Viollet-le-Duc and Lassus also rebuilt the sacristy, on the south side of the church, which had been built in 1756, but had been burned by rioters during the July Revolution of 1830.
The flèche, or spire of Notre-Dame de Paris, which had been constructed in about 1250, was removed in 1786 after it was damaged by the wind.
He also designed a new treasury in the Gothic style to serve as the museum of the cathedral, replacing the residence of the Archbishop, which had been destroyed in a riot in 1831. The bells in the two towers had been taken out in 1791 and melted down to make cannons.
His uncle urged him to enter the École des Beaux-Arts, which had been created in 1806, but the École had an extremely rigid system, based entirely on copying classical models, and Eugène was not interested.
Napoleon bought the ruin for 5000 francs in 1812, and Mérimée declared it an historic monument in 1848.
The last original gargoyles had been taken down in 1813.
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution.
His later writings on the relationship between form and function in architecture had a notable influence on a new generation of architects, including Victor Horta, Hector Guimard, Antoni Gaudí, Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. ==Youth and education== Viollet-le-Duc was born in Paris in 1814, in the last year of the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte.
His grandfather was an architect, and his father was a high-ranking civil servant, who in 1816 became the overseer of the royal residences of Louis XVIII.
There, in 1822 or 1823, Eugène met Prosper Mérimée, a writer who would play a decisive role in his career. In 1825 he began his education at the Pension Moran, in Fontenay-aux-Roses.
There, in 1822 or 1823, Eugène met Prosper Mérimée, a writer who would play a decisive role in his career. In 1825 he began his education at the Pension Moran, in Fontenay-aux-Roses.
There, in 1822 or 1823, Eugène met Prosper Mérimée, a writer who would play a decisive role in his career. In 1825 he began his education at the Pension Moran, in Fontenay-aux-Roses.
He returned to Paris in 1829 as a student at the College de Bourbon (now the Lycée Condorcet).
He passed his baccalaureate examination in 1830.
Instead he decided to get practical experience in the architectural offices of Jacques-Marie Huvé and Achille Leclère, while devoting much of his time to drawing medieval churches and monuments around Paris. He participated in the July 1830 revolution which overthrew Charles X, building a barricade, his first known construction project.
Viollet-le-Duc and Lassus also rebuilt the sacristy, on the south side of the church, which had been built in 1756, but had been burned by rioters during the July Revolution of 1830.
They travelled from July to October 1831 throughout the south of France, and he returned with a large collection of detailed paintings and watercolours of churches and monuments. On his return to Paris, he moved with his family into the Tuileries Palace, where his father was now governor of royal residences.
He wrote in his journal in December 1831, "the École is just a mould for architects.
He also designed a new treasury in the Gothic style to serve as the museum of the cathedral, replacing the residence of the Archbishop, which had been destroyed in a riot in 1831. The bells in the two towers had been taken out in 1791 and melted down to make cannons.
In 1946 his grave and monument were transferred to the Cemetery of Bois-le-Vaux (Section XVIII) in Lausanne. ==Family== Viollet-le-Duc married Elisabeth Tempier in Paris on 3 May 1834.
In February 1840 Mérimée gave Viollet-le-Duc the mission of restoring and reconstructing the church so it would not collapse, while "respecting exactly in his project of restoration all the ancient dispositions of the church". The task was all the more difficult because up until that time no scientific studies had been made of medieval building techniques, and there were no schools of restoration.
In 1840, in collaboration with his friend the architect Jean-Baptiste Lassus he began the restoration of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, which had been turned into a storage depot after the Revolution.
In February 1843, King Louis Philippe sent him to the Château of Amboise, to restore the stained glass windows in the chapel holding the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci.
The windows were unfortunately destroyed in 1940 during World War II. In 1843, Mérimée took Viollet-le-Duc with him to Burgundy and the south of France, on one of his long inspection tours of possible monuments.
These articles were later turned into books; he became the most prominent academic scholar on French medieval architecture. ==Notre-Dame de Paris== In 1844, with the backing of Mérimée, Viollet-le-Duc, just thirty years old, and Lassus, then thirty-seven, won a competition for the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
However, in 1846, the new tower, overloaded with masonry, began to crack, and Viollet-le-Duc was called in.
