Academic "Dessin" Theory in France after the Reorganization of 1863

Author(s): Richard A. Moore

Source: The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 36, No. 3, (Oct., 1977),
pp. 145-174
Published by: Society of Architectural Historians
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/989053
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 Academic Dessin Theory
Reorganization of 1863
RICHARD A. MOORE Department of Art, Georgia State University, Atlanta
SINCE ITS INCEPTION in 1648, the influence and resil-
iency of art education at the French Academy was based
upon a theory of dessin, or design, that reduced depicted
objects to geometricalregularityin orderto achievecompo-
sitional unity. In the second half of the i9th century, this
system of art education was sufficientlyentrenchedto with-
stand concentratedopposition to its hegemonyin the visual
arts. The story of attack and resistancewill be told in this
paper.1
Although the old Academy was outlawed in August I793
and replacedwithin two yearsby the Institute,the academic
system of dessin was reinforcedas a synthetictheory of art
when painting and sculpturewere combined with architec-
ture to form the third class of the Institute.2The systemwas
not affectedin I816 when the Fine Arts class of the Institute
was renamedthe Academy,nor in I819 when this section of
the Institutewas separatedfrom the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.3
The fundamentalconceptsof academicdessinwere affirmed
and elaborated upon in 183-I1832. The Ministere de l'In-
terieurappointed a commission to reporton "modification
I. Researchfor this study was undertakenwith the guidanceand encour-
agementof Dora Wiebensonof the Universityof Maryland.Relatedaspects
of the academicBeaux-Artsdessin theory were pursuedwith George Levi-
tine, also of the Universityof Maryland.Supportingfunds for researchinto
the AmericanBeaux-Artstraditionwere suppliedby Georgia State Univer-
sity in Atlanta, and resultedin an exhibition of ParisPrizedrawingsfor the
National A.I.A. Conferencein Atlanta, May I975.
z. An important example of the pervasive influence of Quatremerede
Quincy, secretaireperpetuelof the Academyfrom I816 to I839. Alreadyin
his influentialConsiderationssur les arts du dessin en France,he had pro-
posed that the architectsbe united with the paintersand sculptors.
3. The separationwas promoted by the Academy.Presumablythe Acad-
emy felt that a dividedEcole would be less of a rivalbody and perhapsmore
amenableto directacademicsupervision.This possibilityis suggestedby the
fact that once again Quatremere'sideas were influentialin forming the 4
August I819 reglement.See Rene Schneider,Quatremerede Quincy et son
intervention dans les arts, Paris, 191o, z86.
in France after the
qui pourraientetre rapporteesaux reglements"4of the Ecole
and Academy, but on II August 1832, the Academy spoke
out for establishedtraditionin rejectingthe proposedmodi-
fications.5In I846, a growing medieval faction unsuccess-
fully opposed academictradition.6Viollet-le-Duc,leaderof
the faction, recognizedthat the continued and pervasivein-
fluence of the Academy was an inescapablereality, even as
he criticized the general academic characterof art educa-
tion.7
4. The formationof this commissionon 26 January1831 was the work of
the Ministrede l'lnterieur,Comte de Montalivet. Generallythe 1831 com-
mission was made up of men hostile to Quatremere.In particular,Henri
Labrousteshould be mentioned.He had written a petition in I829 to have
the Ecole's jury system modified.
A separationfrom the teachingfunctionof the Ecole resultedin an Acad-
emy which, as an honorary body, became more and more involved with
theory.A usefulhistoricalgeneralizationwould representthe relationshipof
the Academyand the Ecole as representingthe theoreticalandpracticalsides
respectivelyof a single systematicinstructionalunity.
5. ". . les succes et les progresdont la Frances'enorgueillittiennenta ce
principed'uniteeet de continuitequi, des l'originejusqu'anos jours,a reuni
en une seule l'institutionde l'Ecole et celle de l'Academie,c'est-a-diredans
un seul et meme cercle, et sous une directionconstante,les memes maitres,
soit l'enseignementsuperieurdes arts du dessin, soit le systemede rapports
qui doivent les unir...."
This testamentof solidarityfor the academicsystem was quoted by the
MarechalVaillant,Ministrede la Maison de 1'Empereur et des Beaux-Arts,
when in 1864 he respondedto the Academy'spetition againstthe 1863 Re-
organization.Vaillant'sresponseis found in the Gazettedes Beaux-Arts,xi
(i sem.), 1864, z73f. It includes a list of membersof the 1831 commission.
6. The decisive confrontation which resulted in the academic majority
taking a strongerclassicalstand againstthe Gothic was precipitatedin part
by the controversyover Gau'sGothic solution for the churchof Ste. Clotilde
in Paris. The Academy's view was expressed by Desire-RaoulRochette's
"considerationsur la question de savoir s'il est convenable,au XIX siecle,
de batir des eglises en style gothique." Raoul Rochette, the secretaireper-
petuel to the Academy, was answered by Viollet-le-Duc.Both statements
were printedtogether in the Annalesarcheologiques,iv, I846, 325-353.
7. Viollet-le-Duc,Reponsea M. Viteta propos de l'enseignementdes arts
I45
146
Nor was the academicmethod appreciablyaffectedunder
the governmentof Louis Napoleon, which promulgatedon
i6 November 1863 a controversialAct of Reorganization.8
The administrativespokesmanfor the decreewas Marechal
Vaillant,the Marechalde Francede la Maison de I'Empereur
et des Beaux-Arts.9The Count EmilienNieuwerkerke,who
had played a majorrole in directingart policy in the Second
Empire(firstin I849 as Directeur-Generalof the museumsof
France, then as Surintendantdes Beaux-Arts),l?was more
important than Vaillant in formulating the edict. But the
instigator of the Reorganization was Viollet-le-Duc, who
had beenactivelyinvolvedagainstthe academicsystem."To
understandthe significanceof the attack, the highly devel-
oped method of instructionpromoted by the Ecole must be
recognized.
Instructionin the Academy
In contrastto the Italianconcept of disegno, which stressed
equally contour and internaldetails, Frenchdessin empha-
sized contour, called dessin au trait. By means of dessin
theory, the artist was taught to see planimetricallyin terms
of the single wholeness of the contour exterieur,ratherthan
in terms of a multiplicityof details, the contours interieurs.
This quality of dessin was traditionallyknown as la correc-
tion (Fig. i and Appendix A).
In employing la correction, the artist was expected to
du dessin, Paris, 1864, 10. "I1faut se rappelerqu'officiellementl'Academie
des Beaux Arts et l'Ecole des Beaux-Artsformaientdeux corps distincts-
qu'officiellementl'Academiedes Beaux-Artsn'avaitde rapportsavec l'Ecole
que lors du concoursdes grandsprix de Rome; qu'en fait, l'Ecoledes Beaux
Arts se trouvaitplacee sous l'influenceexclusive de l'Academie...."
8. The essential documents relating to the government'si6 November
1863decreeof Reorganization,as well as the responsesof the Academyand
Ecole,were broughttogetherin 1864in the Gazettedes Beaux-Arts,x, 1863,
563-572; XI, 1864, z67-296.
9. Marechal Vaillant's position was the result of a complex process of
jugglingministerialposts that began in I853, early in the Second Empire.
The objectof this intricatemaneuverwas to bringthe Beaux-Artsunderthe
direct control of the Emperor.Since the Revolution, the Beaux-Artshad
been either under the ministrede l'instructionpublique or the ministrede
I'interieur.Sincethe July Monarchy,the house of the crown had controlled
the museums,manufactures,and palaces.For a shorttime (six days) aftera
decreeof 23 June1863, the Maison de l'Empereurcontrolledeverything.On
29 June 1863, the Directeur General of the museums took the name of
Surintendentdes Beaux-Artsand thereafterhad control of the Beaux-Arts.
The net resultwas to bringthe museums,manufactures,palaces,as well as
the fine arts, under the immediatecontrol of the Emperor.It was in this
recentstructurethat one must understandthe role of the MarechalVaillant
and the Comte de Nieuwerkerke.
io. AlfredEmilien,Comte de Nieuwerkerke,had been trainedas a sculp-
tor and firstexhibited at the Salon in I843.
II. Viollet-le-Duc was one of the few architectsinvolved in the Reor-
ganizationwho was not trainedat the Ecole. He had, however,been one of
the original supportersof Henri Labrouste,who had opened a dissenting
atelierin I830. Labroustehad been an earlyexponentof medievalarchitec-
ture, althoughthis had little effecton his own stylisticpreferences.
7i
-_
*
'-7 0
7-
\
:
;:
_I^
,^ ^
'1111' ! !
A
,_
x
(2)1
/
Fig. i. Dessin au trait, as illustrated in A. Yvon, Methode de dessin,
Paris, I867, pl. z.
avoid perspectiveeffects. The anti-perspectivedoctrinecre-
ated a strong distinction between dessin perspectif and
dessin geometral. The purpose of dessin geometral was to
see objectivelyin undistortedsections and elevations based
on a grid of horizontals and verticals.
The developmentof dessin toward more abstractprinci-
ples was based primarilyon the importanceof descriptive
geometry. Descriptivegeometry taught the artist to see ob-
jects in elevation and particularlyin plan within a projective
system of three planes meeting in a single point at right
angles. This system displayed all sides of an object at once
instead of in the unique views of perspective.Moreover, it
permitted the artist to visualize objects as units tout d'un
coup and tout de suite.
Thepowerof seeinga completed figurein themind'seyeis acquired
bya thoroughtrainingin descriptive
geometry....throughpractice
anyonecan finallyattainfacility,providedhe neverdrawsa sil-
houettein planwithoutknowingwhatit means.l2
In this system, the elevationof any object, be it architectural
or human,was compactlyunifiedso that it could be exhaus-
tively describedby the plan (Fig. z). The plan was consid-
ered an orthographicprojectionwhich reducedstructureto
pure form concentratedat a point locus. The use of a geo-
metricalpoint as an ideal organizationalaccent meant that
objects were treated as volumetric shapes with enclosing
12. John VredenburgVan Pelt, A Discussionof Composition,Especially
as Applied to Architecture, New York, I90o, 212. Van Pelt was a Paris-
trainedBeaux-Artsarchitectand theorist who had worked directlyunder
such important French architectsas Guadet, Deglane, and Thierry. Van
Pelt's book was the beginningof a massiveBeaux-Artsliteraturepublished
in the firstquarterof the centuryin the UnitedStates.In these works, a sys-
tem of pure dessin was broughtto a logical, theoreticalconclusion.

