3.1. General overview of architectural monuments trends, directions, development

In the formation of French architecture in the 17th century. the following principles, directions and tendencies can be distinguished.

1. Closed, fenced-in castles are transformed into open, unfortified palaces, which are included in the general structure of the city (and palaces outside the city are linked to a vast park). The form of the palace - a closed square - opens and turns into an "U-shaped" or, as later in Versailles, even more open. The separated parts are transformed into elements of the system.

By order of Richelieu, from 1629, it was forbidden to build defensive structures in the castles of the nobility, moats with water became elements of architecture, walls and fences were of a symbolic nature, and did not perform a defensive function.

2. Orientation to the architecture of Italy (where most of the French architects studied), the desire of the nobility to imitate the nobility of Italy - the capital of the world - brings a significant proportion of the Italian Baroque to French architecture.

However, during the formation of the nation, restoration takes place, attention is paid to their national roots, artistic traditions.

French architects often came from building artels, from the families of hereditary masons, they were more practitioners, technicians than theoreticians.

The pavilion system of castles is popular in medieval France, when the pavilion was built and the gallery was connected to the rest. Initially, the pavilions could be built at different times and even have little to do with each other in appearance and structure.

Materials and construction techniques also left their imprints on the established traditions: well-processed limestone was used in the construction - the nodal points of the building, supporting structures, were made from it, and the openings between them were laid with bricks or large "French windows" were made. This led to the fact that the building had a clearly visible frame - paired or even triple columns or pilasters (arranged in "bundles").

Excavations in the south of France provided the craftsmen with magnificent examples of antiquity, with the most common motif being a free-standing column (rather than a pilaster or column in a wall).

3. By the end of the XVI century. the construction intertwined magnificent Gothic, late Renaissance features and baroque traditions.

Gothic was preserved in the verticalism of the main forms, in the complex lines of the horizon of the building (due to the convex roofs, and each volume was covered with its own roof, numerous pipes and turrets broke through the horizon line), in the loading and complexity of the upper part of the building, in the use of individual Gothic forms.

The late Renaissance features were expressed in clear floor divisions of buildings, in analyticity, clear boundaries between parts.

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A representative of the synthesis of different traditions is the "Portico of Delorme" - an architectural element that has been actively used in France since the middle of the 16th century. It is a three-tiered portico with clear horizontal divisions so that the vertical dominates in the total volume, and the horizontal dominates in each of the tiers. The upper tier is heavily loaded with sculpture and decor, the portico is decorated with a pediment. The influence of the Baroque led to the fact that from the end of the 16th century, pediments began to be made curvilinear, with broken lines. The entablature line of the third tier often broke through, creating an upward movement in the upper part of the building. By the middle of the 17th century, the portico of Delorme became more classical, the upper tier was lightened, the lines of the entablature and pediment were aligned.

The Luxembourg Palace in Paris (architect Solomon de Bross, 1611) can be considered a representative of the architecture of the beginning of the century, synthesizing these traditions.

4. On this rich soil of French traditions in architecture, classicism grows.

Classicism of the first half of the century coexists in interaction with Gothic and Baroque features and is based on the specifics of French national culture.

Facades are being freed, cleaned of decor, becoming more open and clear. The laws, according to which the building is built, are unified: gradually there is one order for all facades, one level of floor divisions for all parts of the building. The upper part of the building becomes lighter, it becomes more constructively built - at the bottom there is a heavy basement, covered with large rustication, higher is the lighter main floor (floors), sometimes an attic. The skyline of the building ranges from the almost flat horizontal of the eastern façade of the Louvre to the picturesque line of Maison-Laffitte and Vaux-le-Vicomte.

An example of "pure" classicism, freed from the influences of other styles, is considered the eastern facade of the Louvre and, after it, the building of the Versailles complex.

However, as a rule, architectural monuments of France of the 17th century. represent an organic living combination of several influences, which allows us to speak of the originality of French classicism of the era in question.

5. Among secular palaces and castles, two areas can be distinguished:

1) the castles of the nobility, the new bourgeois, they represented freedom, the strength of the human person;

2) the official, representative direction, visualizing the ideas of absolutism.

The second direction was just beginning to emerge in the first half of the century (Palais Royal, the Versailles complex of Louis XIII), but it was formed and fully manifested in the creations of mature absolutism of the second half of the century. It is with this direction that _________ Lecture 87________________________________________

the formation of official imperial classicism (this is primarily the eastern facade of the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles).

The first direction was implemented mainly in the first half of the century (which corresponded to a different situation in the state), François Mansart (1598 - 1666) became the leading architect.

6. The most striking example of a group of castles of the first direction is the Maison-Laffitte Palace near Paris (architect François Mansart, 1642-1651). It was built for the President of the Paris Parliament, Rene de Langeuil, near Paris, on the high bank of the Seine. The building is no longer a closed square, but a U-shaped structure in the plan (three pavilions are connected by galleries). The facades have clear floor divisions and are divided into separate volumes. Traditionally, each volume is covered with its own roof, the skyline of the building becomes very picturesque, it is complicated by pipes. The line separating the main volume of the building from the roof is also quite complex and picturesque (while the divisions between the floors of the building are very clear, clear, straight and never break through, not distorted). The facade as a whole has a flat character, however, the depth of the facade of the central and side projections is quite large, the order either leans against the wall with thin pilasters, then recedes from it in columns - depth appears, the facade becomes open.

The building opens to the outside world and begins to interact with it - it is visually connected with the surrounding space of the "regular park". However, the interaction between the building and the surrounding space is different from how it was implemented in Italy in the Baroque monuments. In French castles, a space arose around the building, subordinate to architecture, it was not a synthesis, but rather a system in which the main element and subordinates were clearly distinguished. The park was located in accordance with the axis of symmetry of the building, elements closer to the palace repeated the geometric shapes of the palace (the parterres and pools had clear geometric shapes). Thus, nature seemed to be subordinate to the building (man).

The center of the façade is marked by the portico of Delorme, which combines Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque traditions, but compared to earlier buildings, the upper tier is not so heavily loaded. The building has a distinctly Gothic vertical and an aspiration to the sky, but it is already balanced and dissected by clear horizontal lines. It can be seen how horizontal and analyticity, geometrism, clarity and tranquility of forms, simplicity of boundaries dominate in the lower part of the building, but the higher, the more complicated the boundaries are, verticals begin to dominate.

The work is a model of a strong person: at the level of earthly affairs, he is strong in reason, rationalistic, strives to be clear, subordinates nature, sets models and forms, but in his faith he is emotional, irrational, sublime. A skillful combination of these characteristics is characteristic of the work of François Mansart and the masters of the first half of the century.

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The Maison-Laffitte castle played an important role in the development of the type of small "intimate palaces", including the small palaces of Versailles.

An interesting landscape ensemble of Vaux-le-Vicomte (author Louis Levo, Jules Hardouin Mansart, 1656 - 1661). It is the culmination of the line of palaces of the second direction and the basis for the creation of a masterpiece of French architecture - the garden and park ensemble of Versailles.

Louis XIV appreciated the created creation and took a team of craftsmen for the construction of the royal country residence of Versailles. However, what they did on his order, collects both the experience of Vaux-le-Vicomte and the built eastern facade of the Louvre (a separate section will be devoted to the Versailles ensemble).

The ensemble is built like a large regular space dominated by a palace. The building was built in the traditions of the first half of the century - high roofs over each volume (even a "blown roof" over the central projection), clear-cut floor divisions in the lower part of the building and the complexity of the upper structure. The palace contrasts with the surrounding space (even separated by a moat with water), it does not merge with the world into a single organism, as was done in Versailles.

The regular park is a composition of water and grass parterres strung on an axis; the sculptural image of Hercules, standing on a dais, closes the axis. The apparent limitation, the "finiteness" of the park (and, in this sense, the finiteness of the power of the palace and its owner) was also overcome at Versailles. In this sense, Vaux-le-Vicomte continues the second direction - the visualization of the strength of the human personality, which interacts with the world as a hero (opposing the world and subjugating it with a visible effort). Versailles, however, synthesizes the experience of both directions.

7. Second half of c. gave development to the second direction - buildings that visualize the idea of \u200b\u200babsolutism. First of all, this manifested itself in the construction of the Louvre ensemble.

By the end of the 16th century, the ensemble contained the Tuileries palaces (Renaissance buildings with clear floor divisions, with Gothic high roofs, broken chimneys) and a small part of the southwestern building, created by the architect Pierre Lescaut.

Jacques Lemercier repeats the image of Leveaux in the northwestern building, and between them sets the Pavilion of the Clock (1624).

The western façade is characterized by baroque dynamics, culminating in the blown roof of the Clock Pavilion. The building has a loaded high upper tier, a triple pediment. On the façade, the porticoes of Delorma are repeated several times.

In the second half of the XVI century. in France, very little was built (due to civil wars), by and large the western facade is one of the first large buildings after a long break. In a sense, the western façade solved the problem of reconstruction, restoration of what had been developed by French architects and renovation using new material from the 17th century.

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In 1661, Louis Leveaux began to complete the complex and by 1664 he completed the Louvre square. The southern and northern facades repeat the southern one. The project of the eastern facade was suspended and a competition was announced, participation in which was actively offered to Italian architects, in particular, the famous Bernini (one of his projects has survived to this day).

However, the competition was won by the project of Claude Perrault. The project is surprisingly unexpected - it does not follow from the development of the other three buildings. The eastern facade of the Louvre is considered an example of the official, absolutist classicism of the 17th century.

A sample was selected - paired Corinthian columns, which are drawn along the entire facade with variations: on the galleries, the columns are far from the wall, rich chiaroscuro appears, the facade is open, transparent. On the central risalit, the columns are close to the wall and slightly parted on the main axis; on the side risalits, the columns turn into pilasters.

The building is extremely analytical - clear, easily identifiable volumes, straight boundaries between parts. The building is built clearly - from one point you can see the structure of the entire facade. Dominated by the horizontal roof.

The Perrault façade has three projections, continuing the logic of the pavilion system. In addition, Perrault's order is not placed in single columns along the facade, as Bernini intended, but in pairs - this is more in line with French national traditions.

Modularity was an important principle of creating the facade - all the main volumes are kept in the proportions of the human body. The facade simulates a human society, understanding French citizenship as "alignment", subordination to the same laws, which are kept, set by Louis XIV depicted on the axis of the pediment. The facade of the Louvre, like any masterpiece of art, transforms the person-recipient standing in front of it. Due to the fact that it is based on the proportion of the human body, a person identifies himself with the colonnade in the emerging illusory world and straightens up, as it were, in a row of other citizens, while knowing that the top of everything is the monarch.

It should be noted that in the eastern facade, despite all the severity, there is a lot of Baroque: the depth of the facade changes several times, disappearing towards the side facades; the building is decorated, the columns are very elegant and voluminous and are not evenly spaced, but accented in pairs. Another feature: Perrault was not very careful about the fact that three buildings have already been built, and its facade is 15 meters longer than necessary to complete the square. As a solution to this problem, a false wall was built along the southern façade, which, like a screen, enclosed the old façade. Thus, the apparent clarity and severity hides deception in itself, the external appearance of the building does not correspond to the internal one.

The Louvre ensemble was completed by the building of the College of the Four Nations (architect Louis Leveaux, 1661 - 1665). On the axis of the Louvre square was placed a semicircular facade wall, on the axis of which there is a large domed temple and Lecture 87

a portico protruded towards the palace. Thus, the ensemble visually gathers a large space (the Seine flows between the two buildings, there is an embankment, squares).

It should be emphasized that the building of the College itself is located along the Seine and has nothing to do with the semicircular wall - again, the reception of theatrical screen is repeated, which performs an important symbolic, but not constructive function.

The resulting ensemble gathers the history of France - from the Renaissance Tuileries palaces through the architecture of the beginning of the century and to mature classicism. The ensemble also brings together secular France and Catholic, human and natural (river).

8. In 1677, the Academy of Architecture was created, the task was to accumulate the experience of architecture in order to develop "ideal eternal laws of beauty", which had to be followed by all further construction. The Academy gave a critical assessment of the principles of the Baroque, recognizing them as unacceptable for France. The ideals of beauty were based on the image of the eastern facade of the Louvre. The image of the eastern facade with various national treatments was reproduced throughout Europe; the Louvre was for a long time a representative of the city palace of the absolutist monarchy.

9. The artistic culture of France was of a secular nature, so more palaces were built than temples. However, in order to solve the problem of uniting the country and creating an absolute monarchy, it was necessary to involve the church in solving this problem. Cardinal Richelieu, the ideologist of absolutism and counter-reformation, was especially attentive to the construction of churches.

Small churches were built throughout the country, and a number of large religious buildings were created in Paris: the Sorbonne Church (architect Lemercier, 1635 - 1642), the cathedral of the Val-de-Gras convent (architects François Mansart, Jacques Lemercier), 1645-1665 ). In these churches, magnificent baroque motifs are clearly manifested, but still the general structure of architecture is far from the baroque of Italy. The scheme of the Sorbonne church later became traditional: the main volume is cruciform in plan, columnar porticoes with pediments at the ends of the branches of the cross, a dome on a drum above the cross. Lemercier introduced Gothic flying buttresses into the construction of the church, giving them the appearance of small volutes. The domes of the temples of the first half of the century are grandiose, have a significant diameter, and are loaded with decor. The architects of the first half of the century were looking for a measure between the grandeur and scale of the dome and the balance of the building.

Of the later religious buildings, the Cathedral of the Invalides (architect J.A. Mansart, 1676 - 1708), attached to the House of Invalids, a strict military structure, should be noted. This building has become one of the verticals of Paris; it is a representative of the classicism style in religious buildings. The building is a grandiose rotunda, each of the entrances is designated by a two-tiered portico with a triangular pediment.

