentng our national festivals): finally, 1 thought 1should crown ths Building withthe greatest vic- tory anation candesire, that of freedom. I say this with akind of confidence; 1believethat 1have found the appropriate means of characterizing this great subject and the reason.is olear: but I amfar frombelieving that a man of gertius could not turn it to better account; 1 inviteall artists to enter thefray; may their ideas developas they strive to elevatethemto the heights of such a subject and may they not forget the work of the Immortals of the Greek Republic." 1havejust onemorewordtoadd: whenI beganthiswork, 1thought ttwas myduty to try and proceed wtheconomy; eonsequently, when I chose the convent of the former Capuchin nuns, 1drew up a plan limitingrnyself to theold buildings; you wilI seethat as far as possible I have met all the funotional needs of this monumento But my sprit revolted; and desirous of gvngmy imagnaton free rein, 1 drew up a second plan. If they are compared, it will be evident that holding anArtist's Genius incheck istodestroy al!thegiftsthat nature has bestowed onhim. 1have said that Architects should make a point of incor- poratng Poetry in their architecture, aboye all when they have been commissioned to bUilda public monumento 1 strongly advise them to offer us what are to some extent Poerns, etc., etc. It is useless to insist here on the fact that a National Palace morethan any othet buildingshoud offer us..notthe silentimageof'archtecture but themost expressiveimageof art. In accordance wththese views1did not condescnd to usefor this project the sterileopulence of architecture, After longreexon asto rnethods of incorporating inthis ._ bllildingthe Poetry of Architecture, I .decded that nothing wouldbemore striking or more characteristic than building thewalls of this Palace withthetables of theConstitutional Iaws, 1said to myself, What image can arouse greater in- terest than the onethat dsplays theLaw, whichisIoved by all sinceal!desiredit! To embellishthewal!softhis Palace andpresent atableau of contemporary events, I placed at their base two . stylobates, on whichrplaced tworows of figuresindicating the nurriber of our provinces, each one holding a book of decrees and thus announcing the assent of the People who have sent them. TheNational Palace front. Between these buildings and those forming the facades where the seprate jursdictions areplaced, thereis an intermediare gallerywhch extends right round theinsde periphery, This gallery leads to and from everywhere, It enables thePublic tomove freely inall parts ofthe building. Sincethedisposition is simple, tis also uncomplicated and convenent, Theeourtyards atthe corners le inlight and air and make every part of it salubrious. The low Buldings on the outside are destied for the archives and as prisons. Since their arrangement is of no great interest, 1have not goneinto detal, 1have made this Palace aslarge as possible because the dwelling place of the Throne of J ustice rnust be very im- posing. If I haveachievedthegoal 1setmyselfby attempting to givecharacter to this monument, 1have accomplished a difficulttask. ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART In order to gve this Palace suitable majesty, 1have made it domnate aU that surrounds it. 1have rased tso that t appears to bepart of theHeavens, and 1havesurrounded it withthemost brilliant lightsothat itisresplendent. I decided 1wouldplacetheentrance to theprisons at ground level, as if they Werethe precarious tomb of'criminals. Sinceit is a fact that thenoblemajesty of architecture derives fromthe simplicity of its rnasses, I didnot accept any divisinin the Palace facade, Itwas the majestic order of its decoration that gave this rrronument all the dignity that should characterize it, - Inmy plan, theexterior is aperfect square; thebuildings inside from a Greek cross. This part of the buildings con- tains al! theroyal courts. The Parliamentary courts oceupy the centre. The Excise Board and Audit Officeare on the sides. Thechapel isat theback andthelawyers' chambers in festival which.the Public cannot enjoy? It is adecision and such a decision i~aninsult to the citizens. 1wonder if even onehundredth of theinhabitants of Paris wereableto enjoy - thefestvalsgiven at theHotel deVille.Spaceissorestricted that there Co.uldhardly have been roorn for thecarriages of the King and all his retinue. Itseems tbat those inofficeintheCity thought that they aloneshouldhavethesatisfaction of receivingtheMonarch, and that they Wo.uldexclude all others. You will recaH the calamities that acco.mpanied the festivals that wereheld also on the siteof the Place Louis Quinze: andyou will remernber that rnany peopleperished there.51 Is it not appalling fhat the pleasure of the pUblic shouldbe marred by such happenings? 1havenot seenany public festival Ihat has n01sent gossipmongers to the civic authorties; andweknowthat thelatter havealso beensume 100 The Coliseum in Rome is onerf Italy's rnost beautiful monuments~50Its mass forms a majestic and impressive whole. Butitsdeco.rationdidnot seemtometo bein.keepingwith good ar<:hitectureand nor didit fulfil itsaims. 1therefo.redecidedthat anattemptto decorateit moreap- propriately would beto embark on one.of thebest possible architectural studies. My intention was to confinemyself to simpl~restoration work; but on further refl~xion, 1decided that tbismo.nument couldbeadapted toout customs andwe shall se.e,o.rsoit seems to rne, that thi~could bedone. When wecon~ider tho~epublic festivals that wereheldin Pars in the past to proclairn natio.nal \\lenbeing, we are forced to admit that they wererarely heldin aplace where the citizens could fully enjoy them. And why proclaim national well being' by mean~of an extremely expensive Coliseum similar type, 1have succeeded inintroducing movement by usingthecontrast between theforeground andbackground, adevicewhich often destroys noble simplicity. Itis not by followinginother's footsteps that an Author distinguishes himself inthearts, I'shettld'like totake thisop- portunity to offer the reader the following thought. A very difficult subject is onethat is not well defined, Orwhich has never been dealt with before; but if someone succeeds in giving a character to such a subject and aIl the impact to whichit is susceptible, then hereveals his true talents. There are certain subjectsin Poetry and in Painting, as in architecture, which aremore or lessfavourable: inarchitec- ture, for example, aTheatre, aCenotaph or atempleare all well defined subjects that can consequently he easily grasped and characterized by agiftedhand. Housing projects are sterile subjects: the only way to make them stand out is by making them more or less opulent; it isdifficulttointroduce thePoetry of architecture. A Municipal Palace would be easier to describe than to build: onesenses what means areavailabletotheorator and not appropriate to architecture; however, evenat therisk of being accused of vanity, 1consider that the architecture of the Palace 1amproposing is appropriate to it alone. When1prepared theplanof'this monument 1thought that 1should followthe example of various Italian palaces and locate the finest fioor at a higher level: necessity and order forced this on me: the wholeofthe ground foor isintended for the Public: the main hall occupies .the centre; it is preceded by the waiting and conference rooms. 1 have located all theoffioesonthemezzanine oor, andthewhole ofthe upper floor isiritended for the magistrates, Itisonly frnacertan height that panoramas attain their full scope and that wecan enjoy what is called abeautiful view; it is also ata certain height that webreathe pure airo These considerations are mportant enough to havemade me decide that in certain circumstances the groundfloor should not always bethemost favoured. Next 1refiected on the type of decoration that would be appropriate for this monument and 1decided that it should have a proud, virile character that would be suitable to Republicans. 1therefore attempted to make the whole asim- posingas possible; anditwas inan attempt tomake it stand out as much as1possibly couldthat I decidedto giveminor importance only to the archtectural orders, In thisrespect, it was very different from the other palaces I have built, which all demanded what wecal! magnificence and which 1, decorated with al! theriches of architecture, In order to proclaimthe function of this monument and, as1havestated aboye; tocharacterize it asbelongingto all, 1 incorporated connecting gallerieseverywhere and countless apertures sothat aswarmof mencouldenter andleavefree- Iyand without confuson." Withtheaimof givingdignitytothismonument andtoin- troduce thePoetry of architecture, 1placed guard-houses at thefour anglesofthe foundations ofthe buildingtoproclaim metaphorically that the forces of public order arethebasis of society, Since1havemadeit myduty to.nstruct.the reader byput- tng him in my place, 1 will describe in sorne detail the difficulties1had to overcome, Whle reflectingon methods of decorating the monument in aproud, virilefashion, and on thenecessity ofincorporating many apertures, you may imaginethat I found myself broughtto astandstill and.inthe greatest difficulty; if it was to be open to all, it must of necessity resemble a kind of beehive; and a Municipal Palace is indeed a hve of humanity; now, anyone who knows anything .about architecture knows how a large number of apertures can diminish afa;acte;jn decoration it is smooth masses that .gjveavirile-effctand here, if 1may say so, lies the ingenuity of my decoration for the many apertures rneant that 1couldnot havesmooth surfaces inthe width of the building and so. 1incorporated them in the--. height, Itis for this reason that inthearchitecture there are largeintervals between the stories. You will observe that inthis monument;--a-fihothers of a ARCHJ TECTURE, ESSAY ON ART 101 Extrael from a Memorandum on Cireuses by (he AM Brotier,57read by him at a publie meeting vfthe Aeademy of Belles Lettres The resOurces of Romulus's genius finally led lo the es- tablishment of the Circus Games;. the City had been founded; as a result of the protection it offered, awarlike people had come into being. It was successful in war and neighbouring nations formed a leagueto destroy utterly a people which had made itself feared as soon as it had emerged; but their plan quickly succumbed to thedeceptive lure of pleasure. In the specious guise of honouring. Equestrian Neptune, Romwus h~dannounced sornegames; theNations forgot their rivalry: theyflockedtotheIll andthe rape of the Sabine women ensured the survival and victory of Rome~it was thenew wiveswho disarmed {heanger of theit Fathers; and so Sabines and Romans now tied by blood no longer conspired except to contribute to theglory ofthe founder ofRome; andthegames becameahomageto senseofmoras," 1will not givea detailed account of this project, A glance at my work will be more instructive than any descriptions I can give;54I have located this monument in that place at the top of theChamps Elysees that iscalled theEtoile so that the Public will haveeasy access andconvenent outlets, Itwill be seen that the monument is open on all sidesto facilitate entry into the arena; that I haveneorporated countless staircses leading 'to the amphitheatre; that everythingfar beyondall onecoulddesireisprovidedfor un- hindered entry and exit; that 1havenot neglectedtoprovide plenty of cover by placing enough galleries under the amphitheatre to hold all those assembled there, etc., etc. Irl could givecredence to what many artists havesaidto meabout this project, I should have good reason to believe that 1had succeededinfindingtheappropriate character for this type of structure; if that were so, I should have com- pleted atask which, doubtless less on .account of my talent than of'thepatriotc ntentions that guidedme, would mean "that 1deserved well of my fellowcitizens. When 1had completedthisproject, I immediately showed it to my friend Mr, Le RoyS5who is a Professor at the Academy of Architecure; I didnot omit to speakto himof the patriotic intentions that had guided me. My frerrd listened to me attentively and then asked if 1was familiar with a memorandum on Circuses by the AbbBrotier," which he had read to the .Academy of Belles Lettres. 