I,
I1
Ii
- 7---
-
--<7
f3 -4i
st
, ItrlI
1.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
... 3
/;r' ?-g -i-~~~~O? ~5--
Fig. z. Demonstration of developpement, as illustrated in G.
Umbdenstock, Cours d'architecture, Paris, I930, I, 307, fig. 388.
surfaces generated by points, lines, and two-dimensional
sectional profiles.13
Traditionally, this abstracting process was called deve-
loppement. It permitted the artist to see objects in their actual
dimensions. When augmented by the study of proportions
and optics (the latter employed to diminish or altogether
eliminate the visual distortion of perspective), it insured a
constancy of shape.
Developpementis the operationby which one discloses, in all their
truegrandeurand proportion,all the surfacescomposinga solid. To
developa surfacein this manner,in graphicform,is to revealit in its
entiretywithoutshortening;it is to makeknownwithoutanyequivo-
cation or visual impairmentthese dimensionsof the surfaces.14
13. Artistsinvolvedwith the principlesof descriptivegeometry,especially
in architecture,frequentlyreferredto the surfacesof objectsas the geometric
result of accusing, directing, and generatinglines. This technical language
derivedfrom descriptivegeometrywas particularlycurrentin the firstquar-
ter of the century.These termsare found in Guadet,Umbdenstock,and even
Le Corbusier.
I4. M. Paillotde Montabert, Traitecomplet de la peinture,5 vols., Paris,
I829-185I ,I, 49. Paillot de Montabertwas later a pupil of J.-L. David. His
writingsrepresentthe most influentialexpressionof dessingeometralbefore
the Reorganization.
"On appelledeveloppementl'operationpar laquelleon expose dans leur
veritablegrandeuret mesuretoute les superficescomposantun solide. Ainsi
developperune surfaceen graphiec'est fairevoir en entiersans raccoursisse-
ment; c'est faire connaitre sans aucune equivoque ou diminution visuelle
ces dimensionsdes surfaces."
I47
The point locus was both a geometrical and a structural con-
cept, which defined the center of gravity as the station or
point d'appui of an object by a horizontal projection.15
One orders an architecturalcompositionwith respectto a point
and a centerof balance.
The focal point representsonly one part of the work, but of such
importancethat withoutit the compositionis not only imperfect,but
non-existent-it is the part which representsthe whole.
Sincethis horizontalprojectionis only the outline in the planeof
the verticalaxis with regardto which the unity of the solid work is
realized,the architecturalpoint trulypossessesthe characteristicsof
a geometricpoint.16
La correction was complemented in theory and practice by
the technical concept of le fini, or craftsmanlike precision of
form. These two methods comprised the comprehensive
parameter of academic dogma for all the arts. By an implac-
able systematic finish throughout the art work, the parts
were integrated into the overall linear schema of the whole.
Since the I7th century, dessin was inculcated in students
primarily by requiring highly regularized drawings of the
nude model. The model was carefully posed to demonstrate
the laws of balance, called la statique or la ponderation (for
this reason, the Academy was often referred to as the Ecole
du Modele). This archaic presentation of a statical law in
physical science was given concrete and precise artistic mean-
ing with the simple studio technique of using the plumb line,
or aplomb, to display the center of gravity (Fig. 3 and Appen-
dix B). The aplomb, which originated in the Academy of
Painting and Sculpture, was a formal or structural vertical
accent, which when projected to infinity, passed through the
center of the world (Fig. 4). It could be applied to generate a
grid (the old academic maniere carree), which provided a
comprehensive organization, while supplying the technical
means to enlarge and translate a dessin into another medium
(Fig. 5).
By the late i8th century, a common process of training for
I5. The equation of geometrical form with statical structurewas rein-
forcedby the fact that the man famous for developingdescriptivegeometry,
GasparMonge, also producedbasic books on mechanicsused in a paradig-
maticway by most officialFrenchschools such as the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
This issue is clearin Monge's Traiteelementairede la statique,alreadyin its
eighth edition in 1846.
i6. Albert Ferran, Philosophie de la composition architecturale,Paris,
1955, 24-25, 48. Ferranwas a later pupil of Guadet. His majoractivityas a
Beaux-Artsarchitect,theorist, and teacheroccurredin the zos.
"Unecompositionarchitecturales'ordonnepar rapporta un 'point'et par
rapporta un axe d'equilibre.
"Lepoint focal ne representequ'unepartde l'oeuvre,mais une partd'une
importancetelle que sans elle, la composition est non imparfaite,mais in-
existant-c'est la part qui representele tout.
"Commecette projectionhorizontalen'est autreque la tracedans le plan
de l'axe verticalepar rapportauquelse realisel'unitede l'oeuvreen volume,
le point architectural a vraiment les caracteristiquesd'un point geo-
metrique."
148
all the arts had been developed, although architecturalstan-
dards seemed to dominate. A more geometrically precise
and comprehensive theory of dessin described the nude
model in the distinctly architecturallanguage of plan and
elevation. In paintings, the plumb line of the human figure
was accentuated by aligning it with architecturaledges in
the background.This specialized teaching routine was ex-
pressed by the term academie, applied to the live model in
archetypal poses. Even critics of the academic dessin art,
such as Viollet-le-Duc, recognizedthe indispensableimpor-
tance of the academie.l7

Edict of I863
Architecturewas the dominant point of contention for the
1863 Reorganization,since the most aggressiveand persis-
tent advocateof the reformwas an architect,Viollet-le-Duc.
Reorganizationwas basedon a iz-point edict formulatedby
the Comte de Nieuwerkerke:18
i) Creation of the post of director;
z) Reform of the system of nominating professors;
3) Creation of new chairs of painting, engraving, etc., as
well as preparatoryworkshops, directed by professors
chosen by the administration;
4) Initiationof free courses, to be followed by anyone pre-
senting a program to the administrationthat promised
useful instruction;
5) Establishment of a conseil superieur d'enseignement
close by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts;
6) Abolition of the concours preparatoires;
7) Fixing at 25 the age limit for the concours aux grands
prix;
8) Abolition of the seconds prix;
9) Reduction of the allowance given to prizewinners to
cover four years, two of which were to be spent in Rome
and two in travelling; Fig. 3. J. F. Bosio, Elements of Drawing, Philadelphia, I816, ill. I.
IO) Abolition of the grands prix de paysage;
ii) Increasein the grant given to boarding students;
iz) Introductionof a special jury to judge the concours des
the Academyover the Ecole. The new policy was most effec-
grands prix.
tively expressed in items z, 3, 5, 6, and iz, where it was
The new regulationswere directed against the Ecole des stated that the Academy would no longer control openings
Beaux-Artsbecause it administeredthe dessin courses, and for professorsat the Ecole; that the academicroutineof life
were intended to suspend once and for all the influenceof
drawing instilling the principles of pure dessin would be
supplanted by courses on the materials and techniques of
I7. Viollet-le-Duc, Reponse a M. Vitet, 38. "S'il est necessaire qu'un the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture;that the
artiste, peintre, sculpteur ou meme architecte, connaisse parfaitementla Ecolewould be supervisedby a conseil superieurd'enseigne-
formedu corps humainet soit en etat de reproduireexactementles poses de
ces messieurset de ces dames payes a l'heure; si, en mot, 1'etudede l'acad- ment independentof the Academy;that the concoursprepa-
emie est un moyen, et l'un des meilleurspour apprendrea dessiner...." ratoireswould no longerprovidethe meansof instillingaca-
I8. Nieuwerkerke'siz points appearedin a reportdirectedto the Mare- demic standardsdirectedtoward the Prix-de-Romecontest;
chal Vaillant, publishedin the Revue generalede l'architecture,xxi, I863,
z9of. All of the administration'snotices concerningthe Reorganizationwere and finally, that the Prix-de-Romecontest would no longer
made public throughthe officialorgan Le Moniteur Universelle. be administeredand judged by the Academy.