In 1846 he engaged in a fervent exchange in print with Quatremère de Quincy, the Perpetual Secretary of the French Academy, on the question, "Is it suitable, in the 19th century, to build churches in the gothic style?" De Quincy and his followers denounced the gothic style as incoherent, disorderly, unintelligent, decadent and without taste.
Napoleon bought the ruin for 5000 francs in 1812, and Mérimée declared it an historic monument in 1848.
The chateau had been confiscated by Napoleon III in 1848 but was returned to the family in 1872.
He concentrated on restoring the interior of the church, and was able to substantially restore the original burial chamber of the Kings of France. In May 1849, he was named the architect for the restoration of Amiens Cathedral, one of the largest in France, which had been built over many centuries in a variety of different styles.
A devotee of the pure Gothic, he described the chapel as "one of the finest specimens of Gothic in decline". In November 1853, he provided the costs and plans for the medieval ramparts of Carcassonne, which he had first begun planning in 1849.
The British historian and architectural writer John Ruskin wrote in The Seven Lamps of Architecture in 1849: "Neither the public, nor those who are responsible for the maintenance of public monuments, understand the true meaning of 'restoration'.
Thanks largely to Viollet-le-Duc, the neo-Gothic became the standard style for church furnishing throughout France. ==Imperial projects: Carcassonne, Vincennes and Pierrefonds== The French coup d'état of 1851 had transformed France from a republic to an empire and brought Napoleon III to power.
He gave the Emperor and Empress a tour of his project in September 1853; the Empress immediately offered to pay two-thirds of the cost of the restoration.
A devotee of the pure Gothic, he described the chapel as "one of the finest specimens of Gothic in decline". In November 1853, he provided the costs and plans for the medieval ramparts of Carcassonne, which he had first begun planning in 1849.
This series eventually included ten volumes, published between 1854 and 1868.
There were one hundred seventy-one projects proposed in the original competition, presented the 1855 Paris Universal Exposition.
In 1856, using examples from other medieval churches and debris from Notre-Dame as his model, his workshop produced dragons, chimeras, grotesques, and gargoyles, as well as an assortment of picturesque pinnacles and fleurons.
In 1857 Viollet-le-Duc began designing an entirely new chateau on the ruins.
He later designed a similar frame for a much larger statue, the Statue of Liberty, but died before that statue was finished. ==End of the Empire and of Restoration== In 1863, Viollet-le-Duc was named a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, the school where he had refused to become a student, and the fortress of neoclassical Beaux-Arts architecture.
He tired of the confrontations and resigned on 16 May 1863, and continued his writing and teaching outside the Beaux-Arts. In the beginning of 1864, he celebrated the conclusion of his most important project, the restoration of Notre-Dame.
He tired of the confrontations and resigned on 16 May 1863, and continued his writing and teaching outside the Beaux-Arts. In the beginning of 1864, he celebrated the conclusion of his most important project, the restoration of Notre-Dame.
Between 1866 and 1870, his major project was the ongoing transformation of Pierrefonds from a ruin into a royal residence.
His plans for the metal framework he had designed for Pierrefonds were displayed at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867.
This series eventually included ten volumes, published between 1854 and 1868.
Garnier wrote of his rival in 1869: "Monsieur Viollet-le-Duc has produced much, but his best works without doubt are his restorations...One hesitates to appreciate his personal works.
Between 1866 and 1870, his major project was the ongoing transformation of Pierrefonds from a ruin into a royal residence.
While on his mapping excursion in the Alps in July 1870, he learned that war had been declared between Prussia and France. As the Franco-Prussian War commenced, Viollet-le-Duc hurried back to Paris, and offered his services as a military engineer; he was put into service as a colonel of engineers, preparing the defenses of Paris.
On 14 December 1870, he wrote in his journal, "Disorganization is everywhere.
Viollet-le-Duc's critique of the effect of artillery (applying his practical knowledge from the 1870–1871 war) is so complete that it accurately describes the principles applied to the defense of France until World War II.
Each day, new orders and new projects which contravene those of the day before." He fought with the French army against the Germans at Buzenval on 24 January 1871.