1 replied that 1had not heard of ths Memorndum and he seemed surprised for hetoldmethat my viewshad much in common with those expressed in the writngs of the Abb Brotier; he sent.theseto mefor I had lost no timeinasking for them. 1wasdelightedtofndthat theideas of'honest men are almost identical. Since I was also forced to admit that although theAbb Brotier had hadthe Sameideas as I had, heisa rrtanofletters andhad succeeded ihpresenting them much better than I could, 1decided therefore that 1should give here an extract from his excellent memorandum. I wouldhavelikedto havehad thesameadvantagewithregard to aHthe subjects 1havediscussed. For if 1had managed to dispense with writing, 1 would have confined rrtyself to showingrnydrawings tomyfellowcitizens; but goodor bad; 1had to make my voiceheard. ARCHITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART "~ moned by the Parliamentary Court to explain their conducto In view of'this state ofaffairs, 1consdered it my duty as a good citizen to turn my attention to a project that would enable the nhabtants of Pars to enjoy public festivities without having tofear any unfortunate consequences. Inad- dition to the reasons 1 have just enumerated, there is another, rnuch more mportant one, which isto bring back morality. In fact it is not always the fear of punishment that restrains men and keeps them fromwrongdoing; .it is also possbleto keepthemfromdoing wrong by offerngthem a public entertainment.P What formcouldthis entertainment take? Natonal celebrations, Yes, national celebrations. All that plays onour sensesis reected inour souls, Itisonthis principiethat all national celebratons should bebased; and if they wereall thus, they woulddoubtless provide an effec- tivemeans of incting and preservng morality, Ancient lawmakers rcognized .and put nto effect this expedient. Itwas for both political and moral ends that the Romans instituted their festvals, If welook at history, we will beconvinced that men change completely according to Whether they have good or bad leaders. Natonal celebratins are both noble and impressive. In full viewof all, the citizen's soul is uplifted and purified. Why don't wetake advantage of such methods which, far fromdemanding sacrifices, reinstate moralty through the Iureof'pleasurel Theplan fora circus, which1amincluding, isintended to servebth moral andpolitcal ends. 1havemadesurethat no other entertainment could be more splendid or more magnfcent; and, inviewof the motives that inspired me, I dare say that nothing could be more moving or more intetesting. Imagine three hundred thousand peoplegathered inan amphitheatre where none could escape the eyes of the -crowd. The effect produced by this combination of cir- cumstances would be unique. The spectators would bethe elements of this surprising spectacIe and they alone would beresponsible fot its beauty. Themost glitteringcelebration wouldgiveriseto many different pleasures andwouldexcite newinterest among this great assembly. Indeed, what could bemore interesting than to seethis superb arena filledwith glowingyouth endeavouringto distinguish itself insportsof every kind; for example, who wouldprove most agiteinthe races; who would prove himself most able to defend the Fatherland in the military manoeuvres. Itwould beinlms arena, now amost interesting place, that theprizes wonby thedifferent academies wouldbeawarded. Theauthors who had distinguished themselves by good work would be crowned there. The hardworking farmer would receive there, inthe midst of public acclaim, therewards ofhis toil and virtue. There the paintings and models of the structures to be built would be shown to the PublicoThe citizens' interest could be arosed insomany different ways! Fathets would seetheit children distinguish themselves; andthejoy of the happ~fathers would be shared by their friends. The Public would be ableto" :onTmplateand single out what would bring honour lo the nation and arouse the admiration of Foreigners. Thus, it seemSto me, that through such truly nacional celebrations organzed toUpliftthe soul andputthe citizensontheir mettle, wewouldsucceed inbringingback a still hadan auraoffreedom, but whch, likethepeople, sensed that feelingofgrandeur andmajesty thatcommands wonder and respect. After the majestic pomp of Religion, after the usual songs and sacrifices, the starting signal is given. The brilliant eliteof themost nobleyouth opensthegames witha chariot race. They rush forward with an ardour aroused by their long wait, illustrious names -Illloaglorious victory. Sevencircuitsof theCircus arecompleted; atlightningspeed thefortunate winner skirts theturnngpost, avoidsitandvic- tory ishis. TheCircus responds withapplause. Inthemiddle of' these joyful demonstrations, an even livelier and more feverish race begins, Spectators, guides and horses, all are agtated, trembling, Fromoneraceto thenext thefervour is renewed: itmounts until asmany victories arewonasthesun takes hours to traverse thesky betweenrisingand setting. Thelast day of thegames givenby Caesar was worthy of a warrior people and of the hero who had just celebrated four victories. Caesar had hadtheturning posts taken out of theCircus to makeroomfor two camps sothat Rome could seeall the scenes of'war. On this martialday, theassembly admired twenty Elephants defeated by Five hundred foot- solders, and another twenty elephants, their towers ontheir backs, each carryng sixty soldiers, assaulted and beseiged by fivehundred footsoldiersand fivehundred cavalry. Maecenas revealedthe secret of theRoman games when hegaveCaesat'sheir sorneadvice, Hesaid, "Reme must be decorated inthe most superb manner and the splendour of all thegames must presidethere, Theexaltedposition of our Empire demands the greatest magnificence. This is the meansof ensuringtherespect of our alliesandthefear of our enemes, Let other cities havecelebrations, butnot our Cir- cus games; and ensure that the expenses of the spectacles areburdensome neither for thePublic!lorfor individuals ... .If I consider tlat our Circus games.should not exist outside Rome it is to prevent ruinous expenditure, to avoid provoking intdgu~s and factions and aboye all to arrange excellent horseraces for our cavalry. For thesereasons I decidedthat theCircus games should take place only in Rome. Wherever lhe other games are held, they should attempt to. givepleasure to t4e eyes and ears al reasonable expenseand everywhere awateh should bekept on honesty and public order." You will perhaps ask what it was that madethese Circus games sofascinating. Myreply will be, "Did they not havea supero building with magnificent porticos and splendid Of- naments: in the. rniddleof the altars weremonuments that the Romans appreciated, whichreminded themofnature's wonders and most precious ereations; inthe resplendent opulenceof theArena, whichg!itteredsometimes withsilver .andsometimes withgold, Raees wereheldinwhichhuman skill, combined with the efforts of the most beautiful, the proudest and the most docHeanimal s, executed thefastest, most amazing rnovements; other races inwhich man, with no outside help, deployed such strength and skiUthat even asfar astheadvantages of thebody wereconcerned, hewas assured of superiority over lhe various creatures which in- habit theuniverse. Itis here that weseemen competing in the foot-races endure a course Qf one hundred and sixty thousand paces or 48 tFrench leagues, each league beiog 2,500fathoms. 1wiUnot speak ofthe other spectacles ofthe Circus, where .all that is most rare and unique in the Universe was to be.seen. l02 theGod ofCounsel. Thegames existed; theCircus not yet. Romewas lacking a genius who would graft onto thewise, proud soul of the Romans the good taste and talent of the Greeks and Tuscans. This was done by the first Tarqun, a native of Corinth brought upin Etruria.S8 Fromthemoment hebegan to govern Rome, he seemed to anticipate her future grandeur, Thelaws governing Triumphs, theindestructible . arrangement of'thecanals, theCapitol andtheCircus paved .the way to glory ina City destined to ruletheuniverse. He was perhaps the first to beIievethat King should give pleasure to his people and that a nation's pleasure must breathe grandeur. Full of such ideas, he chose in the Mar- cianvalley afavourable.place between thePalatine Hinand the Aventne and soon a Circus large enough to house one hundred and fiftythousand spectators wasbuilt. ThePrince himself, surrounded by his People, presided over thegames; and the right to give the starting signal to the chargers became aroyal prerogative. These games, far from underrnining the spirit of the Romans, seemedonthecontrary tomakethemprouder and more formidable when they suffered setbacks, The frst seventeen years of the second Punte War, the most bloody that the Romans had ever endured, provided thesolealter- native to battles O c games; battles that were often direand games that werealways political and always religious. Inan equally astonishing contrast the Circus games sustained the courage of the Romans and idleness sapped Hannibal's, Why? Beeausethesegames wereanational celebration and every national celebraton uplfts and ennobles the soul, ldelness was merely an individual celebration and almost always had aweakening, emasculating effect. Itwas in the Circuses that the greatestRoman warriors received therewardoftheir vict()r.iesovr themost warlike peoples. Scy(la brought on one hundred ferocious !ionsto giveakinglikepeoplethespectacleof anAfrican l:lUntandto show them that Africa respecte<:itheir laws; Pompey had twenty elephants fight there to show how far he had extended the lirts of Roman domination and how great was the ostentation and the pOWerof theKings of Asia; Lucullus decorated Flarninius's Circus with the arms and war machines of defeated Armenia. But agreater man than Scylla or Lucullus or PQmpey appeared in Rome. Under such apowerful geniustheRepublic couldnolonger exist; it hadto hveamaster. TheCircus wouldnowattain thesumc- mumof lts splendour: it wouldbecome thepropof imperial Dornination andthe People's delight. It was one of Julius Caesar's coups d'tats:. the formoi' Government needed to be changed; as aprelude to this he changed the Circus: he enlarged it, surrounded it with a larger, moremagnificent Buildingwhichextendedthe whole lengthof thethreestadia, Le. 2,087feet and 4 arpents or 960 feet wide. This monument to magnificence proclaimed to Rome that shewouldbe exalted until she became theequal of or surpassed the most famous Cities. The Senate con- ferredon ~aesar thehonour of givingthestarting signal for .aHthe Circs games. This step.tQwardsthesupremepower Wassupported by thegames most likelyto make thepeople drunk withjoyoIt1S a{this point that weshoul<:ienjoy the greatest of spectacles that Roman politics stiUprovided. J uIius Caesarin theCircus in the midst.oftwo hundred andfiftythousand menhad around himintheSenate, which ARCHITECTUR"E. ESSA yONART 103 diton to giving hirn an opportunity to develop his talent, it haS the precious advantage of enabling him to devote it to Ifthere is one project that should please an Architect and, at the sametime, fire his genius, itis a Public Library. In ad- Public. Library62 /' Domitian who was master of'an ernpre where wealth per- mitted the human spirit to indulge in everything, wanted to erase al! that had happened before hs reign. He added two new colours to the four already established for ds- tinguishing the reins that guided the chariots, and the colours he chose were two of the richest: gold and Purple. AlI his magnificente was deployed for the secular games celebrated in the Year of'Rome 841. The hero could truthful- ly say that no. one had yet seen or would see again such games, Nothing had ever approached, nothing would ever approach this most astonishing and magnicent spectacle, At thegames given by Augustus in 737,twenty-five races in which one hundred chariots representing the years of the reign covered a distance of'three hundred thousand paces or approximately ninety leagues, aroused amazement. Under Domitian the day was much more splendid. One .hundred racesrepresented the arrnies of the age. Bt nature has its limits and Domtian could not violate them; he was deter- mned to succeed and elminated two of'the customary seven crcuits for each race, After making this wise rule, he provided a good example of speed in movement; and he provided itwith the pomp and opulence worthy of'the most important sovereign in the world, Six hundred chariots and two thoustliitI-fourhundred horses competed in the hundred races; in fourteen or fifteen houes they covered a distance of fout hundred afid thirty-six thousand paces Orapproximate- 'Iy 120 Leagues. We would never have known such prodigious speed and spectacIe had there notremained sorne trace o.f it il). the Efiglisll:taeing at Newrnarket.61 After such. a -p6werful effort, Trajan's genis. was necessary to maintain and enhance the splendour of the garnes. This finest of Prifices saw the Circus as Juliu$ Caesar had Seen it. Rome had grown; Trajan added five thousand seats to the Circus; the traces of the havoc caused by fires disappeared nd the rnagnificence ofthe huge part of the Circus that he repaired vied With the most beautiful