EUGNE VIOLLET-LE-DUC

27 January 1814 17 September 1879

French architect and theorist, famous for his interpretive

"restorations" of medieval buildings.

Born in Paris, he was a major Gothic Revival architect.

 Strongly contrary to the prevailing Beaux-Arts architectural

trend of his time, much of his design work was largely

derided by his contemporaries.

He saw French Gothic as the model for a national style,

emphasizing its constructional rationalism and, in so doing,

for the first time formulating the equation between
aesthetics and technique that would be fundamental to
modern architecture of the 20th century.

 expresses the academic neoclassical architectural style

taught at the cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Depended on sculptural decoration along conservative

modern lines, employing French and Italian Baroque and

Rococo formulas combined with an impressionistic finish
and realism.

 Viollet-le-Duc's father was Sous-Contrleur des Services for the

Tuileries, a civil servant position, book collector and arts enthusiast.

His mother conducted Friday salons from the family's home where

writers such as Stendahl and Prosper Mrime gathered for

readings.

His mother's brother, tienne-Jean Delcluze, "a painter in the

mornings, a scholar in the evenings", was largely in charge of the

young man's education.

His childhood was influenced with art and literature.

 trendy philosophically

Republican
Anti-clerical
Rebellious
Built a barricade in the July Revolution of 1830
Refused to enter the cole des Beaux-Arts

Opted direct practical experience in the architectural

offices of Jacques-Marie Huv and Achille Leclre

 Early 1830s It became a popular sentiment for the

restoration of medieval buildings in France.

He was commissioned by Prosper Mrime to restore the

Romanesque abbey of Vzelay.

His "restorations" frequently combined historical fact with

creative modification.

 The Basilique Ste-

Madeleine (Basilica Church of St.

Mary Magdalene) in Vzelay is
the largest Romanesque church in
France.

During the French Revolution the

ancient monastery buildings were

destroyed and sold at auction. Only
the basilica, cloister, and dormitory
escaped demolition. After the
Revolution, Vzelay stood in
danger of collapse.

 He supervise a massive and

successful restoration, undertaken

in several stages between 1840 and
1861, during which his team
replaced a great deal of the
weathered and vandalized
sculpture.

The flying buttresses that support

the nave are his.

 The west front, a combination of

Romanesque, Gothic and 19thcentury work. Originally built

around 1150 in the Romanesque
style, it was given a Gothic central
gable and south tower in the 13th
century. Much of this was heavily
restored in 1840 by Viollet-le-Duc,
who also added a Romanesquestyle tympanum of the Last
Judgment to the central portal.

 Floor plan of Vzelay shows the adjustment in vaulting between the

choir and the new nave.

Black portion represents the new construction.

 Central tympanum in the

narthex, depicting
Pentecost or the Mission of
the Apostles. In the center
is Christ, inside a mandorla
(almond-shaped halo).
Bolts of light shoot out from
Christ's hands to the
apostles' heads. The inner
archivolt and the lintel
below are populated with
the peoples of the world
who will hear the message
of Christ. These include, on
the lintel, the "Monstrous
Races" of foreign lands.
This provides a fascinating
insight into medieval
worldviews and popular
legends.

 Completed in collaboration with Jacques Felix Duban (1798-1870).

The Sainte-Chapelle was requisitioned as an archival depository in

1803.

Two meters' worth of glass was removed to facilitate working light

and destroyed or put on the market.

Its well-documented restoration, completed under the direction

of Eugne Viollet-le-Duc in 1855, was regarded as exemplary by

contemporaries and is faithful to the original drawings and
descriptions of the chapel that survive.

 Interestingly, the chapel incorporated a form of iron

reinforcement, with two chains of hooked bars encircling the

upper chapel, the main part of the structure. Further, there
were iron stabilisers across the nave (with a vertical tension
bar).

 In the 19th

century, Viollet-leDuc restored the

chapel. The current
spire is his design. The
slate roof is topped by
a 33-meter-high (108
ft) cedar spire that was
crafted but is an exact
replica of the 15th
century spire that
previously sat atop the
chapel.

 In 1844, the government of King

Louis-Philippe I decreed the

restoration of the Paris cathedral and
the construction of a sacristy.

The restoration project was given to

two architects: Eugne Viollet-leDuc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus.

In 1857, after the death of Lassus,

Viollet-le-Duc was left as the sole

builder.

 reconstruction of the spire;

restoration of the sculptures (around

fifteen sculptors, including Adolphe

Geoffroy-Dechaume, would take
part);

construction of the new sacristy;

installation of new windows by great

master glassworkers (Alfred

Grente, Louis Steinhel, Antoine
Husson, Marchal de Metz, Didron
the Elder);

refurbishment of the central

portal to the pre-Soufflot state;

reconstitution of part of the

Treasury and the furniture;

wall paintings in the side

chapels;

complete repair of the great

organ.