Fig. 4. C. Blanc, Grammaire des arts du dessin, Paris, 1867, 26.
The extent of the change envisionedby the criticsis dem-
onstratedby the new structurefor the Prix-de-Romecompe-
tition. Sole responsibilityfor the selection of the Prix-de-
Rome winners by the Academywas eliminated.According
to critics,it was herethat the Academymost flagrantlyover-
stepped its prerogativesas an honorary body not formally
committedto instruction.Moreover, the length of the Prix-
de-Romewas reducedfrom fiveto four years(whereasit had
previously often been extended one or two years), and its
classical concentrationwas broken up into a more varied,
historicalexperience.Only two years' stay in Rome was re-
quired,the rest of the time could be spent in travel.The stu-
dent was urged to study Gothic art in Franceas a salutary
alternativeto the over-zealousinvolvementwith thingsclas-
sical.
The significance of these changes in the Prix-de-Rome
I49
Fig. 5. J.-L. David, drawing of Napoleon for the painting
Distribution of the Eagles, Salon of I8IO (Louvre).
competition is suggested by the first major responseto the
1863 Reorganization.Ernest Beule, secretaireperpetuel of
the Academy from i86z, extolled the FrenchAcademy at
Rome in his "Ecole de Rome au dix-neuviemesiecle," pub-
lishedon 15 December1863 in the Revuedes Deux Mondes.
This article in turn provoked the anti-academiccritic Ana-
tole de Baudot to initiate his vehement attacks against the
Academy and the Ecole. The intensityof Baudot'shostility
reflected, and was partially derived from, his teacher's,
Viollet-le-Duc's, Gazette des Beaux-Arts articles of I86z.
Both Baudot and Viollet-le-Duc centered their criticism
aroundthe academicconcourspreparatoires,which lead to
the Prix-de-Romecompetition,since herelay the traditional
means of forcing students into the patterns of dessin geo-
metral in preparationfor the Prix-de-Rome.19
I9. A. de Baudot, Reorganizationde l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts-de son in-
fluence sur l'etude de l'architecture,Paris, 1864. The Prix-de-Romewas
subjectedto its most searchingcriticismby the MarechalVaillantwhen he
respondedto the Academy'spetitionagainstthe Reorganization,sent to the
Emperor.Both documentsare in the Gazettedes Beaux-Arts,xi, 1864, 273-
287 and 268-273, respectively.
I50
The government'seffort to undermineinstruction at the
Ecole by modifying the Prix-de-Romewas intensifiedon 13
August 1864, when a Grand Prix de l'Empereurwas an-
nounced, with a stipend of ioo,ooo francs. This new prize
was to be offeredby the Emperor'shouse every five yearsto
an architect, painter, or sculptor, thus creating a competi-
tion outside of the Ecole's control.20
Backgroundto the Reorganization
The Act of Reorganizationhad been anticipatedearlier.The
major predisposing cause was the resentmentharboredby
Napoleon IIItoward the traditionalprestigeof the Institute,
its academic members, and such associated bodies as the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts.21An earlyexample of his independent
course of action occurredin I851 when he appointeda com-
mittee, headed by the Comte de Laborde,to study the Great
London Exposition at the CrystalPalace and the relationof
the artsto industry.22Napoleon's high regardfor the English
industrialarts was made explicit when he awarded the Le-
gion of Honor to Henry Cole at the I855 Paris Universal
Exposition.23
Also in the first year of his reign, the Emperorsponsored
an extensive and thorough reorganizationof the national
collection and museums.By the late 5os the new Louvrewas
completed, and the whole collection revised to include a
more continuously representative historical sampling of
work, but with an emphasison medievalart.24This emphasis
o2. Academicproponents like CharlesBlanc respondedto this nouveau
prix with reservation:CharlesBlanc, "Sur l'institutiondu nouveau grand
prix," Gazettedes Beaux-Arts,xII, 1864, 265-270. By stating that io of the
30 membersawardingthe new prizehad to be fromthe Academiedes Beaux-
Arts, the scheme of the old Prix-de-Romewas partially continued. The
source of the other 20 membersof the jurywas not revealed,thus avoiding
an importantdecision.
zi. According to J. B. Wolf, France 1814-1819, New York, 1963, 272,
Louis Napoleon considered the founding of a rival Institute. Instead he
addeda new sectionto the existingInstitute,the Academyfor Moral Sciences
(administration,politics, and finance).
22. This reportwas only publishedin 1856 with the suggestivetitle Expo-
sition universellede 85 1. Travauxde la commissionfranfaisesurl'industrie
des nations. In the same year, Labordepublishedhis Quelques idees sur la
directiondes arts et sur le maintiendu gout public. Both works revealcon-
cerns of the administrationthat ultimatelydiffusedthe strengthof the Re-
organization:on the one hand, interestin industry,on the other, a didactic
interestin public taste, perhapsreflectingthe continued importanceof the
ministre de l'instruction publique. Art was pragmaticallyassessed as a
vehicleof social instructionand as relatedto industrialproduction.The lat-
ter is explainedby the connection,effectivesince the Revolution,of the mu-
seums with industryin a Departmentof Museums and Manufactures.Sig-
nificantly,after 1855 the Salons were held at the Palais d'industrie.
23. Henry Cole was instrumentalin equipping the i851 Crystal Palace
show with contemporaryindustrialarts. He was also the director (I852-
1873) of the South Kensingtonschool so admiredby the proponentsof the
Reorganizationas an art school based upon industrialprinciplesof design.
24. Viollet-le-Duc'srole in the medievalrevivalin Francehas been most
recentlyand adequatelycoveredby Georg Germann,Gothic Revival in Eu-
threatenedto overwhelmconcernwith the classicalantiqui-
ties sanctioned by academicdessin instruction.25
More directly and immediately,the Reorganizationwas
anticipatedwhen Napoleon establishedon zz April1863 the
famous Salon des Refuses (announced on 24 April in the
Moniteur). He also created a commission headed by Nieu-
werkerke to investigate the then Academy-dominatedart
situation.
Failureof the Reorganization
The Reorganization of 1863 was more radical and far-
reaching than the tentative moves against academic teach-
ing in I831. It was, however, no more successfulin altering
the influenceof traditionaltheory and practice.The Mare-
chal Vaillant'sdecreeon the Reglementde l'Ecole imperiale
et speciale des Beaux-Arts, written on 14 January 1864,
shows important signs of accommodation to academic
teaching,perhapsas a resultof the Comtede Nieuwerkerke's
influence.26The concours preparatoireswere retained, a
strategic surrenderof initiative according to original pro-
ponents of the Reorganization.
The centralimportanceof the concourspreparatoireshad
been openly discussed by Ludovic Vitet, who wrote the
most extensive defense of traditional academic training in
an articlepublishedin the Revue des Deux Mondes with the
title "De l'enseignementdes arts du dessin."27As a rebuttal
to this article, Viollet-le-Duc published in 1864 one of his
most importantcriticismsof the academicsystem, Reponse
2aM. Vitet a propos de l'enseignementdes arts du dessin.28
Viollet-le-Duc's anger at the retention of the concours was
also made public in his pamphlet of the same year called
Interventionde l'Etat dans l'enseignementdes Beaux-Arts.
This compromise with the principle of reform influenced
his decision to resign his chair of the history of art and aes-
thetics after only several months of tenure.29
rope and Britain: Sources, Influencesand Ideas, Cambridge,MA, 1972,
135-I50. According to Hautecoeur, L'architectureclassique en France, 7
vols., Paris, 1943-1955, VII, 35I-380, Viollet was less dedicatedto the imi-
tative aspectsof medievalrevivalafter 1855 (in termsof purelystylisticcri-
teria).
z5. Desjardin'snational concept of the medieval had been precededby
L.-E. Dussieux's L'art considere comme le symbole de l'etat social ou ta-
bleaux historiques et synoptiques du developpement des beaux-arts en
France,Paris, 1838. Before this the strong national identityof medievalart
had been stressedby Toussaint BernartEmeric-David,Histoirede la sculp-
ture francaise,Paris, 1814.
26. Nieuwerkerke'srole in this respectis assumedby AlbertBoime, The
Academyand FrenchPaintingin the NineteenthCentury,New York, 1971,
i8i.
27. Revue des deux mondes, i November 1864, 74-107.
28. See footnote 7.
29. Viollet-le-Duc'sfrustrationand disenchantmentwith the weakened
Reorganizationis revealedin lettersto his friends.SeeEugeneViollet-le-Duc
(1814-1879), Cataloguede la Caisse nationaledes monumentshistoriques,
Paris, 1965, I4zf.

