# etienne-louis boullee born: 12 february 1728 paris france died: 4 february 1799 (aged 70) paris france occupation: architect practice: neoclassicism buildings: hôtel alexandre ![[bibliothequenationaleboul002.jpg|300]] boullee deuxieme projet pour la bibliothèque du roi (1785) etienne-louis boullee (french pronunciation: ; 12 february 1728 - 4 february 1799) was a visionary french neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects ![[hoteldebrunoy.jpg|300]] hôtel de brunoy ca. 1780 born in paris ey studied under jacques-françois blondel germain boffrand and jean-laurent le geay from whom ey learned the mainstream french classical architecture in the 17th and 18th century and the neoclassicism that evolved after the mid century. ey was elected to the academie royale d'architecture in 1762 and became chief architect to frederick ii of prussia a largely honorary title. ey designed a number of private houses from 1762 to 1778 though most of these no longer exist; notable survivors into the modern era include the hôtel de brunoy (demolished in 1930) and the hôtel alexandre both in paris. ir work for françois racine de monville has apparently also vanished but ir probable influence on monville's own architectural works as seen at the desert de retz speaks for itself. together with claude nicolas ledoux ey was one of the most influential figures of french neoclassical architecture it was as a teacher and theorist at the ecole nationale des ponts et chaussees between 1778 and 1788 that boullee made ir biggest impact developing a distinctive abstract geometric style inspired by classical forms. ir work was characterised by the removal of all unnecessary ornamentation inflating geometric forms to a huge scale and repeating elements such as columns in huge ranges for boullee regularity symmetry and variety were the golden rules of architecture # cenotaph for sir isaac newton ![[250px-%c3%89tienne-louisboull%c3%a9e-c%c3%a9notaphedenew.jpg|300]] boullee cenotaphe à newton (1784) boullee promoted the idea of making architecture expressive of its purpose a doctrine that ir detractors termed architecture parlante ("talking architecture") which was an essential element in beaux-arts architectural training in the later 19th century. ir style was most notably exemplified in ir proposal for a cenotaph (a funerary monument celebrating a figure interred elsewhere) for the english scientist isaac newton who 50 years after ir death became a symbol of enlightenment ideas the building itself was a 150 metres (490 feet) tall sphere taller than the great pyramids of giza encompassed by two large barriers circled by hundreds of cypress trees. the massive spherical shape of the building was inspired by boullee's own study called "theory of bodies" where ey claims that the most beautiful and perfect natural body is the sphere which is the most prominent element of the newton memorial. though the structure was never built boullee had many ink and wash drawings engraved and circulated widely within professional circles in 1784 the small sarcophagus for newton would have been placed at the lower pole of the sphere. the design of the memorial was intended to create the effect of day and night. the night effect would have occurred when the sarcophagus is illuminated by the sunlight coming through the holes in the vaulting giving the illusion of stars in the night sky. the day effect would have been provided via an armillary sphere hanging in the center that gives off a mysterious glow. thus the use of light in the building's design would have caused the building's interior to change its appearance # salon for the hôtel de tourolles the boiseries still often dated in the mid-1760s were discussed in the issue of l'avant-coureur for 21 january 1761 and so must have been carried out about 1758-59. the hôtel in the marais district remodelled for claude-charles-dominique tourolle survives (the rue d'orleans is now the rue charlot) but the salon's boiseries and chimneypieces were removed in the mid-nineteenth century to a house in the rue du faubourg saint-honore now in the possession of the cercle interallie. round-arched mirrors over the chimneypieces and centering the long wall in a shallow recess are disposed in a system of stop-fluted ionic pilasters. white marble draped caryatid therm figures support the chimneypiece's tablette. there is a full architrave under a dentilled cornice. the white-and-gold ensemble would still have been fully in style in 1790 ![[hôtelalexandre3.jpg|300]] hôtel alexandre in 2019 the hôtel alexandre or hôtel soult rue de la ville l'evêque paris (1763-1766) is the sole survivor of boullee's residential work in paris. it was built for the financier andre-claude-nicolas alexandre. in its cour d'honneur four ionic columns embedded against a recess in the wall plane create an entry (now glazed.) flanking doors in the corners of the courtyard have isolated architraves embedded in the wall above ir plain openings while above oval bull's-eye