temples. The Box in which the Empero.rs sat to watch the games was plled down. Trajan preferred to be among his Peo.ple, to see and be seen, to. share their pleasure, 10 corn- municate his, to fin aH hearts with the joy and satisfaction that he felt. This Was a foretaste of that glorious reign, the mOst brilliaRt and the happiest that Rorne had known and which the whole wo.rld stil1wonders at. Itwas here that his victories and Triurnphs were celebrated. The ambassadors of the Barbarian Nations and India came here to pay homage to his valour and to witness the garnes that lasted fo.r 123 days. The Reign of Trajan broght to an end the greatest splen- dour of the Ro.man Empire and the Circus Games. There WaS some brilliance under Hadrian and uitder the An- tonines, but itwas doser to singularity than true grandeur. ARCHITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART Let us limt ourseves to the chariot races. Before entering the Arena each team already had ts side and faction. Al court, in the Senate, among the equestran order, amongthe People, cabals had been fixed and bets multiplied on all sides; all speech, allntrigues concerned exclusively the Cir- cus. It opens: everyone takes his place with the interest of peoplewho are about to decide o.rshape avictory; they look at one another, ask questions; every side is irnpatient, the shouting begins, The horses are impatient to cross the barriers and stand trembling, All eyes are fixed on the face, the hand that will give the signal. The chariots are off; im- mediately the shouting doubles; the shouting is .followed among the various faetions by applause, encouragernent, expressions of fear and dread, transports of'jcy and Victory as the chariots advance, lag behind, collide, lean or are over- turned, approach the turning post, slip past t and are crowned with glory, During this race thereis not an instant, not a split second, when the interest remains static; thereis always hope and fear; everywhere, in every row, in every seat, there is acton, agitation. Itis as if the two hundred and fifty thousand spectators were driving two hundred and fifty thousand chariots. The horses=-those proud, spirited animals, dispo.sed lo glory, sensitive to. censure, inflamed by the spectacle and by the cries thi resound on every side, excited by the reins that their own ardour and the fervour of the public carry fo.rward-make a last effo.rt and struggle against aII bstacles. In the co.ntinual clash of interest and mo.vernent, that alo.necan absorb and impasso.n awho.le na- Hon, the o.nlyreproach that co.uld be fiade ls the short dura- to.n of the pleasure; but there are as many'as twenty-fo.ut races, o.ncertain days upto. forty"eight; a uniqueadvantage o.f the Circs which repeats its pleasutes, redouhles o.ur sen- sations and the acuteness o.f tho.se sensatons. Mr. ThornhUfs farno.us race has been rightly co.m- ..mended.S9 He ro.de 215 English Miles (approximateIy n French leagues) in eleven ho.urs and thirty-two. minutes. The speed ofthe Circus chario.ts is even mo.re asio.nishing ifi that, on those days when there were 48 races, the chario.ts co.vered in alrnost the same period oftme, two. hundred and ninety-fo.ur thousand paces or about 88 leagues. Under Do.mitan We shall see even greater speeds. When Caesar's succesSots came to. the Throne'they did no.t abando.n this po.licy. Vespasian erected a superb al11phitheatre, and the Citcus reverted to its first glorious functio.n. Titus devo.ted the mo.st rnagnificent games solely to charlo.t raCng; hevaried them fo.r ahundted days; and he distributed to the irnrnense crowd gatheredfor the spectacle tessera60 listing the gifts of food, c1othing, gold afid silver vases, ho.rses, herds and Slaves that he had donated. Ho.w great is the jo.y of a Nation when ils Prince bestows on it pleasure and Riches. the Library can be seen from that central point." With regard to the plan for using the existing buildings, all the proposals revealed agroup of unattractive structures, badly andinconveniently arranged withinaddition acquistions to bemade that would add to theexpensebecause it wouldbe neccessary to knock down and rebuild the houses that wouldhavetobebought; and soitwasobvious (thiswasthe general opinion) that neither thesite, nor thearrangement of the buildings would permit the provision.. of the basic requirements of this monumento The Minister of Finance has commissioned me to build the newentrance to the Bourse and I was impressed by his opinion of my projects; 1redoubled my efforts to comply with his wisbes/" 1thought that if previous Ministers had concerned themselves with the establishment of a suitable Public Lbrary, then hetoo would make it his concern and the Minister of the Interior [Barn deBreteuil, Minister of the Department of Paris], who also appeared to be in- terested inthe arts, would beequally aware of'the great im- portance of this project, The Superintendent of Buildings was aware of this need andinstructed meto draw uptheplans for aPublic Library on the Capucine sitenear the Place Vendme. After going into all the detail necessary for this work, 1myself was forced to conclude that the expensewould beexcessive. I therefore madeit arulethat for thisnewattempt 1would giveup all ideaof a cornpletely newproject, I am accustomed to struggling against obstacles and I therefore dared to turn my thoughts to thepresent location. Perhaps 1wasmorefortunate than others whothought there wasno possibility of successthere, for itwasfor thisrejected sitethat 1madethepresent project; andit seemstomethat if 1had been aHowedto plan giving freerein to my ideas, to develop them and to choose a site, it wouId have been difJ icultfor lJ 1eto incorporate better aHtheadvantages that this monument demands. In addition, thecost is soreasonable incomparison with what it would be on any other site, that it is not worthy of our attention. J ust the description of this scheme wiII demonstrate plainly thetruth of my proposal. It isnot even necessary to havetheplan infront of you. 104 Methods for givmg to the Library called the King's Library theadvantages appropriate to such abuilding. The building that is most precious to a Nation is un- doubtedly one which houses all acquired knowledge. An enlightened sovereign will always be in favour of methods that contribute to the progress of the arts and scences, During the reign of Louis XIV, the number of books in the library was increased by more than seventy thousand volumes, Under Louis XV itwas further increased. Sincethen, newacquisitions havebeenordered daily. Our literary wealth is increasng prodigiously and it is obvious that theexistingbuiIdings areno longer sufflcientlylargeto houseit. Thenecessity of enlargng.thesbuildings has been recognized for so long that successive Ministers have all been concerned with this important subject, Among the various projects that haveheldthe Government's attention was one proposing the construction of a Library on the Capucine sitein the rue StoHonor. Then there was sorne discussion about transferring this establishment to the Louvre, Finally, suggestions weremade in connexion with the present site. Thebuildingproject has always caused alarmbecause of theconsiderable expenseinvolved. This has always beenes- timated at between fifteen and eighteen million, with the resuit that no one has seriously considered executing this project. Thetransfer of this establishment to theLouvrehas beer warmly welcomed and at first sight would appear to bethe best choicepossible. But attention was paid to certain well- informed persons whodemonstrated that inspiteof thesize, attractiveness andopulenceofthe buildingsofthis Palace, it would not be possible to provide there all the advantages demanded by thismonumentoThereasons givenwerebased onthefact that inthegalleriesthat succeedoneanother inall directions, not only would the service be slow, but sur- veillance\Vouldbedifficultandtiresome. Theservicewould beslowbecause ofthe longdistances tobecovered. TheSUf- veillancewould betiresome because it would beimpossible 10 seethe public inthegalleries which run inall directions. Mention Wasmadeof theRome Library wherethegalleries leadofffrom acentral point withtheresult that everyone in Memorandum who commissioned it. The fundamental idea of the Project was that 1lmit myself to existing buildings by seeking to arrange them suitably; that was already difficult enough; what made it even more so was findng a decoration that wouldbe both noble and impressive. Moreover, theproject had to beexecuted at the least possible expenseand 1must confess that this seemedimpossible-to-me; My positionwas particulariy critical; and'the reflexonthat I was plunged in was not conducive to giving me encouragement, The followingMemorndum, which accompanied IJ 1Ydrawings, will serve as an ntroduction to my work and will give sufficient clarification to pronounce judgment on this project. the menwho hase made their ageillustrious, The masterpieces of these great men evoke a desire to follow in their footsteps and inevitably give rise to lofty thoughts: one experiencesthen those nobletransports, that sublime mpetus that seemto draw forth soul frombody: onebelievesoneself inspired by the shades of thesefamous meno I was deeply irnpressed by Raphael's sublimedesign for theSchool of Athens and1havetriedtoexecuteit; doubtless I owewhat success 1have had to this idea. Beforegoing into further detail on this project, I think 1 should discuss the difficulties that 1encountered and the obstacles I had to overcome to satisfy thedemands of those ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART 105 This type ofbuilding, more than any other, calls for the Poetry of architecture. Iti8 this interesting Poetry that I haveespecally triedtoincorporate inthis work, Once1had decided to characterize the resting place of death with a cetnetery entrance, anideacarnelomethat \Vasasnewasit was bold; it was to give~lllll.ionot:.buti~(l ..ar_ _ c.h~. 1will outlinefor theReader thesequenceofmy ideas, for the description of my difficulties will perhaps spare those who followmeinan artistic career. Whilereflecting on themeans at my disposal for putting myideas into practice,I realized that ~shollld uS~_ O_ lJ lyJ ()w, ,..u~~_ lines(ifI can put it thus). 1sald to myself,that the basis ofarcfitecture is atQtal!ybare, unadorned \Val!ndit -~-~~'-"-''''.,'.'.-.~.''"'' .....,',','" - , "'" _ ' ",'- '-_ "",.,'"",'''''' .. ".,_ "-'-_ "''''''_ ---'-''~"-'" ..... _ --,,,_ .-"_ ,-.,-~ Templeofdeath! Thesightofyou chillsour hearts. Artist, flee the light of the Heavens! Descend onto the tombs to sketch your ideas in the pale dying Light of theSepulchral Lamps! Itis 6bvious that the goal one sets oneself when erecting this.kind of_ Monu~Ws_ th_ e~ReIP_ _ !ltIJ lJ _ Q~ those to wj],Qm:irfsotietlicated; - , - - - Tne- seMonuI11ents ~ho1l1(;L.thet:efQrt!Q~_ deigned to \Y 11h ~ stand.th.~: raiages_ oLtim.- - , '.- ..- - -..~,~ The Egyptians have left us sorne celebrated examples. Their Pyramids arettuly ch(racteristicinthat they COJ :ljure up the' ilifarcholy ill1_ ~geoL.arid mountains and 11lffiutabilicy:"- - ' " ..... Funerary Monuments or Cenotaphs If the Peristyle of'the Louvre andtheHotel des Invalides havebrought honour to the agethat sawthembuilt and to themonarch responsible for their Construction, howgreatly would this buildingdevoted to the arts and sciences honour those who cornmssiond it! For it can be argued that perhaps thespectacleofthe most beautiful Monunents does not have such animposing, extraordinary or novel effectas the effect the Courtyard of the Library will have whenit is vaulted, Moreover, if we consider the small cost that the execution of this Project would ental (since it comprises only anewrooffor theLibrary) andtheenormous difference in the cost of the monuments wehavejust mentioned, it is evident fromthis consideration that this Project combines all sorts of advantages. , One should not assume thatthe author of this Project in- tended to speak ofthetechnique hewill usefor thedecora- ton f this monument when he wasdescrbing thesublime impression that will bemade by this place. Hecan assureyouthat this will betheresult ofits immen- sity, Thesuccess hedares tohopefor will bedueto hisgood fortune in having dscovered how to utilize the existing buildings, and in knowng how to take advantage of prernises t- hatit.was thought would have to be abandoned because it was assumed that it would not bepossibleto in- corporate there all that isnecessary for aLibrary; fnally, in having achieved with twelve or ffteen hundred thousand Iivres what would have required on another site ffteen to eighteen million. . Sorne peopleseemto want the Vaulting which was in- tended to beTimber to be executed instonework, Nothing could be simpler, By placing several retaining walls inthe surrounding buldings abuttress of morethan 36feetwould be forrned, with a resistance that would support con- siderably larger vaulting. N.B. Theextensionof theLibraryis becorningindispensable for it houses nearly three hundred thousand volumes, not counting the rnanuscrpts for whch there is no room but whichitis thought importantto classify sinceeight members of the Academy of BellesLettres have been nominated to examinetheprecious collectionofthese manuscripts, andto make alist ofthem \Vhich\Viii bepublished asasequence of the MemOtandaofthis Academy. ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART , The defects of the Library ate: (1) that it has insuffcient space to house the books; (2) it has the disadvantage of Galleries running in all directions which, as stated aboye, makes the service slow and the surveillance tiresome. We shall see whether my Project remedies these inconveniences. My plan is totransform thecourtyard, which is 300feet long by 90 wide, into a vast Baslica lit fromaboye, which wouldhousenot only our literary heritage, but alsowhat we havereason toexpect intimestoCome.Tobeconvincedthat this Basilicaoffersfuelargest and most striking exampleof al! that exists, it is only necessary to glance at the site1am using, and to imagine the vaulting placed on the top of'the existingwalls. A cursory examination ofthe plans will reveal an arrangement that .issimpler, nobler and more imrnense than one could have hoped for. All the existing buildings, with no changes, would serve as repositories for the manuscripts, the print room and the Medals, Geography would beinreach ofthe placewherethemagnificent globes are housed, By separating these various repositories, the confusin which would ensue f unrelated objects were rnixedthere, would beavoided, By studying my subject indepth 1was attemptng, as it was my duty, to fulfil the main object to which the monu- ment inquestion is devoted. I therefore wanted our lterary heritageto bepresented in the finest possible building. That is why 1 decided that nothing could be vaster, more noble, more extraordinary, and make a more magnificent impression than a vast amphitheatre of books. Let us imagine in this vast amphitheatre attendants placed in different rows in such a way they can pass the books fromhand to hand, You will agreethat theservice will bealmost as rapid as the spoken word andinaddition therewill beno fear ofthe dangers that can result fromladders, This superb amphitheatre 1Scrowned with an order of architecture so conceived that far fromdistracting attention from the spectac1e of the books, it would offer only that decoration necessary to giveyet morebrillianceandnobility to this beautful place. This Basilica has at either end two types of Triumphal Arch, under which there could betwo allegorical statues. Itwould doubtless beappropriate that oneofthe t\Voshould beastatue of Minerva. rnadeaboye: these monuments must havelow, sunken lines and, although thewholemust besatisfying to-theonlooker, hemust realizethat apart is concealed intheearth. ~Qt-ge--int~t '. . .... re. ard to {hecone-shaped Cenotaph. Its conception isbased ontl].es_e sameprlllcl~S_I "ita:vejtrsniSCss'ea:l ,wouldthus befepeating mysel.. is for the Public tojudge thedecoration of the Cenotaphs, Mymindwas still preoccupied withthis typeof architec- ture and nowthat 1had attempted to give a description of sunken architecture, a newidea cameto me, which was to definethearchitecture of shadows. Everyone knows the effect of volumes placed.againstthe light: the result, as weknow, isthat theshadows reproduce thesevolumes, Weowethebirth of theartof painting tothis phenomenon, Love, it is said, inspired the beautiful Dibutades.s? As for me, I OWemy inspiration to rnyIovefor my profession. The common man will not be interested in Iooking at the natural phenomena he sees all the time and which no longer arouse hiscuriosity sincethey nolonger havetheat- traction of novelty. This is not true of the artist who is always making discoveries and spends bis J ifeobserving nature, 1was in the country, on the edge of a wood in the moonlight, My shadow produced by thelightcaught my eye (it was certainly nothing newto me).68Because ofmy par- ticular mood, the image seemed to me of an extreme melancholy. The shadows of thetrees etched onthegraiind made arnost profound .impressionon me:-My magination exaggerated thescene, and thus 1hada.glimpseof al!that is most sombre in nature. What did 1seethere? The mass of objects stood out in blaek against the extreme wanness of thelight, Nature offeredtselfto mygazeinmourning, 1was struck by thesensations 1wasexperiencingand immediately began to wonder how to apply this, especially to architec- ture, 1tried to fnda composition made up of the effectof shadows, To achieve this, 1imagined the light (asI had observeditinnature) givingback to meall that my imagina- tion could think of. That was how 1proceeded when 1was seekingto discover this newtype of archtecture," Perhaps 1am mistaken but it seemsto me that wecan expect from this technique aIl that will be most effectivein givinga . chal'acter to funerar . monum.e!!!s.1 cannot conceiveof anything moremelancholy tan a~ ment onsisting of ace, bare andunadorned, made of alight-absorbent m~al,_ah ~ stripp o detail, it[a~ .. aplay of shaoowr,outlr .. sti~adews. , "lW, no gloomier images exist and if wemakeabstraction of all the beauty of art, it would be. impossible not to ap- preciate in such a construction the mournful elfect of the architecture. The homage that itpleases us to pay great men has its source inthe sensations inspired in us by the highplane on whichweplacethem. Weliketofindinoneofour peersthat eminent degree of perfection that deifies, so to speak, our own nature inour own eyes. This pleasure has all the'more attraction for usinthat our own self-esteemtries invain to bring us closer to it; at least it flatters usby concealing the immense distanceinvolved. 106 seemed tomethat if1was to create sunken architecture 1 had toensurethat theconstruction wassatisfyingasawhole at thesametimeandmaketheonlooker realizethat apart of . oncealed undergroun~~ Itwas ony e ectng on such general concepts that seemed to offer me the means of carrying out my project that 1took up my peneil. But tis alongtrail frornthecon- ception of aprojeet toitsimplementation. Thereisnodoubt that putting one's ideas into practice is often what is most difficultinart. If the Reader will reflect on the difficultiesinvolved in a compostion which is partly buried and which must give satisfaction when only~rt ~ ground isvisible: if]1e wiIl further reflectffiiiTforthiIProject ;ve~iireYesfflecfTQa- bar~>J J nadQ.neOwlr;-id-i(flnilly; hewiIl reflect thaYihs t-ypeof building is without precedent, he' will realize that however good his ideas for the project may appear to the Author, hehas taken only thefirst steptowards thefinished product, andit isnot always easy toproceed promptly toits implementation. 1must confess that I sketched for a long timebefore I was more or less satisfied. Perhaps those not versed in the arts will be astonished that aconstruction they considered so simplecould cost its author so much effort. Would they liketo know why? Itis precisely because this construction is simple. The general plan of the Cenotaphs 1wishto discuss here sa surrounding waIlwith themainmonument inthecentre. The surrounding waIl is formed by charnel houses, among whichthechapels destinedfor thelast ritesof'thedead could be situated. For the sake of perfect symmetry and to preservetheanalogy oftype andstylethroughout thewhole, 1decidedtogivethecharnel houses the.samevolumeasthe Entrance Gate, It.is nonethe Iess true that thedecorationof thechapels inno way resembles the entrance gate and that thisgatehas itsowncharacter, asdoes thedecoration ofthe chapela, Sincethe Cenotaph is the principal monument it stands aloneinthe centre of theprecincts inthe antique style. 1have assumed that themonument wherethpyramid is formed by a quadrilateraI has been erected in honour of a Hero who has saved his Country by winning an important battle, duringwhichhehas met hisdeath. Theglorious death of theMarchal deTurenne suggestedthistome.6S 1feltthat inthis project I should attempt tocombinethepalms of vic- tory withcypresstrees. That iswhyI haveplaed afunerary triumphal arch beforetheentrance totheCenotaph.66Thu.s, 1consider that by means ofthese marks ofhonour bestowed on the Triumphant, 1have demonstrated the glory of the hero; 1also consider that 1haveby this very type ofmonu- ment demonstrated thegrief of theFatherland andthedesire to perpetuate the Memory of thehero. Sincesuch amonu- ment should rnake amelancholy impression, 1haveavoided- any opulence in the architecture. I did not ,evenperrnit myself to divide Up the mass and 1thus preserved its characte.r of immutability. 1have given the Pyramid the proportioris of an equilateral triangle because it is perfect regularity that gives aform its beauty. Vaulting forms the crown, of all the interiors of monuments and always has itsbase aboyethearchitectural order. aut here 1decided to make it rise up from ground level. This technique is a result of the observations 1have ARCRITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART 107 that ispart ofcivil architecture, andthat aJ oneshouldarouse inusthe sensations that Weshouldexperienceatthe sightof fueEntrance lo aCity, thegateofa fortifiedcity, anarsenal, a Fort, etc., etc. These monumehts each havetheir own in- I have already explained what part of Arcbitecture beJ ongsro scienceaIldwhat pardo artoInthestiict meaning o the word, ..Military architedure is concerned with for- tifications for the purposes of defence. Everything. beyond Military Architecture ..cumstances outside his control, to remain in the place assigned to him and which, since it occupies the centre, keeps himat a sufficient distance to contribute to the illu- sion, Hedelightsinit,without beingabletodesti'Qytheeffect by wanting to Cometoo closeinorder to satisfy bis empty curiosity. He stands alone and his eyes can behold nothing but theimmensity of'thesky, Thetomb isthe only material object, The lightng of this monument, which should resemble that on aclear night, isprovided by theplanets andthestars that decorate the vault of the sky. The arrangement of the planets corresponds to nature, These planets are in the .shape of and resemble funnel-like openings which transpierce the vaultingand once inside assume their'form, Thedaylight outside filtersthrough theseapertures into the -gloomof theinterior and outlines all theobjects inthevault withbright, sparkling light. This formoflighting themonu- ment is a perfect reproduction and fue effect of the stars couldnot bemore brilliant, Itis easy to imagine the natural effect that would result fromfuepossibility of'ncreasing or decreasing thedaylight insidethemonument according tothenumber o stars, 1t 1S alsoeasy toimaginehowthesombrelightthat wouldprevail - in this place would favour theillusion. The effect of this magnificent composition is, as wecan see, produced by nature-.Qne could not arrive at the same result withthe usu_al-tecIrii'ques of art. It wouldbe impossi- bleto depict in:paintngtheazure of aclear night skywith nocloud, its colour scrcely distinguishable for itlacks any nuance, any graduaton, thebrilliant light of the stars stan- ding out garishly, brilliantly fromits darkened tOne. In order to obtain the natural tone and effect which are possibleinthis monment it wasnecessary lo haverecourse to all the magic of art and to paint with nature, l.e. to put nature to work; and I can say that thisdiscovery belongsto me. Someonewill object that hehas Seenmoreor lesssimilar tbings, wiUgiveexamplesofplaces litby means o apertures. Iknow aUaboutlhat, as Weall do. But what wasthe elfectin these plac~s? ltis not, in fact, the meaI1Swhich 1amcon- testing but the result. And if it is assumed that 1am not suggesting anytbing new, whichbelongs to mealone, then 1 wOlildobserve that apples fel!before Newton and 1would ask what. was the result. of it before tbis divineintelligence .? Doubtless 1cOliJ dalso addthat the palette of adauber contains the same coloues as those used by a gifted artist and isn't theinkthat anidiot writes withthesameasthe nk used by aman of genius, etc., etc., etc. r ~Sublimemind! Prodigious and profound genius! Divine being! Newton! Deign to accept the homage of myfeeble talents! Ah! lf1date tomakeitpblic, itisbecause1amper- , suaded that I have surpassed myself inthe project which 1 . shall discuss. - .O Newton! With the range o your intelligence and the sublime nature of your Genius, you have defnedthe shape o the earth; I have conceived the idea o' enveloping you with your discovery. That is as itwerelo envelop you in your own self. How can1findoutsdeyou anything worthy of you? Itwasthese ideas that made mewant to make the sepulchre in the shape of the earth, In Imitation of the an- cients and topay homage to you I have surrounded it with owers andcypress trees. The conception of the nterior-of'this tomb isinthesame spirit, By usng your divine system, Newton, to create the sepulchral lamp that lights thy tornb, it seems that 1have mademyself sublime. Itisonlydecoration 1feltLshould use. 1would have felt 1was oommitting.sacrilege ir 1had used any other decoraton for this monument, When 1had completed this project, 1must confess that 1 experienced acertan dissatisfaction that made mewant to include insdethe tomb ideas that 1thought it wouldbeim- possibleto include, because 1could scarcely glimpsehowit could be possible. We shall see what study and the perseverance of aman who lovesbisprofession can do. I turned over in my imagination all the magnificenceof nature, 1groaned at not being abletoreproduce it. 1wanted to giveNewton that immortal resting place, the Heavens. If you havethedrawing infront of you, youwll seewhat could have been considered impossible. You will see a ~- mOnument inwbichfueonlooker findshimself asfby magic f floatinginthe.air, borne inthewake of imagesintheimmen- !