Jean Chalgrin
Encyclopedia
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – 21 January 1811) was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe
, Paris.
orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neoclassicism Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni
and with the radical classicist Étienne-Louis Boullée
in Paris and through his Prix de Rome
sojourn (November 1759—May 1763) as a pensionnaire of the French Academy in Rome
. His time in Rome coincided with a fervent new interest in Classicism among the young French pensionnaires, under the influences of Piranesi
and the publications of Winckelmann.
Returning to Paris, he was quickly given an appointment as an inspector of public works for the city of Paris, under the architect Pierre-Louis Moreau-Desproux
, whose own time at the French Academy in Rome had predisposed him to the new style. In this official capacity he oversaw the construction of Ange-Jacques Gabriel
's Hôtel Saint-Florentin in the rue Saint-Florentin, where Chalgrin was able to design the neoclassical gateway to the cour d'honneur
.
In 1764 (Eriksen 1974) he presented his uncompromisingly neoclassical plans for the Church of St. Philippe-du-Roule (illustration; constructed 1774-1784); its colossal Ionic order
of columns, which separated the barrel-vaulted
nave from the lower, barrel-vaulted aisles, was carried around the apse without a break. In this church, which was built 1772-84, he revived a basilica
plan that had not been characteristic of French ecclesiastical architecture since the sixteenth century.
In 1775 he was appointed First Architect to the comte de Provence
, brother of Louis XVI; he designed the pavilion
of the comtesse de Provence at Versailles
. In 1779 he was appointed overseer of the building projects of another brother of the king, the comte d'Artois
.
In 1777 Chalgrin partly remodelled the interior of Church of Saint-Sulpice
, which had been given a thoroughly neoclassical façade by Chalgrin's former master Servandoni over forty years before. He also designed the case for the great organ.
After the Revolution
Chalgrin extended the Collège de France
and made alterations in the Palais du Luxembourg to suit it to its new use as the seat of the Directoire.
The Arc de Triomphe
was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate the victorious armies of the Empire
. The project was under way when Chalgrin died, and it was completed by Jean-Nicolas Huyot
.
Chalgrin married Émilie, a daughter of the painter Joseph Vernet. They had one son.
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
, Paris.
Biography
His neoclassicNeoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neoclassicism Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni
Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni
Jean-Nicolas Servan, also known as Giovanni Niccolò Servando or Servandoni was a French decorator, architect, scene-painter and trompe-l'œil specialist.He was the son of a carriage-builder at Lyon....
and with the radical classicist Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects and is still influential today.- Life :...
in Paris and through his Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
sojourn (November 1759—May 1763) as a pensionnaire of the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
. His time in Rome coincided with a fervent new interest in Classicism among the young French pensionnaires, under the influences of Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" .-His Life:...
and the publications of Winckelmann.
Returning to Paris, he was quickly given an appointment as an inspector of public works for the city of Paris, under the architect Pierre-Louis Moreau-Desproux
Pierre-Louis Moreau-Desproux
Pierre-Louis Moreau-Desproux was a pioneering French neoclassical architect.Though he did not gain the Prix de Rome that was the dependable gateway to a prominent French career in architecture, his fellow-student Charles de Wailly invited him to share his prize...
, whose own time at the French Academy in Rome had predisposed him to the new style. In this official capacity he oversaw the construction of Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the most prominent French architect of his generation.Born to a Parisian family of architects and initially trained by the royal architect Robert de Cotte and his father , whom he assisted in the creation of the Place Royale at Bordeaux , the younger Gabriel...
's Hôtel Saint-Florentin in the rue Saint-Florentin, where Chalgrin was able to design the neoclassical gateway to the cour d'honneur
Cour d'Honneur
Cour d'Honneur is the architectural term for defining a three-sided courtyard, created when the main central block, or corps de logis, is flanked by symmetrical advancing secondary wings, containing minor rooms...
.
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
of columns, which separated the barrel-vaulted
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
nave from the lower, barrel-vaulted aisles, was carried around the apse without a break. In this church, which was built 1772-84, he revived a basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
plan that had not been characteristic of French ecclesiastical architecture since the sixteenth century.
