r:

':- i

THE ARCHITECTURE :

.+

OF DEATH

Richard A. Etlin
l
 ,..we know that at the end o{ the 1Sth century'enlightened'opinionwanted to
..;;.;';h. old brriat grounds, considered.unhealthy, with functionakemetsri"i
--C,l

isolated far from tt-,. .ity and frilt according to the

rules of arecentl;i'riiscovered
hveiene. \x/e also know that at the beginning of the
19th cerrtury this
"*uti.
fi;;;j; ?;r;.r.J irr.ir, public opinion now considered the new cemeterv to be
one of the ornaments of the refashioned city'
..'w,hat we have not known, until now, is precisely how and by what steps French
Etlin's detailed and
J;; ,rrd.r*..,t this transformation. Thanks to Richardfound in-various.ar-
p."."r,i"s analysis of architectural plans for cemeteries, of this collective
:;i;.;, ;;".an now follow the successive stages in the evolution previously unpub-
nsvchologv. Through 1t ls, ,ruay and its fine illustrations, many
visionarv archi-
itrtJ;;:'.r. ,rr.E-in. purr"j. from the unrealizable dreams of this time forth-
i..r, i" ,n. park-like ..-.,.rid.ueloped for cities that-from
would be profoundly permeated by nature"' Philippe AriEs
-

,.This social and cultural study of the cemetery as an e_merging public institution
to establish'the
;;i;;;od.rn perioduses allihe methods of ihe ne* history form. On one level a
discourse, of its develof-.", and the rules of
its use and
on another level the
scholarly 1rirto.y-rr.h'ltectural and social-of the
cemetery,
toward life and death, epito-
L.rr. -qrir.s into the very origins of our attitudes
mized and represented in space"' Tonv Vidler
-

,,In the spirit of Philippe Arids and Michel Foucault, Richard Etlin has followed
cemetery design and construction
the interwov.r-r .orrri'J cultural attitudes and
his arguments both
in Lgth-century Paris with a care and a clarity which.makes
p..r.,.aandconvincing.wealmostfeelwewatchthecharnelhousebecomea
and con-
illustrations sustain
countryside, because the"numerous and wonderful
as if they were further phras.es, vivid words. Etlin demon.
tinue the text almost
life."
;;;;*, again and ,gri' ho* t'he place of deaih reflects our design of
William Gass
-

,,Richard Etlin traces the gradual evolution in the design of cemeteries through
from the cemetery without
the 1Sth century. H. J.r.iiU.t the transformation
place of burial to a place of inspiration;
trees to the cemeterf n, gn.d.n; from a
became reconse-
;;;; ; rpn.. ,hnt, hrui,ri once served for meditation on death,
new definition of the cemetery as
crated to meditatio., o., iif.. Etlin uses this
to analyze both ideal proiects
verdant park, place oi gl,r.y, school of civic virtues
sustain reveries of immortality) and actual ceme-
i*.[nr'soril!.,r, int.idei tobuilt to inspire'id6es douces et sentimentales',)' This
teries (such as Pdre Lachaise,
of those rare interdiscipli-
book is a, fas.lrratinf ln it, -.thod as its content-one
and politics, economics and
nary studies that suclessfully intertwines. architecture
p.rbll. hygiene, moral philosophy and education'" Mona Ozouf
-

The MIT Press

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ETLAH
0-262-05027-7
Cambridge, Massachusetts 021' 42
!r,
,4.

fil
8,*
@ 1984 by
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology

All rightsreserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy-
ing, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book was set in Sabon by The MIT Press Computergraphics

Depanment and printed and bound by Halliday Lithograph in the
United States of America.

Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the National
Endowment for the Ans.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Etlin, Richard A.
The architecture of death.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Paris (France)-Cemeteries. 2. Paris (France)-Sepulchral monu-
ments. 3. Architecture, Modem-l7th-
1 9th centuries-France-Paris. I. Title.
N45155.E84 t984 726'.8'0944361 83-t2tt2
ISBN 0-252-0s027-7
Contents Preface
,x

Acknowledgments
xiii

I
THE ARCHITECT AND THE CEMETERY

1
A New Heauen and a New Earth (1711-1785)
3

)
.L
Public and Permanent Buildings (1765-1785)
41

J)
The Sublime (1785)
101
il
THE LANDSCAPE GARDENER AND THE
CEMETERY

/
-t
The Arcadian Landscape (17 1 2-17 8 1)
163

F
J
Death in the Garden (1762-1789)
199

o
The Field of Rest (1789-1804)
229

7
A New Eden (1804-1874)
303

Appendix
Parisian Cemeteries in 17 53
370

Abbreuiations
373

No/es
375

Archiual Sources
397

Bibliography
399

lllustration Credits
430

lndex
431