_Sityof space. Smcetheeffectofthis extraordinary imagecan be only imperfectly represented by the drawing which can giveonly a notion of shape, 1wiUattempt to supplement it withthefollowingdescription. Theformof theinterior of tbis monument Is, as you can see, that of avast sphere. Thecentreof gravity isreached by anopening inthebase onwbichtheTomb isplaced.The un" ique advantage of this formis that fromwhichever sidewe look at it (as in nature) we seeohly a continuous surface whichhasneither beginningnor endandthemoreweloo,kat it, the larger it appears. This formhas never been utlized and it is the ohly one appropriate to this monument, for lts curveenSUresthatthe onlooker cannot approach Whatheis looking at; heis forced as if by one hundred different cir- ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART .To Newton" architect can hopefor success. Itisthe art ofbringing reality tolifethat will,inmyopinion, ensurethat hesucceeds. What 1was afraid of was that the picturesque methods 1used wouldgvemy archtecture what iscalledaTheatrical quali- ty far from the purity it requires and without which all architecture has an intolerable vice, but onewhich 1tftink 1 havemanaged to avoid,"! . o" Fart Balls under Trophies made of the arms of Giant warriors, The.arch, or rather the.archivolts, aremade of gunbarreis. 108 The Fort consists of a round tower flanked by square Towers s'et'diagonally within the main Tower. The gaps betweenthesetowers arefilledwithstacks of cannon balIsso that they areblocked. Thegateprotectng themisindicated by the shieldof Achilles, Through these enormous piles of war munitions, 1have sought both to givecharacter to this monurnent and at thesarnetimeto create art," My principie is that it is by depicting reality that an My various city gates consist of wallsflanked byTowers, Thebasement of oneof themismadeof suppliesofCannon Gates of FortifiedCties that such multiple defences not only make the.Ctyappear unassailable, but also gvevariety to my subject. Theinterior wallsofthe City aredecorateddifferently and leadoneto supposethepresence of adoublewall. 1consider ' InsidetheCity elude a drawing has walls which appear indestructible. On the stylobate which decorates these walls, 1have placed a lineof warriors who appear to beinvincible. 1intended the presence of these warriors to recall the heroism of the courage of the Lacedaemonians who, .atthe sight of a city protected by walls, asked who werethesemenwho wereso faint-hearted that they needed such defences, 1intended these armed warriors on the walls of the city as a symbol that would say to those looking at them: these walls are nothing, but beware of thecourage of theinhabitants, Theengineerswhohavebuilt cityentrances weresatisfied with walls thck enough to protect theinhabitants fromar- tillery. In so doing they had accomplished their task; but they didnot giveany impression ofstrength, as1think they should have done, eventhough this strictly belongs to civil architecture, 1thought that to givesuch an impression of strength, it would be appropriate to make a show of everything that wouldhelpproclaimthebest possibledefences, andtoincor- porateitinthe decoration. The entrance gateof which1in- City Entrance totheother monuments 1havejust listed, whchareincluded under thevagueheading of military architecture, theart side has always been neglected. Why? Because necessity, the mother of hard work, has not forced man to turn his atten- tion to it. And moreover-s-I repeat-v-advances in science followonefromanother and can be'C'OImunicatedfor dis- coveriescan beverifed,whereas thebeauty of art cannot be proved asrnathematical truths can, andconsequently beau- tx will always berarebecause not everyonehasthe giftof in- terpreting nature. dividual character, and they should make different im- pressions on U So which can only bemade by recourse to the Poetry of art. This comes withinthescopeof civil architec- ture; and that iswhat 1haveundertaken to deal withinpar- ticular in the type of architecture we are discussing here. Besides, 1findhereanewdemonstration of thereasons why the technical sideof architecture has made more progress than that which constitutes art properly speaking." Ever sinceman has waged war, hehas beenforced to use every means for his common defence; thus the art of for- tificationhas.beencarried to anadvancedlevel, Withregard ARCHITECTU RE, ESSA yON ART 109 educated members of the nation for just onemonument (as can be judged by the.memorandum of the Academy of Sciences onthe-subject of hospitals),"? then theplanning of an Empire and all the elements of something so immense would doubtIess necessitate theaccumulation of all human knowledge. Itseemsto methatarchitecture CanbecalledtheMinerva of the finearts. Its basic principIes, as 1haveshown, derive fromarder, the symbol of wsdom. Itis through arder that~ the finearts and especially painting and sculpture, become beautiful and acqure brilliance. It is in atemple, itisinthe interior vaulting of a Dome that archtecture has prepared for painting, that les thernost noble, themost brilliant, 'the greatest ofall tasks. Isn't this also truewithregard to sculp- ture? Isn't atemplearranged soastobringout all thebeauty of sculpture by means of the figures and bas-reliefs which decorate it? And itis certain that in isolation these arts would not beseenin such afavourable light. The finearts acquire brlliance whenthey are combined and aboye all (1 repeat it) by what they borrow from architecture, Is theeffectof music and Poetry not enhanced by theiIIu- sionof the Theatre which uhquestionably givessuch works infinitecharm. Itfollows frOrri these remarks that to consider architec- ture isto acertain extent to consider the finearts. Architecture Isnot Iiketheother arts. Thelatter conoern aboye all their creators. The former, on the contrary, con-- cerns the Government and the Nation. Itis agreat misfor- tunewhenanenormously -expensivemonumentproves tobe sornekindefblot ontheAgethat sawit built and ablot that isall themore disastrous toitsAgebecauseitwill behanded down to posterity. The Invalides, the Peristyle of the Louvre, the Porte St. The fine arts delight us agreeably. Itis evident that architecture adds function topleasure. Architecture ranges fromacountry cabintothegeneral planfor nEmpire, I will not attempt todescribetheplanningfor suchavast area; not only because I do not have the strength but also because such an area.depends inevitably on natural phenomena. ____ I will merely cast a rapid glancein a general way at the specifc methods that belong to this great art and by means of whchit can contribute andaddtotheglory andprosperi- ty of agreat state. I amassuming alargepopulation which isabout to settle in sorne Country; its most important task wiU beto purge the land it is going to inhabit of all mlignant inuences and so preservethe Iifeof each individual. The second task will beto ensure plenty by setting aside all arable land. Then onewould proceed to thefounding of cities and one would use every means to make them salubrious. The location of the Capital, the commereial cites and the other towns would be in keeping with their function and they would be distributed insuch a way that they can, through their respective connexions, serve and help each other." AlI the ports, canals and communications would be es- tablished to facilitate business. AH human necessities, everythingto keep peaceintheStatebyensuringiisdefence, and, inthelast analysis, everything to ensure theamenities that make lifepleasant, should emanate fromthis plan. 1seethis planas resembling thetree of knowledge. Prom acentral point al!theb~nignbranc'heswouldstretch out into aHparts of theEmpire. This expos, doubtless too brief, demonstrates that this great art shouldoccupy thefaculties ofthe heart of himwho professes itrather than those of rusmind. If the Government found it necessary to consult the Reflections on Architecture n Particular" prmry concepts which weretornake apassage across the water withboats, In addition, I think that I havecarried out the engineer's idea of creating what could becalled a fat bridge which isdecorated in a manner that, faf'from being repugnant to our senses, is extremely agreeable; and in addition 1haveincorporated thearms of'the city of'Paris in themost ingenious rnanner, The simplicity of this design is one of the aspects that I find most admirable. I have dealt very briefly withmilitary architecture because all the art I have applied to it derives fromthedecoraton and soitisobvious that to appreciate it, it is necessary to seeit. This isthe rnanreason that. 1have .refrained fromdescribing heretwo Maritime City Entrance Gates and.aTriurnphal Arch that formpart of my work." Bridges ARCHITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART The civil engineers incharge of this sideof architecture haveperformed miracles withregard tothetechnical aspect, but theartistic sidehas completely escaped them. Ingeneral, the decoration of ther bridges has no beauty whatsoever. On the orders ofthe Minister ofFinance, 1have worked onimproving thedecoration of thebridgear thePlaceLouis XV.74 1 made it a rule that 1 would strictly follow the engineer's plans for 1respect hiscornpetence. In spiteofthe Constraints and the obstacles resulting from such a condi- tion, which inevitably curbs genius and puts a rein on it rnakingall ts effortsvain," 1think that inthisproject 1have rnade adistincton between what belongs to art andwhat to science! 1conceivedthedecoraton of this bridgeby goingback to lack of hopehas ledthemtoneglect alI detailed.studyoftheir art; and that the majority of them confine themselves to looking after their wealth and should therefore be con- sidered as giftedmen rather than as artists, If they couldbe motivated by hope, if they could pe!]~E~ t_hemselvesthat by making an effort they would gin the advantage of revealing their talents, 1liketo think that their excitement would be aroused by such a powerful interest and that archtecture would soon attain the perfection of the other arts. Itis this belief that has given me the courage to set down themeans of encouragement 1have conceived. 1think 1can assert that in France more buildings than necessary are built to provide [workl for those engaged in architecture; and that if these structures were not com- missionedindiscriminately aman of merit wouldbejustified inhaving the highest hopes. 