In 1775 he was appointed First Architect to the comte de Provence
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, brother of Louis XVI; he designed the pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
of the comtesse de Provence at Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. In 1779 he was appointed overseer of the building projects of another brother of the king, the comte d'Artois
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
.
In 1777 Chalgrin partly remodelled the interior of Church of Saint-Sulpice
Saint-Sulpice (Paris)
Saint-Sulpice is a Roman Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of the Place Saint-Sulpice, in the Luxembourg Quarter of the VIe arrondissement. At 113 metres long, 58 metres in width and 34 metres tall, it is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and thus the second largest church in...
, which had been given a thoroughly neoclassical façade by Chalgrin's former master Servandoni over forty years before. He also designed the case for the great organ.
After the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
Chalgrin extended the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
and made alterations in the Palais du Luxembourg to suit it to its new use as the seat of the Directoire.
The Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate the victorious armies of the Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. The project was under way when Chalgrin died, and it was completed by Jean-Nicolas Huyot
Jean-Nicolas Huyot
Jean-Nicholas Huyot was a French architect, best known for his 1823 continuation of work on the Arc de Triomphe from the plans of Jean Chalgrin....
.
Chalgrin married Émilie, a daughter of the painter Joseph Vernet. They had one son.
Major works
- 1767-1769: Hôtel Saint-Florentin (later the Hôtel de Langeac, which served as Thomas JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
's domicile, 1785-89, then the Hôtel Talleyrand-Périgord), for the comte de Saint-Florentin (Paris, 2 rue Saint-Florentin); demolished 1842. - 1767-1770: Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Luzy (Paris, rue Férou)
- 1774-1780: Additions to the Collège de FranceCollège de FranceThe Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
(Paris, rue des Écoles ) - finished 1775: Construction of Claude Nicolas LedouxClaude Nicolas LedouxClaude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only in domestic architecture but town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian...
's designs for dwellings at VersaillesVersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
for Madame du BarryMadame du BarryJeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry was the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.-Early life:...
and the comtesse de ProvenceMarie Josephine Louise of SavoyMarie Joséphine of Savoy was the wife of the future King Louis XVIII of France... - 1777-1780: Restoration of the façade and rebuilding the north tower of Saint-SulpiceSaint-Sulpice (Paris)Saint-Sulpice is a Roman Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of the Place Saint-Sulpice, in the Luxembourg Quarter of the VIe arrondissement. At 113 metres long, 58 metres in width and 34 metres tall, it is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and thus the second largest church in...
(Paris) - ????-1778: Hunting lodge, "Rendez-vous de chasse de la Faisanderie" for the comte de Provence (ÉtiollesÉtiollesÉtiolles is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Étiolles are known as Étiollais.-References:** -External links:* * *...
, Département EssonneEssonneEssonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
), - ????-1778: Chapelle du Saint-Esprit (Paris, rue Lhomond)
- 1780: Ancienne Laiterie de MadameAncienne Laiterie de MadameThe Ancienne Laiterie de Madame is a dairy built by Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin in 1780 for Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, spouse of Louis XVIII of France located in Versailles.-External links:* ....
VersaillesVersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, 2 rue Vauban. - ????-1780: Music pavilion for the comtesse de Provence (Versailles, 111 avenue de Paris)
- 1774-1784: Église de St. Philippe-du-Roule (Paris)
- finished 1785: Pavilion and jardin à l'anglaise "Parc Balbi" (Versailles, destroyed 1798)
- 1799-1805: Works at Palais du Luxembourg, the grand staircase and the "Salon des Messagers d'État" (Paris)
- 1806-1811; completed after Chalgrin's death, in 1836: Arc de TriompheArc de Triomphe-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
, Place de l'Étoile (Paris) - finished 1807: Restoration of the Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris (burned 1818)
Further reading
- Louis Hautcoeur, Histore de l'architecture classique en France, vol. IV second moitié du XVIIIe siècle (Paris) 1952. pp 212-19.
- Michel Gallet, Demeures parisiennes, époque Louis XVI (Paris) 1964. p. 177.