Seminar on

Charles Garnier
Charles Garnier

• Charles Garnier (6
November 1825 - 3 August
1898) was a French
architect ,designer of the
Paris Opéra and the Opéra
de Monte-Carlo
 Biography

Jean Louis Charles Garnier (1825-1898) was a French

architect of the exuberant neobaroque style, an outgrowth
of the effervescent but stricter classicism of Napoleon III's
Second Empire style that began in the early 1850s.

Charles Garnier was born on Nov. 6, 1825, in Paris. He

attended the École de Dessin, the atelier of Louis Hippolyte
Lebas, and the École des Beaux-Arts in 1841, and he also
worked for Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Garnier spent
5 years in Italy after winning the Grand Prix de Rome in
1848.
• Garnier entered the competition for the Académie Nationale
de Musique, better known as the Opéra, in Paris in 1861. He
won fifth prize in the first stage of a two-phase competition
and later that year won the commission. The Opéra was
built from 1862 to 1867; the interiors were not completed
until 1874. Sited on an irregular diamond adjacent to the
Grand Boulevard, the structure was inspired, according to
Garnier, by Michelangelo and Jacopo Sansovino. The Opéra
provided a setting for Parisian society. The foyer, grand
staircase, and auditorium are spacious open, and rich in
decoration. Empress Eugénie had favored the project by
Viollet-le-Duc and did not admire Garnier's sumptuousness,
even though it suited the period. When asked by the
Empress whether the Opéra was in the style of Louis XIV,
XV, or XVI, Garnier tactfully replied, "It is of Napoleon III."
• The same plastic richness of effect was used by Garnier in
his Casino in Monte Carlo (1878; extended 1881), even
though the finish is in stucco. Its magnificent site facing the
bay is again a stage setting, this time for the wealthy
gamblers' game of roulette. The game rooms, salons, and
waiting rooms are sumptuous.

• After the Casino, Garnier's style mellowed considerably in a

host of works ranging from churches, libraries, hotels, and
houses to tombs, including the tombs of his musical
contemporaries Bizet (1880) and Offenbach (1883) in Paris.
Garnier died on Aug. 3, 1898.
• Garnier did not fit into the emerging movements of
functionalism or expressive structure, even though the
structural innovations of the Opéra were of
predominant significance. Structure for its own sake,
as in the Eiffel Tower, he considered hideous. His plan
for the Opéra, he freely admitted in his book Le
Nouvel Opéra de Paris (1875-1881), was based upon
no theory: "I leave success or failure to chance alone."
The sweeping dynamic movement of Garnier's
neobaroque can be found in the more linear forms of
Art Nouveau.
 Architecture And
Landscaping

• French architect, a student of Lebas. During his time as a

pensionnaire in Rome (1848–54) he visited Greece and
Turkey, and seems to have been more enchanted with
Byzantine and other styles than he was with Ancient Greek
architecture, although he investigated the Temple of
Aphaia at Aegina, largely from the point of view of its
colouring in Antiquity. When he returned to Paris he worked
for a period under Ballu, but took on what private
commissions he could obtain.
• He made his name with his designs (won in competition)
for the Opéra in Paris (1861–75), the most luxuriant
building of the Second Empire and of the Beaux-Arts style,
yet one in which the disposition of the main elements is
immediately clear from the exterior. Garnier drew his
inspiration from the Italian Renaissance, notably the
architectural visions of Paolo Veronese (1528–88), the
Venetian painter, while echoes of Sansovino are detectable.
The lavish staircase mingled Baroque and Venetian
Renaissance themes.
• The Opéra was immensely successful and influential, its
confident brashness finally laying the drier aspects of
French Rationalism to rest, and setting the agenda for
public architectural style in France until 1914. The Opéra
has tended to overshadow Garnier's many other
architectural achievements. His ebullient interpretation of
Italian and French Renaissance styles can be seen in a
number of his works, including the Cercle de la Librairie
(1878–9), 117 Boulevard St-Germain, the Maison Hachette
apartment-block at 195 on the same Boulevard (1878–80),
and, especially, the Casino, Monte Carlo (1876/8–9).
• The last, a lushly festive concoction, Influenced the style of
buildings along the Riviera and in other seaside resorts. In
the 1890s, however, the Casino theatre was altered to
enable large-scale operatic performances to take place, and
in 1897 Garnier protested, in vain, to the architect Henri
Schmit (1851–1904) about the changes to his work.