On 31 May 1864, the cathedral

was dedicated by Msgr.

Darboy, archbishop of Paris.

 Plan for the

Renovation of a
Chapel in the Nave
of the Cathedral of
Notre Dame, Paris.

 Plan for the

Renovation of a
Chapel in the Nave
of the Cathedral of
Notre Dame, Paris.

In a number of

plans, drawings and

sketches, Viollet-leDuc also made an
attempt to revive
gothic fittings.

 Gargoyles - The monstrous animals with

their fantastic or diabolical pictures set

on the top of the cathedrals western
tower to serve as gutters.

They were built into the ends of the

gutters to drain rainwater off the roof;

since the gargoyles extend far off the
side of the roof, the litres of rainwater
from storms fall far from the walls to
prevent damage.

Viollet le Duc always signed his work

with a bat, the wing structure of which

most resembles the Gothic vault .

The chimeras are used as simple

decorations. Most of them are on the

faade, seated on a gallery, watching
the people below and scanning all of
Paris.

 During the restoration of the

cathedral, he decided to build a

second spire, whose structure would
be independent from the main
cathedral, on an octagonal base
supported by the four transept pillars.
In 1860, he entrusted the
carpenter Bellu with this work. He
used the 1852 two-story spire built in
Orleans as a model, a clear departure
from the 13th century spire. In
addition, it is not a bell tower.
The spire dominates the verdigris
copper statues of the twelve
apostles with the symbols of the four
evangelists.

 Another of Viollet-le-Duc's important projects was to restore the

abbey church of Saint-Denis (1846).

In 1848 - having established himself as an active and influential

figure in the Ministry of Historical Monuments - he was

appointed Inspector General of Diocesan Monuments,
responsible for the archeological restoration of numerous
medieval buildings, including the Synod Hall at Sens (1849),
Amiens Cathedral (1849), the fortifications of the southern city
of Carcassonne (1852), and Saint-Sernin, Toulouse (1862).

 In 1853, works began with the west and southwest walling, followed

by the towers of the porte Narbonnaise and the principal entrance to

the cit.

The fortifications were consolidated here and there, but the chief

attention was paid to restoring the roofing of the towers and the
ramparts, where Viollet-le-Duc ordered the destruction of structures
that had encroached against the walls, some of them of considerable
age.

Viollet-le-Duc left copious notes and drawings on his death in 1879,

when his pupil Paul Boeswillwald, and later the architect Nodet
continued the rehabilitation of Carcassonne.

 The restoration was strongly criticized during Viollet-le-

Duc's lifetime.

Fresh from work in the north of France, he made the error

of using slates and restoring the roofs as point-free

environment.

Yet, overall, Viollet-le-Duc's achievement at Carcassonne is

agreed to be a work of genius, though not of the strictest

authenticity.

 Closer view

of the pointed
roofs that
were added
during the
renovation of
the Fortified
Wall of
Carcassonne.

 Although Viollet-le-Duc initially executed his restorations in the

original style of the building concerned, he soon began to add

completely new elements of his own. While restoring Notre Dame
Cathedral, for instance, he added a third tower, and to the fortified
wall towers of Carcassonne he added a new set of pointed conical
roofs, derived from the architecture of northern France.

These tactics were heavily criticized by the eminent 19th century art

critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) who labelled it false and destructive.

Viollet-le-Duc however was adamant that he was perfecting, not

harming, the original medieval design.

 To restore an edifice is not to maintain it, repair it or remake

it, it is to re-establish it in a complete state that may never

have existed at a given moment. (Viollet-le-Duc)

A destruction out of which no remnants can be gathered: a

destruction accompanied with false description of the thing

destroyed. (John Ruskin)

 All Viollet-le-Duc's original architectural designs for

churches and other ecclesiastical structures were done in a

Gothic style, as exemplified by the churches of SainteGimer (1854-9), Nouvelle Aude (1855), Sainte-Denis-del'Estree (1861).

Rather surprisingly, however, nearly all of his secular

buildings were modelled on Renaissance designs,

including elements borrowed from Giulio Romano (14991546), Vignola (1507-73) and Andrea Palladio (1508-80).

 Throughout his career Viollet-le-Duc made notes and

drawings, not only for the buildings he was working on, but
also on Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance buildings
that were to be soon demolished.

His study of medieval and Renaissance periods was not

limited to architecture, but extended to furniture, clothing,

musical instruments, armament, geology and so forth.

