Fréart de Chambray
Encyclopedia
Roland Fréart, sieur de Chambray (1606–1676) was a French
theorist of architecture
and the arts
; though not a practitioner himself, his two major publications appeared at a moment when French architects were struggling to apply a new sense of discipline and order to the practice of building.
, the superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi
, to secure the services of the best French artist in Rome, Nicolas Poussin
, and to arrange for casts and copies to be made of the best antiquities in Roman collections, for the French royal palaces. Casts of bas-reliefs sent back to Paris found use in the decor of the ceiling compartments in the Grand Galerie of the Palais du Louvre
. There were also seventy casts from reliefs of sections of Trajan's Column
. Chantelou returned to Italy in 1643, with projects to cast the colossal horsemen of the Quirinal in bronze for the main entrance to the Louvre, but the death of Richelieu, the disgrace of Sublet de Noyer and the death of the King (1642-43) brought these ambitious projects to naught (Haskell and Penny 1981: 32).
Fréart de Chambray completed a translation of the full text of Andrea Palladio
's Quattro Libri (Venice 1570) into French for the first time. An earlier publication of the first book only, by Pierre Le Muet
(1645), had made a very free translation, adjusted to conform to French practice; it proved popular and was freely pirated in the following decades. Fréart's translation, completed about 1641, which had also been commissioned by his cousin Sublet de Noyers hung fire as Sublet de Noyers was first disgraced (1643), then died in 1645. Following a stay in Rome, Fréart published it in Paris, 1650. Its "Dédicace à ses frères" is an open letter to his brother connoisseurs and patrons, hoping "to banish this capricious and monstrous fashion of building that some moderns have unhappily introduced as a heresy in the art, by I know not what licentiousness against its precepts and Reason itself". Fréart substitutes his elegant and literate dedication for Palladio's original dedication, and reprints the woodcuts from the Venice edition, which he had brought to Paris for the express purpose.
The same year, 1650, he published an anthology of ten ancient and modern writers on the classical orders, his Parallèle de l’architecture antique avec la moderne, which marked the first complete translation of Vitruvius
into French and upheld the superiority of the Ancients over the Moderns, a polemic that was to erupt in the following decades into a virtual culture war
. In his preface, Fréart de Chambray argues that the Classical orders (the Doric, the Ionic, and Corinthian) which he assigns to Greek precedents, are perfect models for all architecture; he condemns the "Roman orders" (the Tuscan and the Composite) as corrupt. Citing the use of the Corinthian order
in the Temple of Solomon, he declares it to be the ‘flower of Architecture and the Order of Orders'. To Fréart de Chambray, who illustrated his text with copious engravings, Vitruvius and his translators were beyond reproach.
His Parallèle was translated into English— the translator was the distinguished connoisseur John Evelyn
— as A parallel of the antient architecture with the modern: in a collection of ten principal authors who have written upon the five orders ... (London:"Printed by Tho. Roycroft for John Place") 1664.
In 1651, he put his excellent command of Italian and his connoisseurship to good use in a translation of Leonardo da Vinci
's Trattato della pittura. His Idée de la perfection de la peinture appeared in 1662, providing a text that was fundamental to French academic painting into the following century..
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
theorist of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
; though not a practitioner himself, his two major publications appeared at a moment when French architects were struggling to apply a new sense of discipline and order to the practice of building.
Biography
Fréart de Chambray and his brother, Jean Fréart, sieur de Chantelou, were sent to Rome in 1640, commissioned by their cousin François Sublet de NoyersFrançois Sublet de Noyers
François Sublet de Noyers , one of Cardinal de Richelieu's political creatures, who derived his position and political weight from the Cardinal's consistent patronage, was a secretary of state to Louis XIII, and a member of his Conseil du Roi...
, the superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi
Bâtiments du Roi
The Bâtiments du Roi was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.-History:...
, to secure the services of the best French artist in Rome, Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
, and to arrange for casts and copies to be made of the best antiquities in Roman collections, for the French royal palaces. Casts of bas-reliefs sent back to Paris found use in the decor of the ceiling compartments in the Grand Galerie of the Palais du Louvre
Palais du Louvre
The Louvre Palace , on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, is a former royal palace situated between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois...
. There were also seventy casts from reliefs of sections of Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
. Chantelou returned to Italy in 1643, with projects to cast the colossal horsemen of the Quirinal in bronze for the main entrance to the Louvre, but the death of Richelieu, the disgrace of Sublet de Noyer and the death of the King (1642-43) brought these ambitious projects to naught (Haskell and Penny 1981: 32).
Fréart de Chambray completed a translation of the full text of Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
's Quattro Libri (Venice 1570) into French for the first time. An earlier publication of the first book only, by Pierre Le Muet
Pierre Le Muet
Pierre Le Muet was a French architect famous for his book Manière de bâtir pour toutes sortes de personnes , and for the châteaux he constructed, most notably Tanlay in Burgundy, as well as some modest houses in Paris, the grandest of which, the Hôtel d’Avaux survives and has recently been...
(1645), had made a very free translation, adjusted to conform to French practice; it proved popular and was freely pirated in the following decades. Fréart's translation, completed about 1641, which had also been commissioned by his cousin Sublet de Noyers hung fire as Sublet de Noyers was first disgraced (1643), then died in 1645. Following a stay in Rome, Fréart published it in Paris, 1650. Its "Dédicace à ses frères" is an open letter to his brother connoisseurs and patrons, hoping "to banish this capricious and monstrous fashion of building that some moderns have unhappily introduced as a heresy in the art, by I know not what licentiousness against its precepts and Reason itself". Fréart substitutes his elegant and literate dedication for Palladio's original dedication, and reprints the woodcuts from the Venice edition, which he had brought to Paris for the express purpose.
The same year, 1650, he published an anthology of ten ancient and modern writers on the classical orders, his Parallèle de l’architecture antique avec la moderne, which marked the first complete translation of Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
into French and upheld the superiority of the Ancients over the Moderns, a polemic that was to erupt in the following decades into a virtual culture war
Culture war
The culture war in American usage is a metaphor used to claim that political conflict is based on sets of conflicting cultural values. The term frequently implies a conflict between those values considered traditionalist or conservative and those considered progressive or liberal...
. In his preface, Fréart de Chambray argues that the Classical orders (the Doric, the Ionic, and Corinthian) which he assigns to Greek precedents, are perfect models for all architecture; he condemns the "Roman orders" (the Tuscan and the Composite) as corrupt. Citing the use of the Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
in the Temple of Solomon, he declares it to be the ‘flower of Architecture and the Order of Orders'. To Fréart de Chambray, who illustrated his text with copious engravings, Vitruvius and his translators were beyond reproach.
His Parallèle was translated into English— the translator was the distinguished connoisseur John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
— as A parallel of the antient architecture with the modern: in a collection of ten principal authors who have written upon the five orders ... (London:"Printed by Tho. Roycroft for John Place") 1664.
In 1651, he put his excellent command of Italian and his connoisseurship to good use in a translation of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's Trattato della pittura. His Idée de la perfection de la peinture appeared in 1662, providing a text that was fundamental to French academic painting into the following century..
External links
See also
- Paul Fréart de ChantelouPaul Fréart de ChantelouPaul Fréart de Chantelou was a French collector. He patronised and encouraged major artists of his era, in particular Nicolas Poussin and Gian Lorenzo Bernini .-Chantelou and Poussin:...
, another brother