• He published his theory of theatre design in Le Théâtre

(1871) and Nouvel Opéra de Paris (1878–81). His
reconstruction of the temple at Aegina (complete with
polychrome decorations) was published in Le Temple de
Jupiter panhellenique à Egine (1884), and he also published
works on domestic architecture in Constructions élevées
aux Champs de Mars (1890) and L'Habitation humaine
(1892).
 Works
• In France
• In Paris :
– Palais Garnier
– Théâtre Marigny (ex-Panorama de Marigny)
– The circle of the librairy, boulevard Saint-Germain
– The hôtel particulier rue du Docteur-Lancereaux
(the "maison opéra")
– Tomb of Jacques Offenbach, cimetière de
Montmartre (1880)
– The Ateliers Berthier, on the boulevard of the same
name, the annex of the Opéra and it's fabrication
workshops for decorations and storage of costumes
and scenery. This building was his last realisation.
• In Provence :
– The casino and thermal baths of Vittel
– The église of Chapelle-en-Thiérache
– The Astronomical Observatory in Nice (in collaboration
with the engineer Gustave Eiffel)
• Abroad
• In Monaco :
– The casino, the opéra and the Grand Hôtel de Paris in
Monte Carlo
• In Bordighera, Italy where he stayed often, he was the
architect of:
– The Église de Terrasanta
– The École Communale, today the Mairie de la ville
– Villa Bischoffsheim (now the Villa Etelinda)
– Villa Garnier (1872)
– Villa Studio
Paris Opera

• Paris opera is situated at

paris france. It is built in
1857-1874. it is theatre
type building. It is made up
of masonry and cut stone.
It is based on neo-baroque
style .
• Polychrome facade,
opulent staircase.
Commission by
competition. The Opera
Garnier, not to be confused
with the modern L'Opera
de Bastille, built recently in
Some views of Opera
• The Paris Opera House is one of the most beautiful
buildings in the world. It contains levels beyond levels of
cellars, fountains, chandeliers and even its own ghost! The
history of this performance hall is dark and interesting, and
spans from architecture to literature and music.

• The total area of the building reaches 118,403 sq.ft. Under

the stage, five levels with a combined total height of 50 ft
(add to this 16 ft of foundation depth) give access to the
machinery. Backstage, there are about fifty available sets
which can appear as shows dictate, going up and sliding out
of spectator view over a height of 148 ft, or about 15 floors.
• The most impressive is probably the biggest sloping set in
the world designed to ensure a better perspective view.
With 89 ft of depth and 157 ft of width, it can accommodate
up to 200 dancers, mimes, actors and even animals. In fact,
the main stage is so big that the entire Arch of Triumph
could fit on it! It is true that the period favored spectacular
staging, with lush sets and the most extravagant special
effects. It was possible for a carriage drawn by several
horses (for which stables were set up in the basement) to
enter the stage.
• During a performance of Verdi’s Aïda, an elephant from the
“Jardin des Plantes” (Paris zoo) was brought in. When “Les
Indes Galantes” of Rameau was performed, different
perfumes were dispersed for each different short scene.
Even ostriches were once brought in to lend a more exotic
air, but that idea was quickly abandoned when they started
biting the extras! True super productions were offered to
stunned and amazed spectators. On the day of its
inauguration, the Opera had a little more than 2,000 seats,
making it at that time the largest opera house in the world.
 Hotel De Paris — Monte
Carlo,

The Prestigious Hotel De Paris Is Situated On The Golden

Square Of The Place Du Casino And Was The First Hotel Built
In Monte Carlo In 1864. The Hotel Is Located In The Heart Of
Monte Carlo In Front Of The Casino And The Cafe De Paris.
Hotel De Paris Offers A Unique Selection Of Guestrooms,
Junior Suites And One And Two Bedroom Suites. Each Room Is
Individually Decorated With A King Or Twin Beds. Most Rooms
Are Located In The Rotonde Wing Of The Hotel With Views Of
The Mediterranean, Harbor Of Monte Carlo, Casino Square
And City Of Monte Carlo. The Hotel Features Several
Restaurants Including Fine Dining At Le Louis XV.
 Conclusion

• Charles Garnier employed all the modern techniques. He

didn’t like iron, a material he found too cold, but he
understood that using it would open up a whole new world
of possibilities. So he did choose an entirely metallic
structure for the new building but was careful to conceal it,
a really novel idea at this time in the world of architecture.
He also believed in the future of electricity, but that
technology was not yet very developed. He did use this
modern energy to ring the bells that called the spectators
back to their seats after the intermission, and for certain
stage effect devices.
• He studied how to set up a gas heating and ventilation
system that would be as efficient as possible while offering
better comfort to the spectators. His pursuit of all available
innovations even crossed over into interior design. He
wanted gold to glisten in this dazzling and enchanting
palace he was giving Paris, but his budget was limited. So
he used the brand new technique of “gilding effect” to
replace exorbitantly priced gold leaves. It was just a matter
of applying bright gold paint in places where light would
reflect, and lighter ochre in the hollows to give more relief.
There was an outcry when Parisians convinced themselves
that huge sums of money had been spent to achieve this.
This, however, was not the case as it was only paint with a
fantastic visual effect.