Architecture en France » facade

Medieval Style and Art in France

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:44:09 +0000

Top Ten French Gothic Cathedrals

The Gothic style originated in France; the Ile de France and Picardy are dotted with fine cathedrals.These ten cathedrals represent the heights of the Gothic style. But warning; if you get addicted, you’re going to want to search out the others too – Sens and Senlis, Soissons, Noyon, Mantes… you might never stop!
1. Laon is one of the earliest Gothic cathedrals, but its architect created marvellous effects of transparence and depth in the façade and the famous towers. At the top of the towers are the famous bulls of Laon, said to be statues of the oxen which dragged the stone from the quarries up the hill to the cathedral. The church is filled with light, and the pristine simplicity of the architecture makes this little visited cathedral an obligatory stop for any traveller who wants to understand the aspirations of the early Gothic.
2. Chartres cathedral rises on a hill above the river Eure and the cornfields of Beauce. This is Gothic style at its most classic and powerful. The west front and transept porches are finely carved with figures of prophets and saints, and much of the original stained glass survives. The little figures of the donors at the bottoms of the windows, all exercising their trades – furriers, carpenters, bakers – are worth seeking out for an unusually realistic view of medieval life.
3. Notre Dame, Paris is perhaps not the finest of the Gothic cathedrals, and lost most of its furnishings in the French Revolution. But the façade, an almost square, monumental form, shows perfectly how the Gothic style uses geometrical proportions to create strongly articulated architecture.
4. Bourges is the most visionary of French cathedrals – a single, huge, open space without transept or narthex to break the pattern. Its double aisles are arranged so that the central aisle is a miniature copy of the nave of the church, with its own triforium and clerestory – as if the cathedral had been sliced in two and a new one inserted into the middle. As at Chartres, the stained glass is original – and since much of it is in the side chapels, close-up viewing is possible.
5. Amiens cathedral is massive – the biggest Gothic cathedral in France. And it’s a very pure Gothic style – simple, light, serene. The west front is full of carved detail, including symbols of the labours of the months and the virtues and vices as well as Biblical personages and local saints.
6. Reims cathedral was where the French kings were crowned; royal patronage made it a wealthy and strikingly beautiful building. The statues of the west façade – particularly the ‘smiling angel’ – have a grace and plasticity that make them the summit of the Gothic style in sculpture. Inside, the sheer height of the church is amazing.
7. Strasbourg cathedral’s lace like façade is a marvel, particularly when the setting sun brings out the redness of the sandstone. Inside, the famous astronomical clock provides a kitsch counterpoint to the glories of the Gothic nave.
8. Beauvais was the most ambitious of the Gothic cathedrals. Pride becomes before a fall, though, and after two separate vault collapses, the masons just gave up – the building was never finished. Even the stub of the church, though, is impressive – the highest and lightest work that the Gothic ever produced.
9. Albi cathedral is very different from any of the northern cathedrals. Its southern Gothic style is massive and ponderous, not light and transparent, and as if to stress the difference, it’s built in brick, not stone. But though the exterior looks like a fortress, inside it’s a treasure house of art, including fine frescoes, a painted vault, and a rood screen covered in painted statues.
10. The little-known Saint-Bertrand de Comminges isn’t one of the architectural masterpieces of France. But with its mixture of Romanesque narthex and Gothic nave, and its fine stained glass and Renaissance choir stalls, it’s one of those delightful places where every age has left its impression and every glance discovers new beauties. And how could you miss out a cathedral with its own stuffed crocodile?

The Evolution of French Architecture

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:41:03 +0000

French architecture, one of the richest and classiest architectural styles in the world, is an amalgamation of several styles which collided mainly during the French revolution. French Architecture has given some of the most magnificent buildings to the world.

