Pierre-Adrien Pâris
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Adrien Pâris was a French architect, painter and designer.
, the son of an architect and official surveyor at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Basel
he went to Paris to study architecture in 1760; there he was particularly a student of Étienne-Louis Boullée
and Louis-François Trouard at the École royale d'architecture. After failing three times to win the Prix de Rome
, he visited Rome in 1769 to accompany his teacher's son as his tutor, and, at the recommendation of the grand connoisseur, Louis Marie Augustin, duc d'Aumont
, was permitted to follow courses at the French Academy in Rome
. He traveled in Italy, including visits to the Roman ruins of Pompeii
, Herculaneum
and Paestum
, of which he made many drawings and casts. He returned to France in 1774.
In 1775, Trouard entrusted him with the interior decoration of the Hôtel d'Aumont
he was building in Place de la Concorde
. In 1778, at the death of Michel-Ange Challe, Louis XVI
appointed him King's Designer and Architect ("Dessinateur du Cabinet du Roi"). He worked on numerous decorative schemes for official events, theatrical performances and funerals, and also directed the decoration of the Paris Opera.
Appointed to the Académie d'architecture
in 1780, from 1784 to 1790 he directed the construction of the magnificent town hall in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). In 1785, he built the Hôtel Depont des Granges in La Rochelle
. Starting in 1787, for the Duchess of Bourbon
, he worked on the interior layout of the Palais de l'Elysée
, which virtually eliminated the scheme by his master Boullée, and also redesigned the English garden and built the group of cottages there called "hameau de Chantilly", which imitated garden folly built at Chantilly
by the Prince de Condé. He rearranged the buildings and created the English garden of the Abbey of Valasse at Gruchet-le-Valasse
(Seine). He also carried out a major neoclassical reconstruction project at the Château de Porrentruy.
Named in 1784 to a post created for him, architect of the Menus Plaisirs du Roi, he realised plans for the Estates-General of 1789
in the courtyard of the Hôtel des Menus Plaisirs (the workshop for the opera's sets), in the town of Versailles. He was charged by the National Assembly with redeveloping the courtyard into an amphitheatre with graded seating, and installing the same set of gradients in the Tuileries, divided into two, facing a podium. He was appointed architect to the Cathedral of Orléans in 1787 and completed its towers, just as the Revolution began, in 1790. His close friendship with the king, and his attachments with the most radical Enlightenment
thinkers, caused him a serious moral crisis during the French Revolution
, during which he declined any work offered him, and retired near Le Havre
, at Colmoulins.
In 1806 he returned to Italy and the following year, he was acting director of the French Academy in Rome
; he directed excavations at the Colosseum
. He arranged the purchase for France and transport to Paris of the Borghese collection of antiquities. Following the Bourbon restoration he returned to France in 1817 and realised his plans for a monument to Louis XVI on the Place de la Concorde
, which is the elliptical device with a declaration of the "Droits du Homme", which he had invented for the National Assembly at the Menus Plaisirs, and that Chateaubriand
had incorporated without citing the author.
Pâris spent the last two years of his life preparing a catalogue of his collection of paintings and antiquities, which he bequeathed to the city of Besançon, together with his library, catalogued by his friend Charles Weiss.
Life
He was born at BesançonBesançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, the son of an architect and official surveyor at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Basel
he went to Paris to study architecture in 1760; there he was particularly a student of Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée
Étienne-Louis Boullée was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects and is still influential today.- Life :...
and Louis-François Trouard at the École royale d'architecture. After failing three times to win the 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...
, he visited Rome in 1769 to accompany his teacher's son as his tutor, and, at the recommendation of the grand connoisseur, Louis Marie Augustin, duc d'Aumont
Aumont family
The Aumont family take its name from the Duchy of Aumont, a small commune in the department of the Somme. The Duché-Pairie d'Aumont was established in 1665 from the Marquisat of Isles-en-Champagne, the title being granted to Antoine d'Aumont de Rochebaron...
, was permitted to follow courses 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:...
. He traveled in Italy, including visits to the Roman ruins of Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
and Paestum
Paestum
Paestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. It is located in the north of Cilento, near the coast about 85 km SE of Naples in the province of Salerno, and belongs to the commune of Capaccio, officially also named...
, of which he made many drawings and casts. He returned to France in 1774.
In 1775, Trouard entrusted him with the interior decoration of the Hôtel d'Aumont
Hôtel d'Aumont
The Hôtel d'Aumont is a former hôtel particulier, at 7, rue de Jouy, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris; it was built as the seat of the ducs d'Aumont. It is sited south of the Marais.-History:...
he was building in Place de la Concorde
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
. In 1778, at the death of Michel-Ange Challe, Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
appointed him King's Designer and Architect ("Dessinateur du Cabinet du Roi"). He worked on numerous decorative schemes for official events, theatrical performances and funerals, and also directed the decoration of the Paris Opera.
Appointed to the Académie d'architecture
Académie d'architecture
The Académie royale d'architecture was a French learned society founded on December 30, 1671 by Louis XIV, king of France under the impulsion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert...
in 1780, from 1784 to 1790 he directed the construction of the magnificent town hall in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). In 1785, he built the Hôtel Depont des Granges in La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
. Starting in 1787, for the Duchess of Bourbon
Bathilde d'Orléans
Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans, Princess of Condé , was a French princess. She was sister of Philippe Égalité, the mother of the executed duc d'Enghien and aunt of Louis-Philippe King of the French...
, he worked on the interior layout of the Palais de l'Elysée
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....
, which virtually eliminated the scheme by his master Boullée, and also redesigned the English garden and built the group of cottages there called "hameau de Chantilly", which imitated garden folly built at Chantilly
Chantilly, Oise
Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...
by the Prince de Condé. He rearranged the buildings and created the English garden of the Abbey of Valasse at Gruchet-le-Valasse
Gruchet-le-Valasse
Gruchet-le-Valasse is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A village of forestry, farming and associated light industry situated in the Pays de Caux, some east of Le Havre, at the junction of the D173 and D9015...
(Seine). He also carried out a major neoclassical reconstruction project at the Château de Porrentruy.
Named in 1784 to a post created for him, architect of the Menus Plaisirs du Roi, he realised plans for the Estates-General of 1789
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
in the courtyard of the Hôtel des Menus Plaisirs (the workshop for the opera's sets), in the town of Versailles. He was charged by the National Assembly with redeveloping the courtyard into an amphitheatre with graded seating, and installing the same set of gradients in the Tuileries, divided into two, facing a podium. He was appointed architect to the Cathedral of Orléans in 1787 and completed its towers, just as the Revolution began, in 1790. His close friendship with the king, and his attachments with the most radical Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
thinkers, caused him a serious moral crisis during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, during which he declined any work offered him, and retired near Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, at Colmoulins.
In 1806 he returned to Italy and the following year, he was acting director of 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:...
; he directed excavations at the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
. He arranged the purchase for France and transport to Paris of the Borghese collection of antiquities. Following the Bourbon restoration he returned to France in 1817 and realised his plans for a monument to Louis XVI on the Place de la Concorde
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
, which is the elliptical device with a declaration of the "Droits du Homme", which he had invented for the National Assembly at the Menus Plaisirs, and that Chateaubriand
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.-Early life and exile:...
had incorporated without citing the author.
Pâris spent the last two years of his life preparing a catalogue of his collection of paintings and antiquities, which he bequeathed to the city of Besançon, together with his library, catalogued by his friend Charles Weiss.