1consider that it should be possible to proceed in the followingmanner to put architects on their mettIeand thus succeedinrecognizing anddistinguishing thetalents of each oneof them, The academy of architecture, likethe academy of Paint- ing, would ask fromthose it deems worthy to beassociated with it, a project that would reveal the talents of the proposed member and contribute to the heritage of the academy. In order to giveadded interest to these projects, . the academy I:lSa body would draw up a master plan for Paris. This plan would include all the projects that would add to thegood functioning and beauty of all:lrgecity. The" sites considered suitable for buildings would be indiCated. Programmes would be drawn up which the proposed members wouIdberequired to follow. Thelatter wouldalso be required to j.nclude, where applicable, memorandl:l with their designs. Thus theacademY wouldexciterivalry among thecandidates, who wouldbe.intent onoutdoing their rivals. These designs wQuld be irrefutable evidence of the best efforts the candidates could produce. By comparing these designs, it would bepossibleto.differentiateandjudge tbeir various talents; each one would find his own place and wOlJ ldoccupy therank hediscovered, The academy ",ould then present themost interesting designs.totheGovernment and they would constitute models that could be consulted. The. Public would be drawn to the academy by curiosity andwouldfindthere a1lpossiblesubjects for comparison. It wouldthus acquire sorneknowledgeof architecture without, so to speak, studying it in depth. And architecture, thus revel:lled,would beof interest to a11.81 The academy of architecture in al! the large cities of France would' be in corresponden.ce with the provincial Architects. They wouldberequiredto sendtoitfrom timeto time sorneobservations ontheir profession. Why shou]dn't the academy insst that its correspondents follow its example? Thus one \Vouldfind in the aCl:ldemiesof all the largecities, (iS well asintheParis Academy, designsfor im- .provingthefunctioning andbeauty ofthese various places.M2 Civil engineers from aHover France would make. amap shQwingplans for rQads, canals, bridges and other projects that belongtotheir sideof I:lrchitecture.Whenever amember of this body became. a candidate for admission to the academy, he would submit a project in this' field t() be accepted. The grea B10ndelwas amilitary engineer andthe Dauphin's mathematics teacher. ltwouldbedesirableto havesevera] suchmernbers ofthe 110 Denis etc., etc.-all these monuments will continue to add glory to the agethat sawthembuilt, And it iscertain that if this century, whichisknown astheCentury of'thefinearts, had been merely the time of their decadence, the famous vaulting of theInvalides, which daily resounds withcres of admiration, would today echo only sao cadences, 1will not repeat herewhat somany authors havewrtten about themonuments of Greece. No oneisunaware that the precious remains of antiquity areworthy of our admiration or of how much we respect them; of how, in short, they perpetuate the glory of that Naton. 1shall nowconsider architecture, not asanartist but as a citizen. Part of our education is to study languages, to cultivate letters, drawng, painting, to learn mathematics, to devore ourselves to the theoretical scences, in short to acquire many talents, By what stroke of fateis themost useful art, ano consequently the one most likely to interest us, corn- pletely neglected? 1amfar fromclaimingthat itshouldtake precedence over all the others, Bu! is it conceivable that apart fromthosewho practise architecture noene pays any attention to it? 1myself firmly believethat if wedo n01en- surethat eitizenswho may riseto prominent positions-: have sorne knowledge of this art, then it is a vice of our educational system. How can these citizens be expected to pick out theonly man of merit worthy of confidence when they findthemselves inthesituation wherethey will perhaps have to cOmmissionor supervise the construction of sorne building? This is a go.dmoment to givean.exampleby noting the precautions that weretaken when there was sornequestion ()fbuildingthefa9adeofthe Louvre. NotonIywere themost gifted artists in France put to work but Bernini, who was famous inthewholeof Europe, was summoned fromItaly. Therewasthe greatest rivalry between this giftedartist and our nationa! artists. AII thevadous designswerestudiedand discussed for a long time. Those concerned with the arts werelistened to; and it was..only after themQst profound reflexion, and after Bernini had been thanked and magnificently rewarded,80 that the oesigns attributed to Perrault, who haddefeated all hisrivals, wereimplemented. Itisevident that this competition put everyoneonhismettle andthere weremany bases for comparison without which no truejudgment would have beenpossible. Thi.smade the whole of Europe realize that France possessed the mosi giftedartists. lfit wereonIy aquestion of beauty 1wouldnot insist that men who may rise.to prominent positions should concern themselves with architecture. But when oue cousiders that sometimes a saviug of 10, 12or 15millionsdepeuds OU the choice of au honest, competent man and when, moreover, one considers that this mau (notwithstandiug this saving) canalone fulfil all the functional goals that amediocre man isiucapable of grasping, wearewithout doubt forced to ad- mit that L tave sorne justificatiori for asking that the knowledge of such an important art should not be so neglected. 1haveaJ readyexplainedabove why uptQnowprogress in architecture has lagged. It isanevil of which1hayeseenthe unfortunate effectsand1think 1havearemedy tQprQPose,1 have revealed that architects arediscouraged because they haveno hope of being ableto developtheir talents, that the ARCHITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART t l l In general, those who have written about this subject show no breadth ofvision: they confinethemselves to put- tingforward afewexampTesthey havetakenfrom antiquity. They have never-prbved that man can make no progress in art except through the study of nature; that itis through nature that wecan grasp thePoetry of'architecture; that this is what constitutes art; and that the only way of arousing a variety of sensations within us is by giving monuments an appropriate character. Writers do not convey any impres- sion of the great images that can be created by assembling aIl tbis scattered beauty; they havenever made usCee!that thegreatest task of an archtect isto utilzeall this; andthat by usingall the means that nature puts at our disposal, we can achevethe apotheosis of arto We should begrateful to an Artist who writes about his art; but thsisnot enough. Hedevelopshistalent andproves it inwhat hebuilds, for what isexpectedofan architect isnot to wrtewell but to build well. In my project for a Metropolis, which is the Epic of architecture, 1have attempted to develop and combine al! that gives Poetry to this artoMy newphilosophical concepts have enabled me to make use of nature by introducing daylght into the Temple; for nowthat 1cold control it, it Wascapable ofbrilliant, mysterious, soft andsornbreeffects: in short, it could arouse inus sensation:ssimilar tothose of Our religious ceremonies and which are necessary to the worship of theSupreme Being. 1planned ny funerary mOnuments toinspire ahorror of death and thus to bring man back to morality. In Newton's Cenotaph I attempted lo create thegreatest 'of a11effects,that ofimmensity; for thats what givesus10fty thoughts as We contemplate the Cteatot and gives us celestial sensations; finally, what 1have calledthe architec- tute of shadows is my own discovery an:doue which 1 bequeath to those who followmein an artistic Career. Circumstances govern man's every enterprise. When 1 was young, ishared the opinions ofthe general public; 1ad- miredthe fcade of thePerstyleof theLouvre andthought that this design consisted of all that was most beautful in architecture, 1wasindignant whenI readintheworks ofhim who passes as lts architect that he was attempting to degrade theprofession whichhonourd himandthat hecon- sidered it fantastic artoThe fear of devoting my lifeto the study of avisionary art which would leadmefromerror to error mademedecideto ascertain whether, asPrault maine tained, architecture did not derive from natur,e; and if, aCe cording to rusterlllinology, itwasndeedfantastic art. I feh myself oblgedtorefute hisassettion and1began a detailed exalllination of what could be,meant by fantastic artoWhen 1had completedths, 1wanted to gomoredeeply into thequestion and began my research nto the essenceof volunes whch made meaware oftheir properties and then oftheir harmony and their analogy withour Ownsystem. These discoveries enabled meto prove that architecture derives fromvolumes and that since aIl its effectshavethis same source, it inevitably derives fromNature. 1 studied Perault's assertion in which he compares archtectural principies withthose onwhich rnusicisbased. 1uncovered his error and 1hav~proved that there is no analogy between thesetwo art forms andthat consequently the principles on whch they are based must be totally differen:t. 1have established amethod for discerningthebasic prin- cipiesof !in:artand finalIy1haveprovedthatin architecture thesederivefrornKe_gularity. ' By observing nature 1broadened my conception of my profession and by applying what 1had observed and my philosophy, 1have suggested techniques that no one had ever grasped before. The medt of this work liesinthe fact that 1have seenfurther than my short-sightedpredecessors. Recapitulation ' the voce of the academy would be heard. And who could doubt that justice will be done to artists who have given proofof thegreatest talent, for themembers of theacademy will have before them all the public dissertations and moreover, for the sake of the reputaton of the profession, will he concerned with satisfying the confdence of the Government and not yieldto any outside inuence, 1shouldIiketo express herethedelightful sen~tions that 1experienced each time that 1heard the academy reply to the enqures addressed to it. Thefacts 1amdiscussing here areto befound initsrecords whichshowthatonseveral oc- casions whenmembers of theacademy werecompeting with their students, thelatter weregiven thevoteofthe academy whenthey deserved it. But fthis wiseconduct did not sur- prise me, 1certainly consdered it remarkable that such justice could be meted out without any member of the academy daring totake into consideraton anything but the candidates'. designs. ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART acaderny so that their projects would offer the most Com- plete rnuseum of all that comes within the field of architecture. By enurnerating therneans of making the Academy and itsrnembers useful tothe State,I havedoubtless madeit ob- vious how Important it is for theGovei'nment to give as much encouragement as possible to this society of Artists. Thisis why it seemsto methat whenever thereisany ques- tion of building apublic monument, thereshould beacom- petitionwhich will forcecomparisons andistheonly way to ensure success. And inorder to prove that all decisions are unbiased and impartial, it would, 1think, be necessary to exhibit the candidates' designs publicIy. Themost sutableplace for theexhibitions would seemto metobetheprernises of theAcademy of archiiecture." The result of these exhibitions would bereasoned censure from sorne; from nthers bitter criticism and the venom of anonymous satire; but clashes of opinin reveal thetruth, After all thesepublic debates thernoment wouldcomewhen On page 197ofthe second volumeoLBaron deRiebeck's a.ccount of histravels inGermany, theauthor discusses the writers of that country and makes the following obser- vations on art ingeneral.86 It 8nature that gives us OUT first concept .of the Arts which cannot {henbe.brought to.perfection by theory, but only by paying attention to and searching for what is most beautjful and striking innature. That iswhat makes original artistS! Anditisbyinterpreting, feelingandcomparingthese original works that imitators can acquire their traihng. 