French Architecture has a glorious history and that makes France one of the most spectacular destinations in the world today. Not just museums or monuments, but even the streets of France are on the must-visit list of everyone. This is because France has been a witness to great evolution through centuries, resulting in a number of architectural styles which represented a perfect blend of old-new, rural-urban, and formal-informal. French buildings range from tiny cottages and farm-houses to huge palaces.
Common Traits
However, there are few common features that help in distinguishing French Architecture from the rest. Features such as high and narrow windows coupled with wooden shutters, double sloping roofs, and excessive use of arches are highly dedicated to French style of architecture. Moreover, the building façade blends a plaster made mostly from Portland cements, sand and lime stone, and is decorated with timbers, window-boxes, iron railing, and highlighted with bricks especially placed near windows and doors. This huge diversity of styles has been a result of the great evolution which segmented the features into various styles.
French Architectural Styles
One of the old styles in French architecture is the Creole architectural style which was inspired from the rural art – a bend of various traditions. Buildings which have symmetrical and central plans are common to this style. However, the floors of these building were made of asymmetric plans, which didn’t have halls inside the structure. Other features include huge galleries, extensive roofs, and an entire story of master rooms. In a multi-story building, the story between first and second floor served as store-room, and in the exterior, an extensive lobby joined the streets to the building’s backyard.
Another architectural style which was prevalent at that time was the Colonial Style. The colonial architectural style had everything symmetrical. Some of the salient features of the buildings of this style are a central door in the exteriors, sandwiched between the windows, and a huge porch almost bigger than the entire building structure. The huge porches helped in making the homes spacious, allowing good air and light ventilation. Another salient feature of the building was the roof, which always used to be inclined and almost vertical.

The Evolution in Architectural Style
However, in spite of the different architectural styles, French architecture is segmented on the basis of periods. For example, early French history marked the usage of arches, vaults and domes in buildings, features which were nearly nonexistent before. Moreover, with the influx of the Romans, the concept of concrete was discovered and the rise in population raised the need of several innovative solutions for accommodation. This need was answered by constructing places meant for public utility.
Different kinds of Churches which sought inspiration from far and wide were also built during the pre-Romanesque era. While timber was mostly used in the churches of the eastern part of the country, stone was the crucial element for the west and south. A blend of block units, which formed a complicated interior place and the complementing exquisite designs on the exterior, were an emblem of this period. Other features included wide walls, balanced beautifying arches, and symmetrical windows. The Medieval period featured pointy arches and brought the construction of grand elevated buildings that gave weight to dimensions. Also, though flying buttress was in use earlier, this period matured their utility in the structures by adding an element of beauty.
Expressive ideas brought the revolution not just in the architectural styles but in every field during the French renaissance. Influenced by the Italian Renaissance, French renaissance brought the right blend of all the earlier periods, leaving a signification impression in the history. It was also during this time that the most famous item of architecture, the Eiffel Tower, was created. Cast iron construction as well as RCC was used for the first time. Also, exterior carvings, use of industrial materials, and new technology were brought to the surface.
While period and styles proved as a basis for segmentation, the architects themselves started differentiating the architectural styles. Some of the famous architects of that time were Baroque and Rococo, who brought freshness in architecture with ornamentation, interior-designing as well as natural and complex designs. Usage of symmetry and beautification also made the structures look magnificent.
Thus, French architecture’s extensive history has not only added to its enduring charm but has also given rise to an elegant place that has bequeathed renowned structures to this world.

