French Architecture

France is a country rich in architecture. You can spend all your days day walking through
the streets of Paris, or any other region, visiting the museums, and taking pictures next to
one of the many impressive monuments. France has many old monuments and some of
them they are in well good condition like the Maison Carrée and the Pont du Gard near
Nîmes.

The Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne was a period of innovative buildings, using

the Romanesque architecture, which gave rise to the architecture of the Romanesque
period. Many works of art were constructed in France during this period such as Gothic
style cathedrals, an example of which is Chartres Cathedral (begun 1194), St. Sernin,
Toulouse (1080-1120) and Ste-Madeleine Church Vézelay (1089-1206).

The term Romanesque comes from the buildings of the Roman Empire. The
Romanesque style incorporates elements of Byzantine and Eastern origin and it is thought
to have been a response to the needs of monasteries and churches, with the stone vault
being one of the most successful Romanesque innovations. Each region has its own
Romanesque style which reflects the regional traditions and customs The Benedictine
monastery church at Cluny in Burgundy is the largest and most important Romanesque
building in France. Cluny was once the centre of the Benedictine order in France.

Renaissance Period
The Renaissance period began at the end of the fifteenth century and was much
influenced by the Italian Renaissance. This style came to France with the Italians who
arrived in the Loire Valley. One of the first examples of this period is Chateau
d'Amboise, and it's famous because Leonardo Da Vinci spent his last days there. The
gothic style mixed with the Italian Renaissance in France, made impressive results. The
Chateau de Chambord is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of
its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional medieval forms
with classical Italian structures. The massive castle features 6 immense towers, 440
rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases, and it's said that the original design of the
Chateau de Chambord was by Domenico da Cortona, and that Leonardo da Vinci was
also involved in the design.

The Renaissance style progressed under architects such as Sebastiano Serlio and artists
such as Rosso Fiorentino, Francesco Primaticcio, and Niccolo dell' Abbate, who formed
the First School of Fontainebleau. Architects such as Philibert Delorme, Giacomo
Vignola, Androuet du Cerceau and Pierre Lescot, were inspired by the new ideas. The
southwest interior facade of the Cour Carree of the Louvre in Paris was designed by
Lescot and was covered with exterior carvings by Jean Goujon.

19th century
During the last decades of the eighteenth century the neoclassicism was perpetuated by
monumental forms serving the political ambitions of the Second Empire (1852-70) of
Napoleon III. In the mid-nineteenth century the Gothic revival was ardently championed
in France by the architect and theorist Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, restorer of
many of the country's most famous monuments, including Notre Dame in Paris (1842-
68).

During this period, the city of Paris was extensively remodelled under Napoleon III. The
French preference for classicism was institutionalized in the École des Beaux-Arts in
Paris, buildings such as Jean Louis Charles Garnier's spectacular Paris Opera or Palais
Garnier (1861-75), located at the northern end of the Avenue de l'Opéra in the IXe
arrondissement of Paris, played an important role in Baron Haussmann's modernization
of the city during the Second Empire.Haussmann was commissioned to build new
boulevards through the heart of the city.

During this period the most famous French building, the Eiffel tower by Alexandre
Gustave Eiffel (1889) was constructed. Properties made of new industrial materials and
construction techniques were researched by such pioneers as Henri Labrouste. The
Bibliothèque Ste Geneviève (1843-50) was designed by Henri Labrouste who used a cast-
iron construction.

20th century
France was at the forefront of the creation of a new 20th-century aesthetic. In the late
19th and early 20th century, engineers and architects such as: François Hennebique, Tony
Garnier, and Auguste Perret, pioneered the use of reinforced concrete construction.
Charles Edouard Jeanneret, called Le Corbusier, a swiss architect, applied the modern
style to French architecture in such buildings as the Villa Savoye (1929-31) outside Paris.
This architect is famous for his motto : "Buildings are machines to live in.".

Following World War II in the world of Art major achievements by the French include
the paintings of Jean Dubuffet, in Paris to Ricardo and Emilio Bofill's sprawling
neoclassical housing development in Marne-la-Vallée (1978-83). The pyramid-shaped
entrance pavilion at the Louvre was the new element added in this period (1987-89), by I.
M. Pei's during President François Mitterrand government. Dominique's controversial
Bibliothèque nationale (opened in 1998) is another example of modern French
Architecture.