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The building is extremely symmetrical (square in plan, three identical porticos on the sides, round dome). The inner space is based on a circle, it is emphasized by the fact that the floor in the center of the hall is lowered by 1 meter. The cathedral has three domes - the outer gilded dome "works" for the city, the inner one is broken through and in its center one can see the middle - parabolic dome. The cathedral has yellow windows, as a result of which there is always sunlight in the room (symbolizing the Sun King).

The cathedral interestingly combines the tradition of building churches that arose in France (dominant dome, flying buttresses in the dome in the form of volutes, etc.) and strict classicism. The cathedral almost did not function as a temple; it soon became a secular building. Apparently, this is due to the fact that it was built not for reasons of ensuring the Catholic cult, but as an iconic building - a reference point of the grandiose ensemble of the left bank of the Seine, symbolizing the power of the Sun King.

Around the House and the Cathedral of the Invalids, a large regular space was built, subordinate to the cathedral. The cathedral is the focal point that collects Paris.

10. Restructuring of Paris

Paris developed rapidly and became the largest city in Europe at that time. This posed difficult tasks for the city planners: it was necessary to streamline the tangled, spontaneously formed network of streets, provide the city with water and dispose of waste, build many new housing, build clear landmarks and dominants that will mark the new capital of the world.

It would seem that to solve these problems it is necessary to rebuild the city. But even rich France cannot do it. City planners have found great ways to cope with the difficulties that have arisen.

This was solved by including in the cobweb of medieval streets of individual large buildings and squares, building a large space around them in a regular manner. This is, first of all, the large ensemble of the Louvre (which has gathered around itself "palace Paris"), the Palais Royal, the ensemble of the Invalides Cathedral. The main verticals of Paris were built - the domed churches of the Sorbonne, Val-de Grae, the Invalides. They set landmarks in the city, making it clear (although, in fact, huge areas continued to be a network of tangled streets, by setting a coordinate system, a sense of clarity of a huge city arises). In some parts of the city, straight avenues were built (rebuilt), opening a view of the named landmarks.

Squares were an important means of ordering the city. They locally set the ordering of space, often hiding chaos of residential areas behind the facades of buildings. The representative of the square of the beginning of the century is the Place des Vosges (1605 - 1612), the second half of the century - the Place Vendôme (1685 - 1701).

Place Vendôme (J.A. Mansart, 1685 - 1701) is a square with cut corners. The square is built up with a united front of buildings Lecture 87

palace type (mature classicism) with porticoes. In the center stood an equestrian statue of Louis XIV by Girardon. The entire square was created as a decoration for the statue of the king, which explains its closed nature. Two short streets open onto the square, overlooking the image of the king and covering other points of view.

It was strictly forbidden in Paris to have large private land plots and, especially, vegetable gardens. This led to the fact that monasteries for the most part were taken out of the city, hotels from small castles turned into city houses with small courtyards.

But the famous Parisian boulevards were built - places that combined driveways and green paths for walking. The boulevards were built in such a way that they overlooked one of the iconic points of absolutist Paris.

The entrances to the city were ordered and marked with triumphal arches (Saint-Denis, architect F. Blondel, 1672). The entrance to Paris from the west was supposed to correspond to the entrance to Versailles, the Champs Elysees were built in the design of the Parisian part - an avenue with symmetrical front buildings. The nearest suburbs were annexed to Paris, and in each of them either a view of the vertical landmarks of the city was provided through several open streets, or its own landmark point (square, small ensemble) was built, symbolizing the united France and the power of the Sun King.

11. The problem of creating new housing was solved by creating a new type of hotel that dominated French architecture for two centuries. The hotel was located inside the courtyard (in contrast to the bourgeois mansion, which was built along the street). The courtyard, bounded by the services, faced the street, and the residential building was located in the back, separating the courtyard from a small garden. This principle was laid down by the architect Lescaut back in the 16th century, and was reproduced by the masters of the 17th century: Hotel Carnavale (architect F. Mansart rebuilt Lescaut's creation in 1636), Hotel Sully (architect Andruet-Duceseau, 1600-1620) , Hotel Tübeuf (architect Plemue, 1600 - 1620), and others.

This layout had an inconvenience: the only courtyard was both ceremonial and economic. In the further development of this type, the residential and economic parts of the house are differentiated. In front of the windows of the residential building there is a front yard, and on the side of it - the second, economic: Hotel Liancourt (architect Plemue, 1620 - 1640).

François Mansart built many hotels, introducing many improvements: a clearer layout of the premises, low stone walls from the street side, the assignment of services to the sides of the courtyard. Trying to minimize the number of walk-through rooms, Mansart introduces a large number of stairs. The lobby and the main staircase become a must-have part of the hotel. Hotel Batsinier (architect F. Mansart, first half of the 17th century), Hotel Carnavale (1655 - 1666).

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Along with the reconstruction of the structure, the facades and roofs of hotels also change: the roofs become not so high due to the broken shape (the living quarters in the attics were called mansards), the separate overlap of each part of the house is replaced by a common one, the porch and protruding porticos remain only in hotels in the squares. There is a tendency towards flattening of roofs.

Thus, the hotel is being transformed from a small analogue of a country palace into a new type of urban dwelling.

12. Paris of the XVII century. is a school for European architects. If until the middle of the XVII century. most of the architects went to study in Italy, then since the 60s, when Perrault won the competition from Bernini himself, Paris could present to architects around the world magnificent examples of architecture of various types of buildings, the principles of urban planning.

Works for review

The Luxembourg Palace in Paris (architect Solomon de Bross, 1611);

Palais Royal (architect Jacques Lemercier, 1624);

Sorbonne Church (architect Jacques Lemercier, 1629);

Orleans building of the castle in Blois (architect François Mansart, 1635 - 1638);

Maison-Laffite Palace near Paris (architect François Mansart, 16421651);

Val de Grae Church (architect Francois Mansart, Jacques Lemercier), 1645 -

College of the Four Nations (architect Louis Levo, 1661 - 1665);

House and Cathedral of the Invalides (architect Liberal Bruant, Jules Hardouin Mansart, 1671 - 1708);

Ensemble of the Louvre:

Southwest building (architect Lesko, XVI century);

Western building (the building of architect Lescaut is continued, built by architect Jacques Lemercier, 1624);

Clock Pavilion (architect Jacques Lemercier, 1624);

North and South buildings (architect Louis Levo, 1664);

East building (architect Claude Perrot, 1664);

Place des Vosges (1605 - 1612), Place Vendôme (architect Jules Hardouin Mansart, 1685 - 1701).

Hotels: Hotel Carnavale (architect F. Mansart rebuilt Lescaut's creation in 1636), Hotel Sully (architect Andrue-Dyceseau, 1600-1620), Hotel Tubeuf (architect P. Lemue, 1600-1620), Hotel Liancourt ( architect P. Lemue, 1620 - 1640), Hotel Batsinier (architect F. Mansart, first half of the 17th century);

Arc de Triomphe Saint-Denis, (architect F. Blondel, 1672);

The Vaux-le-Vicomte palace and park ensemble (author Louis Levo, Jules Hardouin Mansart, 1656 - 1661);

Palace and park ensemble of Versailles (author Louis Levo, Jules Hardouin Mansart, André Le Nôtre, beginning in 1664).

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3.2. Analysis of the masterpiece of French architecture of the 17th century. Garden and park ensemble of Versailles

The garden and park ensemble of Versailles is a grandiose structure, a representative of the art of the 17th century. The consistency of the ensemble, its grandeur and structure allows to reveal its essence through the concept of an artistic model. It will be shown below how this monument functions as an artistic model.

Cognition with the help of a model is based on the replacement of the object of modeling by another object, isomorphic to the one being investigated in terms of a number of relevant properties. Due to the fact that the model is more accessible to research than the cognized object, it allows you to discover new properties and essential connections. The results obtained in the study of the model are extrapolated to the cognizable object.

The operability of the model makes it possible to perform certain actions with it, to build experiments in which the essential properties of the model and, therefore, the object under study are manifested. Effective schemes of action can be transferred to the study of the cognizable object. The model concentrates in itself the essential properties of the object under study and has a large information capacity.

The model substitution is based on the isomorphism (correspondence) of the cognized object and the model, therefore the knowledge obtained in the process of modeling is true in the classical sense of correspondence to the object under study.

A work of art meets all the principles of the general scientific method of modeling and, therefore, is a model. The specific features of a work of art as a model and the process of artistic modeling itself include the following:

The master, acting as a researcher, models extremely complex objects that reveal the meaning of human existence; he necessarily builds isomorphism between obviously non-isomorphic structures;

The property of visualization acquires an attributive character in artistic models;

Due to the high status of visibility in artistic models, ontology increases (identification of the model with the object under study, model interaction with a real relationship);

A work of art realizes its cognitive essence through a special skill. The tempting beginning of the artistic model unfolds in relation to the artist and the artistic material, giving rise to a new quality in the form of a sensibly manifested essence. The viewer, in the process of an ideal relationship with a work of art, discovers new knowledge about himself and the world.

The creation and action of an artistic model are carried out only in relation to when the subject is not eliminated from the relation, but remains Lecture 87

a necessary element of it. Therefore, the attitude becomes an attribute quality of the artistic model and the modeling process.

The garden and park ensemble of Versailles is a system of artistic elements.

The construction of the Versailles ensemble began in 1661, the main buildings were erected during the 17th century, but the transformations continued throughout the next century. The garden and park ensemble of Versailles is a gigantic complex of various structures, built on the outskirts of the small town of Versailles, 24 kilometers from Paris. The complex is located along a single axis and includes sequentially:

1) access roads to the city of Versailles,

2) the square in front of the palace,

3) the Grand Palace itself with many pavilions,

4) water and herbal parterres,

5) the main alley,

6) The Grand Canal,

7) many bosquets,

8) various fountains and grottoes,

9) regular park and irregular,

10) two other palaces - Grand and Small Trianons.

The described set of buildings obeys a strict hierarchy and forms a clear system: the main element of the composition is the King's Large Bedroom, further, by the degree of distance from the center, the building of the new palace, a regular park, an irregular park and access roads to the city of Versailles. Each of the named components of the ensemble is a complex system and, on the one hand, is uniquely different from other components, on the other hand, it is included in an integral system and implements the laws and rules common to the entire ensemble.

1. The king's large bedroom is located in the building of an old palace from the time of Louis XIII, it is highlighted from the outside by the "Delorme portico", a balcony and an elaborate pediment. The entire ensemble is systematically organized and subordinated to the Large bedroom, this is provided in several ways.

Firstly, it was in the King's Great Bedroom and the rooms surrounding it that the main official life of Louis XIV took place - the bedroom was the most significant place in the life of the French court. Second, it is located on the axis of symmetry of the ensemble. Thirdly, the figurative symmetry of the facade of the old palace breaks down into submission to mirror symmetry, further emphasizing the elements of the axis. Fourthly, a fragment of the old palace, in which the bedroom is located, is surrounded by the main building of the palace as a protective wall, it seems to be guarded by the main building as something most sacred, like an altar (which is emphasized by the location of the ensemble relative to the cardinal points). Fifth, the specific architecture of the first half of the 17th century. contrasts with the new building and other parts of the ensemble: the old building has high roofs with lucarnes, curved Lecture 87

pretentious pediment, vertical clearly dominates - in contrast to the classicism of the rest of the ensemble. The axis of symmetry above the king's bedroom is marked by the highest point of the pediment.

2. The new palace was built in the style of classicism. It has three floors (rusticated basement, a large main floor and an attic), arched windows on the first and second floors and rectangular windows on the third, classical Ionic porticoes, on which instead of a pediment there are sculptures, the flat roof is also decorated with sculptures. The building has a clear structure, geometric shapes, clear divisions, powerful figurative and mirror symmetry, a clear dominant of the horizontal, it adheres to the principle of modularity and antique proportions. At all times, the palace was painted yellow, sunny. On the side of the park facade, on the axis of symmetry, there is the Mirror Gallery - one of the main diplomatic rooms of the king.

The new palace plays its part in a holistic composition. First, it surrounds the old building with the main element - the King's Great Bedroom, designating it as the central, dominant element. The new palace is located on the axis of symmetry of the ensemble. Secondly, the building of the palace in the clearest, most concentrated way sets the main standards of the ensemble - the geometrism of forms, clarity of structure, clarity of articulations, modularity, hierarchy, “sunshine”. The palace displays samples to which all other elements of the ensemble correspond to one degree or another. Thirdly, the new palace has a great length, thanks to which it is visible from many points of the park.

3. The regular park is located near the palace in accordance with the same main axis of the ensemble. It combines in itself, on the one hand, the liveliness and organic nature of nature, on the other hand, the geometry and clarity of the building. Thus, the regular park is correlated with the main element of the system, obeying it in form and structure, but at the same time filled with a different - natural - content. Many researchers reflect this in the metaphor of "living architecture".

The regular park, like all elements of the structure, obeys the main axis of the ensemble. In the park, the axis is distinguished by the Main Alley, which then turns into the Grand Canal. On the Main Alley, fountains are sequentially located, also emphasizing and highlighting the main axis.

The regular park is divided into two parts according to the distance from the palace and the erosion of the patterns set by the main building - these are parterres and bosquets.

Water and grass parterres are located in the immediate vicinity of the palace and follow its shape. Water fills rectangular pools, doubling the image of the palace and creating another line of symmetry between water and sky. Grass, flowers, shrubs - everything is planted and trimmed in accordance with the forms of classical geometry - rectangle, cone, circle. The parterres as a whole obey the axis of symmetry of the palace. The space of the parterres is open, its structure is clearly readable.

