Architectural ensembles of Paris. Empire style

After the completion of the main construction work in Versailles, at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, André Le Nôtre launched an active work on the redevelopment of Paris. He carried out a breakdown of the Tuileries Park, clearly fixing the central axis on the continuation of the longitudinal axis of the Louvre ensemble. After Le Nôtre, the Louvre was finally rebuilt, the Place de la Concorde was created. The great axis of Paris gave a completely different interpretation of the city, meeting the requirements of grandeur, grandeur and splendor.

The composition of open urban spaces, the system of architecturally designed streets and squares became the determining factor in the planning of Paris. The clarity of the geometric pattern of streets and squares linked into a single whole will become a criterion for assessing the perfection of the city plan and the skill of the city planner for many years. Many cities in the world will later experience the influence of the classic Parisian style.

The new understanding of the city as an object of architectural influence on a person finds clear expression in the work on urban ensembles. In the process of their construction, the main and fundamental principles of urban planning of classicism were outlined – free development in space and an organic connection with the environment. Overcoming the randomness of urban development, the architects sought to create ensembles designed for a free and unobstructed view.

Renaissance dreams of creating an “ideal city” were embodied in the formation of a new type of square, the boundaries of which were no longer the facades of certain buildings, but the space of adjacent streets and quarters, parks or gardens, and a river embankment. Architecture strives to connect in a certain ensemble unity not only structures directly adjacent to each other, but also very distant points of the city.

Second half of the 18th century and the first third of the 19th century. in France mark a new stage in the development of classicism and its spread in European countries – neoclassicism. After the Great French Revolution and the Patriotic War of 1812, new priorities appeared in urban planning, consonant with the spirit of their time. They found the most vivid expression in the Empire style. It was characterized by the following features: ceremonial pathos of imperial grandeur, monumentality, an appeal to the art of imperial Rome and Ancient Egypt, the use of the attributes of Roman military history as the main decorative motives.

The essence of the new artistic style was very accurately conveyed in the significant words of Napoleon Bonaparte:

“I love power, but as an artist … I love it in order to extract sounds, chords, harmony from it.”

The Empire style became the embodiment of the political power and military glory of Napoleon, served as a kind of manifestation of his cult. The new ideology fully corresponded to the political interests and artistic tastes of the new era. Large architectural ensembles of open squares, wide streets and avenues were created everywhere, bridges, monuments and public buildings were erected to demonstrate the imperial grandeur and power of power.

For example, the Austerlitz Bridge reminded of the great battle of Napoleon and was built from the stones of the Bastille. A triumphal arch was erected on Carrousel Square in honor of the victory at Austerlitz. Two squares (Concord and Stars), separated from each other at a considerable distance, were connected by architectural perspectives.

The Church of Saint Genevieve, erected by J.J. Soufflot, became the Pantheon – the resting place of the great people of France. One of the most spectacular monuments of that time is the column of the Great Army on the Place Vendome. Similar to the ancient Roman column of Trajan, it was supposed, according to the architects J. Honduin and J. B. Leper, to express the spirit of the New Empire and the thirst for greatness of Napoleon.

In the interior bright decoration of palaces and public buildings, solemnity and stately pomp were especially highly valued, their decor was often overloaded with military paraphernalia. The dominant motives were contrasting color combinations, elements of Roman and Egyptian ornaments: eagles, griffins, urns, wreaths, torches, grotesques. The Empire style was most clearly manifested in the interiors of the imperial residences of the Louvre and Malmaison.

The era of Napoleon Bonaparte ended by 1815, and very soon they began to actively eradicate its ideology and tastes. The Empire, which disappeared like a dream, left works of art in the Empire style, which clearly testify to its former greatness.