In fact, the concours were never actually discontinued,
and they were officially reestablishedas early as Vaillant's
Reglements. The concours became even more pronounced
in the second half of the century than they had been in the
first half. In I90o, Albert Louvet wrote:
At the Ecole, the contestshave the characterof continuousexercises
since thereare sketchesor projectsto be handedin everymonth, in
additionto the specialcontests.Thus, the judgingof thesetrialsreally
makes up an integralpart of the instruction,and it is, both for the
studentsand teachers,an indication[of progress]and a guide.30
By the turn of the centurythese minor concourshad become
the vehicle for absolute administrativecontrol, represented
by a greatly expanded number of special competitions, for
each of which there was an appropriatemedal or endow-
ment.
The only strong measuretaken in the restructuringof the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts program was the institution of new
chairs in architecture, painting, and sculpture. Ironically,
through a process of adaptation, the new course structure
itself by 1870 became a vehicle for perpetuatingthe tradi-
tional, predominantlyneo-classical mentality of academic
instruction. In architecture,academicallytrained and com-
mitted architectsgraduallytook over the three new official
architecturalateliers: J. Andre in 1867, P. Ginain in 1870,
and in I87I, J. Guadet, one of the students who had or-
ganized the revolt against the lessons of Viollet-le-Duc. By
i880, the new courses established through the 1863 decrees
were treated automatically as a part of the exclusive, vested
interest of traditional academic dessin pedagogy. This
strange reversal was clearly recognized by academic advo-
cates such as Guillaume and Henard, as well as by the oppo-
nents of dessin training, like M. Ruprich-Robert and E.
Trelat.
The basic weakness of the government Reorganization
was lack of unanimity between its advisors and instigators
concerning which traditional pedagogical devices to sup-
press and which new ideas to institute. Too often subjective
motives dominated, such as Viollet-le-Duc's interest in the
medieval, the Emperor's interest in industrial arts, and the
miscellaneous interests of the literary backersof the Reor-
ganization, like Merimee and Renan, in abstractquestions
of artistic freedom and positivist philosophy. Even the
strongpoint of Reorganizationpolicy, the concept of utilite,
was weakened by vague and personal meaning. Nieu-
30. Albert Louvet, L'artarchitecturaleet la profession d'architecture,2
vols., Paris,I90o, i, z15. That Louvetwas directlyconversantwith the Ecole
trainingis not to be doubtedsincehe was a secondgrandprix winnerin 1885.
"A l'Ecole,les concoursont le caractered'exercisescontinuels,puisqu'ily en
a, esquisses ou projets rendus, tous les mois, sans compter les concours
speciaux. Le jugementde ces epreuves forme donc, a vrai dire, partie in-
tegrantede l'enseignementet il doit etre pour les eleves-et aussi les profes-
seurs-une indication et un guide."
i5i
werkerke had suggested utilite as a new subject in Beaux-
Arts instruction.But his discussion of it soon shifted into a
predominantlyhistorical and classical frame of reference,
and concludedwith a recommendationfor theoreticalspec-
ulation. Utilitebecameeven less a contemporary,pragmatic
standard when he reduced it to any vague psychological
means for stimulatingthe student'smind: "Tout ce qui peut
exciter la pensee chez les eleves est utile."31
Instead of stressingfunctional needs of the day and new
technological possibilities, the proponents of the Reor-
ganization continued to present their case in the dichoto-
mous academicterminologyof form versusstructure,a dis-
tinction which was, as we shall see, in accordwith the Aca-
demic policy that they were opposing.32Their discussions
were couched in historicalterms, associatingnew structural
systems of iron with medieval prototypes. They limited
structureto vaulting systemsmixing stone and iron, instead
of creating integrated, all-iron structures like the Crystal
Palace. A. de Baudot was emphatic about medieval models
in discussingnew modes for spanning spaces: "In order to
cover large spaces, architecturemust have recourse to the
vault. It is thereby led to the Gothic."33
Reorganization proponents could have developed the
structuralassociations of Gothic with modern technology,
but this relationship passed them by. Instead of stressing
how the clearly revealed structuralmembersin Gothic ar-
chitecture evoked and could be adapted to cast-iron sup-
ports, they defended the Gothic in vague cultural terms as
nationalistic and religious. This interpretationwas already
clear in Viollet-le-Duc'swritings by 1846:
Whereis theseriousmanwhowouldeverhaveclaimedthatGothic
artwastheonlytrueexpressionof Christian
art?Whatwe areasking
of everyone, is thereturnto anartformwhichwasborn
gentlemen,
in France.34
The resultof his approachwas an effortto modernizearchi-
tectural education by introducing a mimetic medieval his-
toricism to counter the classical historicism of the Ecole.
This questionableuse of an historicalalternativewas easily
rebuttedby ErnestBeule in his 1864 Causeriessur l'art:
Youspeakto meof ournationalhistory-I understand thatit is the
historyof ournation-of ournationallanguage;I understandthatit
is the Frenchlanguage,thatit is neitherGerman,norEnglish,nor
31. Revue generalede I'architecture,xxI, 1863, 292.
32. Viollet-le-Duc in particularweakened his polemical position by at-
tributingthe art of constructionto innateability,ratherthan stressingit as a
universal technique susceptible to various levels of learned practice. See
Viollet-le-Duc,Architectureraisonee,H. Damish, ed., Paris, I964, 33.
33. Cited in Hautecoeur,L'architectureclassique,vii, 352.
34. Annales archeologiques, iv, 1846, 336: "Mais quel est l'homme
serieus qui ait jamais pretendu que le gothique resumat a lui seul l'art
chretien? Ce que nous demandonsa tous, messieurs,c'est le retoura un art
ne dans notre pays. Nous sommes par le 48 degre latitude."
I5z
Italian. But, is Gothic architecture uniquely French, so that you can
call it "national"? Are you saying that France invented it? One has
tried to prove that it is, but foreigners deny it.35
The conflict between form and structure indicates (i) that
opponents of academic training remained trapped in the
traditional dessin system, and (z) that both the opponents
and advocates of academic pedagogy were biased toward a
formal rather than structural alternative as the dominant
consideration in architectural training. This formalist bias
had a long pedigree. In the 81izProjets d'architecture by the
Academy architect A. M. Peyre, the question was raised
whether the emphasis on scientific knowledge (which pre-
sumably meant structural engineering) was not detrimental
to the architect's purposes (composition with classical
forms).36 Even at the Ecole Polytechnique, where modern
structural engineering was taught since its formation in
1796, supposedly practical courses were oriented toward
formalism. J. N. Durand revealed a more explicit formalist
bias when he put out a new edition of his famous Precis des
lefons d'architecture in 1823 (first published in I804-
I8I6).37 In 1831, during another earlier attempt at reor-
ganization of the Ecole, the academician Leon Vaudoyer
lamented the weakness of contemporary training in the field
of structure.38The writings of the structure-conscious Henri
Labrouste indicated that around 1840, when structure was
discussed in architectural education, it was separated from
35. ErnestBeule, Causeriessur l'art, Paris, 1864, 42: "Vous me parlezde
notre histoirenationale,-je comprendsque c'est l'histoirede notre nation,
-de notre langue nationale, je comprendsque c'est la langue francaise,qui
n'est celle ni de l'Allemagne,ni de l'Angleterre,ni de l'Italie.Mais l'architec-
ture gothique est-elle donc uniquementl'architecturede notre nation, pour
que vous l'appelieznationale?Est-ce donc que la Francel'auraitinventee?
On a essaye de le prouver,et les etrangersle nient."
36. A. M. Peyre, Projets d'architecture,Paris, 181z, z1: "L'architecture
est peut-etrel'art auquel on doit reunirle plus des connaissancesde beau-
coup d'autresartset sciences.La difficultede reunirtoutes ces connaissances
a arretele progresde quantited'architectesqui, attachantuniquementa la
partiescientifiquede l'art, ont neglige la partie du genie."
37. "Je me suis attache surtout a la partie de la composition, qui, chose
etonnante, n'avait jamais ete traite dans aucun ouvrage, ni dans aucun
cours; tous les details de construction,rejetesdans des notes a la fin de ce
volume, ne couperont plus le fils des idees generales...."
This aspect of Durand's cours is generallyoverlooked in an attempt to
emphasizehis role as a modern functionalist.Such is the interpretationof
Henry Russell Hitchcock, Architecture:Nineteenth and Twentieth Centu-
ries, Baltimore,I958. More importantthan Durand'sgreatlysimplifiedele-
vational samplesof variousarchitecturalstylesis the use of small-scalegrids
for the plan of a building.Such a procedureleads to that monumentalsym-
metry associatedwith academicclassicism.
38. "Lesjeunesarchitectes,au contraire,excellentdans la theorie et dans
le dessin, et reviennentsouvent de Rome sans avoir la moindre notion des
constructions."
This statement was quoted by the Marechal Vaillant in replyingto the
Academy'scomplaintsabout the Reorganization.The document was pub-
lished in the Revue generalede l'architecture,xxII, 1864, 54.
the concerns of dessin training.39 For Jakob Ignaz Hittorff,
famous for his use of the iron framework in his buildings,
the formal concept of architecture, rather than structure,
was paramount.40 After the 1863 Reorganization, J. L. Duc,
considered liberal in aspects of his architectural thinking,
was still an adamant formalist.41
It is against this ingrained academic tradition that Viollet-
le-Duc fought when he took a major role in instigating the
1863 reform.
In architecture, there are, if I may thus phrase it, two methods neces-
sary for truth. [Buildings]must be true accordingto program,and
trueaccordingto constructionprocesses.... As to what is considered
purelya questionof art:symmetry,the apparentform,theseareonly
secondaryconditionscomparedto the dominantprinciples.42
But the structural emphasis, which provided a strong argu-
ment against Academic tradition, was compromised by
issues such as nationalism and religion, or by specific ques-
tions of administration and legality. Moreover, structure
was presented as a historical alternative, rather than as an
autonomous, technological process employing new materi-
als like iron. The distinction between architecture and en-
gineering is evident in Charles Blanc's 1867 Grammaire des
arts du dessin, where the cleavage was more dramatic than
before.43 "Inside each true architect, there are two men, an
artist and a builder." And he gives priority to the problem
of art: form is higher (more important) than function. The
formalist orientation was affirmed when such a liberal
critic as Cesar Daly continued to use the word constructeur
39. Revuegeneralede l'architecture,I, 1841, 59: "Quanta moi, je regrette
que les concoursde constructionsoient independentsdes concoursd'archi-
tecture; c'est presque admettre que l'architectureet la constructionsont
deux choses differentesqui peuvent s'etudierseparement...."
40. Quoted by CharlesBlanc, Grammairedes arts du dessin, Paris,I88I,
68: "L'artde batir se trouverchez les peuples les moins civilises,tandisque
l'architecturen'a pu etre que le resultatde la plus haute civilization."
4I. Quoted in Hautecoeur,Historie de l'architecture,viI, I17: "L'archi-
tectureest la religionde la forme.... Elle sera fidelea la traditiona laquelle
aucune architecturene peut de soustraire:l'antiquite. Elle sera en meme
temps l'expression de la raison, dont la science ne permet pas de nous
eloigner aujourd'hui."
42. Viollet-le-Duc,Entretiens,z vols., Paris, 1863, I, 451. Viollet seemsto
have believed,rathernaively, that this distinctionwas attributableto a sin-
gle man, Comte de Laborde: "En architecture,il y a, si je puis m'exprimer
ainsi,deux faconsnecessairesd'etrevrai.Il fautetrevraiselon le programme,
vraiselon les procedesde construction.... Ce que l'on considerecommedes
questions purementd'art, savoir: la symetrie,la forme apparente,ne sont
que des conditions secondaires en presence de ces principes dominants"
(Entretiens,I, 353).
43. Blanc, Grammaire,66. CharlesBlanc (1813-1882) was a conservative
critic whose theoreticalwritings show a deep assimilationof the principles
of traditionalacademicdessin. The Grammaireis not to be construedas a
responseto the 1863Reorganization,since it beganappearingin serialform
from the very first year, I859, of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts,which he
founded. In i868 he was elected to the Academyand was Director of Fine
Arts from 1870 to I873.