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The atmosphere of sunshine is preserved. As well as the building of the palace, the strict geometric straight borders of the parterres are decorated with sculpture.

On the sides of the main axis are the so-called bosquettes (baskets) - a small open area surrounded by trees. The bosquets contain sculptures and fountains. The bosquets are no longer symmetrical to the single axis of the palace and are extremely diverse; the space of the bosquets is less clear. However, they all have internal symmetry (usually central) and a ray structure. In the direction of one of the alleys emanating from the bosquet, the palace is always visible. The bosquets as an element of the system are subordinated to the palace in a different way than the parterres - exemplary forms are less clearly read, although the general principles are still preserved.

The main alley turns into the Grand Canal. Water spaces are built in the same way as vegetation: water spaces of a clear geometric shape are located on the axis and near the palace, and distant pools have a more free shape, less clear and open structure.

There are many alleys between the bosquettes, but only one of them - the Main Alley-Canal - has no visible end - it seems to dissolve in a haze due to its great length. All other alleys end with a grotto, a fountain or just a platform, once again emphasizing the uniqueness - one-man command - of the Main Axis.

4. The so-called irregular park differs from the rest of the really "irregular" curvilinear alleys, asymmetric plantings and free, uncut, seemingly unkempt, untouched greenery. However, in fact, it is extremely thoughtfully connected with the whole ensemble, obeying the same rational, but more hidden laws. Firstly, the main axis is never crossed by plantings or buildings - it remains free. Secondly, small architectural forms clearly repeat the motives of the palace. Thirdly, so-called "ah-ah-gaps" are made in the foliage, through which the palace is visible even at a great distance. Fourth, fountains, grottoes and small sculptural groups are linked by the same theme and style to each other and to the corresponding elements of the regular park. Fifth, the connection with the whole is established by maintaining the solar open atmosphere.

5. The entrance to the residence is a system of three highways that converge in front of the main palace on Arms Square at the point of the sculptural image of the monarch. Highways lead to Paris (central), as well as to Saint-Cloud and Sau, where in the 17th century. were the residences of Louis and from where there were direct trips to the main European states.

Access roads to the ensemble are also an element of the system, since they obey its basic rules. All three highways have buildings that are symmetrical about their axes. The symmetry of the main axis (going to Paris) is especially emphasized: on the sides of it are the stables of the royal musketeers and other service buildings, identical in Lecture 87

both sides of the highway. The three axes converge in front of the balcony of the Great King's Bedroom. Thus, even a space of several kilometers around the ensemble is subordinate to the system-forming element of the model.

Moreover, the ensemble is built into a large supersystem - Paris and France. Arable land and vineyards (about 20 km) were located from Versailles to Paris in the middle of the 17th century, and it was simply impossible to build the Versailles-Paris link directly. The task of including the model in the supersystem was skillfully solved due to the appearance of the Champs Elysees at the exit from Paris - a ceremonial avenue with a symmetrical building, repeating the structure of the central access highway in Versailles.

So, the landscape gardening ensemble of Versailles is a strict hierarchical system in which all elements are subject to a single rule, but at the same time they have their own unique feature. This means that the Versailles ensemble can claim to be a model, since any model is a well-thought-out system of elements. However, to reveal the modeling essence of the chosen work of this fact is not enough, it is also necessary to show that the Versailles ensemble serves as a means of cognition, replacing a certain object under study.

Further, the Versailles ensemble is analyzed as an actual model that implements cognitive functions. To do this, it is necessary to show that the work replaces (simulates) a certain object, the study of which was relevant for the authors of the model. The creators of this model are several masters at once. Initially in 1661, Louis Leveaux (architect) and André Le Nôtre (master of park art) were involved in the project. Then the circle of authors expanded - Charles Lebrun (interiors, fine arts), Jules Hardouin-Mansart (architect) began to work. The sculptors Kuazevox, Toubi, Leongre, Mazelin, Juvane, Kuazvo and many others participated in the creation of various elements of the complex.

Traditionally, in the art studies of Versailles, one of the main authors of the ensemble, Louis XIV, remains aside. It is known that the king was not only the customer for the construction of the complex, but also the main ideologist. Louis XIV was well versed in architecture and considered architecture an extremely important symbolic part of state power. He professionally read the drawings and carefully, repeatedly discussed with the craftsmen the construction of all his residences.

The Versailles ensemble was deliberately built by masters (including Louis XIV - the architect) as the main official royal residence, so it is natural to assume that the object of modeling was the French statehood or some of its aspects. The creation of the Versailles complex helped its authors understand how a united powerful France can be arranged, how it is possible to assemble the disparate parts of the country into a single whole, how to unite the nation, Lecture 87

what is the role of the king in creating and maintaining a powerful national state, etc.

The proof of this statement will be carried out in several stages.

1. The Versailles ensemble is a model of the King of France.

in several ways. First, by placing the King's Bedroom in the center of the ensemble.

Secondly, using the traditional lily as an important element - the oldest symbol of the king. Louis XIV gave a new meaning to this ancient symbol. Known for his saying "I will gather France into a fist!" The "lily" sign is located above the entrance to the residence, its stylized image is repeated many times in various interiors of the palace.

However, the most important thing is that the geometry of the royal symbol "lily" is the basis for the composition of the ensemble. The composition "lilies" is realized through three highways converging in front of the royal balcony, continuing from the park side with alleys, and the isthmus joining them - the royal part of the palace, including the Great Bedroom of the old castle and the Mirror Gallery of the new building.

Thirdly, the location of the ensemble to the cardinal points and its axial structure give grounds for comparing the complex with a giant, ecumenical Catholic church. The most holy place of the temple - the altar - corresponds to the Great Royal Bedroom. This correlation is reinforced by the surroundings of the bedroom with more powerful modern buildings, the shrine is placed inside and guarded, even somewhat hidden.

Thus, the ensemble simulates the leading role of the king in Versailles and, therefore, in France in the 17th century. According to the constructed model, the role of the king is to resolutely, even if forcibly, pulling together the "stubborn petals" - the provinces and regions of the state. The whole life of the king consists in official service to the state (it is not for nothing that the dominant feature of the ensemble is the bedroom). The king is the absolute ruler, collecting both secular and spiritual power.

2. Versailles ensemble - a model of France in the second half of the 17th century.

Known thesis of Louis XIV "France is me". According to this

to thesis, the Versailles complex, simulating the king, simultaneously simulates France. The strict systemic and hierarchical nature of the model is extrapolated to the role and place of the king in the French state of the 17th century, but also to France itself of the period in question. Everything that has been said above about the king can be extrapolated to France.

The Versailles complex as a model of France allows you to find out the main features state structure country. Above all, France - One Lecture 87

a hierarchical system, collected by a single law, rule, will. This unified law is based on the will of the king - Louis XIV, next to whom the world is built and becomes clear, geometrically precise.

This is superbly visualized by the architect L. Levo in the overall compositional structure of the ensemble. The new classicist palace hugs the center - the Grand Royal Bedroom - and sets the standard for clarity and clarity for the entire structure. Near the palace, nature obeys and takes on the forms and patterns of the building (first of all, this is realized in the parterres), then the standards begin to gradually blur, the forms become freer and more diverse (bosquets and an irregular park). However, even in the far corners (seemingly free from the power of the king), gazebos, rotundas and other small architectural forms with their symmetry and clarity of forms remind of the law to which the whole obeys. In addition, through the “ah-ah-tears” skillfully cut in the foliage, now and then a palace appears in the distance as a symbol of the presence of the law in all of France, wherever her subjects are.

The palace sets the norms for the structure of France as a system (clarity, clarity, hierarchy, the presence of a single law, etc.), showing the most distant elements of the periphery what to strive for. The main building of the palace with a dominant horizontal line, powerful portable symmetry and Ionic porticoes along the entire length of the facade models France as a state based on its citizens. All citizens are equal and subject to the main law - the will of King Louis XIV.

The Versailles complex reveals the principles of the structure of an ideal state with a powerful single power.

3. The Versailles ensemble simulates the role of France as the capital of Europe and the world.

Louis XIV claimed not only the creation of a powerful unified state, but also a leading role in Europe at that time. The authors of the ensemble have implemented this idea in various ways, revealing the essence of France, the capital of the world, in the process of building a model.

First of all, this is done with the help of the composition "sun", which, by virtue of the well-known metaphor of the "Sun King", turns to the leading role of Louis XIV. The composition "lily" turns into the composition "sun", since the symbolism of the sun has a broader context. We are talking about world domination, because the sun is one for the whole world and shines for everyone. The monument simulates the role of Louis XIV \u003d France as shining to the whole world, revealing light, bringing wisdom and goodness, laws and life. The rays of the "sun" radiate from the center - the Grand Royal Bedroom - around the world.

In addition to the indicated symbolism of the sun, it is additionally emphasized:

By creating a common solar atmosphere of the ensemble - yellow and white in the color of the palace itself, the sun shine of jets of water, Lecture 87

large windows and mirrors in which the sun color multiplies and fills all spaces;

Numerous fountains and sculptural groups correspond to the "solar theme" - ancient heroes of myths associated with the sun god Apollo, allegories of day, night, morning, evening, seasons, etc. For example, the fountain of Apollo, located on the central axis, was read by contemporaries as follows: "The sun god Apollo in a chariot, surrounded by trumpeting newts, jumps out of the water, welcoming his older brother" (Le Tru a);

various solar symbols were used, appropriate flowers were selected (for example, the most common flowers in the park are jonquil daffodils);

the bosquets are arranged according to the ray structure; the motive of the circle is constantly repeated in the fountains;

The sun symbol is located on the altar of the royal chapel, and its ceiling contains the image of the diverging rays of the sun, etc.

In addition to the symbolism of the sun, Versailles modeled the dominant position of France in Europe at that time and with the help of "direct analogy", surpassing all the royal residences of Europe of that time in many parameters.

First of all, the ensemble under consideration had the largest dimensions for similar structures - in terms of area (101 hectares), along the length of the main alleys and canals (up to 10 km), along the length of the palace facade (640 m). Versailles also surpassed all European residences in the diversity, splendor, and skill of its elements (each of which was a separate work of art), in their rarity and uniqueness, and in the high cost of materials. The many fountains with water shortages in most European capitals of the 17th century were "challenging".

The superiority of the Versailles royal ensemble corresponded to the historical position of France in Europe in the second half of the 17th century: during the time of Louis XIV, the country gradually annexed its border regions, the regions of the Spanish Netherlands, some territories of Spain, Germany, Austria, expanded colonies in America and Africa; Paris was the largest city in Europe at that time; France had the largest army, navy and merchant fleet “surpassing even the English”, the largest industrial growth, the most thoughtful tariff policy, and so on. The superlative degree was applicable to the position of France in the period under review in many respects.

The large area of \u200b\u200bthe park, its “endlessness” created the impression of the unlimited possession of France, the center of not even Europe, but the world. This simulated quality (to be the capital of the world, to own the world) was enhanced by the considerable length of the main alley of the park (about 10 km together with an irregular part) and the resulting promising optical effect. Since parallel lines converge at infinity, the direct visibility of the convergence of parallel lines. Lecture 87

lines (the boundaries of the alley and the canal) visualizes infinity, makes infinity visible.

The main alley was perfectly visible from the Mirror Gallery, one of the palace's most formal places for diplomatic meetings and processions. We can say that "from the windows of the gallery a view of infinity opened up", and this infinity of the world belonged to the park, the sovereign, France. The astronomical discoveries of modern times turned the idea of \u200b\u200bthe structure of the Universe upside down and showed that the world is infinite, and man is just a grain of sand in the boundless space of space. However, the masters (the authors of the ensemble) skillfully “placed infinity within the framework of the royal residence”: yes, the world is infinite, and this whole world is owned by Louis XIV \u003d France. At the same time, the scale of Europe turned out to be insignificant and lost, Versailles became the capital of the world. Extrapolating this statement, any French citizen and representative of another state understood that France is the capital of the world.

The location of the ensemble to the cardinal points ensured the highest actualization of the modeled position at sunset, when it was seen from the windows of the Mirror Gallery that the sun was setting exactly at the infinity point of the park (hence, the world). If we take into account the "Sun King" metaphor, then the extrapolated knowledge about the world turns into the following: the sun at sunset says goodbye to its elder brother and, obeying his will (his rule, his park), sits in the place of the world that is intended for him.

Significant complexity and incredible, unprecedented for those times, diversity of the ensemble's components, which included, according to the descriptions of contemporaries, "everything in the world", turned Versailles into a model of the world as a whole.

France's claim to owning the world required modeling everything known to Europeans in the world. In this respect, palm trees are indicative as a model of Africa - a tree outlandish for a northern country and specific precisely for the conquered and annexed “southern end of the world”. The model was built into the royal ensemble, thus demonstrating the inclusiveness and subordination of the southern continent of France.

France's leading role in Europe has been modeled and cleverly designed with access roads. L.Levo led to the Marble Courtyard, into which the windows of the Great Royal Bedroom, three highways. The highways led to the main residences of Louis - Paris, Saint-Cloud and Saut, from where the main routes to the main European states went. The main Paris-Versailles highway at the exit from Paris (Champs Elysees) repeated its structure as the entrance to the Versailles ensemble, again subordinating Paris to Versailles, despite the distance of tens of kilometers.

Thus, thanks to the modeling capabilities of the Versailles ensemble, all of Europe converged on the square in front of the palace, visualizing the phrase "All roads lead ... to Paris."