 DICTIONARY OF FRENCH ARCHITECTURE from 11th to

16th Century (18541868) - Original (French) language

edition, including numerous illustrations.
DICTIONARY OF FRENCH FURNISHINGS (18581870)
(Dictionnaire raisonn du mobilier franais de l'poque
Carolingienne la Renaissance.)
Consisted of 16 volumes, these two treatises contained a
wealth of exact structural data plus extensive design
analysis, which provided the necessary intellectual impetus
for the French Gothic Revival movement.

 Conversations on Architecture

Viollet-le-Duc systematized his approach to architecture

and architectural education, in a system radically opposed

to that of the cole des Beaux-Arts, which he had avoided in
his youth and despised.

In Henry Van Brunt's translation, the "Discourses on

Architecture" was published in 1875, making it available to

an American audience little more than a decade after its
initial publication in France.

 He defined architecture as a response to a

structural problem, set by functional needs.

On one hand, he concluded that gothic

architecture was the most effective way to

build a church with stone material (maximizing
the lightness and highness qualities), on the
other one, iron should not be used to fake
ancient shapes because these shapes that were
highly efficient for stone (the best material
available in the Middle ages) are definitely not
for iron.

According to him no country in Europe offered

such great variety of materials adapted for
building as France.

From granite to tufa, everything could be

employed in masonry was to be found.

 The novel system adopted will

enable us to diminish the projection

of the buttresses and consequently
to make a saving in the foundations.

The employment of cast iron

enabled us to dispense with the

corbelling in courses of hard stone
which was expensive and shall
obtain a building that would
present greater security, would be
less weighty and would allow a
present better circulation of air
about the ground-floor.

 These are illustration

from his lecture XII

where he talks about
execution methods of
simultaneously using
stone, bricks and iron
at the same time.

 Histoire de l'habitation humaine, depuis les temps

prhistoriques jusqu' nos jours (1875).

Published in English in 1876.

Viollet-Le-Duc traces the history of domestic architecture

among the different "races" of mankind.

 1877
Where Viollet-le-Duc applied his ideas of rational

construction to Russian architecture.

 In a postscript to his lesser-known

work Histoire dune Forteresse (1874),

Eugne-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc
(1814-1879) describes the diffusion

of fortifications brought about by the

introduction of ranged artillery.

Drawing reveals that each individual fort retains the articulation of salients and

angles appropriate to smaller arms and closer quarters. The efficacy of the new
system was no longer in the solidity of a fixed centrepoint but in the furnishing of a
territory.

 He was considered to be the first theorist of modern

architecture.

Sir John Summerson wrote that "there have been two

supremely eminent theorists in the history of European

architecture - Leon Battista Alberti and Eugne Viollet-leDuc."

 His architectural theory was largely based on finding the

ideal forms for specific materials, and using these forms to

create buildings.

His writings centered on the idea that materials should be

used 'honestly'.

He believed that the outward appearance of a building

should reflect the rational construction of the building.

 In Entretiens sur l'architecture, Viollet-le-Duc praised the

Greek temple for its rational representation of its

construction.

For him, "Greek architecture served as a model for the

correspondence of structure and appearance.

There is speculation that this philosophy was heavily

influenced by the writings of John Ruskin, who championed

honesty of materials as one of the seven main emphases of
architecture.

 In several unbuilt projects for new buildings, Viollet-le-Duc

applied the lessons he had derived from Gothic

architecture, applying its rational structural systems to
modern building materials such as cast iron.

He also examined organic structures, such as leaves and

animal skeletons, for inspiration.

He was especially interested in the wings of bats, an

influence represented by his Assembly Hall project.

 Viollet-le-Duc's drawings of iron trusswork were innovative

for the time.

Many of his designs emphasizing iron would later influence

the Art Nouveau movement, most noticeably in the work of

Hector Guimard, Victor Horta, Antoni Gaud or Hendrik
Petrus Berlage.

His writings inspired some American architects, including

Frank Furness, John Wellborn Root, Louis Sullivan, and

Frank Lloyd Wright.

 Viollet-le-Duc had a second career in the military, primarily

in the defence of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War

(1870-1).

He was so influenced by the conflict that during his later

years he described the idealized defense of France by the

analogy of the military history of Le Roche-Pont, an
imaginary castle, in his work Histoire d'une Forteresse
(Annals of a Fortress, twice translated into English).

Accessible and well researched, it is partly fictional.

 Annals of a Fortress strongly influenced French military

defensive thinking.

Viollet-le-Duc's critique of the effect of artillery (applying

his practical knowledge from the 18701871 war) is so

complete that it accurately describes the principles
applied to the defence of France until World War II.

 The physical results of his theories are present in the

fortification of Verdun prior to World War I and the Maginot

Line prior to World War II.

His theories are also represented by the French military

theory of "Deliberate Advance", such that artillery and a

strong system of fortresses in the rear of an army are
essential.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Viollet-le-Duc
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle

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