ratherthan the strongermodernistword ingenieur.44As late
as i88z, the emphasis on form was reiteratedwhen Julien
Henard defended the academic, Beaux-Artssystem against
the harsh indictmentsthat M. RuprichRobert publishedin
his Reflectionsur I'enseignementde l'architectureen 188.45
At the turn of the century,the same, somewhat accentuated,
system of thought continued to flourish.It is found in Gua-
det's very popular, four-volume Elements et theories de
I'architecture of I90I-I904.46
Immediately after the Reorganization, the conservative
natureof the pedagogicalchange at the Ecole was apparent.
In his History of Art and Aesthetics course, Viollet-le-Duc
dealt not with structureand the role of iron, but with archi-
tecture as an expression of functional ideals in the Roman
and medieval periods. He focused on formal patterns of
architecture,similar to academic procedure,though not as
clearlybasedon classicalmodels. His coursealmost immedi-
ately generated conflict with the students (the reclamation
against the new instruction signed by 336 students of the
Ecole was mainlydirectedagainstit), and on i6 March 1864,
after only seven lessons, he submitted his resignation to
Vaillant.47 With Viollet-le-Duc's departure, the major
change which had been expected in the new enseignement
of the post-ReorganizationEcole came to an end.
The appointment of Hippolyte Taine to the chair he
vacated may indicate a move by the administrationto avoid
further controversies by introducing course material that
was abstract, literary, or cultural. Taine's philosophical
method was directedin the main to the example of antiquity
(the first year's material was later published by Taine as
44. Revue generale de l'architecture,xxv, 1865, i6z. Daly's statements
after the Reorganizationin favor of the pure, formal problemsof architec-
ture are of great importance,becausehe was the founderand editor of the
Revue generale de l'architecture,which began in 1840 with the avowed
purpose of developingthe equal status of the engineerwith the architect.
45. Antoine Julien Henard, L'architecturea l'Ecole des Beaux-Artsen
i88--reponse a M. Ruprich Robert, Paris, 1882, II: "L'architecturene
consiste pas seulementa construiredes edificesd'utilitepublique,a calculer
des resistancesde materiauxet a employerceux-cid'unemaniereingenieuse;
c'est la son cote scientifiquedont je suis loin de nier la valeur; mais elle a,
d'autrepart, et il ne faut pas l'oublier,un cote purementartistique.Ce c6te
artistiqueconsiste surtout dans la proportiondes lignes et des masses,dans
la position des ensembles,dans le caractereet la puretedes formes."
46. JulienGuadet,Elementset theoried'architecture,4 vols., Paris,I90o-
I904, I, 22. Guadet won the Prix-de-Romein the criticalyear of 1864, just
after the Reorganization. His traditional academic background can be
tracedto 1857when he electedto go into the atelierof JulesAndreinsteadof
Viollet-le-Duc,following Labrouste'sdecision to close his own atelier.
47. Viollet-le-Duc'scoursewas alreadyin troublewith the secondseance,
when the majorityof the studentsspontaneouslyleft. Due to their dissatis-
faction, and at the invitation of Nieuwerkerkehimself, the studentswrote
their reclamation of z5 February 1864. Earlier, Viollet-le-Duc had had
trouble acting as a teacher when he took over the dissident wing of La-
brouste'satelierin 1857, and walked out aftera shortperiod: see PaulGout,
Viollet-le-Duc,Paris, 1914, I58f.
I53
Philosophie de l'art en Grece). The study of medieval, na-
tional art in architecture,painting, and sculpturewould be
reinstatedonly in the late 9os with the appointmentof Louis
de Fourcaudto teach art history.48
The direction that the Ecole was taking is exemplifiedin
the type of history and structurecourses that were offered,
either immediatelyafter the 1863 Reorganizationor within
the decade following (i.e., before i880). J. B. Lesueur's1879
Histoire et theorie de l'architecture(Lesueurheld the chair
for the theory of architecture in the pre-Reorganization
Ecole from I853 to 1863, when it was suppressed,and from
its reinstatementin I873 to I883) began with the architec-
ture of Egypt, Greece, and Imperial Rome, then jumped
over the medievalto the Renaissance,concludingwith a dis-
cussion of Michelangelo's dome for St. Peter's. The book
reiterated his pre-Reorganizationlessons, for it demon-
strated a systematic,neo-classical, anti-medievalbias.
The conservative nature of construction courses was
demonstrated with the diocesian F. L. Millet's (pupil of
Labrouste)post-Reorganizationclass set up by the Conseil
superieurd'enseignement.Constructionwas not presented
as a purely empirical engineering science, incorporating
new, contemporaryexperimentswith new buildingmateri-
als, but developed as a conceptual matterof formal design.
With geometrical precision, building units of traditional
masonry architecturewere arranged in elegantly concise
patterns. He did not make his instructionmore modem by
including in it either iron or structuralcalculation. Course
descriptionsthat ran in the Gazette des architecteset bati-
ments indicate clearlythat Millet's course was indeed more
rationalthan empiricalin method. It dealtwith construction
generally in nonmathematicalterms, avoiding mechanical
laws of materials.Architecturewas treatedas a geometrical
problem of cutting and ordering stones into architectural
compositions basedupon classicalfeatures,like column and
entablature.When iron structureappeared,as a last consid-
eration, it was dealt with either as an isolated type of cast-
iron support,or limitedto roof structuresrestingon masonry
walls, without developing iron as an entire fabric for the
whole buildingfrom the ground up.49Millet's conservatism
was indicated by frequentreferenceto such a standardbut
48. Fourcaud'srole is analyzedin S. Rocheblave,Louis de Fourcaudet le
mouvement artistique en France de 1875-1914, Paris, 92z6.Fourcaud's
medievalismwas not an incidental aspect of his concerns, but was con-
sciously directedagainst the Academyand the Ecole.
49. Of the iz areas with which Millet succinctlysummarizedhis course,
the subjectof steel was placedlast. Eventhen the referenceis oblique,almost
being subordinatedto charpenterie:"Des constructionde charpente;de
celles executees en bois et en fer; de celles ou le fer seul est employe."The
summaryof Millet's cours, as well as the firstlesson, is found in the Gazette
des architecteset du batiment, 1864, 67f.
'54
antiquated source as Jacques Rondelet's early 9Ith-century
Traite theoretiqueet pratique de l'art de batir, which con-
centrated on the stone architecture conducive to academic
dessin.50
A CriticalPerspectiveof the Reorganization
The key to the failure of the 1863 Reorganization, then, can
be seen in the pervasive and continued importance of dessin
in academic training, directed exclusively to the en geo-
metral plan and elevation for the Prix-de-Rome. It is in-
comprehensible that the anti-academic critics failed to take
adequate precautions against this issue, since it was singled
out by opponents and proponents of the academic method
as the center of the old system. Nor can this oversight be
attributed to a Cabala-like secrecy of the Academy and
Ecole concerning the basis of academic teaching. Vitet had
made the fundamental importance of dessin to academic
training unmistakably clear. He even declared that it was
dessin that traditionally gave the mythical but elusive unity
of dogma to an institution whose education was supported
by a diversity of free ateliers particuliers.
The individualateliersaffiliatedwith the school, revolvingaroundit,
distinguishedfrom each other by their well-definedcharacters,by
theirfrankdiversityof inclinationand style; then at the centeris the
school, maintainingits consistencyand unity and a respectfor line,
the cult of dessin; this is for us the ideal primarycondition for the
teachingof the arts in this country.51
50. In essence, the hard core of programmaticallyspecializedtechnical
educationwent no furtherthan instructionin stereotomy(or the cuttingof
geometricallyregular masonry building units), which had become a rig-
orous sciencewhen descriptivegeometrywas perfectedin the late i8th cen-
tury (primarilyas a result of the work of Gaspar Monge, one of the key
foundersof the Ecole Polytechnique,where descriptivegeometryand stere-
otomy had become the major foundation of a technicaleducation).In this
respect,Millet's new course on constructiondid not appreciablyalter the
traditional, architecturaltraining, where mathematicswas used not for
statics,but in descriptivegeometry,which automaticallyincludedthe practi-
cal art of stone cutting.
The architecturalprogramat the Ecole des Beaux-Artsin the last quarter
of the century was succinctly described by Alexis Lemaistre,L'Ecole des
Beaux-Arts,Paris, 1889. The complexity of the programfrom first to last,
from admissionthroughthe concoursculminatingin the Prix-de-Rome,was
exhaustivelyspecifiedby Henry Guedy, L'enseignementa l'Ecole nationale
et specialedes Beaux-Arts-section d'architecture,Paris,1899 (introduction
by Guadet).
This conservativedessin traditioncontinuedunabatedinto the later Igth
and early zoth centuries,if the great numberof stereotomiecourses being
producedby leading Beaux-Artsadministrators,teachers,and studentsbe
taken as evidence.The most importantexample was Jules Pillet, Traitede
stereotomie,Paris,1887, supersededby the Traitetheoretiqueet pratiquede
la stereotomie au point de vue de la coupe des pierresof Louis Monduit
(teacherof the constructioncourse at the Ecole in the 8os and 9os, a student
of Felix Duban in architectureand M. Jolli, himselfa pupil of Rondelet).
5 . LudovicVitet, "De l'enseignementdes artsdu dessin,"Revuedes deux
mondes, I November 1864, 95-96. "Nous trouvons donc tout naturelque
l'ecole, depuis deux cents ans, n'ait professe que la dessin....
"Des ateliersparticuliersaffiliesa l'ecole, gravitantautour d'elle, se dis-
Viollet-le-Duc himself, in his pamphlet of 1864, Reponse
a M. Vitet a propos de l'enseignementdes arts du dessin,
offered one of the best general descriptions of academic
method. He did not understand, however, the subtle peda-
gogical relation between what was called enseignement
classique and the opposite process of mechanically copying
the nude model. The flaw in his characterization of dessin as
it-affected all the arts was a result of a miscomprehension of
the academic concept of la correction (see Appendix A).
Viollet-le-Duc's failure to promote a more integrated criti-
cism of dessin is particularly surprising because several of
his contemporaries were successful in doing this without
any more direct knowledge than his. J. A. Castagnary had
correctly evaluated the general theoretical purpose in dessin
of la correction. Dividing the artistic process into two dis-
tinct but complementary methods of detailed, realistic ex-
actitude and abstract, geometrical regularity, la correction
was an ideal science of pure design.
The classicalschool assertsthatnatureshouldbe correctedby means
of the indicationssupportedby antiquityor the masterpiecesof the
Renaissance.It is disturbedand frightenedby reality.Underthe pre-
text of purifyingand idealizingreality,it weakensor deformsit; it is
always a case of diminution,even if it is not always one of pure in-
vention.52
The older, more sophisticated critic, Theophile Thore, un-
derstood even better the dialectical range of academic dessin
theory.
And thereis a methodof workingwhich is altogetherdifferentfrom
the workingmethodsconsecratedby the long dominationof Italian
art. Insteadof searchingfor the contours,what the Academycalls
drawing, instead of insisting upon the detail, what lovers of the
classicalcall finish,theyaspireto renderthe effectin its strikingunity,
withoutworryingaboutthe correctnessof the linesor the minutiaeof
the accessories.53
A second shortcoming of the reformists was their neglect
of the Academy's role in perpetuating and developing dessin
theory in its regular monthly meetings or seances.
Proponents of the Reorganization, especially Viollet-le-
Duc, further failed to take into account the existence of other
institutions for art training, such as the Ecole Centrale des
Arts et Manufacture, founded in i8z8 by Alphonse Lavalee
tinguantunsdes autresparles caracteres tranches,parde franchesdiver-
sitesde tendanceet de style,puisaucentrel'ecole,maintenant aucontraire
avecconstanceet unitele respectde la ligne,le cultedu dessin,voilapour
nousle type,l'ideal,la conditionpremiere de l'enseignementdesartsdans
ce pays."
52. Castagnary,Salons (I851-I870), Paris, 1892, 104: "L'ecoleclassique
affirmequela naturedoit etrecorrigeeau moyendesindications fournies
parl'antique ouparleschefsd'oeuvre delaRenaissance. Larealitelatrouble
et lui faitpeur.Souspretextede l'epurer,de l'idealiser,
ellel'attenueou la
deforme;c'esttoujoursde l'amoindrissement, quandce n'estpastoujours
de la conventionpure."
53. T. Thore, Salons de W. Burger,Paris, I870, 414.