Old Town Menton, History of the Town

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:33:00 +0000

Menton is renowned for its mild climate, annual winter attraction and a good dose of Baroque and medieval architecture. Take a brief walk in time to see how it all began.
Menton, situated on the French Riviera and just over the Italian border, may be best known for its annual Lemon Festival. Its pastel colored houses are a trademark of Liguria, Italy, but visitors leave with a deep impression of Menton’s Baroque style, thanks to the Basilica that dominates the old town skyline.
Town History
Menton once was the property of the Italian Ventimiglia family but was acquired by the Grimaldi’s of Monaco in 1346. For centuries it remained under the Grimaldi rule until 1848 when Menton declared itself a free city under the protection of the King of Sardegna. In 1860 Menton chose to become part of France.
The city developed during the Italian Renaissance period, stretching its ochre-colored fingers over the steep Colla Rogna. At its nucleus stands one of the best examples of Baroque architecture, the Basilica St. Michel. Near the top, the buildings are typical of medieval times, small at the base and increasing in size on the upper levels, many times creating vaulted streets.
Lemon Festival
In the late 19th century, in an attempt to boost Menton’s winter tourism, hoteliers proposed organizing a town parade. The project was designed with wealthy holiday-makers in mind and eventually Menton became THE place to pass the winter months. Kings, princes and artists alike filled the luxury hotels or their own magnificent villas.
Menton became the continent’s premier producer of lemons in 1929 and the first flower and citrus exposition was organized at the Hotel Riviera gardens. It was so successful that the following year, the exposition extended into the streets with wagons beautifully planted with oranges and lemons. In order to develop tourism, the parade was given a title reflecting the feel of Menton and in 1934 the Lemon Festival or Fête du Citron was officially born.
Today, the celebration continues to attract spectators from all around the world. It occurs in February and March at the end of the harvest season, and during Carnival. There are Sunday parades, Thursday moonlight parades complete with fireworks over the bay, Citrus exhibitions and flower displays at the many public gardens.
Basilique St. Michel
From the old harbor, a double staircase, Ramps Chanoine Ortmans, leads up to the square where the Basilica St. Michel stands. Building began during the Grimaldi reign in the early 1600’s but did not take off until 1640. In 1653 most of the building was completed and the very Italian bell-tower was added during the years 1701-1702.
The lower facade is adorned with four pairs of ionic columns. The central statue housed above the entrance in an arched cove, depicts the archangel Michael triumphantly standing over the devil. The upper facade, built symmetrically over the lower, sports two pairs of smaller columns that flank a wall of windows.
The courtyard itself bears witness to the town’s early history where dark pebbles create a permanent carpet, bordered with the diamond shaped pattern of the Grimaldi coat of arms.

FRANCE, ARCHITECTURE.