I am disgusted by it forever, and want nothing more than to pass the years that remain to me in study and in the most modest possible life." In May 1871 he left his home in Paris just before national guardsmen arrived to draft him into the armed force of the Paris Commune.
He returned to the city shortly after the Commune was suppressed in May, 1871, and saw the ruins of most of the public buildings of the city, burned by the Commune in its last days.
In July 1872 the government decided to preserve the Renaissance facade, but otherwise to completely demolish and rebuild the building. ==Later life – author and theorist== In his later years he devoted most of his time to writing about architectural history.
In 1872, he completed the second volume of his major theoretical work, Entretiens sur l'architecture. In his Entretiens sur l'architecture he concentrated in particular on the use of iron and other new materials, and the importance of designing buildings whose architecture was adapted to their function, rather than to a particular style.
His advice was accepted, and the church was restored to its original form. In 1872 Viollet-le-Duc was engaged in the reconstruction of the Château d'Amboise, owned by the descendants of the former King, Louis-Philippe.
The chateau had been confiscated by Napoleon III in 1848 but was returned to the family in 1872.
The Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, one of the inventors of the skyscraper, often invoked the phrase, "Form follows function." The Lausanne cathedral was his final major restoration project; it was rebuilt following his plans between 1873 and 1876.
Viollet-le-Duc designed all the work to the finest details, including the floor tiles, the gas lights in the salons, the ovens in the kitchen, and the electric bells for summoning servants. In 1874 Viollet-le-Duc resigned as diocesan architect of Paris and was succeeded by his contemporary, Paul Abadie.
His theories are also represented by the French military theory of "Deliberate Advance", which stresses that artillery and a strong system of fortresses in the rear of an army are essential. ==Legacy== The English architect Benjamin Bucknall (1833–1895) was a devotee of Viollet-le-Duc and during 1874 to 1881 translated several of his publications into English to popularise his principles in Great Britain.
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. Histoire de l'habitation humaine, depuis les temps préhistoriques jusqu'à nos jours (1875).
The Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, one of the inventors of the skyscraper, often invoked the phrase, "Form follows function." The Lausanne cathedral was his final major restoration project; it was rebuilt following his plans between 1873 and 1876.
He launched a public campaign for the re-forestation of the Alps, and published a detailed map of the area in 1876.
Published in English in 1876 as Habitations of Man in All Ages.
An advantage of this choice was that the entire statue would be light for its volume, as the copper need be only thick. ==National Museum of French Monuments and final years== He became engaged in the planning and construction of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878.
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution.
After an exhausting summer of hiking in the Alps in 1879, he became ill and died in Lausanne on 17 September 1879.
The book was translated into English in 1881 and won a large following in the United States.
His theories are also represented by the French military theory of "Deliberate Advance", which stresses that artillery and a strong system of fortresses in the rear of an army are essential. ==Legacy== The English architect Benjamin Bucknall (1833–1895) was a devotee of Viollet-le-Duc and during 1874 to 1881 translated several of his publications into English to popularise his principles in Great Britain.
The National Museum of French Monuments opened in 1882, after his death.
His structural design was preserved, but in 1925 his gargoyles and original ornamentation were removed, and the spire was recovered with tiles. His reputation had reached outside of France.
The Palais was reconstructed into the Palais de Chaillot in 1937, but the Museum of French Monuments was preserved and can be seen there today. In his final years his son Eugène-Louis became the head of the Commission of Historic Monuments.
The windows were unfortunately destroyed in 1940 during World War II. In 1843, Mérimée took Viollet-le-Duc with him to Burgundy and the south of France, on one of his long inspection tours of possible monuments.
In 1946 his grave and monument were transferred to the Cemetery of Bois-le-Vaux (Section XVIII) in Lausanne. ==Family== Viollet-le-Duc married Elisabeth Tempier in Paris on 3 May 1834.
He was criticized for these modifications in the 1960s, though, as his defenders argued, without them the roof would have collapsed under its own weight. Mérimée's deputy, Lenormant, inspected the construction and reported to Mérimée: "The young Leduc seems entirely worthy of your confidence.
The spire was destroyed on 15 April 2019, as a result of the Notre-Dame de Paris fire. ==Saint Denis and Amiens== The restoration of Notre-Dame continued in this slow and methodical manner for twenty-five years.
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