Etienne-Louis Bulle ( fr. Étienne-Louis Boullée , ( February 12, 1728 , Paris - February 4, 1799 , Paris )) was a French neoclassical architect whose work had a significant impact on modern architects and influenced this day.
| Etienne-Louis Bulle | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| A country | |
| Date of Birth | or |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | , or |
| Place of death | |
Content
Biography
Born in Paris . He studied with Jacques-Francois Blondel , Germain Bofre and Jean-Laurent Léger . Under their command, he studied the classical architecture of France of the XVII – XVIII centuries in its popular understanding and neoclassicism , which was developed in the second half of the century. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Architecture in 1762 and became the chief architect under Frederick II , (mainly honorary title). He designed a number of private houses from 1762 to 1778; most of them have not survived to date. Among the surviving works should be noted Hôtel Alexandre and Hôtel de Brunoy, both in Paris. Together with Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, he was one of the most influential figures of French non-classical architecture.
Geometric style
Bulle showed himself most vividly as a teacher and theorist at the National School of Bridges and Roads ( École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées ) between 1778 and 1788, inventing his own distinctive abstract geometric style, inspired by classical forms. A characteristic feature of his work was the abandonment of all unnecessary decoration, a significant increase in the scale of geometric shapes and the repetition of elements, for example, countless rows of columns.
Bulle was a supporter of the idea that architecture should express its purpose. This doctrine of his critics called architecture parlante ("speaking architecture"); it was an integral element of the Boz-ar architecture school in the second half of the nineteenth century. The most vivid example of his style is the cenotaph project for the English scientist Isaac Newton , in the shape of a 150-meter-high sphere embedded in a circular foundation with cypresses at the top. Although the project was never implemented, the sketch was preserved in engraving and had a wide circulation in professional circles.
Heritage
Bulle’s ideas had a noticeable influence on his contemporaries, not least because of his role in teaching other prominent architects: Francois Chalgren , Alexander Bronyar, Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand. Some of his works were released only in the 20th century; his book Architecture, essai sur l'art (“Architecture, an Essay on Art”), which defended the ideas of sensual neoclassicism, was published only in 1953. The publication contained his work from 1778 to 1788, mainly projects of public buildings, completely impractical because of the large size.
Because of his love for grand projects, Bulle was often described as a megalomaniac and a visionary at the same time. His favorite method of opposition (the displacement of opposing elements of the project) and the use of light and shadow were highly innovative and continue to influence architects right up to today. Bulle was rediscovered in the 20th century; among the architects he influenced is Aldo Rossi .
Bibliography
- Boullée & visionary architecture ed. Helen Rosenau, Pub. Harmony Books, New York, 1976 ISBN 0856701572 .
- Boullée's Treatise on Architecture by Étienne-Louis Boullée, ed. by Helen Rosenau, pub. Alec Tiranti, Ltd. London: 1953 First Edition
- Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728-1799: Theoretician of Revolutionary Architecture) by Jean-Marie Perouse De Montclos, pub.George Braziller; ISBN 0807606723 ; (February 1974)
- Visionary Architects: Boullée, Ledoux, Lequeu by Jean-Claude Lemagny, pub. Hennessey & Ingalls; ISBN 0940512351 ; (July 2002)
- Les Architectes de la Liberté by Annie Jacques and Jean-Pierre Mouilleseaux, coll. Découvertes Gallimard (n ° 47), série Arts, ed. Gallimard; ISBN 2070530671 ; (November 1988) [In French]
- A Dictionary of Architecture , James Stevens Curl, Oxford University Press (1999).
- Boullée, Etienne-Louis (1728-1799), The Hutchinson Encyclopedia , Helicon (2001).
- “Boullée, Etienne-Louis (1728-1799)”, Crystal Reference Encyclopedia (2001).
- Svend Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France 1974. (London: Faber) translated by Peter Thornton.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 118662333 // Common Regulatory Control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ 1 2 BNF ID : 2011 open data platform .
- ↑ 1 2 Etienne-Louis Boullée
- ↑ 1 2 architects working in Sweden - 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 International standard name identifier
- ↑ 1 2 Étienne-Louis Boullée
Links
- Virtual exhibition in the National Library of France http://expositions.bnf.fr/boullee/index.htm
- (fr.) Ministère de la Culture
- Movie: Architect's Belly , 1987, dir. Peter Greenway http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092637/