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:27:45 +0000

French architecture of the early modern period is characterized by three main tendencies: the survival of Gothic technology and form, the influence of Italian and ancient models of classicism, and the effort to form a strong French architectural language. Political and social overtones varied in the Renaissance, with ancient and Italian classical influences gradually merging with a lively Late Gothic tradition to express cultivation and splendor. In the seventeenth century, French kings elaborated universal principles and state institutions to express their political and cultural ambitions. Finally, in the eighteenth century, architecture itself was redefined as an instrument of social change.
THE RENAISSANCE
After Charles VIII returned from his Italian military campaigns in 1495, strong Gothic traditions were given a new patina of Italianate structure and ornament. For example, on the court side of the Francis I wing of the château (residential castle) of Blois (Loire Valley, 1515–1524), a typically Gothic spiral staircase, disengaged on three sides, is covered with Renaissance ornaments such as medallions and balusters. Soon, a series of royal châteaus showed a more radical reorganization of plans and external forms, as seen in the château of Chambord (Loire Valley, 1519–c. 1559) and the seven châteaus in the Île-de-France region (including Madrid, Fontainebleau, and St.-Germain-en-Laye) built during the last years of the reign of Francis I (1515–1547).
In the last projects of Francis I, from 1540, and during the reign of Henry II (1547–1559), the French digested Italian models and devised their own versions of them. Many French architects traveled to Italy, and some, such as Jacques Androuet du Cerceau (c. 1520–c. 1585) and Philibert Delorme (1514–1570), produced books. Other publications on ancient architecture, Renaissance buildings, and idealized architectural designs were translated into French or written by Italian architects invited to the French court. As in Italy, the new model for the architect of this generation was no longer the medieval mason but the cultivated man of ancient learning. The portion of the Louvre by Pierre Lescot (Paris, c. 1546–1578) and Delorme’s Anet (Eure-et-Loire, from 1547) are two of the most remarkable and exemplary châteaus of the times. Because of its fundamental changes, this period, which closes with the reign of Henry IV (1589–1610), is called the “Second Renaissance.”
Until early in the seventeenth century, churches resisted all but the most superficial changes. The massive vertical paired bell towers and deep-set porches of the facade of St.-Michel of Dijon (1520–1560) are reminiscent of Late Gothic churches, despite their classical ornaments. The same can be said for the overall Gothic plans and structures of the churches of St.-Gervais (1494–1621) and St.Eustache (1532–1637) in Paris.
A pioneering hôtel (noble town house) called the Grand Ferrare (Fontainebleau, 1542–1546), completed by Sebastiano Serlio, set the standard for domestic architecture. Residences in towns and in the countryside were soon patterned on its biaxial symmetry and the en suite planning of its apartments. Classical forms became more prominent, as in Serlio’s Ancy-le-Franc (Burgundy, from 1546), but medieval features persisted, as in the new design for the defensive towers, traditionally round but now squared into corner pavilions. The death of Henry II in 1559 was followed by a period of religious conflict (the Wars of Religion, 1562–1598) and economic strife during which little was built.
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND THE BIRTH OF THE GRAND STYLE
The reign of Henry IV launched a two-hundred-year building boom in the private sector to satisfy the social ambitions of a rising middle class. While the symmetrical Grand Ferrare remained the ideal in domestic architecture, in Paris the Hôtel Lambert (Louis Le Vau, begun 1641) and the Hôtel de Beauvais (Antoine Le Pautre, 1654–1660) demonstrate how natural features and the constraints of the site could be ingeniously masked and turned to advantage. Elegant places royales (royal squares) attracted private building around them (in Paris, the Place Royale, today the Place des Vosges, 1605, and the Place Dauphine, from 1607). Designed with uniform facades framing a statue of the king, several of these squares were built in Paris as well as in many other towns from the late seventeenth through the eighteenth century.
Two outstanding châteaus were built to express bids for political power—Maisons (Île-de-France, 1641–1660) for René de Longueil by François Mansart (1598–1666), and Vaux-le-Vicomte (1657–1661) for Nicolas Fouquet by Le Vau (1612–1670). Vaux-le-Vicomte imported from Italy the idea of one artist (in this case Charles Le Brun, 1619–1690) coordinating the décor, architecture, and garden design. Louis XIV (1643–1715) transplanted the entire artistic team, including the garden designer AndréLeNôtre (1613–1700), and even the very trees of Vaux to Versailles (Le Vau, 1668–1670; Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1678–1689), thereby announcing the royal cultural hegemony from the outset of his personal reign (from 1661). The Sun King’s authority radiated from the palace, the satellite palaces, extensive gardens, hunting grounds, and the newly built town that constituted the country’s new administrative and cultural capital.
