Guillaume-Abel Blouet
Encyclopedia
Guillaume-Abel Blouet was a French architect who specialised in prison design.
. He won the Grand Prix de Rome
in 1821 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
, entitling him to five years' study at the French Academy in Rome
. The study of Roman architecture that was expected from students at the French Academy at Rome resulted in his speculative restoration of the original construction of the Baths of Caracalla
, Restauration des thermes d'Antonin Caracalla, à Rome, présentée en 1826 et dédiée en 1827 à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts (1828).
The Institut de France
appointed Blouet the head of the fine arts section of the French Morea expedition
1828-1833, the second of three great military-scientific expeditions led by France in the first half of the 19th century, in which geologists and antiquarians accompanied an expedition with military objectives, in this case to deport all Ottoman nationals from the Morea
, a turning-point in the Greek War of Independence
. In the course of the expedition he established the identity of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
(1829), which was measured and carefully drawn and published.
Having overseen the completion of the Arc de Triomphe
(1831–36), he toured the United States in 1836, together with Frédéric-Auguste Demetz
, a penal reformer and lawyer at the French Royal Court, to study American prison architecture and administration for the French Ministry of the Interior.
Upon Blouet's return to Paris he devoted himself to the reform of prison design and in 1838 was appointed to the new post of Inspector General of French Prisons, which brought with it, ex officio, a seat on the Conseil des bâtiments civiles, the official national body that succeeded the Bâtiments du Roi
of the Ancien Régime. Blouet believed in using architecture to realize social reform and together with Demetz worked on the design and layout of the buildings for the Mettray Penal Colony
, an agricultural reform school
, which was initially directed by Demetz after its opening in July 1839. It was noted as being officially opened on 22 January 1840.
In 1846 he was appointed a professor at the Écorts and in 1848, when his post of Inspector General of Prisons was eliminated in a reorganization, he was given in compensation the position of architect in charge of the Palais de Fontainebleau, which was to be a center of court life under the French Second Empire. He revised and completed the Traité théorique et pratique de l'art de bâtir of Jean-Baptiste Rondelet
(1847). He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts
in 1850.
He died in Paris in 1853.
Biography
Blouet was born at PassyPassy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
. He won the Grand Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
in 1821 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, entitling him to five years' study at the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
. The study of Roman architecture that was expected from students at the French Academy at Rome resulted in his speculative restoration of the original construction of the Baths of Caracalla
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy were Roman public baths, or thermae, built in Rome between AD 212 and 216, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla.- History :...
, Restauration des thermes d'Antonin Caracalla, à Rome, présentée en 1826 et dédiée en 1827 à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts (1828).
The Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
appointed Blouet the head of the fine arts section of the French Morea expedition
Morea expedition
The Morea expedition is the name given in France to the land intervention of the French Army in the Peloponnese, between 1828 and 1833, at the time of the Greek War of Independence....
1828-1833, the second of three great military-scientific expeditions led by France in the first half of the 19th century, in which geologists and antiquarians accompanied an expedition with military objectives, in this case to deport all Ottoman nationals from the Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
, a turning-point in the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
. In the course of the expedition he established the identity of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Zeus
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was an ancient Greek temple in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the chief of the gods, Zeus. It was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the Doric order...
(1829), which was measured and carefully drawn and published.
Having overseen the completion of the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
(1831–36), he toured the United States in 1836, together with Frédéric-Auguste Demetz
Frédéric-Auguste Demetz
Frédéric-Auguste Demetz was a French penal reformer and jurist. He toured the United States in 1836, together with the architect Guillaume-Abel Blouet, to study progressive American prison architecture and administration for the French Ministry of the Interior. Upon their return, they published a...
, a penal reformer and lawyer at the French Royal Court, to study American prison architecture and administration for the French Ministry of the Interior.
Upon Blouet's return to Paris he devoted himself to the reform of prison design and in 1838 was appointed to the new post of Inspector General of French Prisons, which brought with it, ex officio, a seat on the Conseil des bâtiments civiles, the official national body that succeeded the Bâtiments du Roi
Bâtiments du Roi
The Bâtiments du Roi was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.-History:...
of the Ancien Régime. Blouet believed in using architecture to realize social reform and together with Demetz worked on the design and layout of the buildings for the Mettray Penal Colony
Mettray Penal Colony
Mettray Penal Colony, situated in the small village of Mettray, in the French département of Indre-et-Loire, just north of the city of Tours, was a private reformatory, without walls, opened in 1840 for the rehabilitation of young male delinquents aged between 6 and 21. At that time children and...
, an agricultural reform school
Reform school
A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
, which was initially directed by Demetz after its opening in July 1839. It was noted as being officially opened on 22 January 1840.
In 1846 he was appointed a professor at the Écorts and in 1848, when his post of Inspector General of Prisons was eliminated in a reorganization, he was given in compensation the position of architect in charge of the Palais de Fontainebleau, which was to be a center of court life under the French Second Empire. He revised and completed the Traité théorique et pratique de l'art de bâtir of Jean-Baptiste Rondelet
Jean-Baptiste Rondelet
Jean-Baptiste Rondelet was an architectural theorist of the late Enlightenment era and chief architect of the church of Sainte-Geneviève. He published a treatise on Architecture between 1805 and 1816. He grew up and helped the world build the Panthéon. Which is still a site today standing 10...
(1847). He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts
Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
in 1850.
He died in Paris in 1853.
Principal publications
- Restauration des thermes d'Antonin Caracalla, à Rome, présentée en 1826 et dédiée en 1827 à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts (1828)
- Expédition scientifique de Morée, ordonnée par le gouvernement français. Architecture, sculptures, inscriptions et vues du Péloponèse, des Cyclades et de l'Attique, mesurées, dessinées, recueillies et publiées (Abel Blouet, with Amable Ravoisié, Achille Poirot, Félix Trézel and Frédéric de Gournay) (3 volumes, 1831–1838)
- Rapports à M. le Comte de Montalivet, sur les pénitenciers des États-Unis, by Frédéric-Auguste Demetz and Abel Blouet (1837)
- Chutes du Niagara Niagara FallsNiagara FallsThe Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
, drawn from nature in March 1837 by A. Blouet, lithographed by C. Remond (1838) - A volume of prison designs, with Hector Horeau and Harou Romain (1841)
- Projet de prison cellulaire pour 585 condamnés, précédé d'Observations sur le système pénitentiaire (1843) The design had been shown at the Paris SalonParis SalonThe Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
of 1843. - Traité théorique et pratique de l'art de bâtir de Jean Rondelet. Supplément by G.-Abel Blouet