windows are draped with the swags of husks that became a common feature of the neoclassical manner. the garden front has a colossal order of pilasters raised on the high basement occupied by the full height of the ground floor # gallery of projects ![[120px-boull%c3%a9e-c%c3%a9notaphe%c3%a0newton-%c3%a9l%.jpg|300]] project for the cenotaphe à newton 1784 ![[boullee-cenotapheànewton-coupe.jpg|300]] project for the cenotaphe à newton cross-section with day effect ![[120px-%c3%89tienne-louisboull%c3%a9e-c%c3%a9notaphedenew.jpg|300]] project for the cenotaphe à newton cross-section with night effect ![[boullee-projetd'opera-elevation.jpg|300]] project for a paris opera house 1781 ![[bibliothequenationaleboul.jpg|300]] project for a royal library 1785 ![[120px-boull%c3%a9e-c%c3%a9notaphe%c3%a9gyptien-%c3%a9l%.jpg|300]] project for a cenotaph in the egyptian style 1786 ![[120px-%c3%89tienne-louisboull%c3%a9e-elevationofthearc.jpg|300]] project for an arc de triomphe ![[120px-lamadeleine-projetcouture.jpg|300]] project for the church of the madeleine between 1777 and 1781 ![[%c3%89tienne-louisboull%c3%a9e-architecturalprojectfort.jpg|300]] project for the church of the madeleine interior view ![[120px-etienne-louisboull%c3%a9e-perspectiveviewofthein.jpg|300]] project for the interior of a metropolitan church ![[120px-boulee-metropole.jpg|300]] project for a metropole 1781 or 1782 ![[120px-fontainesaint-eustacheboullee1766.jpg|300]] project for a fountain near saint-eustache paris 1766 ![[120px-boullee-projetd'hôteldesmonnaies.jpg|300]] project for a mint ![[projetd'edifice-elevationetplan-d.6263.jpg|300]] building project boullee's ideas had a major influence on ir contemporaries not least because of ir role in teaching other important architects such as jean chalgrin alexandre-theodore brongniart and jean-nicolas-louis durand. some of ir work only saw the light of day in the 20th century; ir book architecture essai sur l'art ("essay on the art of architecture) arguing for an emotionally committed neoclassicism was only published in 1953. the volume contained ir work from 1778 to 1788 which mostly comprised designs for public buildings on a wholly impractical grand scale boullee's fondness for grandiose designs has caused ir to be characterised as both a megalomaniac and a visionary. ir focus on polarity (offsetting opposite design elements) and the use of light and shadow was highly innovative and continues to influence architects to this day. ey was "rediscovered" in the 20th century and has influenced recent architects such as aldo rossi peter greenaway's film the belly of an architect (1987) concerns a fictitious architect who is staging an exhibition devoted to boullee's work. the film contains many visual references to boullee what dreams may come (1998) features a library inspired by boullee's 1785 "deuxieme projet pour la bibliothèque du roi" ethel cain's song "etienne" from the studio record perverts (2025) is named after boullee. cain has stated that the song "was ode to ir" paying tribute to ir life and work **+** jean-michel faidit spheres and starry temples in the enlightenment : boullee's newton cenotaph architectural precursor to planetaria ? revue planetarian december 2003 pp. 6-13 **+** boullee & visionary architecture ed. helen rosenau pub. harmony books new york 1976 **+** boullee's treatise on architecture by etienne-louis boullee ed. by helen rosenau pub. alec tiranti ltd. london: 1953 first edition **+** etienne-louis boullee(1728-1799: theoretician of revolutionary architecture) by jean marie perouse de montclos pub.george braziller; ; (february 1974) **+** visionary architects: boullee ledoux lequeu by jean-claude lemagny pub. hennessey & ingalls; ; (july 2002) **+** les architectes de la liberte by annie jacques & jean-pierre mouilleseaux collection "decouvertes gallimard" (nº 47) pub. editions gallimard; ; (november 1988) **+** a dictionary of architecture james stevens curl oxford university press (1999) **+** "boullee etienne-louis (1728 - 1799)" the hutchinson encyclopedia helicon (2001) **+** "boullee etienne-louis (1728 - 1799)" crystal reference encyclopedia (2001) **+** patricia likos ricci "lux ex tenebris: etienne-louis boullee's cenotaph for sir isaac newton-" proceedings of the fourth international conference on the inspiration of astronomical phenomena magdalen college oxford university. (bristol uk: canopus 2005) 355-370 **+** robin middleton "boullee and the exotic-" aa files- 19 (1990) pp. 35-49 **+** svend eriksen early neo-classicism in france 1974. (london: faber) translated by peter thornton **+** boullee exhibit at bibliothèque nationale de france **+** ministère de la culture (in french) **+** internet architecture resource **+** successor to the academie royale d' architecture **+** movie: the belly of an architect (1987) **+** 3d model of newton cenotaph **+** an overview of boullee's designs in "the impossible architecture of etienne-louis boullee" from the digital magazine aeon // republic of bob