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The Architecture of Percier and Fontaine and the Struggle for Sovereignty in Revolutionary France (Hardcover)

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Description


As the official architects of Napoleon, Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre-Fran ois-L onard Fontaine (1762-1853) designed interiors that responded to the radical ideologies and collective forms of destruction that took place during the French Revolution. The architects visualized new forms of imperial sovereignty by inverting the symbols of monarchy and revolution, constructing meeting rooms resembling military encampments and gilded thrones that replaced the Bourbon lily with Napoleonic bees. Yet in the wake of political struggle, each foundation stone that the architects laid for the new imperial regime was accompanied by an awareness of the contingent nature of sovereign power. Contributing fresh perspectives on the architecture, decorative arts, and visual culture of revolutionary France, this book explores how Percier and Fontaine's desire to build structures of permanence and their inadvertent reliance upon temporary architectural forms shaped a new awareness of time, memory, and modern political identity in France.

About the Author


Iris Moon is a visiting assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute, New York. She specializes in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European art, architecture, and the decorative arts.

Product Details
ISBN: 9781472480163
ISBN-10: 1472480163
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: November 24th, 2016
Pages: 186
Language: English

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