An important aspect of France's international politics has been modeled through the Mirror Gallery, which connects two corner pavilions - the Hall of War and the Hall of Peace. Each of the halls is decorated according to the name Lecture 87

and, according to the descriptions of contemporaries, it was even accompanied by appropriate - warlike or peaceful - music. The reliefs of each of the halls model Louis XIV and France, sometimes as a powerful aggressive force, sometimes as merciful to those who bow to its will.

The situation modeled by the Mirror Gallery corresponded to the complex domestic and foreign policy of the king and the state, which combined a powerful, aggressive military strategy with "cunning", full of intrigues and secret alliances. On the one hand, the country was constantly at war. On the other hand, Louis XIV did not miss a single opportunity to strengthen the influence of France by "peaceful means", from claims to the inheritance of his Spanish wife, to bringing all legally inaccurate provisions in his direction and organizing multiple secret and explicit alliances.

The plan of the palace reveals a large number of courtyards, the existence of which is impossible to guess, standing in front of the facade of the palace or even walking through its halls. The presence of secret courtyards and passages, false walls and other spaces does not contradict the systematic nature of the work as a whole. On the contrary, in the context of modeling, this fact indicates the real situation in the formation of the French state in the second half of the 17th century: external prosperity and clarity of rules, on the one hand, and the presence of secret intrigues and shadow politics, on the other. In the process of creating the most complex system of Versailles, the authors deliberately introduced secret passages and hidden courtyards, thereby revealing and proving the need for state administration of political intrigues and collusion, unions.

Thus, each element of the ensemble has modeling capabilities, and the entire system of elements as a whole is a model of French statehood, its principles of structure and contradictions.

The authors of the ensemble - Louis XIV, Louis Levoy, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, André Le Nôtre, Charles Lebrun and others modeled a powerful absolute monarchy as an ideal state. To do this, they selected old means of artistic modeling, came up with new means or changed existing ones.

Using the experience of modeling the state structure already accumulated in the history of art, the authors acted as users of available artistic models - Ancient Egyptian architectural complexes, Roman forums of the empire period, national palace ensembles of the early 17th century. and others. However, as a result of collective creative activity, the authors of Versailles created a fundamentally new artistic model, which allows us to call the masters the authors of the model.

Architects, artists, interior, garden and park masters of subsequent generations mastered the methodological and technical principles and techniques created by the authors of the ensemble. Lecture 87 was built throughout Europe in subsequent centuries in the leading European states.

numerous "Versailles" - royal residences, modeling the general principles of the structure of the monarchical state of a particular country. These are the garden and park complexes of Caserta in Italy, JIa Granja in Spain, Drottningholm in Sweden, Hett Loo in Holland, Hemptoncourt in England, Nymphenburg, Sanssouci, Herrnhausen, Charlottenburg in Germany, Schönbrunn in Sweden, Peterhof in Russia. Each of the creators of such ensembles used certain modeling principles developed by the creators of the Versailles complex.

In the 17th century, a single French state was formed, which became the most powerful power in Western Europe. In the 2nd half of the 17th century, Louis XIV ruled the "sun king", as he was called. This time was the pinnacle of French absolutism, and in Western literature it was called the "great age". Great - above all for the splendor of the ceremony and all types of arts, in different genres and in different ways, glorified the person of the king.

In 1671 the Academy of Architecture was founded. With the arrival of Louis IV, all arts are under the absolute control of the king.

Baroque at this time is relegated to the background, and "classicism" officially becomes the leading style of all art. Classicism is based on the traditions of the art of the Renaissance and antiquity. This is the last great style in architecture, sculpture and painting. Art should uplift the heroic, highly civil, it should have taught, praised the dignity of man, condemned vices.

It is significant that during this period for the construction of architectural structures they began to invite not famous masters Baroque, as, for example, Bernini, and French architects, little known by that time.

Thus, for the construction of the eastern facade of the Louvre, a project by the French architect Perrault is chosen. The Colonnade by Claude Perrault is a vivid example of classicism: architecture is simple and rational, with a mathematically verified balance of mass, creates a sense of peace and grandeur, which is more consistent with the prevailing ideal of the era.

Gradually, classicism also penetrates into the construction of churches and cathedrals (Arduin Mansart's Cathedral of the Invalides in Paris)

But most of all architects are concerned with the problem of the relationship between the ensemble of the palace and the park. Architects Louis Leveaux and André Le Nôtre first try to solve this problem in the palace and park of Vaud le Vicomte near Melen (1657 - 1661).

The Palace of Vaud is rightly considered the prototype of the main creation of the second half of the 17th century - the Versailles Palace and Park. In a rather desolate area, 18 km from Paris, a fabulous palace (1668-1669) grew, fountains began to flow in a waterless place, and a giant park grew.

The Royal Palace of Versailles was built by architects Leveaux (1661 - 1668), F. Orbet (1670 - 1674), and at the last stages of its construction, Arduen Mansart (1678 - 1689) took part.

From the gigantic square in front of the palace there are three avenues, three roads - to Paris, Saint-Cloud and Sau (also the residence of the king).

The palace, the facade of which stretches for half a kilometer, has three floors: the first is the base, heavy, masonry, the second is the main, ceremonial and therefore the highest, and the third, crowning the building and light. The exterior of the building is classically austere, the alternation of windows, pilasters, columns creates a clear, calm rhythm.

All this does not exclude a lush decorative interior decoration. The interiors of the palace consist of a suite of rooms, the top of the luxurious decoration of which was supposed to be the king's bedroom, where his day begins and ends and where audiences take place. The Mirror Gallery (73 m long, 10 m wide, built in 1678-1680) between the War Hall and the Peace Hall, with windows overlooking the garden, on one side, and mirrors in the light of candles multiplied, crushed the reflection of the elegant court crowd - on the other.

The Park of Versailles is, like the entire ensemble, a program piece. This is a regular park, which began in Vaud, i.e. a park in which everything is verified, which is lined with alleys and where places for fountains and sculptures are determined, where the will and mind of a person affects everything. The total length of the park is about three kilometers; its creator was the architect Le Nôtre.

The decorative work in Versailles was headed by the "first painter of the king", director of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture, director of the tapestry manufactory Charles Lebrun. Lebrun's "language" is a mixture of classic orderliness and majesty with the pathos of the baroque, with arrogance.

Undoubtedly Lebrun had a great decorative gift. He also made cardboards for tapestries, drawings for furniture, and altar images. To a large extent, it is Lebrun that French art owes to the creation of a single decorative style, from monumental paintings and paintings to carpets and furniture.

Since the second half of the 17th century, France has firmly and for a long time occupied a leading place in the artistic life of Europe. But at the end of the reign of Louis IV, new trends, new features appear in art, and the art of the 18th century will have to develop in a different direction.

Chapter “Art of France. Architecture". Section "Art of the 18th century". General History of Art. Volume IV. Art of the 17th-18th centuries. Author: L.S. Alyoshina; edited by Yu.D. Kolpinsky and E.I. Rotenberg (Moscow, State Publishing House "Art", 1963)

If the 17th century in the architecture of France was marked by grandiose construction works for the king, the main result of which was the creation of a monumental ensemble of Versailles, where the style of classicism itself in its imposing splendor reveals elements of an internal connection with Baroque architecture, then the 18th century brings with it new trends.

Construction has moved to cities. The new needs of the era posed the problem of creating a type of urban residential house-mansion. The development of bourgeois relations, the growth of trade and industry, and the strengthening of the role of the third estate in public life put forward the task of constructing new public buildings - stock exchanges, commercial premises, public theaters. The growing role of cities in the economic and political life of the country, the emergence of new types of private and public buildings pose new requirements for architects in creating an urban ensemble.

The architectural style of the era is also undergoing changes. The great unity of figurative solutions of the external appearance and internal space, characteristic of the classicism of the last century, by the beginning of the 18th century. disintegrates. This process of decay is accompanied by the separation of building practice and theoretical teachings, the difference in the principles of interior and facade design. Leading architects in their theoretical works still worship antiquity and the rules of the three orders, but in their direct architectural practice they deviate from the strict requirements of logical clarity and rationalism, subordination to the private whole, and clear constructiveness. The work of Robert de Cott (1656-1735), successor of Jules Hardouin-Mansart as royal architect (he completed the construction of the chapel of the Palace of Versailles, beautiful in its strict, noble architecture), is a convincing example of this. In the buildings built by him in the 1710s. Parisian mansions (Hotel de Toulouse and Hotel d'Estre) notice the relief of architectural forms, the free development of decor.

The new style, called Rococo or Rocaille, cannot be viewed from only one side, seeing in it only a reactionary and hopeless product of a decadent class. This style reflected not only the hedonistic aspirations of the aristocracy. In Rococo, some of the progressive tendencies of the era were also refracted in a peculiar way; hence - the requirements for a freer planning that corresponds to the real life, a more natural and lively development, internal space. The dynamics and lightness of the architectural masses and decor were opposed to the ponderous pomp of the interiors in the era of the highest power of French absolutism.

At the beginning of the 18th century. the main construction is still carried out by the aristocracy, but its character is changing significantly. The place of manor castles is occupied by city mansions, the so-called hotels. The weakening of absolutism was also reflected in the fact that the nobility left Versailles and settled in the capital. In the green outskirts of Paris - Saint Germain and Saint Oporet - one after another during the first half of the century, luxurious mansion-hotels with extensive gardens and services were built. Unlike the palace buildings of the previous century, which pursued the goals of imposing representativeness and solemn grandeur, in the mansions being created now, great attention is paid to the real convenience of life. The architects abandon the chain of large halls, stretching out in a solemn suite, in favor of smaller rooms, located more naturally in accordance with the needs of private life and public representation of the owners. Many tall windows illuminate the interior well.

By their location in the city, hotels of the first half of the 18th century. represented to a large extent still a transitional phenomenon from a country estate to a city house. This is a closed architectural complex, a kind of estate inside the city quarter, connected to the street only by the front gate. The house itself stands in the depths of the site, facing out onto a vast courtyard lined with low office space. The opposite façade faces the regular garden.

In hotels of the first half of the 18th century. most clearly manifested a characteristic contradiction of French architecture of this era - the discrepancy between outdoor architecture and interior decor. The facade of the building, as a rule, retains the traditional order elements, interpreted, however, more freely and lightly. Registration

the same internal premises often completely breaks with the laws of tectonics, merging the wall with the ceiling into an integral shell of internal space that has no definite boundaries. It is no coincidence that such a great role was acquired at this time by decorators, who were able to decorate the interior with amazing subtlety and perfection. The period of early and mature Rococo knows a whole galaxy of masters who created exquisite masterpieces of interior decoration (Gilles Marie Oppenor, 1672-1742; Just Aurel Meissonier, 1693-1750, and others). Often a building was built by one architect and designed by another. But even when all the work was carried out by one master, his approach to solving the external appearance of the hotel and its internal premises was fundamentally different. One of the most prominent Rococo architects Germaine Beaufrand (1667-1754), in his treatise "Livre d" Architecture "(1745), bluntly said that nowadays interior decoration is a completely separate part of architecture, which does not reckon with the decoration of the exterior of the building. In his practice, he consistently pursued this thesis.In the architecture of the Luneville castle, in the hotels in Naisi, built in the 1720s, one can feel adherence to the traditions of classicism - the central part is clearly distinguished, emphasized by a portico with columns or pilasters. stucco details and comparative lightness of order elements.

Beaufrand decides his interiors in a completely different way. A shining example of this is the interior decor of the Soubise Hotel (1735-1740). Regardless of the appearance of the mansion, which was made by Delamere in 1705-1709. in the classic tradition, Beaufrand gives the hotel rooms the character of graceful bonbonnieres. Carved panels, stucco ornaments, picturesque panels cover the walls and ceiling with a solid carpet. The effect of these exquisitely ornate, whimsically light forms must be particularly impressive in contrast to the more restrained architecture of the façade.

Religious construction during this period was incomparably less important than secular. The buildings of the previous century were mostly completed.

Such is the Church of Saint Roche in Paris, begun by Robert de Cott in the late 17th century. and Completed after the death of this architect by his son J.-R. de Cottom.

The more interesting Parisian church of Saint-Sulpice, also begun in the 17th century. By the 20s. 18th century the main façade remained unfinished. It was designed by several architects. The project of the famous decorator Meissonier (1726), who tried to transfer the principles of rocaille to outdoor architecture, was rejected. In 1732, another decorator, Jean Nicola Servandoni (1695-1766), won the competition announced for the design of the facade, turning to classical forms in his solution. His idea formed the basis for further construction. The facade of the church is divided into two tiers, each of which has its own order. Towers rise on both sides of the façade.

From the second quarter of the 18th century. the rich commercial cities of the province began to play an increasingly prominent role in French construction. At the same time, the matter was not limited to the construction of individual buildings. The entire system of the old feudal city with chaotic buildings, with an intricate network of streets, included in the tight framework of city fortifications, came into conflict with the new needs of the growing commercial and industrial centers. The preservation of many key positions for absolutism, however, led to a rather compromise solution of urban planning problems at first. In many cities, the reconstruction of certain parts of the old city is carried out at the expense of the arrangement of royal squares. The tradition of such squares dates back to the 17th century, when they were created not with the aim of ordering the chaos of a medieval city, but as an open place for the installation of a statue of the king. Now the reason remained, as it were, the same - all that arose in the 18th century. during the period of the monarchy, the squares were called upon to serve as a monument to the monarch, but the architects themselves pursued much broader urban planning tasks.

One of the first areas of a new type associated with the redevelopment and development of entire city blocks was the square in Bordeaux. Its designer and builder was Jacques Gabriel (1667-1742), a representative of the famous from the 16th century. dynasty of architects, father of the famous architect Jacques Anges Gabriel.