(a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique), and the Ecole
Royale de Dessin, called the Petit Ecole. This oversightwas
important for two reasons, besides indicatinga lack of cir-
cumspect Reorganizationart policy. First, the Reorganiza-
tion did not recognizewhat these establishedschools could
immediately contribute to contemporary art instruction;
secondly, it did not consider whether or not these institu-
tions were reservoirsof dessin instruction,which in fact they
were.
These omissions were reinforcedby Viollet-le-Duc'sten-
dency to analyse problems from an archaeological stand-
point that tacitly employed a type of culturaldeterminism,
anticipatingTaine. This resultedin a broad,generalhistori-
cal view of society which interpretedpragmaticsolutions as
expressions of a larger cultural unity based upon social
values and customs. It was this philosophical concern that
was in part responsiblefor his view of Gothic architecture
as an expression of democraticsociety ratherthan as a feat
of engineering.54
Not only was this approachdifficultto prove, but it was
inconsistent with his advocacy of empirical standards. It
also could be used against him by academic opponents to
justify en geometral as embodying normativeculturalsym-
bols expressingcurrentratherthan past culture.CesarDaly
took this tack.55
The overall ineffectiveness of Reorganization policy is
demonstratedin the continuation and spread of dessin, es-
pecially from 1867, a period in which Napoleon III's au-
thority was decaying and his fiscal policy was being ques-
tioned (especiallyfor Baronvon Haussmann'sexpenditures).
In 1867 the Ecole des Beaux-Artsofferedan architectural
54. The functional approachto art and history was criticizedby Daly in
1864 when reviewingViollet-le-Duc'slecturesdeliveredat the Ecole. Revue
generale,xxii, 1864, 22-64. "I1avait annonce, en commencant,l'intention
d'etudierle rapportdes differentesgrandesmanifestationsde l'art avec les
idees religieuseset les circonstanceslocales avec l'ensembledes civilizations
au sein desquelleselles sont produits. Ce grand sujet a ete trop imparfaite-
ment expose, trop insuffisamentapprofondi,quelques apersus vagues, in-
complets...."
55. Daly's recommendationwas for Hautes Etudesin which architectural
form was interpretedsymbolically.This policy was formalizedby I889 at
the Congres internationaldes architectes. See Congres internationaldes
architectes,Paris, I896, 156: "J'ai entreprisla tache, fort lourde, de vous
exposer la necessite d'organiser,non pas seulementa Pariset en province,
mais dans tous les grands pays civilises, les Hautes Etudesde notre art.
"L'architecture,plus que tout autreart, exige des etudesvarieeset elevees.
Elle demande non seulement une grande familiariteavec le dessin et les
formes plastiquesde l'art, non seulementune profonde erudition, une sci-
ence etendue et une conception philosophique du passe, mais encore, et
surtout, la connaissancedes besoins du moment et de leur rapportavec ce
passe, dont les traditionsserventde base a nos principalesEcoles, et enfin
le sentimentdes tendancesversl'avenir.Elle demande,en outre, des facultes
d'administrationde premierordre, un sens pratiquetres developpeet aussi
un ideal tres eleve. Aucunecarriereen ce monde ne comporte un pareil en-
semble, un pareil fardeaude connaissances,de qualites, d'aptitudes."
I55
diploma that equated professional standards with artistic
training in dessin. This was not an unexpected situation,
becausethe diplomawas largelythe resultof the lobbyingof
the Societe Centrale des ArchitectesFrancais.Since its in-
ception in 1840, the Societehad put a high priorityon estab-
lishing a professional credentialthat preservedthe artistic
integrity of the architect's position against the encroach-
ment of the engineer. The immediate background to this
event was the creation of a teaching diploma in art and
dessin for teachers in the state schools. The pilot project
occurredfrom 1864 to I867 and was underthe supervision
of the architect Victor Baltard. That the course of study
leading to the diploma emphasized academic dessin was
confirmedwhen it was opposed vehemently by Viollet-le-
Duc, who not incidentallywas an opponent of the Societe
Centrale des Architectes; his criticism was particularly
strong in the second volume of his Entretiens,published in
1872.
Another unexpected event favoring dessin occurred in
I869 when the first recipient of the Emperor'sprize was
L.-J. Duc (one of the foundersof the SocieteCentrale),who
immediately turned the Prix de cent mille francs into a
special stipend for advanced studies (hautes etudes). This
prize, which was under the aegis of the Academy, was of-
fered for efforts to find or define a new modern style.
The Reorganization movement was furtherjeopardized
in I87I, when in the wake of the demise of the government
of Napoleon III, the Academy was again allowed to judge
the Prix-de-Romeand openly suggest candidatesfor vacan-
cies in the Ecole.
Then in 1877 the Ecole Imperialede Dessin, founded in
1765 by Bachelier,known as the Petit Ecole and located on
the Rue de Medecine, was aggrandizedin title by being re-
named the Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs de Paris.
This change indicated a widening pattern of national con-
trol in the administrationof art instructioncenteredaround
the leadershipof the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.Although this
was a minor event, it had great symbolic importance.
Viollet-le-Duchad taught there from 1834 to i85o, and had
been successfulon one occasion in 1837 in keeping it from
being incorporated directly into the national Beaux-Arts
routine.
Finallythe period following the Reorganizationstrength-
ened the hold of dessin as a result of the great number of
privatefunds that were continuallyaccruingto the Ecole to
endow new supplementalprizes. Of the approximately15
that were added in the next zo years, half were for architec-
ture, and were indeed the most universallyrecognized. In
all cases, these prizes, such as the Leclaire, Godeboeuf,
Labarre, and Chenavard, produced competition projects
based on dessin principles.
I56
Consequencesof the Reorganization
An important result of the Reorganizationwas the forma-
tion in 1864 of the new instructionalinstitutionsin the arts,
such as the Union centrale des beaux-arts appliques a l'in-
dustrie, and the Ecole centrale d'architecture(renamedin
I868 the Ecole speciale d'architecture).
As supported by the writings and lectures of Charles
Blanc and Eugene Guillaume, the Union centrale56was en-
couragedto train craftsmenand artisanswho possessed the
technical capacity to compose geometrically(en geometral)
in a correct system of pure dessin that avoided perspective
effects.Ironically,even though the Union centralepurported
to be a broadening synthesis of many points of view (and
was supported by Viollet-le-Duc, the Marechal Vaillant,
and the Comte de Nieuwerkerke),it adopted the more ab-
stract approach to dessin favored in the Academy. This
meant that industrial arts training was absorbed into the
continuingtraditionof the dessin espoused by the Academy
and the Ecole. It is even possible that the Union centralewas
being used as the testinggroundsfor an even more dogmatic
differentiation between perspective and traditionally fa-
vored academic dessin geometral. This important turn of
events is revealed in Charles Blanc's article describingthe
foundation of the Union centrale, where he discusses "la
raison universelledu dessin."
Obliged,ineffect,to hollowoutsuccessive draftson anevensurface,
thedraftsman canno moredo withoutperspective thanthepilotcan
do withouthiscompass.But,sinceit is impossible to reproduce
ob-
as without first them as exist, l'architecture en Grece, is the clear testament of an academic
jects theyappear knowing theyactually
thescienceof geometrymustprecedethatof perspective. How can
thedraftsman giveustheideaof a lampora hat,if hedoesnothavea
clearideahimselfof thelamporthehat,if hedoesnotknowtheexact more completely dominant. Boutmy stressed the synthetic
proportions-height, width,weight,geometric form-thatis to say, wholeness of a building's outer dimension (architecture
itsrealconstruction. Ifrealityis onlya visualdistortion,independent
of theobjectitself,thestudentwillnotknowhowto handlethisdis-
he an
tortion,orhowto makeothersseeit, unless has exactnotionof
theundistorted object... (Isay scienceand not art).5
The year after this articleappeared,Guillaume,the director
of the newly reorganizedEcole, in a key lecturegiven on 23
May i866 before the Union centrale,entitled "Ideegenerale
d'un enseignementdu dessin," also stressedthe concept of
dessin geometral:
At the sametime,geometrygivesus the meansof calculating each
objectin itstrueorproportionaldimensions; andsinceit alsoallows
us rigorouslyto determine, whiledevelopingthem,lineswhichit
wouldbeimpossible to obtainwiththeaidof a directsketch(aservice
thatgeometryalsorendersthearchitectandthemechanic), onecan
safelysaythatthissciencecontainstheexactprinciple of allbranches
of dessin and affirmsthe unity of dessinitself.58
It should be mentionedthat the span of Guillaume'speda-
gogical concerns included the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, the
lyceesand colleges,and also the ecoles de dessin municipales
et libres, ecoles professionnelles,and ecoles speciales d'art
applique.59
The creation of the Ecole centrale d'architecture in I864
was another indication of the government's willingness to
support alternative programs to the Beaux-Arts system. The
original purpose of the Ecole centrale (founded by E. Trelat)
was to provide a solid engineering background for architec-
ture (the school was early supported by Viollet-le-Duc). But
even here the academic point of view prevailed: the first
course was stereotomie instead of statics. The course in the
history of architecture, offered in the late 6os and early 70s
by E. Boutmy, was equally conservative. The book (pub-
lished in 1870) that grew out of these lectures, Philosophie de
formalism.60 In perhaps no other late 9gth-centurysource is
the role of dessin geometral by the method of la correction
exterieur-detested by Viollet-le-Duc). He described Greek
architecture in the most basic of correct, geometrical terms
as a development of surfaces by lines that enclose and de-

56. Foundedon z6 July 1864,underthe presidencyof M. Guichard,archi- l'elevenesaurapasse rendrecomptedecettealteration, et la fairesentiraux

tectedecorateur,theUnioncentralewasnotsetupasaninstructional facility
in thesenseof classroomcontact.Itwasa permanent artsexhibi-
industrial
tion hall,whichgaveperiodicseancesor publiclecturesof a pedagogical
nature.ItsoriginandpurposewasfullydiscussedbyCharlesBlanc,"L'Union
CentraledesBeaux-Arts appliquesa l'industrie,"
Gazettedes Beaux-Arts,
xvI, I866, I93-2I7.
57. Ibid., z2I: "Oblige en effet, de creuser des plans successifs sur une
surfaceunie,ledessinateurnepeutpasplussepasserdela perspective quele
pilotene peutse passerde la boussole.Maiscommeil est impossiblede
bienrepresenter les objetstels qu'ilsparaissent,si on ne les connaitpas
d'abordtelsqu'ilssont,la sciencedu geometral doitpreceder la sciencedu
Commentundessinateur
perspectif. nousdonnerait-il l'ideed'unelampeou
d'unchapeau,s'iln'apaslui-memeuneideenettedece chapeauou decette
lampe, s'il n'en sait pas les proportionspositives, la hauteur,la largeur,le
volume, la formegeometriqueenfin,c'est-a-direla constructionreelle?Si la
realiten'6tantqu'une alterationvisuelle independentede l'objet lui-meme,
autres,s'ilnepossedepasuneideeprecisede l'objetnonaltere... (jedisla
scienceet nonpasl'art)."
58.EugeneGuillaume, Essaisurla theoriedudessin,Paris,I896,5.Ofthe
utmostsignificance is thefactthatthisessaywasto be usedby JulesFerry
afterthedestruction of theSecondEmpireas thebasisof universaldessin
education inFrance."Enmemetemps,lageometrie nousfournitlemoyende
figurertousles objetsdansleursdimensions vraiesou proportionnelles; et
commeellenouspermetaussidedeterminer avecla derniere rigueur,enles
developpant, des lignesqu'ilseraitimpossibled'obtenira l'aidedu dessin
direct(servicequ'ellerenda l'architecture
et a la mecanique), on peutdire
quecettesciencecontientle principeexactde touteslesbranches du dessin
et affirmel'unitedu dessinlui-meme."
59.Guillaume enumerates eachof thesepossibleareasof dessininstruc-
tion in his Essai, 59-86.
60. Emile Boutmy, Philosophie de l'architectureen Grece, Paris, I870.
Second edition in 900o renamedLe Pantheon.

