Paul Abadie was a French architect and building restorer.

Biography

Abadie worked on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Croix of Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

, Saint-Pierre of Angoulême

Angoulême

-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...

 and Saint-Front of Périgueux

Périgueux

Périgueux is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.Périgueux is the prefecture of the department and the capital of the region...

. He won the competition to design the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica , is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city...

 on Montmartre

Montmartre

Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...

 in Paris, and saw construction commence on it, though he died long before its completion in 1914.

Paul Abadie (Jr.) was born on 12 December 1812 in Paris, France. The son of Paul Abadie, who was also an architect in France. He entered the School of Fine Arts (École des Beaux-Arts) in 1835; under the direction of the Monsieur Achille Leclère

Achille-François-René Leclère

Achille-François-René Leclère was a French architect and teacher of architecture.Achille Leclère studied architecture under Charles Percier and Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand. After finishing his studies, he won the 1808 Premier Grand Prix de Rome where the final round topic was, "Public baths in...

. Abadie was known to be interested in the restoration of medieval monuments and buildings; namely the Church of S. Front and the Cathedral of Angoulême. He also designed the Hotel de Ville at Angoulême. In 1874 he replaced Viollet-de-Duc as architect of Notre Dame. Abadie began the Basilica, but died during construction, on 2 August 1884.

The work of Paul Abadie is no longer much appreciated by academics as he was fanciful, destroyed much Romanesque heritage, and had no compunction about adding whimsical sculptures of his own manufacture on capitals and corbels. In particular, his transformations of Périgueux and Angoulême Cathedrals are deplored by local residents. An example of his wilful implantations of false Romanesque sculpture is to be found in the clover-leaf church of St Michel d'Entraygues near Angoulême. Here, he has introduced a capital featuring a triple-headed Green Man with horns and a diabolical expression. Despite its intriguing shape – this small church has no connection with the Templars, but was built to receive pilgrims on the way to Compostela.