Work on the planning and development of the square began in 1731. The site was allocated for it on the banks of the wide Garonne. The architect widely and diversified the possibilities of creating a new ensemble, covering a significant part of the city and connecting it with the natural environment.

Jacques Gabriel began his work in Bordeaux with the demolition of old nondescript buildings on the river bank and the construction of a magnificent embankment. The city turned its face to Garonne - its main decoration. This turn was intended to fix both the square, wide open to the river, and the layout of the two streets flowing into the square. Using the planning principle of Versailles, the architect applied it to a new social and artistic organism - the city, solving it on a broader basis. The buildings located on the sides of the square were intended for the trade and economic needs of the city: on the right - the stock exchange, on the left - the building of the tax office. Their architecture is distinguished by restraint and graceful simplicity. The construction of the stock exchange and the central pavilion between the two streets was completed after the death of Jacques Gabriel by his son. A number of innovative principles of the Bordeaux square - its open character, its appeal to the river, its connection with the city quarters by means of street-rays - Jacques-Ange Gabriel soon developed brilliantly in his work on the Place Louis XV in Paris.

If the ensemble of the square in Bordeaux gave a solution that anticipated many planning principles of the subsequent time, then another remarkable ensemble of the mid-18th century. - a complex of three squares in Nancy, more connected with the past, - as it were, sums up the methods of organizing space of the Baroque Epoch.

Three squares of different outlines - the rectangular Stanislav Square, the long Carriere square and the oval Government square - form a closely united and internally closed organism that exists only in a very relative connection with the city. The oval courdoner of the Government Palace is separated by an arcade from the surrounding area of \u200b\u200bthe city and park. Active movement from it can, in fact, develop only forward through the boulevard-like Carriere square and the triumphal arch, so that, coming out to Stanislav Square, it immediately turns out to be blocked by the monumental building of the town hall. One gets the impression of two monumental Courdoners spread out in front of magnificent palaces and connected by a straight alley. It is characteristic that the streets overlooking Stanislav Square are separated from it by bars. The ensemble's charm is created by the festive architecture of the palaces, amazingly skillfully forged with gilded lattices, fountains at two corners of the square, kept in a single elegant and elegant Rococo tonality. The planner and architect of the main buildings was Beaufran's student Emmanuel Héré de Corny (1705-1763), who worked mainly in Lorraine. Built in 1752-1755, this complex in its forms and planning principles already looked somewhat anachronistic in comparison with the new movement in architecture that began at the end of the first half of the 18th century.

This movement, the influence of which had already marked the design of the square in Bordeaux, expressed itself in the abandonment of the extremes and quirks of Rococo in favor of a more reasonable orderly architecture, in an increased interest in antiquity. The connection between this movement and the strengthening of the positions of the bourgeoisie is beyond doubt.

It was at the turn of the first and second half of the century that the encyclopedists appeared who put forward the criterion of reason as the only measure of all things. From these positions, the entire feudal society and its offspring, the Rococo style, are criticized, as devoid of logic, rationality, naturalness. Conversely, all these qualities are seen in the architecture of the ancients. During these years, uvrazhi devoted to the monuments of ancient architecture appeared. In 1752, the well-known amateur and philanthropist Count de Cailus begins to publish the work "Collection of Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities." Two years later, the architect David Leroy travels to Greece and then publishes the title "Ruins of the Most Beautiful Structures of Greece". Among the theorists of architecture, Abbot Laugier stands out, whose "Studies in Architecture" published in 1753 evoked a lively response in wide circles of French society. Speaking from the standpoint of rationalism, he stands for reasonable, that is, natural architecture. The pressure of educational, ultimately democratic ideas was so great that it had an impact on the official artistic circles. The leaders of the artistic policy of absolutism felt the need to oppose something to the positive program of the encyclopedists, their convincing criticism of the illogical and unnatural art of Rococo. The Royal Government and the Academy are taking steps to wrest the initiative from the hands of the Third Estate and lead the emerging movement themselves. In 1749, a kind of artistic mission was sent to Italy, led by the brother of the all-powerful favorite of Louis XV, Madame Pompadour, the future Marquis of Marigny, who served as director of royal buildings. He was accompanied by the engraver Cochin and the architect Jacques Germain Soufflot, the future builder of the Parisian Pantheon. The purpose of the trip was to get acquainted with Italian art - this cradle of beauty. They visited the recently begun excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Souflo also studied the ancient monuments of Paestum. This whole trip was a sign of new phenomena in art, and its consequence was a further turn towards classicism and a more acute struggle with the principles of rocaille, even in various forms of decorative arts. At the same time, this journey provides vivid evidence of how differently the appeal to the ancient heritage was understood and what different conclusions were drawn from this by representatives of the ruling class and by the artists themselves. The results of Italian impressions and reflections poured out in Marigny's words: "I do not want neither the present excesses, nor the severity of the ancients - a little of that, a little different." He adhered to this compromise artistic policy in the future throughout his many years of work as the head of fine arts.

His travel companions, Cochin and Souflo, took a much more progressive and proactive attitude. The first published on his return the treatise "Review of the Antiquities of Herculaneum with several reflections on the painting and sculpture of the ancients" and then led a very sharp struggle in print against the principles of rocaille art, for the severity, purity and clarity of architectural and decorative forms. As for Souflo, his very additional trip to Paestum and the study on the spot of two remarkable monuments of Greek architecture testify to his deep interest in antiquity. In his construction practice, upon his return from Italy, the principles of classicism fully and uncompromisingly triumph.

In this transitional era, the creativity of the most captivating master of French architecture, Jacques Anges Gabriel (1699-1782), took shape and flourished. Gabriel's style seems to meet the requirements of Marigny, but it is an extremely distinctive and organic phenomenon, generated by the natural, "deep" development of French architecture. The master has never been to Italy, let alone Greece. Gabriel's work, as it were, continued and developed the line of French architecture that was outlined in the later buildings of Jules Hardouin-Mansart (Grand Trianon and the Chapel at Versailles), in the eastern facade of the Louvre. At the same time, he also assimilated those progressive tendencies that were contained in Rococo architecture: its closeness to man, intimacy, as well as the exquisite subtlety of decorative details.

Gabriel's participation in the urban planning work of his father in Bordeaux prepared him well for solving ensemble problems that occupied by the middle of the 18th century. an increasingly prominent role in architectural practice. Just at this time in the press there is increasing attention to Paris, to the problem of turning it into a city worthy of the name of the capital.

Paris possessed wonderful architectural monuments, a number of squares created in the previous century, but all of these were separate, self-contained, isolated islands of organized development. In the middle of the 18th century, a square appeared that played a huge role in the formation of the ensemble of the Parisian center - the present Place de la Concorde. It owes its appearance to a whole team of French architects, but its main creator was Jacques-Ange Gabriel.

In 1748, on the initiative of the capital's merchants, the idea of \u200b\u200berecting a monument to Louis XV was put forward. The Academy has announced a competition to create an area for this monument. As you can see, the beginning was completely traditional, in the spirit of the 17th century - the square was intended for the statue of the monarch.

As a result of the first competition, none of the projects was chosen, but the place for the square was finally established. After the second competition, held in 1753 only among the members of the Academy, the design and development were entrusted to Gabriel, so that he could take into account other proposals.

The site chosen for the square was a vast wasteland on the banks of the Seine on the then outskirts of Paris, between the garden of the Tuileries Palace and the beginning of the road leading to Versailles. Gabriel has exploited the benefits of this open and coastal location with exceptional fruitfulness and promise. Its area became the axis of further development of Paris. This became possible due to her versatile orientation. On the one hand, the square is thought of as the vestibule of the Tuileries and Louvre palace complexes: it is not for nothing that three rays provided by Gabriel, provided by Gabriel, lead to it from outside the city - the avenues of the Champs Elysees, the mental point of intersection of which is at the entrance gate of the Tuileries Park. The equestrian monument of Louis XV is oriented in the same direction - facing the palace. At the same time, only one side of the square is architecturally accentuated - parallel to the Seine. It provides for the construction of two majestic administrative buildings, and between them projected Royal Street, the axis of which is perpendicular to the axis of the Champs Elysees - Tuileries. At the end of it, very soon, the construction of the Madeleine church by the architect Contana d'Ivry begins, with its portico and dome closing the perspective. On the sides of his buildings, Gabriel designs two more streets parallel to Royal. This gives another possible direction of movement connecting the square with other quarters growing city.

Gabriel decides the boundaries of the square in a very witty and completely new way. Building up only one of its northern sides, putting forward the principle of free development of space, its connection with the natural environment, he at the same time seeks to avoid the impression of its amorphousness and uncertainty. On all four sides, he designs shallow dry ditches, covered with green lawns, bordered by stone balustrades. The gaps between them give an additional clear accent to the beams of the Champs Elysees and the axis of the Rue Royal.

In the appearance of the two buildings that close the northern side of the Concorde Square, the characteristic features of Gabriel's work are well expressed: a clear, calm harmony of the whole and details, the logic of architectural forms that is easily perceived by the eye. The lower tier of the building is heavier and more massive, which is emphasized by the large rustication of the wall; it bears two other tiers, united by Corinthian columns, a motif that goes back to the classical eastern façade of the Louvre.

But Gabriel's main merit lies not so much in the masterful solution of the facades with their slender fluted columns rising above the powerful arcades of the lower floor, but in the specifically ensemble sound of these buildings. Both of these buildings are inconceivable without each other, and without the space of the square, and without a structure located at a considerable distance - without the Madeleine Church. Both buildings of the Concorde Square are oriented towards it - it is no coincidence that each of them does not have an accented center and is, as it were, just one of the wings of the whole. Thus, in these buildings, designed in 1753 and beginning to be built in 1757 -1758, Gabriel outlined the principles of volumetric-spatial solutions that would develop during the period of mature classicism.

The pearl of French architecture of the 18th century is the Petit Trianon, created by Gabriel at Versailles in 1762-1768. The traditional theme of a country castle is solved here in a completely new way. The small square building faces the space with all four of its facades. There is no such predominant accentuation of the two main facades, which until recently was so characteristic of palaces and estates. Each of the parties has an independent meaning, which is reflected in their different solutions. And at the same time, this difference is not cardinal - it's like variations of one theme. The facade facing the open space of the parterre, perceived from the farthest distance, is interpreted in the most plastic way. Four additional columns connecting the two floors form a kind of slightly protruding portico. A similar motive, however in a changed form - the columns are replaced by pilasters - sounds in two adjacent sides, but each time is different, since due to the difference in levels in one case the building has two floors, in the other - three. The fourth facade, facing the thickets of the landscape park, is quite simple - the wall is dissected only by rectangular windows of different sizes in each of the three tiers. This is how Gabriel achieves an amazing richness and richness of impressions with meager means. Beauty is drawn from the harmony of simple, easily perceived forms, from the clarity of proportional relationships.

The interior layout is also designed with great simplicity and clarity. The palace consists of a number of small rectangular rooms, the decoration of which, built on the use of straight lines, light cold colors, and the parsimony of plastic means, corresponds to the graceful restraint and noble grace of the outer appearance.

Gabriel's work was a transitional link between the architecture of the first and second half of the 18th century.

In the buildings of the 1760-1780s. the younger generation of architects is already forming a new stage of classicism. It is characterized by a decisive turn towards antiquity, which has become not only the inspirer of artists, but also a treasury of the forms they use. The requirements of the rationality of an architectural work reach the point of rejection of decorative ornaments. The principle of utilitarianism is put forward, which is linked together with the principle of the naturalness of the building, the model of which is the ancient structures, as natural as utilitarian, all forms of which are dictated by reasonable necessity. The column, entablature, pediment, which have become the main means of expressing the architectural image, return to their constructive, functional meaning. Accordingly, the scale of order divisions is enlarged. For park construction, the same striving for naturalness is characteristic. Related to this is the rejection of the regular, "artificial" park and the flourishing of the landscape garden.

A characteristic phenomenon of the architecture of these pre-revolutionary decades is the predominance of public buildings in the construction. It is in public buildings that the principles of new architecture are most clearly expressed. And it is very significant that one of the outstanding architectural works of this period - the Pantheon - very soon turned from a building of cult purpose into a public monument. Its construction was conceived by Louis XV as the church of the patroness of Paris - St. Genevieve, the place where her relics are kept. The development of the project was entrusted in 1755 to Jacques Germain Souflot (1713-1780), who had just recently returned from a trip to Italy. The architect understood his task much broader than his client. He presented a plan that provided, in addition to the church, a vast area with two public buildings - the faculties of law and theology. In further work, Souflo had to abandon this plan and limit his task to the construction of a church, the whole appearance of which testifies, however, to the fact that the architect thought of it as a construction of a great public sound. The building, which is cruciform in plan, is crowned with a grandiose dome on a drum surrounded by columns. The main facade is emphasized by a powerful deep six-column portico with a pediment. All other parts of the wall were left completely blind, without openings. The clear logic of architectural forms is clearly perceived at the first glance. Nothing mystical and irrational - everything is reasonable, strict and simple. The same clarity and strict consistency is characteristic of the spatial solution of the temple interior. The rationalism of the artistic image, expressed in such a solemn and monumental manner, turned out to be extremely close to the perception of the world revolutionary yearsand the newly completed church was converted in 1791 into a monument to the great people of France.