lineate the ideal classicalcontour as purevolumetricshapes.
Like Taine, Boutmy discussedthe geographicaland cultural
factors of an implicit historicaldeterminism,but he empha-
sized the formalcriterionof instantvisual perceptionof pure
geometry. The Parthenon was used as a good example of
dessin au trait. Its contour exterieur held up visually as a
clear geometric shape even at the greatestviewing distance,
or point d'eloignement, a standard important in academic
dessin.
An attempt at the liberalizing of architecturaltraining
was demonstrated by the brief appointment of Lecoq-de-
Boisbaudran, a friend of Viollet-le-Duc, as the teacher of
drawing at the Ecole centrale.Sincethe earlyI84os, when he
published his L'Education de la memoire pittoresque and
recommendeddrawing out of doors after a moving model,
Lecoq-de-Boisbaudranhad been known as a critic of aca-
demic dessin pedagogy. But by the 6os Lecoq had become
more conservativein his methods of instruction.After this
time he was concernedwith trainingthe studentin the funda-
mentalsof pure geometryratherthan in the illusivepictorial
devices of perspective.61He may have been the innovative
proponentof capturingthe model out of doors in movement,
but he found that the memory requiredfor this liberalized
training was facilitated by conditioning the student to pro-
ject an imaginary,mental grid of the event-a method that
duplicatedan academicprocedurewhich had become more
and more idiomatic since the third and fourth decade of the
century.
By the late 70s, Trelat was involved with architectural
problems which minimizedcivil engineering.This coolness
to engineeringtechnology was contained in his i880 pam-
phlet entitled L'Architecturecontemporaine,which, ironi-
cally, still complained of the continued existence of aca-
demic dessin formalism.
Instead of counteracting French academic pedagogy by
offeringa more practicalform of instruction,these new insti-
tutions supportedthe old systemwith drawingcoursesbased
on dessin geometral. This situation was precipitated by
the anti-academiccritics'opposition to the use in academic
trainingof the live model, but without alteringor abolishing
the underlying academic principles of la correction upon
which such studio exercises were based. The result was a
new, intellectually defined formalism of dessin that could
be passed off as a type of highly specialized procedurere-
lated to contemporaryscience and technology.
The conceptual and literary basis for this new dessin
program was expressed in two ways. First there was the
61. Evidentin Lecoq-de-Boisbaudran,Coup d'oeil sur l'enseignementdes
beaux-arts,Paris, 1872.
I57
new emphasis on the science du dessin. Guillaume,62for
instance, uses scientifiqueto suggestnot only exactness,i.e.,
empirical observation, but the determinism of universal
physical law as well. More than ever before the academic
programof dessin was considereda unifiedsystemfor all the
arts. Secondly, correct dessin was bound to dessin geo-
metral, i.e., the factual portrayalof things as they are with-
out perspectivedistortion.
This scientificlevel of dessin was revealedin the attention
given to the aplomb as an expression of the statical laws of
nature (see Appendix B). It was on this basis that academic
trainingcould relate the traditionalproblemsof the human
figure to architectureas the highest expression of the uni-
versallanguageof dessin. The humanbody, insteadof being
used as an agent for drama, was approachedas a physical
model of statical laws, geometrically concentrated at a
point. In this more scientificsystem, the aplomb translated
ideas of the emotions and imaginationinto rationaldemon-
strations . . . "L'imagesensible de la verite."
In this new systematization of dessin, architecturebe-
came the most representativeexpressionof correctdessin, a
position held previously in academictheory by sculpture.63
The change to architectureas the basic academic problem
was revealed by I859 in the popular dessin book by the
sculptorAntoine Etex, De dessin appliquea l'architecture,'a
la sculptureet a la peinture (publishedby the Librairesdes
corps des pont de chaussees et des mines). Etex began his
cours by using the statical problems of architectureas a
demonstration of the vertical and horizontal factors for
correct dessin.
Furthermore,abstractdessin principleswere employedto
6z. Eugene Guillaume, Allocutions, Paris, 1899, 164: "Telle est votre
ecole messieurs,ecole d'art,ecole nationaleet ecole d'Etat.La France,notre
France,est parmi les nations la seule qui ait su developperavec logique et
perseverancel'ideal d'une pareille institution. L'art s'y appuie sur la sci-
ence."
"Respectonsdonc l'unite du dessin sur laquelle repose l'unite d'art" (p.
36).
"Le dessin, de sa natureest exact, scientifique,authoritaire.I1represente
avec une precisionirrefragableet a laquelleil faut se soumettre,les choses
telles qu'elles sont . .." (p. 53).
63. See appendicesA and B, e.g., Appendix A, parts Z.I, z.6, Iz.o. The
cognaterealityof architectureand sculpturewas clearlydescribedin Charles
Blanc, La Sculpture,Paris, 1870, 36, where the physical and abstract are
interchangeable:"Et de meme qu'on demande a l'architecturela solidite
apparenteaussibienque la soliditereelle,de memela statuairedoit avoirune
ponderation assez evidente pour n'eveiller dans notre esprit aucune in-
quietudesur son equilibre."Also Guillaume,Essai, z9.
The sculptor'sdependenceon the compasswas anotherexpressionof his
double relianceon fact and stylistic,aestheticfiction,the ultimateacademic
requirementfor correctdessinin its highestform.The compasscould be used
as a caliper to measuredistances and width, or it could be used to create
idealgeometricfiguresbasedon the unityof the circle.In muchthe sameway
the architecthad to measuredetails accuratelyand organizethem in a gen-
eral, regularwhole.
I58

I
I I 'J E .

H Ir r
ID L\ L AI I.I
6 '
1-a
. / "-I t , ,' ',
M';i.~ :-- . l. . a.

B~-,-
2.' _
c...~. ~'_.
L. ,. _"'?-"':
I

Fig. 6. E. Arnaud, Cours d'architec-

ture et des constructions civiles,
a i
I Paris, 191I, pl. I.
LC1
4 '"ce
,-,,5 y (" ??....,,c?UI-;I a?
CC i)
1;5si":?C

-Y"":?=O t
t
C-- ..j
i 23
?-

elevate the mundane concerns of the growing field of the
industrial arts. Through the Union centrale, the academic
tradition, represented by such theoretical spokesmen as
Guillaume and Blanc, embraced the industrial arts field,
ratherthan submit to a thorough revisionto meet the needs
of a large-scale modern technology. To prove that such a
liberal policy was not a purely ad hoc, opportunistic, and
desperateattemptto assuageits Reorganizationproponents,
the Academy reminded M. Vaillant that in i858 it had al-
readygiven official endorsementto the Comte de Laborde's
reporton the Union des arts et de l'industrie,64in which the
industrialarts were raisedto the level of pure dessin theory,
ratherthan dessin being reducedto the level of a mechanical
method.
The developmentof a more preciselyarticulatedphase of
64. Gazettedes Beaux-Arts,xi, i864, 37.
dessin based on scientific principles of analysis was rein-
forced by the seances held each month by the Academy. It
was here that the Academy capitalized upon its separate
role as an honorary body to carry out theoretical activity.
Particularly important for the theoretical refinement of
dessin in the seances were the reviews of books and lectures
by graduates of the Ecole Polytechnique.The reliance on
the Ecole Polytechniquefor theoreticalmaterialon the more
abstract problems of dessin was not unusual, since it pro-
vided a technicalprogramfor entryinto the Ecoledes Beaux-
Arts.
Significantlythe enlistingof Ecole Polytechniquesupport
by the Academy begins just before the 1863 Reorganiza-
tion. This suggests a preexisting,autonomous development
in academic theory toward more rigorous intellectualstan-
dards of dessin and related topics, a development that be-
came more pronounced after the Reorganization.Particu-
larly importantwere the lectureson proportionsand optics.
 I59

5 6

Fig. 7. G. Gromort,Essaisur la
theoriede I'architecture,Paris,1942,
pl. 77.