0000taste isnot acquiredthrough theoretical studies; andit is generaHy a<;ceptedthat those who. expound the most -The immediate impression made on usby thesight of an architectural monument is the result of its general plan. What wefeel consttutes its character; what 1can givinga building character is the art of using in any design alI the means appropriate and relevant to the subject; so th_i~t the onlooker experiences only those feelings that the subject should arouse, which are essentiaI to it and to which it is susceptible. The variety of nature is infinte and always different: it follows that no creation of the fine arts should exactly resemble another; and that every subject should be dealt withinan appropriate manrier, Few monuments have atrue character oftheir own and few architects appear to have concerned themselves. wth giving their architecture character; and yet this isthe ideal, thePoetry orart, itsmost sublimeaspect, and theonewhich makes it true art. arrangement; wemust assume that what is ordered isplea- sant for howcan wepresume to create order out ofwhat we findrepulsive? And so, sincesymmetry iscomposed of what is pleasant, and since order adds even further to OUT pleasure, sincetheanalogy, theaccord, theharmony ofeach element mus necessarily be assumed to emanate from an impression of arder, it followsthat a symmetrical cornposi- tionmust consist of all that does most to flatter our senses. Uniforrnity, which the vulgar often confuse with symmetry, derives fromsimilarity. The image it has topre- sent offers us only a multitude of elements with the.same, aspectoWhat makes this impression sterile and of littlein- terest isitslack of'tbat quality that awakensour soul, 1mean variety. Notes 1had decided when 1was writing the main body of this work torefer thereader tothefollowingnotes, but onfurther reflexion1decided that perhaps irwuW bemore agreeable for mmto read them n together and 10let himdecide for himselfhow hewll apply them. spring where all of us, however many weare, should draw continuously, 112 Symmetry is an impression of order ano overall If men based their ideas on the study of nature, they would be less likely to fall into all sorts of errors. Each one of us has his own definition of what is beautiful and each one of _ us believes that he is right: but reason is the fruit of study: thus, before we announce our ideas, we should surely form an opinion by questioning nature and confirming our views with the proofs which derive from it? These proofs emanate from all that does most 10.arouse our sensibility, so that '---there can no Ionger be any doubt. Once this basis is es- tablished, weshall beableto cometo an agreement. Allow meto question nature with regard to that beauty that our hearts recognize as all powerful. Itseemstomethat thereexstsinwhat constitutes beauty, inthe strict senseof the word, qualities that areso striking and so clear that no one can refuse to aceept the evidence andnot bemovedby them. FOr example, 1believethat everY <mewill admit that an irnpression of being alve is indubitably one of nature's greatest gifts: it isawell-known sayingthat there1Sno dead beauty: 1have never heard anyone say, How beautiful or- ablind personl'" The greatest of all forms ofbeauty isthus the quality of lfethat comes from an animated air, but wheredoes theanimation come from? From-ihyes. They arethemirror ofthe soul andconsequently oflfe. Itisinthe eyesof theoneweadore that wefndher and happiness too! 11istheeyes that reveal the most beautiful.of all beauties.J mean that of the sou!. . Isn't freshness one of the main qualities. constituting beauty? Does it not heraldthe beautiful dawn 6f eachday? ISn't it nature's finishthat brings out in ayoung girl's com~ plexion the briI1ianceofthe lilyand the pink ofthe rose? Doesn't firmness, the pleasing companion of freshness, indicate goodhealth; doesn't it arouse thepleasant desireto touch? Doesn't itpreserveabeautiful formwhichbadhealth would cause to sag and givebeauty an air of listIessness? Is not Regularity aguarantee ofbeautiful features, for if they areirregular they arenot beautiful. Beautiful forms are weUdefinedandtheir beauty derivesfromtheir full develop- ment andj)erfect symmetrY. If, as 1presume, these remarks are neitner conventional nor arbitrary, 1tmnk 1wouldbefight insuggestingthat they can establish thefoundation on whichto baseour concepts of beauty.85 1will not bore you by continuing to describe my goals, 1 would advise those who intend te take up arehitecture to study attentively what 1 have to say, to study my designs scrupulously, to pender on them and on my writings, before coming to any conclusin; then, to do as 1have done with regard to the ancients, that is to respect their designs when / they are good, but not to follow them slavishly; but to become rather the slave of nature which is an inexhaustible ARClIITECTURE, ESSAY ON ART 113 Thebest reasoning inthefinearts wiIl nevet helpto form Artists. Why not? Because reasoning can never help us experiertce sensatons and because the art of expressing these sertsations, which derives from our sensibility, is the purpose of the finearts. Theway to study thefinearts isto exercise one's sensibility; we must seek the meansof developing it in ihe mOst beautiful human creations and aboye aH irtthoseof rtature. At thesight of nature's sublime vistas a sensitive man is transported and expt;tiencesthat_ magnificent eCstasy, that happy enthusiasm, thatis evidence ofhis genius andcharacterizes iI; adivine gifi without which acareer inthe finearts is impeded. _ Thecteations of aman of genius arealways charactrized by the way heapplies nature inhis Art. In the finearts itls not always the greatest effort that btings success. AHmenwho cultivatethearts admit il; they will all confess Ihat their most fortunate creations are generally those that caused them the least pain and cost them least; in a word, those whIch, so to spak, were in- spired. What should weunderstand by inspiration? ItlSto. bemoved by such an excess of sertsibilityat the S1ghtoran object, that all thefacultiesorour soul atedisturbed to such art extent that wefeel it ls departIng fromour body.93 Inthis stateof excitement wefeel superior tbourselVes,an exquisite sensation exalts us; a pOwerbeyond our control dtives usandmakes our faculties divine, if 1may beaUowed tb usesuchan expression. Often inarchtecture thereissorneconfusin betweenthe truemeaning of theword colossal andtheword giganticand - what artists terrn grandose. They arevery different things, A colossal monument shouldexciteour admiraton; tobe convinced of this truth tis easy enough to say that lt isan extraordinary monumento Its proportions should overwhelmal1that surrounds it. Itshould illustrate agreat concept and, in aword, beuniqueofts kind. Thebest example1cangiveis Trajan's column inRome: thisrnonument excitesour dmiratiorr;" tsproportions are extraordinary, tsconcept astounding; the architecture, the sculpture of thebas-reliefs, the choiceof'decoration, all are admirable. Gigantic proportions far from enhancing the effectof abuilding, subdueit.StoPeter's inReme proves my point. this Baslica, as weknow, is thelargest that existsin -Europeand yet insidetheTemple wedo not experienceany sensation that correspondsto itssize." Thisis not at all thesameimpression wehaveonentering the Rotunda. There the astonished spectator always leaves full of wonder." The art of-greatness in architecture stems from arr in: genious combination of the-seprate parts of the whole, 1 have developed this idea in the secton on Metropolises in -_ which 1have tried to enumerate all the methods at thedis- posal of architecture inthe Consti:uctionof aTemple. The Egyptians had gnw,dioseideas: their pyramids are rightly admited; J he"architectural ordet of their Temples givesanimprs-Sonof greatness. nthestatueoftheir gods, colossal art reaches itsapotheosis.92 monuments so adapted to it because of all the dfferent at- tributons they gavethe power of their gods? ARCHITECTURE, ESSAYON ART 1have giveILapartial definitionof architectilre as theart of creatirtg perspectives by thearrangement of volumes. The effect of thesevolumes isthe result oftheir masses. Ves! Its their masses that play on our senses; it isinthem that we distinguish delicate, agteeable fOfms and heavy, massiveforms; nobl, majestic, elegant and tenuous forroS. Theart of givingcharacter to any project liesintheeffectof the masses. The real talent of an architect liesin incorpbrating inhis workthe sublimeattraction ofPoetry. HoWisthat possihle? Through the effect of the masses; chatacter derives from them; and the result is that the onlooker expetiences only those sensations that truly derivefromthesubject. itisevic dent that themass ofa Templeto Venus would not beat aU approptiate for aTempleto J upiter.88 1cannot refrain frommaking here artobservation onthe architecture oftheGreeks. Werightlyadmiretheir Temples; {hemagnificertt order of their architecture makes themthe most beautiful examples ihat existoHowever; itgmst be ad- mitted that the--6~KS do not appear lb have concerned themselves Wtrfr giving their architecture any individual character. Thesimilarity oftheir Templesisstr'iking;they all have more_Orlessthe same formoHow could men bf such genius as the Greeks neglect the Poetry of architecture in By assigning its own individual size to eachobject, nature has enabledus to exerciseour crtcal facultieson a1I that we seeby means of athousand dfferentcomparsons; it isonly theconstant sizeof each object that enables ustojudge dis- tances, for what iscontained inacertain space enablesus to judge what contains it also, Without these individual assignations, how could we makejudgments or even com- parsons? The laws of optics and the effectsofperspectve would continually lead us into error, for objects grow smaller inour eyes according totheir distance fromus. But since we areaware of the sizeof natural objcts, this size becomes aguidelineandenables ustojtrdgedistances inthe light of their reducton. Itis a retrogressng scale that enables us to measure everything, In the Arts, oneshould rtever transgress our habit-ual es- timation of objects, unless there is sorne overridng con- sideration that makes it absolutely necessary. Why present a figure larger than life? nis not to be tolerated unless one wants to depict sorne extraordinary being such as a giimt or pagan~style gods which would justify such colossal figures. In architecture, it is th~refore essential to respect out habitual comparisons and to avoid colossal proportions whichhave tlieeffed of making meassumelessnot more. 1t ts-the art ofdiminishing the elfect.not ofenhartcing it.87 profound theories are 'those who have met with the least success in their owrt work and in their critcism of what others have done. Theory is based on logical conclusions whch will always (--be fase as long as the premises are false. But the sensations aroused by perception __and a comparison of what is beautiful, and what in fact constitutes Good Taste, can rtever mislead usoWhat is certain is that this perception and this sagacty are essentially nature's gft, superior toall that hehas seenpreviouslythat hestandslost in wonder at its splendour and magnicence, If'we.imaginethat thissuperb galleryisnothing morethan an intermediate room leading directly to the King's apartments and to those of the Queen, then this vista becomesevenmoregrandiose because of itslinkswiththese new objects, and it will become the most grandiose, the noblest and the most striking image of all that exists. If on the contrary, we imagine an arrangement that branches offinandirections andisnolonger connected with the royal apartrnents, then the beauty of the gallery wiII stand in isolation, . Itis on thebasis of theseconditions that 1sought to plan the general arrangement. The. vestibule is the perfect precursor of the entrance: It stands inthe centre of thefacade, From rightto leftaretwo large staircases, leading to the King's and Queen's apartments respectively. After traversing the large number .of rooms that already exist, Wearrive at the gallery and this magnificent place is the central point from which the Public can see the apartments oftheir Majesties, AHcan circulate easily inthe whole first section of the Palace until the time when the Monarch leaves his apartrnents and lets all rejoice in his presence. The .banqueting hall isstuated in the main body of the buildingparallel to the.gaHery; and when the arcades adja- cent to.this hall are open, the public inthe gallery havethe advantage of being able to see their Majesties without causing any obstruction, Private entrances have been provided to the apartrnents. ofthe King and Queen for important officialsand those on duty. At the other end of tbese apartments, it was thought necessary to 'provide stiU more entrances fOr th'lse with whombis Majesty might wishto <;ommunicateinprvate, Attention waspaid aboyeaUtotheprovision of aseparate apartment, adjoining their private apartments, where their Majesties couldmeetinprivate; thesetwo apartments would be.located under the Gallery. Bere we are giving only sorpe indications of the plan, without any detailsofthe layout, for this canonlybedecided when the wishes of their Majesties are,known, This is also tfue ofthe private apartrnents beyond themain apartments, where the wishes of their Majesties cannot befulfilleduntil their desires are made known. 1 am explaining the most ambitious project in detail because 1consider itpreferable to the two others, whic.h weremade inaccordance with suggestions tbat wereput to 114 Itwas thought that the simplest way in which an Artist coulddescribehiswork wasfor himtodescribethesequence of his ideas. A design (01' a Palace is the project that demands the maximum of an Artist's talent and competence, but how much more difficultis itto fulfil this task inthe presence of the.constrants ofharmonizing newbuildingswithold! Such weremy first reflexionsontherestoration ofthe Chteau of Versailles. To al! these constraints was added that of economy, a consideration thatrestricts genius.brings ittoahaltandpre- ventit fromputtinginto effectpropitious ideas full of nobili- ty and majesty, These werenot the only obstacles, 1was inspired by the beautiful examples provided by great men who contributed to the honour of the century of Louis XIV and wanted to surpass these artists, if this werepossible. 