Of the public buildings built in Paris in the pre-revolutionary decades, the Surgical School of Jacques Honduin (1737-1818) stands out. The project, on which he began to work in 1769, was distinguished by a great breadth of concept, which is generally a characteristic feature of the architecture of those years. Along with this building, Gondouin planned to rebuild the entire quarter. And although Honduin's plan was not fully implemented, the building of the School of Surgery itself, completed in 1786, was decided on a grand scale. It is a vast two-story building with a large courtyard. The center of the building is marked by an imposing portico. The most interesting part of the interior is the large semicircular hall of the anatomical theater with benches rising like an amphitheater and a captive vault - a kind of combination of half of the Roman Pantheon with the Colosseum.

The theater became a new widespread type of public building during this period. And in the capital and in many provincial cities, theater buildings are growing one after another, conceived by their appearance as an important part in the architectural ensemble of the urban public center. One of the most beautiful and significant structures of this kind is the Bordeaux theater, built in 1775-1780. architect Victor Louis (1731-1807). A massive volume of rectangular outlines is set in an open area of \u200b\u200bthe square. The twelve-column portico adorns one of the narrow sides of the theater building, imparting a solemn representativeness to its main entrance facade. Statues of muses and goddesses are installed on the entablature of the portico, defining the purpose of the building. The main staircase of the theater, at first one-marching, then dismembered into two sleeves leading in opposite directions, served as a model for many later French theater buildings. Simple, clear and solemn architecture of the theater in Bordeaux, clear functional solution of its interior space make this building one of the most valuable monuments of French classicism.

In the years under consideration, the activities of a number of architects began, whose work as a whole already belongs to the next period of French Architecture, inspired by the ideas of the revolution. In some projects and buildings, those methods and forms are already outlined that will become characteristic features of the new stage of classicism associated with the revolutionary era.

The idea of \u200b\u200bthe triumph of a centralized state finds expression in the monumental images of architecture, which for the first time on an unprecedented scale solves the problem of an architectural ensemble. A spontaneously emerging medieval city, a Renaissance palace, an isolated noble estate of the first half of the 17th century is being replaced by a new type of palace and a regular centralized city. New artistic features French architecture are manifested in the use of the order system of antiquity, in the holistic construction of volumes and compositions of buildings, in the approval of strict regularity, order and symmetry, combined with a craving for huge spatial solutions, including ceremonial park ensembles. The first large ensemble of such a mud was the palace of Vaux le Vicomte, the creators of which were Louis Leveaux (1612-1670) and the gardener-planner André Le Nôtre (1613-1700).

Lenotre
Park at the estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte
Suburb of Paris Melun

Left
Manor-palace Vaux-le-Vicomte
1658-1661, Melun

Later, new trends were embodied in the grandiose ensemble of Versailles (1668-1689), located 17 km south-west of Paris. Numerous architects, sculptors, painters, masters of applied and landscape gardening took part in its construction and decoration. Built back in the 1620s by the architect Lemercier as a small hunting castle for Louis XIII, Versailles was repeatedly completed and changed.

The idea of \u200b\u200bVersailles as a centralized ensemble, consisting of a well-planned city, a palace and a regular park, connected by roads to the whole country, most likely belonged to Louis Levo and André Le Nôtre. The construction of the palace was completed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) - he gave the palace a strict and imposing character.

Grand Trianon Palace, 1700
painting by an unknown artist

since 1668, Paris

Versailles is the main residence of the king, he glorified the boundless power of French absolutism. But the content of his ideological and artistic conception was not limited to this. Thoroughly thought out, rational in each part, the ensemble contained the idea of \u200b\u200bthe image of the state and society, based on the laws of reason and harmony. Versailles is an ensemble that has no equal in the world, "a kind of gigantic temple in the open air", it is "a poem of mankind in love with nature, dominating this very nature" (A. Benois).

The Versailles plan is clear, symmetrical and slender. The elongated palace dominates the surrounding area and organizes it. From the side of the city, in front of the palace, there are the central Honorary and Marble courtyards. Three radial avenues diverge from the square from the palace; the middle one leads to Paris. On the other side of the palace, the avenue turns into the main royal alley of the park, which ends with a large pool. Situated at right angles to this main axis of the entire ensemble, the facade of the palace forms a powerful horizontal.

From the side of the city, the palace retains the architectural features of the early 17th century. Its central part, with the intimate Marble Courtyard, gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe character of the hunting castle of Louis XIII, which Levo rebuilt with new buildings on three outer sides, enclosing the Marble Courtyard; added new premises to the ends of the building, forming a second central courtyard between the two parts of the palace protruding towards the city.

In this façade, the alternation of brick and cut stone gives rise to color and elegance; towers crowned with steep roofs and slender chimneys, service outbuildings, connecting with the palace, add picturesqueness to the entire composition. The successively decreasing courtyards formed by the ledges of the giant façade wings seem to introduce the visitor into the palace and at the same time link the palace with wide avenues diverging in different directions.

The façade of the park, started by Levo, but completed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, is distinguished by its unity and solemn rigor. Horizontal lines prevail in its stone massif. Gabled roofs were replaced with flat ones. The same height and linearity of all buildings are consonant with the outlines of the park and the "flat style" of the parterre layout. In the composition of the facade, the second floor (mezzanine) is highlighted, where the ceremonial premises are located. It is dismembered by slender Ionic columns and pilasters and rests on a heavy rusticated plinth. The third, smaller floor, treated as an attic, ends with a balustrade with trophies. The energetic protrusion of the central risolite with rhythmically protruding porticoes crowned with sculptures, with its picturesqueness, breaks the monotony of the facade and makes it spectacular.

In the central building of the palace, there are halls decorated with magnificent splendor for receptions and balls - the Mirror Gallery built by Mansar, flanked by the Hall of War and the Hall of Peace. A chain of ceremonial rooms, following a straight axis, emphasized by the axial arrangement of the doors, led to the king's bedroom. A single through movement was created by the suite. This movement is especially pronounced in the Mirror Gallery, striking in its length (length 73 m). It is enhanced by the rhythmic division of the walls, rows of arched trench openings, pylons, pilasters, mirrors, as well as large panel ceiling paintings, which were performed by Charles Lebrun and the artists of his workshop. These paintings, with their pompous allegorical images, served to exalt the deeds of the French sun king Louis XIV.

In creating the effect of splendor and splendor of the interiors of Versailles, a huge role was played by the decorative art, which reached a brilliant flourishing in the 17th century. Its masters were characterized by high technique of performance, understanding of the material, grace of taste. The designer of the ceremonial furniture was the carpenter André Charles Boulle (1642–1732). He perfected the technique of intarsia (mosaic) and inlay, using various types of wood, turtle shell plates, bronze, mother of pearl, ivory. In the decoration of the walls, along with sculpture and decorative bronze, tapestries woven at the Royal Tapestry Manufactory were used.

From the tall windows of the vaulted Gallery of Mirror, there was a vista of the Versailles Park with its fan-shaped axial composition and ever-expanding space. Terraces descend from here and alleys go into the distance of the park, ending with a mirror of the Grand Canal. The austere beauty of the ensemble is revealed in the clear architectonics of the geometric plan of green architecture, in the vastness and harmony of widely visible spaces. Dominating straight lines, smooth planes and geometric shapes of parterre, reservoirs, trimmed trees, flower beds united the park ensemble. In Versailles, the desire of man to subordinate nature to reason and will is manifested everywhere. This is the pinnacle in the development of the French so-called regular park.

Statues, sculptural groups, reliefs, herms, fountain compositions played an important role in the design of the palace and park ensemble. These are images of deities of forests, rivers of France, fields, allegories of the seasons, grotesque images. The sculpture also reminded of the triumph of France over Spain, glorified the valor of the king. The arrangement of the statues and groups followed the spatial rhythm of the ensemble. The vast territory of the park included many pools, canals; while the fountains spewed mighty cascades of water, in the water parterres the water lay flat, forming mirrored surfaces. The desire for pomp was combined in Versailles with a sense of proportion, the beginning of order.

Along with the construction of Versailles, attention was paid to the restructuring of old cities, and above all Paris. It was decorated with the ceremonial square of Saint Louis (now Vendôme), framed by palaces, the round Victory Square, which became the center of the city's street network, as well as the Place des Vosges. The so-called House of Invalids with a cathedral and a large square played an important role in the creation of the public center of Paris. Built by Arduin-Mansart in imitation of St. Peter's in Rome, the Cathedral of the House of Invalids with its majestic dome is lighter and stricter in its proportions.

The grand style of the era is vividly represented in the eastern façade of the Louvre (1667–1678), which was built by Claude Perrot (1613–1688) in addition to the main parts of the building, which were built earlier in the 16th century by the architects Pierre Lescaut and Lemercier. Decorated with a Corinthian colonnade, it stretches 173 meters and is designed to be perceived from a distance. The façade of the Louvre is vertically divided into three parts: the basement, the colonnade and the entablature. The colonnade covers two floors of the building in height (large order). Protruding in the middle and at the corners of the façade, risalits in the form of three classical porticos set off with their proportions the impressiveness of the colonnades placed between them. The impression of power is enhanced by the enlarged scale. For the same purpose, the colonnades are doubled, their rapid rhythmic arrangement contributes to the feeling of the gravity of the entablature. The Louvre Colonnade is perceived as an expression of immutable law and order. Placing a warrant on a high basement floor separates the building from the square and brings out an imprint of cold grandeur. A work of mature French classicism, the Louvre served as a model for many of the residences of rulers and government institutions in Europe.

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Architecture in FranceXVII century. Style definition problem

Introduction

The great geographical discoveries, begun back in the Renaissance, followed by the colonization of the New World, then the victory of heliocentric cosmogony, the theory of the infinity of worlds should have shaken the consciousness of people, changed their worldview. Renaissance anthropocentrism and naive belief in the harmony of the world no longer met the spiritual needs of man. If anthropocentrism remains unshakable, then where is this center in the infinity of the universe? “The entire visible world is just a barely perceptible touch in the vast bosom of nature. A man in infinity - what does he mean? " - wrote Pascal in the 17th century, as if in response to the Renaissance view of man as a "great miracle" that God put at the head of the world. In the 17th century, man already understands that he is neither the focus of the universe, nor the measure of all things.

The difference in the understanding of the place, role and capabilities of man is what distinguishes, first of all, the art of the 17th century from the Renaissance. This different attitude towards man is expressed with extraordinary clarity and accuracy by the same great French thinker Pascal: "Man is only a reed, the weakest of the creations of nature, but he is a thinking reed." In the 17th century, man created the most powerful absolutist states in Europe, formed the outlook of the bourgeois, who was to become one of the main customers and connoisseurs of art in subsequent times. The complexity and inconsistency of the era of intensive formation of absolutist national states in Europe determined the nature of the new culture, which is customarily associated in the history of art with the Baroque style, but which is not limited to this style alone. The 17th century is not only baroque art, but also classicism and realism [Ilyina 2000: 102] .

1. Architectural style in France 17th century

The history of art is sometimes seen as the history of successive styles. To replace the semicircular arches romanesque style came the Gothic pointed arches, which later originated in Italy, the Renaissance spread throughout Europe, defeating the Gothic. At the end of the Renaissance, a style arose that was called "baroque". However, if the previous styles have easily distinguishable features, it is not so easy to identify the features of the Baroque. The fact is that throughout the historical period from the Renaissance to the 20th century, architects operated with the same forms drawn from the arsenal of ancient architecture - columns, pilasters, cornices, relief decor and others. In a sense, it would be fair to say that the Renaissance style prevailed from the beginning of Brunelleschi's activity up to our time, and in many works on architecture this entire period is designated by the concept of "Renaissance". Of course, tastes, and with them architectural forms, have undergone significant changes over such a long time, and in order to reflect these changes, a need arose for smaller style categories.

It is curious that many of the concepts denoting styles at first were just abusive, contemptuous nicknames. Thus, the Italians of the Renaissance called the style "Gothic", which they considered barbaric, brought by the tribes of the Goths - the destroyers of the Roman Empire. In the word "mannerism" we can still distinguish the original meaning of mannerism, superficial imitation, for which the critics of the 17th century accused the artists of the previous period. The word "baroque", meaning "bizarre", "ridiculous", "strange", also appeared later as a stinging mockery in the fight against the style of the 17th century. This label was used by those who considered arbitrary combinations of classical forms in architecture unacceptable. With the word "baroque" they branded willful deviations from the strict norms of the classics, which for them was tantamount to bad taste. It is no longer so easy to see the differences between these directions in architecture. We are accustomed to structures in which there is both a daring challenge to the classical rules and their complete lack of understanding [Gombrich 1998: 289].

Art critics cannot agree on the style in the art of that time. The main question is how to distinguish between concepts such as baroque and classicism. Let's make a reservation right away that for different countries works of art that are attributed to one style or another will have their own characteristics. It is worth noting that the existence of the style in different parts of Europe has its own duration, which means that the time frame will be blurred. Let's turn to one of the modern dictionaries to indicate the main features of the Baroque. Baroque- (from Italian. barocco - bizarre, strange), an artistic style that occupied a leading position in European art from the end of the 16th to the middle of the 18th centuries. Born in Italy. The term was introduced at the end of the 19th century by the Swiss art critics J. Burckhardt and G. Wölfin. The style embraced all types of creativity: literature, music, theater, but it manifested itself especially clearly in architecture, fine and decorative arts. The Renaissance feeling of a clear harmony of the universe was replaced by a dramatic understanding of the conflict nature of being, endless diversity, the immensity and constant variability of the surrounding world, the power of powerful natural elements over man. The expressiveness of baroque works is often built on contrasts, dramatic collisions between the sublime and the low, the majestic and the insignificant, the beautiful and the ugly, the illusory and the real, light and darkness. The inclination to compose complex and verbose allegories coexisted with the utmost naturalism. Baroque works of art were distinguished by redundancy of forms, passion and tension of images. As never before, there was a strong feeling of the "theater of life": fireworks, masquerades, a passion for dressing up, reincarnation, all kinds of "tricks" brought a playful beginning to a person's life, unprecedented entertainment and bright festivity [National Historical Encyclopedia: http://interpretive.ru / dictionary / 968 / word / baroko].