An upsurge of religious building, mostly during the reign of Louis XIII (1610–1643), saw revitalized religious orders rebuild numerous monasteries and churches. Church facades followed two models: the pedimented portico of the Pantheon of Rome or the two-story facade of the church of Il Gesù in Rome (Giacomo della Porta, begun 1571). These were emulated in the street and court entrances of Jacques Lemercier’s Church of the Sorbonne (Paris, 1630–c. 1648). In a more vertical French variation, the facades of St. Gervais (Paris, Salomon de Brosse, 1616–1621) and St.-Louis (Paris, today known as St.-Paul–St.-Louis, Étienne Martellange, begun in 1627) added a third level of orders (a system of proportions, columns, capitals and entablatures). Likewise, French domes were often more vertical than their Italian counterparts. They were placed closer to the facades, as in the Dome of the Invalides (Paris, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1676–1706), with tall drums and wooden beams raising the external profile.
Architectural historians traditionally contrasted the “baroque” “exuberance” and “persuasiveness” of Italian architects with the “classical” “reserve” and “rectilinearity” of their French counterparts. However, recently historians have pointed out the cross-fertilization and common agendas between the two. Palladian and Roman influences abound in Le Vau’s work, as in the curved wings and loosely connected pavilions of the Collège des Quatre Nations (Paris, College of the Four Nations, today the Institut de France, 1662–1670). As Claude Mignot (1989) aptly observes, the long-spanned entablature supported by freestanding columns on the east facade of the Louvre (projects from 1657; attributed to Claude Perrault, 1667) was no less “persuasive” than Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s curvaceous colonnade in front of St. Peter’s.
In the years 1640 to 1690 Lemercier, Pierre Le Muet, Le Vau, François Mansart, and Jules Hardouin-Mansart together reestablished the French “grand style.” They shunned mannerist excess of ornament and embraced a clearer expression of volume and the relation of the parts to the whole. New royal institutions—the Royal Academy of Architecture, founded in 1671, and the offices of first architect to the king and the surintendant des bâtiments (superintendent of king’s buildings), effectively a minister of culture—served as forums for articulating these rules of “good taste.”
CLASSICAL REFORM IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
The rococo style developed in the first half of the eighteenth century in reaction to the oppressive court life of Versailles in the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV. Primarily ornamental and used in interiors of domestic architecture, its forms were characterized by asymmetrical and sensual curves. Germain Boffrand (1667–1754) added a rococo masterpiece to the Hôtel de Soubise in the oval salons “de la princesse” and “du prince” (Paris, 1735–1739). Combining painting, gilding, sculpture, windows, mirrors, and multitudes of candles, he produced a bright and weightless effect. Here, all was sensual ease and luxury. Rococo set the stage for the rethinking of classical forms and the appeal to the senses on a deeper level that were characteristic of neoclassical architecture in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Neoclassicism sought to reform architectural taste through structural rationalism, an ethnographic interest in antiquity, the sensory power of architecture in nature, and social reform. Marc-Antoine Laugier (Essai sur l’architecture, 1753) argued for simplified structures and thus proposed a return to origins through imitation of a mythical “primitive hut.” Antique-style trabeation and long, unbroken entablatures seem to structure the Pantheon, Giovanni Nicolo Servandoni’s facade design for the church of St.-Sulpice (Paris, begun in 1732), and Jacques Gondouin’s School of Surgery (Paris, 1769–1775). Empirical knowledge of Gothic construction, however, underlay Jacques-Germain Soufflot’s (1713–1780) church of Ste.-Geneviève (Paris, known today as the Pantheon, 1757–1789). A more technical interest in structure and functional building types was fostered by the strengthened institutions of civil and military engineering, the École des Ponts et Chaussées and the École du Génie de Mezières, founded in 1747 and 1748, respectively.
Leading French artists spent several years at the French Academy in Rome (founded in 1666), a major international art center at the time. The new archaeological discoveries of Paestum, Herculaneum (1738), and Pompeii (1748) fanned their enthusiasm for reexamining classical architecture. Mid-century publications about Greek ruins, by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett and by Julien-David Leroy and about Roman ruins, by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, emphasized visual poetry and powerful forms through light, scale, and setting. Leroy underscored how architecture existed in historical and ethnographic contexts, thus encouraging architects to invent appropriate forms for their times.
Architecture parlante, a term associated with the next generation and with the approach of the French Revolution (1789–1799), sought to mold form and ornament to express a building’s purpose and thereby inspire social reform. Étienne-Louis Boullée’s (1728–1799) striking project for a cenotaph to Newton (1784), in the form of an astronomical observatory, commemorated the scientist’s genius. Its dramatic spherical form and lighting effects would awe the visitor who entered its orb via a long, dark tunnel. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806) used classical forms in a more expressive manner in a ring of tollhouses (1784–c. 1790) around Paris. Ledoux thought that new plans and building types would encourage social reform; a notable example of such a socially motivated project was his centrally planned industrial community, the Salt Works at Arc-et-Senans (1773–1779). New social agendas also meant that new building types emerged; one example was the freestanding monumental theater, such as Victor Louis’s theater in Bordeaux (c. 1773–1780) and Marie-Joseph Peyre and Charles de Wailly’s Théâtre de l’Odéon in Paris (1767–1782). Due to the Revolution, few buildings were built during the last decade of the eighteenth century.