1took advantage of their achievements and putting out of my mind all the ideasthat restricted me, 1thought only"ofJ he'glofY acquired by the rare geniuses of that .centuty that was so auspicious . for thefinearts. 1thus sought toplungemyself intomy sub- ject and subrnitted to those conditions it is essential to observe inthe construction of aPalace, The outside decoration of a Palace must berich, noble, elegant and aboye all majestic. The Artist should be less concerned withtheoutline than the impression it makes. Thedecoration of'theinterior must befull of Good Taste, grace and nobility. . The general arrangement calls for grandiose, free and aboye aIl nobleprogression. TheNobles andthePUblicmust beable toen~erand leave freely f'lr festivals and aboye aIl their rpajesties must not be inconvenienced in any way by thearrival 'lf acrowd. The private quarters sh'luld bearranged so asto incorporate an essential and agreeable amenities. Free Pfogression in any arrangement is ensured by avoiding any detours inthe mai!')roomsthat constitute the Palace so that when traversing it there is no hesitation in one's progress. Nobility derives first fromspace, which facilitates access lo all parts of the Palac.e, and next from the impressive . succession of suites full of avariety of beautiful things. Above ail nobility has its source in the art of making .a grandiose impressi'ln. For exarpple, it is impossible not to be moved by the GalIery of Versailles. After traversing amultitude oflarge r'loms filledwiththe mostbrilliant works.of art, theonlooker, whowasnot expec- ng anything morebeautiful, comes upon .aplacethat isso Memorndumconcerningthe Restoration of theChteau ofVersailles explanations whichbelong totherealmof reason, for the im- pression animage makes on our senses issubdued whenwe dwell onthecausethathas produced theeffect. To describe one's pleasures s to cease living under their infuence, to cease to enjoy them, to cease to existo . ~~- --...-~; ......... The only way that artists should communicate among themselves is by recalling forcefully and vividly what has aroused their sensibility; it isthis attraction, which belongs to them alone, that will perrnitthemto stimulate thefireof their genius. They should beware of entering into ARCHITECTURE, ESSA y ON ART 115 Cabin will teach him the art of combinng interior and exterior. After this Cabin hewill progress successively tobuildings that ate alittlemorecornplicated and finallyto anapartrrrent building. Why? Because the dividing up it necessitates requires special techniques which wiII teach him good organization and will shape his understanding, After making abginning withthis practical teaching, itis necessary todevelop hisconcept of'theartistic side, properly so called. . Thetheory of volurnes will serveto demonstrate that the basic principles of his art are established innature. And by applying these volumes to art, he will learn to recognize Pgetry. . \ What,does this Poetry consist of? J t lies in the art of reating perspectives through the effect of volumes. But )what causes theeffectsof volumes? Itistheir mass. And soit L-rs-themass ofthese volumes that givesrise toour sensations. Without doubL And itis the effect that they have on our senses that has enabled us to givethemappropriate names and to distinguishmassiveforms fromdelicateenes, etc., etc. Again it is the various sensations that weexperience that make us realizethat volumes that drag ontheground make us sad; those that surge up into theheavens delight us; that we find gentle volumes pleasant whereas those that are angular and hard wefind repugnant. The examples taken from art that the teacher places beforehis students will make tbis even more evident. As aresult of tbis method the student \ViIIbecome astu- dent bf nature for hewin beforced to recognize that tbis is the source of beauty inarto 1havelong meditated ontheprofession 1teach and 1have concentrated on d~vising methods for accelerating its progress, Itseemed to me that the manner in which architecture was taught was in sorne respects detective and for this reason1decided totryand findamore suitablernethodthan the usual one. Man can only learn by proceedng fromthesimpletothe complicated, The frst Lesson that painters give theit Students is how to draw eyes. Language teachers do not begin their lessons by demonstrating the richness of a language to their students. Why then do Atchitects make their Students begin by drawing the ['five' erasedl orders of Architecture which constitute all theopulenceofthis art?95 Let us proeed with order, so that the methods we are proposing followfromaH that canbe ohtained by amethod that will favour the study ofthis great Art. Let Us firstascertain what wemean and what architecture should incorporate. Let us givea definition! nis the art of bringirig any building to perfection. What does this perfec" /---lion consst of? A building can be considered perfect when , its decoration corresponds to thekind ofbuilding towhiChit Lis applied and whenits layout corresponds to its function. In the light 9f this explanation, if we want to proceed methodically withoUrteaching, weshould placeinfront of a newstudent the~ost simplebuildinginexistencesuchas the country cabin~n{entio--;;ed by Vitruvius.96 SinceevidenceisbaSedonwhat strikes usmost, weshould make the student draw the fagade of the cabin, and then makehimfamiliar with aplan by showing himhow todraw one. In the same way, the section and cross-section orthe Summary Reflections on the Art of Teachng Architecture the Kng's nose wthout inconvenencing himinany way. And so he would watch without impatience and even with some satisfaction the construction of a monument that would bring himglory. Thework would progress according to thecircumstances, with more or Iess speed. Bis Majesty could allowtheArtists .suffcient timetoexecuteall hisideas; hewould concern himself with themand irnprovethemwith the help of the Minister of the Arts. ' Ambitious projects are time-consuming; but if there is plenty of'tme, then theconsiderable expenses ate nolonger an impediment; and thescience of econorny is based onthe principle of incurring only essential expenditure; timealone makes this possible. Inadditionto theseadvantages isthefact that noexpense isincurred for aternporary residencefor Bis Majesty (which would be considerable and thus rneans that the most am- bitious project would be less expensive than all those projects to whichit would benecessary to add theexpenses _)ncurred inrnoving their Majesties) and thus it isdefinitely themost economical." ARCBITECTURE, ESSA yON ART -me. Although the most ambitious project is the more expen- sive, 1 consider it nevertheless the most economical; the explanation is quite simple. Anychange inthequarters of their Majesties would incur great expense. We rnust also admit that the temporary quarters where Bis Majesty would be lodged could only fulfil their purpose imperfectly, The inevitableresult would beimpatience and adesirefora moreappropriate residence; a necessity to rush the work; the impossiblity of carrying out a large-scale project, for which time 1S necessary; the diffculty of fnishing at some speed, which circumstances might necessitate; and all theannoyancesthat would follow fromthis state of affairs, etc., etc., etc. Such aretheinconveniences that would beoccasioned by any project necessitating that the King move. Themost ambitious project is infact moreexpensivethan the two others but it does not have the inconveniences described aboye; on thecontrary, itsimplementation would present no problems. Nether the King, nor the Queen, nor any member of the Royal Family, nor anyone at Court wouldhave to move; thus it could becarried out right under construction what we mean by a beautful order and a beautiful style, etc., etc. Following theseremarks on howto teach students about the orders of Architecture, I need no further justfication of myreasons for wantngteaching toendwhereitnowbegins. I do not consider it necessary tfaoorate further onthis important subject, which at first g1anceI may appear to haveonlytouched on, becauseitisnot possibleto followjust one method when teaching the finearts as is donefor the exact sciences. Each individual artist grasps the beauty of nature according torusown faculties, It cannot besaidthat Michelangelo and Raphael, who both reached thesummum of their art, do not reveal in their work a totally different style, even though these two great men both derive their talents fromNature and their studies had thesame basis. The sarneis true of Poetry; {hework of Corneille dffers fromthat of Racine. Itisthus evident that inthefinearts only basic principies can betaught and for the rest wemust refer to those who practise thern ["with distinction" erased] who cannot and should teach except those subjects inwhich they excel and their own individual style. 116 If there are ways of making rnan perfect, they can only derivefrornhis study of nature, Once the teacher has demonstrated to his students that the source of beauty lesinnature and that hemust tap this source, thenhemust makethis study aspainless aspossible, How can hedothis? Byplacnginfront of hirntheworks of great rnen; the experencethey have acquired will teach theStudent howtointerpret and observenature; for wecan- not deny that weowemuch to our Forefathers; indeed, they havehanded clownto us works of art sobeautful that they are perfecto 1 would like to discuss now the orders of Architecture, They havebecome theimmutable laws for all men of genius who cannot.but look at themwithwonder, We should place these immutable laws before our students; weshould make themdraw theorders of archtec- ture; \Ve5shouldrequire them to make a detailed study of them, Thefollowingadvantages would betheresult. This study will teach themthe art of using these orders judiciously and consequently what is called the rules; they will acquiretheartof addingto and, if necessary, improving their outlines with the most beautiful ornarnentation, The various intercolumniations used infamous monuments will helpthemrecognzegoodproportons; they will senseinany ARCHITECTURE, ESSA yON ART ACADEMY EDITIONS LONDON HARMONY BOOKS NEWY ORK Helen Rosenau . inc1udng Boullee's 'Architecture, Essayon Art' Text set in 12pt Photon Times, printed by photolithography, and bound inGreat Britain at The Pitman Press, Bath Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number 75-37387 First published in.the U.S.A. in 1976 by Harmony Books, adivisin of Crown Publishers, lne. 419 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016 First published inGreat Britain in 1976 by Academy Editions 7Holland Street London W8 AIl RightsReserved, No part of this book may beutilizedor reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval systemwithoutpermission inwritingfrom thepublisher. Copyright 1976 Academy Editions and Helen Rosenau Designed by Richard Kelly Edited by Robert Oresko NA 1053 . 6 f a 9 f < G cOf~ a_ Fine Arts mi, London, 1974 H. Rosenau This new study of the achievement of Etenne- Louis Boulle has grown out of my edition of'the master'sEssai, which was published in 1953.1 wish to express my gratitude to those who have made my continued work on the subject not only possi- ble, but also pleasant, First of all 1must remember Professor E. Vinaver who was keenly interested in the early stage of the preparation and es- pecially gave his detailed advice with regard to my editing of the French text; to the History of Art Department of the Unversity of Manchester for providing photographs and microfilms; to the Arts Library of the snieTTniversity for enlargements; and to Mr. A. C. Sewter for his valuable suggestions, 1wish also to express my thanks for the help given me during the past years by M. J ean Vallry-Radot, M. J ean Adhmar, and the Staffofthe Cabinet des stampes ofthe Bblothque Nationale in Paris, especially to MUe. N. Villa and M. J .-C. Lemagny, M. G. Beaujouan ofthe Archives Nationales who kindly assisted my workas have Mme. Wanda Bouleau-Rabaud of the Library ofthe Ecole des Beaux -Arts and M. M. Gallet of the Muse C arnavalet who, as always, was rnost helpful. Mr. D. Paisey, Dr. D. E. Rhodes, Mr. J . Willison, Mr. K. Wilson and the Staff of the Reference Section.ofthe Brtish Library, Mr. D. E. Dean and Mr. J ohn Harris and the Staff of the Royal Institute of British Architects deserve special mention. Professor J eanBony, thenof theFrench InstituteinLondon, madevaluablesuggestions, andSirJ ohn Summerson put at my disposal eghteenthcentury drawings andbooksinSirJ ohn Soane's Museum, 1alsowishtothank thestaff of'theVictoria and Albert Museum, Mr. P. Slater ofthe SlideCollection of London University andhisstaff,my publisher Dr. A. Papadakis and Robert Oresko, theeditor.