In his book “Baroque. Architecture between 1600 and 1750 "Frederic Dassa writes:" The term "baroque" cannot be given a specific definition, and the question arises whether it is worth doing. In many respects, this problem relates more to historiography than to history. The concept of baroque, developed in the last century to rehabilitate two centuries of Italian art, cannot be transferred to the study of Spanish, Dutch, English or French art, whose meaning is not determined by a more or less pronounced desire to imitate Roman or Turin artists and architects ”[Dassa 2002 : 127]. Koch writes that: “The style of this absolutist era - from about 1600 to 1800 - is the Baroque<…> Throughout Europe, the baroque permeates everything: sculpture and painting, which easily fit into architectural structures without labor and transitions, music that gives the final touch of brilliance, fanatical religiosity to court and church holidays, literature, as well as in such everyday things as furniture, clothes or hairstyles, manner of speaking. Baroque art appeals to the entire society and is personified by it ”[Koch 2005: 236]. An important detail in Koch's research is that he distinguishes several currents during this period: the Baroque movement and the classical movement, which determines the development of architecture primarily in France and northern Europe. Indeed, the baroque style with its usual features did not receive such a development in France as it was in Italy, therefore there is a point of view that the baroque style did not develop here at all, and the baroque monuments are classified as monuments of classicism.

Let us refer to one of the modern editions of the French dictionary "Le Petit Robert des noms propres" to introduce the concept of "classicism" into our work. "Classicism is a term that in a narrow sense applies to French literature and art during the reign of Louis XIV, and in a broader sense defines the aesthetic ideal of rigor and restraint inherent in numerous writers and people of art in France and other countries since the 17th century." In the same dictionary entry, in the section on architecture, "le premier classicisme" (literally "first classicism") and "le second classicisme" (literally "second classicism") are distinguished, which is associated with the difference in the development of architecture in the period before the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV, when French classicism was still under the strong influence of Italian art, and directly during the reign of the "Sun King".

The 17th century is the time of the formation of a single French state, the French nation. In the second half of the century, France is the most powerful absolutist power in Western Europe. This is also the time of the formation of the French national school in the visual arts, the formation of the classicist trend, the birthplace of which is rightfully considered France [Ilyina 2000: 129].

Studying the question of style in the architecture of the XVII century in France, one can come across such a concept as "baroque classicism", which, in our opinion, can reconcile two different views on style in the architecture of that period. However, in this work, we will adhere to the point of view presented in the General Encyclopedia of Arts, namely, to define the architectural style in 17th century France as classicism and highlight two periods of its development.

2. First half architectureXVII century

2 .1 Urban planning in France in the era of absolutism

architectural style classicism baroque

In the first half and middle of the 17th century, the principles of classicism developed and gradually took root in French architecture. The state system of absolutism also contributes to this.

Construction and control over it are concentrated in the hands of the state. A new position of "king's architect" and "king's first architect" is introduced. Huge funds are spent on construction. Government agencies control construction not only in Paris, but also in the provinces.

Urban planning is being widely deployed throughout the country. New cities arise as military outposts or settlements near the palaces and castles of the kings and rulers of France. In most cases, new cities are designed in the form of a square or rectangle in the plan, or in the form of more complex polygonal shapes formed by defensive walls, moats, bastions and towers. Inside them, a strictly regular rectangular or radial-ring system of streets with a city square in the center is planned. As an example, you can point to the cities of Vitry Vitry-le-Francois, Saarlouis, Anrishmont, Marle, Richelieu, etc. [cm. Appendix Fig. 12].

Old medieval towns are being rebuilt on the basis of new principles of regular planning. Straight highways are being laid, urban ensembles and geometrically regular squares are being built on the site of the disorderly network of medieval streets.

In urban planning of the era of classicism, the main problem is a large urban ensemble with buildings carried out according to a single plan. In 1615, the first planning works were carried out in Paris in the north-western part of the city, the Ile Saint-Louis was built up. New bridges are being erected and the boundaries of the city are expanding.

On the left and right banks of the Seine, large palace complexes were being built - the Luxembourg Palace and the Palais Royal (1624, architect - J. Lemercier). The further development of urban planning work in Paris was expressed in the creation of two regular in shape (square and triangular) squares included in the medieval building of the city: Place Royale (1606-1612, architect - L. Metezo) and Place Dauphin (started in 1605) in the western part of Site Island [Bykov, Kaptereva 1969: http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000022/index.shtml].

2 .2 Formation of the principles of classicism

The principles of classicism, the ground for which was prepared by the architects of the French and Italian Renaissance, in the first half of the seventeenth century were not yet distinguished by their integrity and uniformity. They were often mixed with the traditions of the Italian Baroque, whose structures are characterized by a complicated shape of triangular and curved pediments, an abundance of sculptural decor and cartouches, especially in interior decoration.

Medieval traditions were so strong that even classical orders acquired a peculiar interpretation in the buildings of the first half of the century. The composition of the order - its location on the wall surface, proportions and details - obeys the structure of the wall, which has developed in Gothic architecture, with its clearly defined vertical elements of the building's supporting frame (piers) and large window openings located between them. This motif, combined with the subdivision of the facades by means of corner and central risalits, gives the building a vertical aspiration that is not characteristic of the classical system of order compositions and a clear calm silhouette of the volume.

Baroque techniques are combined with the traditions of French Gothic and new classicist principles of understanding beauty. Many religious buildings, built according to the type of basilica church established in the Italian Baroque, received magnificent main facades, decorated with orders of columns and pilasters, with numerous rips, sculptural inserts and volutes. An example is the Sorbonne Church - the first religious building in Paris, crowned with a dome [Bykov, Kaptereva 1969: http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00/ z0000022 / index.shtml].

2 .3 Luxembourg Palace

One of the earliest palace buildings was the Luxembourg Palace (1615-1620), built by Solomon de Bros for Marie de Medici. A magnificent park was laid out near the palace, which was considered one of the best at the beginning of the 17th century.

The composition of the palace is characterized by the placement of the main and lower service wing buildings around the large ceremonial palace. One side of the main building faces the front courtyard, the other - to the park. In the volumetric composition of the palace, traditional features characteristic of French palace architecture of the first half of the 17th century were clearly manifested, for example, the allocation of corner and central volumes crowned with high roofs in the main three-story building of the palace, as well as the division of the inner space of the corner towers into completely identical residential sections.

The appearance of the palace, in some features of which still retains a similarity with the castles of the previous century, thanks to a natural and clear compositional structure, as well as a clear rhythmic structure of two-tier orders dismembering the facades, is distinguished by monumentality and representativeness.

The massiveness of the walls is emphasized by horizontal rustication, completely covering the walls and order elements. This technique, borrowed from the masters of the Italian Baroque, in the work of de Brosa received a peculiar sound, imparting a special richness and splendor to the appearance of the palace [see. Appendix Fig. 3].

Among other works by de Brosa, the Church of Saint-Gervais (begun in 1616) in Paris occupies a prominent place. In this church, built according to the plan of churches of the Italian Baroque, traditional elements of church baroque facades are combined with Gothic elongation of proportions [Bykov, Kaptereva 1969: http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00/ z0000022 / index.shtml].

2 .4 City of Richelieu

The earliest examples of large ensemble compositions date from the first half of the 17th century. Jacques Lemercier was the creator of the first ensemble of the palace, park and city of Richelieu (started in 1627) in the architecture of French classicism.

The layout of the now not preserved ensemble was based on the intersection of two compositional axes at an angle. One of them coincides with the main street of the city and the park alley connecting the city with the square in front of the palace, the other is the main axis of the palace and park. The park's layout is built on a strictly regular system of alleys intersecting at right angles or diverging from one center.

Located away from the palace, the city of Richelieu was surrounded by a wall and a moat, forming a rectangle in the plan. The layout of streets and quarters of the city is subject to the same strict system of rectangular coordinates as the ensemble as a whole, which testifies to the addition of new urban planning principles in the first half of the 17th century and the overcoming of medieval methods of building the city with curved narrow streets and small tight squares.

The building of the Richelieu Palace was divided into the main building and wings, which formed in front of it a large closed rectangular courtyard with a main entrance. The main building with outbuildings, in a tradition dating back to medieval castles, was surrounded by a moat filled with water. The layout and volumetric composition of the main building and the wings with clearly defined corner tower-like volumes, completed with high pyramidal roofs, were close to the Luxembourg Palace discussed above, which indicates the influence of the Middle Ages.

The Richelieu Palace, like its regular park with deep vistas of alleys, extensive parterre and sculpture, was created as a majestic monument designed to glorify the all-powerful ruler of France. The interiors of the palace were richly decorated with stucco and painting, which exalted the personality of Richelieu and his deeds [see. Appendix Fig. 4].

The ensemble of the palace and the city of Richelieu was still not sufficiently imbued with unity, but in general Lemercier managed to create a new type of complex and strict spatial composition, unknown to the architecture of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque [Bykov, Kaptereva 1969: http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00 /s00/z0000022/index.shtml].

2 .5 Creations of Francois Mansart

Along with Lemercier, François Mansart (1598-1666) was the largest architect of the first half of the century. Among his outstanding works is the Maison-Laffitte Palace (1642-1650), erected near Paris for the President of the Parisian Parliament, Rene de Langeuil. Unlike the traditional compositions of earlier country castles, there is no closed courtyard formed by the main building and service wings. All offices are located in the basement of the building.

The monumental volume of the palace, crowned by the ancient tradition with high pyramidal roofs above the side and central projections, is distinguished by its compact integrity and expressive silhouette. The building is surrounded by a moat filled with water, and its location as if on an island in a beautiful water frame well connects the palace with the natural park environment, emphasizing its primacy in the composition of the ensemble. The architecture of the Maison-Laffite Palace is complemented by a regular French park with extensive parterres, bosquets and lush green spaces [see. Appendix Fig. five].

Another major work of François Mansart is the church of the convent of Val de Grasse (1645-1665), built after his death. The composition of the plan is based on the traditional scheme of a domed basilica with a wide central nave covered with a cylindrical vault, a transept and a dome on the middle cross. As in many other French religious buildings of the 17th century, the facade of the building dates back to the traditional solution of the church facade by Italian Baroque architecture. The dome of the church, raised on a high drum, is one of the three tallest domes in Paris [see. Appendix Fig. 6].

In 1630, François Mansart introduced into the practice of building a city dwelling a high broken roof shape using an attic for housing (hence the concept of "attic").

Thus, in the first half of the 17th century, both in the field of urban planning and in the formation of the types of buildings themselves, the process of maturation of a new style is taking place, and conditions are created for its heyday in the second half of the century [Bykov, Kaptereva 1969: http://artyx.ru /books/item/f00/s00/z0000022/index.shtml].

3. Second half of the 17th century

3 .1 Great century, characteristics of the period

In the second half of the 17th century, the absolute monarchy in France reaches its greatest economic and political power and external flourishing. This is the time of the long reign of Louis XIV, the "sun king". It is not for nothing that this time was named in Western literature "Le grand siècle" - "The Great Age". Great - above all for the splendor of the ceremony and all types of arts, in different genres and in different ways, glorified the person of the king. Since the beginning of the independent reign of Louis XIV, i.e. since the 60s of the 17th century, a process of regulation, complete submission and control by the royal power, which is very important for its further development, has been taking place in art. The Academy of Painting and Sculpture, created back in 1648, is now under the official jurisdiction of the first minister of the king. In 1671 the Academy of Architecture was founded, control over all kinds of artistic life was established [Ilyina 2000: 138] .

Despite the control by the authorities, the second half of the 17th century for the architecture of France is the time of its heyday. In Paris, extensive city squares and large palace, public and religious buildings are being reconstructed and erected. Extensive and expensive construction work is being carried out to create the country residence of the king - Versailles.

One of the reasons for the leading position of architecture among other types of arts in the second half of the 17th century was rooted in its specific features. It was architecture that could most fully and forcefully express the ideas of this stage in the development of a centralized national monarchy. During this period, the organizing role of architecture in the artistic synthesis of all types of fine arts was especially clearly manifested. Architecture had a huge impact on the formation of decorative sculpture, painting and applied arts of this time.

New artistic features in the architecture of the middle and second half of the 17th century, which developed within the framework of classicism, are manifested, first of all, in the huge spatial scope of buildings and ensembles, in a more consistent application of the classical order system, in the predominance of horizontal divisions over vertical ones, in greater integrity and unity. volumetric composition and internal space of the building. Along with the classical heritage of antiquity and the Renaissance, the creation of the style of French classicism in the second half of the 17th century was greatly influenced by the architecture of the Italian Baroque. This was reflected in the borrowing of some architectural forms (curved pediments, volutes, lush cartouches), in the order compositions of facades and the principles of solving their internal space (enfilade), in some of the planning features of large ensembles (longitudinal-axial construction), as well as in the inherent architecture French classicism of increased pomp of architectural forms, especially in interiors. However, the forms of classical and baroque architecture underwent radical reworking in the 17th century in connection with national artistic traditions, which made it possible to bring these often contradictory elements to artistic unity [Bykov 1963: 487-513].

3 .2 Vaux-le-Vicomte

The first piece of architecture of French classicism of the second half of the 17th century, in which the predominance of the artistic principles of classicism over the old traditions is clearly felt, was the ensemble of the palace and park Vaux-le-Vicomte (1655-1661). The creators of this remarkable work, built for the Comptroller General of Finance Fouquet and in many ways anticipating the ensemble of Versailles, were the architect Louis Leveaux, André Le Nôtre and the painter Charles Lebrun.

According to the composition of the plan, the allocation of the central and corner tower-like volumes, crowned with high roofs, the general open character of the building surrounded by a moat filled with water, the palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte resembles the Maison-Laffitte palace. Like Maison-Laffitte, the architecture of this palace still retains some of the traditional features of French architecture dating back to centuries past. Nevertheless, in the appearance of the building, as well as in the compositional ensemble as a whole, there is no doubt the triumph of classicist architectural principles. This is manifested, first of all, in the logical and strictly verified planning solution of the palace and park. The building and the park are subordinated to a strictly centralizing compositional principle, which makes it possible to bring the various elements of the Vaux-le-Vicomte ensemble to a great artistic unity and to highlight the palace as the most important component of the ensemble.

The unity in the construction of the interior space and volume of the building is typical for the principles of classic architecture. The large oval salon is highlighted as the center of the composition and is crowned with a domed roof, which gives its silhouette a calm, balanced character. The introduction of a large order of pilasters, covering two floors above the basement, and a powerful horizontal line of a smooth, straight-line classical entablature, the prevalence of horizontal articulations over vertical ones, generalization and integrity of the facades and volume of the building, unusual for palaces of an earlier period, is achieved. All this gives the appearance of the palace a monumental representativeness and splendor.

The park ensemble of the Vaux-le-Vicomte palace was built according to a single strictly regular system. Skillfully trimmed green spaces, alleys, flower beds, paths form clear, easily perceived geometric shapes and lines. Fountains and decorative statues frame the vast parterre and pool with a grotto in front of the palace façade. Appendix Fig. 7].

In the ensemble of Vaux-le-Vicomte, peculiar principles of the synthesis of architecture, sculpture, painting and gardening art created by French classicism of the 17th century developed, which gained even greater scope and maturity in the ensemble of Versailles [Bykov 1963: 487-513].

3 .3 East facade of the Louvre

One of the first works of the second half of the 17th century, in which the fundamental principles of French classicism were most fully expressed, is the eastern facade of the Louvre (1667-1678), in the design and construction of which François d'Orbet (1634-1697), Louis Leveau and Claude Perrault (1613-1688).

The eastern facade of the Louvre, which is often called the Louvre Colonnade, is part of the ensemble of two palaces united in the 17th century - the Tuileries and the Louvre. The large facade (173 m) has a central and two lateral projections, between which on a monumental smooth plinth with rare openings rest powerful (12 m high) double Corinthian columns, forming deep shaded loggias together with the wall receding into the depths. The rizalit of the central entrance with a three-span portico, richest in its forms, decor and divisions, is crowned with a triangular pediment. The tympanum of the pediment is richly decorated with a sculptural relief. The flat architectural relief of the lateral projections creates a logical transition to the lateral facades of the Louvre, which repeated the composition of the eastern facade, with the difference that double Corinthian columns are replaced in them by single pilasters of the same order [Bykov 1963: 487-513].

The monumental facade of the building with its enlarged forms and accentuated scale is full of grandeur and nobility, but at the same time one senses in it a shade of rational coldness characteristic of mature classicism [Bykov 1963: 487-513].

3 .4 Creations of Arduin-Mansart

The problem of the architectural ensemble, which stood for almost the entire century in the center of attention of the masters of classicism of the 17th century, found its expression in French urban planning. One of the striking examples of the skillful solution of large urban planning problems is the construction by Arduin-Mansar of the Church of the Invalides (1693-1706), completing a huge complex, built according to the project of Liberal Bruant (c. 1635-1697).

The House of Invalids, intended to house the hostels of war veterans, is conceived as one of the most grandiose public buildings of the 17th century. In front of the main facade of the building, located on the left bank of the Seine, stretches a vast square, the so-called Esplanade of Invalides. The strictly symmetrical complex of the House of Invalides consists of four-storey buildings closed along the perimeter, forming a developed system of large rectangular and square courtyards, subordinated to a single compositional center - a large courtyard and a monumental church associated with it.

The church is a centric structure with a square plan and a large, 27 m in diameter, dome, which crowns the vast central space. In the strict and restrained in its forms architecture of the temple, one can still feel the influence of baroque compositions not alien to the work of Arduin-Mansart. This is reflected in the heavier proportions of the dome in relation to the lower volume and in the plastic enrichment of the central part of the facade with order elements, characteristic of the Baroque [see. Appendix Fig. eight].

For the French urban planning practice of the 17th century, Louis the Great Square (later Place Vendôme) (1685-1701) and Victory Square (1684-1687), erected according to the designs of the architect Arduin-Mansart, are of great importance.

The square of Louis the Great, rectangular in plan with cut corners, was conceived as a ceremonial building in honor of the king. In accordance with the design, the equestrian statue of Louis XIV, located in the center of the square, played the dominant role in the composition. The facades of the buildings forming the square, of the same type in composition, with slightly protruding porticos at the cut corners and in the central part of the buildings, serve as the architectural frame of the square's space. Connected to the adjacent quarters by only two short stretches of streets, the square is perceived as a closed, isolated space [see. Appendix Fig. nine].

Another ensemble is Victory Square, which has the shape of a circle with a diameter of 60 m in terms of the uniformity of the facades surrounding the square and the location of the monument in the center is close to the square of Louis the Great. However, the location of the square at the intersection of several streets, which are actively connected with the general planning system of the city, deprives it of its isolation and isolation.

By creating Victory Square, Arduin-Mansart laid the foundations for progressive urban planning trends in the construction of open public centers closely related to the city's planning system [Bykov 1963: 487-513].

3 .5 Versailles

The progressive trends in the architecture of French classicism of the 17th century are fully and comprehensively developed in the ensemble of Versailles (1668-1689), grandiose in scale, boldness and breadth of artistic design. The main creators of this most significant monument of French classicism of the 17th century were Ardouin-Mansart and the master of landscape art André Le Nôtre (1613-1700).

Versailles, as the main residence of the king, was supposed to exalt and glorify the boundless power of French absolutism. The peculiarities of building a complex ensemble as a strictly ordered centralized system based on the absolute compositional domination of the palace over everything around it are due to its general ideological concept.

Three wide, perfectly straight ray avenues of the city converge to the Palace of Versailles, located on a terrace overlooking the surrounding area - thus, Versailles was connected by roads that approach it with different regions of France.

In the vicinity of the main building from the side of the city, in two large independent buildings, forming a large rectangular square in front of the central building of the palace, the palace services were located.

Luxurious interior decoration, in which baroque motifs are widely used (round and oval medallions, complex cartouches, ornamental fillings above doors and in the walls) and expensive finishing materials (mirrors, chased bronze, marble, gilded wood carving), widespread use of decorative painting - all this is designed to create an impression of grandeur and splendor. One of the most remarkable premises of the Palace of Versailles is the magnificent Mirror Gallery (73 m long) built by Arduin-Mansart and located on the second floor of the central part, with adjacent square living rooms. The wide arched openings offer a magnificent view of the main alley of the park and the surrounding landscape. The inner space of the gallery is illusoryly enlarged by a number of large mirrors located in niches opposite the windows. The interior of the gallery is richly decorated with marble Corinthian pilasters and a magnificent stucco cornice, which serves as a transition to an even more complex in composition and color scheme baroque plafond by the artist Lebrun [see. Appendix Fig. ten].

The architecture of the facades created by Arduin-Mansart, especially from the side of the park, is distinguished by great unity. Strongly stretched horizontally, the building of the palace is in good harmony with the strict geometrically correct layout of the park and natural surroundings. In the composition of the facade, the second, front floor of the palace is clearly distinguished, dissected by the order of columns and pilasters, which are strict in proportions and details, resting on a heavy rusticated plinth.

In contrast to the architecture of the palace facades, which are not devoid of a somewhat baroque representativeness, as well as overloaded with decorations and gilding of the interiors, the layout of the park, made by Le Nôtre, is distinguished by classic purity and clarity of lines and forms. In the layout of the park and the forms of its "green architecture" Le Nôtre was the most consistent exponent of the aesthetic and ethical ideal of classicism. He saw in the natural environment an object of intelligent human activity. Le Nôtre transforms the natural landscape into an impeccably clear, complete architectonic system based on the principles of rationality and order [see. Appendix Fig. eleven].

A general view of the park opens from the side of the palace. From the main terrace, a wide staircase leads along the main axis of the composition of the ensemble to the Fountain of Latona, then the Royal Alley, bordered by clipped trees, leads to the Fountain of Apollo. The composition ends with a large canal extending towards the horizon, framed by alleys of trimmed trees.

The rich and varied sculptural decoration of the park is in organic unity with the park's layout and the architectural appearance of the palace. The park sculpture of Versailles is actively involved in the formation of the ensemble. The architectural image of the Versailles ensemble is built in an organic connection with the natural environment, in a logical and consistent disclosure of various internal and external perspective aspects, in the synthesis of architecture, sculpture and painting [Bykov 1963: 487-513].

Conclusion

The 17th century is one of the brightest eras in the development of Western European artistic culture. This is the time of the brilliant flourishing of a number of the largest national schools, many creative directions and a constellation of great names and famous masters, truly extraordinary for one century. The most significant and valuable thing that was created by this era is associated primarily with the art of five European countries - Italy, Spain, Flanders, Holland and France.

The difference between the 17th century and the previous 16th century was that none of the named countries now occupied an undoubtedly dominant position in the overall evolution of artistic culture. Nevertheless, one cannot fail to note the special role of the two countries in the initial and final stages of this stage. So, speaking of its initial phase, first of all it is necessary to name Italy. The country of ancient ancient culture, the cradle of the Renaissance, Italy became in the 17th century a place of pilgrimage for all artists of the world. It is even more important that in the Italian art of the first half of the 17th century, new figurative and stylistic foundations of architecture, sculpture and painting were laid that met the requirements of their time and therefore received a general European response. One has only to remember how much the Italian Baroque contributed to all types of plastic arts, how much the realism of Caravaggio enriched European painting.

What Italy was for the first half of the 17th century, so for the second half of the century was France, which in its artistic achievements gave samples for other European countries. Her art has passed a long and difficult path since the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, marked by the creative activities of many famous masters.

In no other European country has artistic culture found itself in such close connection with the development of absolutism as in France. To a large extent, this was due to the fact that it was France that was the classical country of absolutism, the historical role of which at a certain stage of social development was largely progressive. In these conditions, the idea of \u200b\u200bstate unity acquired a particularly important meaning, meeting the requirements of the growing and independent French nation.

The essential features of the era were most deeply reflected in the art of classicism. This complex and contradictory style manifested itself in different ways in drama and poetry, in architecture and visual arts [Bykov, Kaptereva 1969: http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00/z00022/index.shtml].

Bibliographic list

Literature

1. Bykov V.E. Art of France, architecture // General history of arts in 6 volumes / otv. ed. R.B. Klimov, I.I. Nikonov. Volume 4: Art of the 17th - 18th centuries. - M .: Art, 1963.1101 p.

2. Bykov V.E., Kaptereva T.P. French art of the 17th century. - M .: Art, 1969 URL: http://artyx.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000022/index.shtml

3. Gombrich E. History of Art. - M .: Publishing house ACT, 1998.688 p.

4. Dassa F. Baroque. Architecture between 1600 and 1750. - Moscow: Astrel Publishing House, 2002.160 p.

5. Ilyina T.V. Art history. Western European art. - M .: Higher. shk., 2000.368 p.

6. Koch F. Encyclopedia of architectural styles. - M .: BMM AO, 2005.528 p.

Dictionaries and reference publications

7. Le Petit Robert des noms propres, Varese, La tipografica Varese, 2010.

Internet resources

8. National Historical Encyclopedia. http://interpretive.ru/

Illustrations

9. Figures 1-2: Architecture and Urban Planning URL: http://townevolution.ru/books/item/f00/z0021/st030.shtml

10. Illustrations 3-8, 11: General history of art in 6 volumes / otv. ed. R.B. Klimov, I.I. Nikonov. Volume 4: Art of the 17th - 18th centuries. - M .: Art, 1963.1101 p.

11. Illustrations 9-10 URL: http://www.mafrance.ru/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/vandomskaya-ploshad.jpg

application

Figure: 1 Plans for French fortified cities of the 17th century. Anrishmon

Figure: 2 City of Richelieu. Built according to the project of Jacques Lemercier in the early 30s of the 17th century. Left - the park of the country castle of Cardinal Richelieu

Figure: 3 Salomon de Bros. Luxembourg Palace in Paris. 161 5 - 1620 (21)

Figure: 4 Jacques Lemercier. Richelieu Palace in Poitou. Started in 1627 Perel's engraving

Figure: 5 Francois Mansart. Maison-Laffite Palace near Paris. 1642-1650. Main facade

Figure: 6 Francois Mansart. Val de Grasse Church in Paris. 1645-1665. Facade

Figure: 7 Louis Leveaux, André Le Nôtre. Palace and park Vaux-le-Vicomte near Melin. 1655-1661 General view from the park.

Figure: 8 Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Church of Les Invalides in Paris. 1693-1706 Completed in 1708 by Robert de Cott. View from the south

Figure: 9 Place Louis the Great (Place Vendôme)

Figure: 10 Mirror gallery of the Palace of Versailles

Figure: 11 Versailles. View on Royal Palace and a park from the west. Architects Louis Leveaux, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, André Le Nôtre. Aerial photography

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