7 8

They were intended to help the artist reduce the physical
dimensions of an object to an ideal shape that produced a
stable visual appearance,as requiredby la correction.In the
seance of I5 March I862, the Academy mentioned the new
theory of proportion by the polytechnician Jules Aures:
Nouvelle theorie du proportion deduite de texte meme de
Vitrouve. On I7 April, E. Lagout, also of the Ecole Poly-
technique,is cited for his new book on the aestheticof num-
bers: Esthetique nombree ou justesse des proportions. Es-
thetique nombree, applications de l'equation du Beau a
l'analyse harmoniquede l'architecturenouvelle. On I6 De-
cember I866, Auguste Choisy delivereda lectureon optical
manipulation in Greek architecture, another problem of
pivotal importanceto the issue of la correction.
Similar work continued throughout the century. In the
8os, Dieulafoi combined the function of archaeologistwith
that of engineerwhen employedby the governmentto write
a detailed structural history of Persian architecture, for
which he was able to work simultaneously with abstract
geometricalpatternsof puredesign.In I893, Faure'sTheorie
des proportions en architecture was recommended by
Daumet, one of the oldest reigningmembersof the Academy
in the fieldof architecture.The abstractstringencyof Faure's
method of dessin is demonstratedby use of the Greek cross
i6o
Fig.8. FerretandCollin,"Unmonument
auxherosd'uneguerrede l'independence,"
ConcoursA. Leclere,1901, thirdplace.
square,which was to becomeone of the majoraxial schemes
of academicarchitecturein the zoth century.65
Triumphand Termination
The triumph of the academic, Beaux-Artssystem was al-
readyapparentby the late 70s and early8os,when the funda-
mental distinction between a primarydessin geometraland
secondary dessin perspectif was adopted universally in
Francefor all art education from grade school throughuni-
versityand professionallevels (also see Appendix C).66The
Conseil de l'instruction publique, headed by Jules Ferry,
actuallywent so far as to adopt, in I879, the year of Viollet-
le-Duc's death, Guillaume'sarticle on the Theorie de 'en-
seignementelementairedu dessin (in the Dictionnairepeda-
gogique) as the programmaticbasis for a new, nationally
65. Marcel Dieulafoy, L'artantique de la Perse-Achemenides, Parthes,
Sassanides,Paris,1885.The abstractstringencyof Faure'smethodof dessin
is demonstratedby use of the Greekcross square,which was to becomeone
of the majoraxial schemesof academicarchitecturein the zoth century.
66. This is coveredin P. Dupreand G. Ollendorff,Traitede I'Administra-
tion des Beaux-Arts,z vols., Paris, i885, i, I52f.
unifiedapproachto art in France.In each and everytraining
situation a distinction was made between dessin geometral
and dessin perspectif,with the formeralways consideredto
be the most important.
The triumph of the academic tradition of dessin, com-
bined now with new scientific studies, is indicated by the
career of Jules Pillet, a geometricianwho published such
technicaltreatiesas the 1887Traitede geometriedescriptive.
In the mid-7oshe publishedfor the Ecole Polytechniquethe
Cours de lavis et determinationsdes ombres.f7By the 8os
the scope of his officialcapacity reflectedthe integrationof
art educationwith geometryin France.Pilletwas not only a
professorof design at the Ecole, but, becauseof his technical
background,also professorof stereotomieandperspectiveat
the Ecoles des Ponts et Chauseesand professorof the dessin
des machines at the Ecole Polytechnique.Most important,
he was the Inspecteurde l'enseignementdu dessinin France,
a post that had been formed after the 1863 Reorganization.
67. Characteristically,the systematicFrenchapproachto dessin turned
the problemof shadows into a special discipline,la gnomonique, already
well establishedin the I7th century.
 i6i

';=
Fig. 9. R. Seassal,"Un palaisde la i-LA PRC;r?E-N-EL EN
residencedans la capitald'une
granderepublique,"Prix de Rome, *
. x'
I y, ,}| S; *
lull^90e . it ) ,, 8J:
I912-I9I3.

*i^ ^^^ii'i^ *A5a l^ s

^ ^
C?r,fi f.+f -*lsi^ A ttiV
AG
c;. f* !

The placing of a highly trainedgeometricianin this position
shows the degree to which scientific dessin had become a
specializedtechnical disciplinein modern technology, even
though its mathematicswas more rational and theoretical
than empirical (that is, directedto the geometricaldemon-
strationsof stoneworkor stereotomieratherthan structural
calculationsof steel).
The effort and influence of a single man, Eugene Guil-
laume, may be responsiblefor the teachingof the orthodox
academicsystem that persistedinto the late i9th and early
zoth centuries.In I89I, Guillaumehad becomethe Directeur
of the FrenchAcademy at Rome, a position that he was to
hold until i906.68Whetheror not he was personallyresponsi-
ble for buoying up the academic system through continual
criticismis immaterial.Justhis presenceandknown position
and past influence indicate the resiliency and continued
power of the academic system. The fact that Gaudet'sEle-
ments et theorie de l'architecturewere published in 1901-
1904 and were an immediatenational and internationalsuc-
cess, even though they representedhis Beaux-Artscours as
68. Guillaume'sdirectorshipis recordedin Henry Lapauze,Histoire de
I'Academiede Francea Rome, z vols., Paris, 1924, I, 50I-534. Guillaume
died in Rome on i March I905.
i6z
it had been developed some zo years previously,is one ex-
ample of the continuedpower of the academicsystemin the
early zoth century.
The internationalphase of the new academicsynthesisis
representedby Gaudet's strong influence in England and
America.A wave of books on architectureappearedduring
the first quarterof the century.69Their content derivedpri-
69. A sampleof the more importantbooks: R. Atkinsonand H. Bagenal,
Theoryand Elementsof Architecture,New York, 1926; F. C. Brown, F. A.
Bourne, and H. V. Von Holst, Study of the Orders,Chicago, 1913; N. C.
Curtis, ArchitecturalComposition, Cleveland,OH, 1923 (2nd ed., I935);
Wooster B. Field and Thomas E. French, ArchitecturalDrawing, New
York, 1922; William Roger Greenley, The Essence of Architecture,New
York, I927; JohnF. Haberson,The Studyof Architecture-with SpecialAt-
tention to the Programof the Beaux-ArtsInstituteof Design, New York,
1936 (republished1927); Henry McGoodwin, ArchitecturalShades and
Shadows, New York, 922z;H. Van BurenMargonigle,ArchitecturalRen-
deringin Wash, New York, 1921; E. Pickering,ArchitecturalDesign, New
York, I933 (znd ed., I94I); H. Ritlow and F. Brown, ArchitecturalDesign
and Lettering,New York, 1928; H. Robertson, The Principlesof Architec-
tural Composition,London, 1924;J. B. Robinson,A New Systemof Archi-
tecturalComposition,New York, 90o8;E. G. Shelton,ArchitecturalShades
and Shadows,New York, 1931;A. Stratton,Elementsof Formand Designin
Fig. io. D. H. Burnham and E. H.
Bennett, civic center at intersection
of Congress and Halsted Streets,
Chicago Plan, 90o6-1907.
marily from Gaudet, their bibliographieswere dominated
by French sources like Durand, Rondelet, Raynaud, Leta-
rouilly, and Gromort. They testify to the new systematic
dessin programwhich developed after 1863.
In these zoth-centuryworks, the transfixingof the art ob-
ject by a vertical and horizontal axis forming a right-angle
synapse is applied to even the smallest objects, but it is of
primaryimportancefor the architecturalplan. Architectural
schemes are concentratedin a geometricalpoint resulting
from eitherthe intersectionof the verticaland horizontalor
the two diagonals projected out of the opposing corners
(Figs. 6 and 7).70Based on a point locus, the plan was sus-
Classical Architecture,London, I925; W. W. Turner, Fundamentalsof
ArchitecturalDesign, New York, I930; John V. Van Pelt, A Discussionof
Composition,Especiallyas Applied to Architecture,New York, 1902 (re-
published 1913); David Varon, ArchitecturalComposition, New York,
1923; David Varon, Indicationin ArchitecturalDesign, New York, 1916.
70. The intersectionof axes, whetherhorizontaland verticalor diagonals
conjoinedat a right-angleintersection,reaffirmedthe traditionalacademic
use of the squareunit to generatea comprehensivegrid (manierecarree).In
Faure'sTheorie des proportionsen architecture,his whole system is based
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164
ceptible to two basic variations which were used for the
Prix-de-Romeand all the other majorcompetitions,such as
the Leclere and Chenavard (Figs. 8 and 9). Either it was
centrifugallybuilt around a point or the point was implied
by a centripetal organization. The first solution was em-
ployed for projects in which an architecturalmonument
dominated the center of a plaza. The other solution was
representedby the monumentalcivic palacebuilt aroundan
open court or internalizedvestibulespace.Both alternatives
expressedthe dominant Beaux-Artsinterestin a pyramidal
patternfor the elevationof a building.In both casesthe point
locus was to be understoodin theoreticaldessintermsas the
on the carre regulateur.The importanceof the diagonal cross section of a
square unit brought the dessin parti into alignmentwith the 45? angle of
cast shadows used simultaneouslyfor plan and elevation. La gnomonique
thus becamepart of correctdessin.
Fig. iz. M. Castel, "Salle d'un
palais legislatif."
base of a verticalaxis or apex. The point reductionof plans
of whatever proportions,and particularlyfor large ensem-
bles, was associated, in the last years of the i9th century,
with the atelier teacher Jules Andre, who codified the his-
torical process with the concept of the mise au point du
plan. This was the ultimateachievementof academicdessin.
The plan was given an exceptionalvisual and intellectual
importanceby a numberof supplementarydessinprocesses.
The most dramatic was the entourage. Ambient space
aroundthe buildingwas renderedin darktonal washes (Figs.
io and II).71 Circulation areas were left white, and solid
71. The entourageis relatedto the old academicconceptof coloris,which
meant not just color, but the distribution of value in an encompassing
matrix,relatedto the manierecarree.In this specializedsense the whites or
highlightswere extractedas secondaryaccentsfroma greyground,whichin
architecturewas a subtle technicalmatterof learninghow to run the tone.

Fig. 13. Mosaique, as shown in "The
Monumental Treatment of the
Lower End of Manhattan Island,"
G. M. Simon, Paris Prize, I913.
areaswere recordedin the deepestIndiaink, an effectcalled
the poche. Poche and entouragewere modifiedto work to-
gether as a mosaique, or mosaic pattern (Figs. iz and 13).
This highly distinctive technique of the mosaique harmo-
nized part and whole, large- and small-scaleparts.72As a
As a grey matrix, providinga scanningstructure,the coloris establishesa
planimetricscreen even in asymmetricaland perspectiveillustrations.It is
another example of en geometralcompositionaltechniquesof dessin that
were absorbedby architectureand visually and intellectuallyperfectedas
the instrumentof a more and more cohesive unity.
72. The importanceof the decorativequalitiesof the mosaique, as pure
effectsof correctdessin, were reinforcedby the presenceof H. Mayeux in
the Ecole as the professorof decorativearts. Mayeux's backgroundwas as
an architectand architecturalillustrator.Itwas he who was largelyresponsi-
165
contour interieure, it regularizeddetail minutelyinto a con-
tinuouslyintegratedplanimetricpattern,and as a dominant
contourexterieure, it suggesteda single,mandala-likeshape
for the whole architecturalcomposition, no matter how
large in extent or to what degree external space was in-
cluded.73
Americanand EnglishBeaux-Artspublicationswere im-
ble for reaffirmingthe degree to which the decorativearts were relatedto
fineartsstandardsof artisticunityandthe mannerin whichthe practicaland
theoreticalwere coincidentallyarticulated.
73. It was this tendencythat was criticizedat the turn of the centuryby
Guadetin his Elementset Theorie, I, 130.
i66
Fig. 14. V. Blavette,"Cori-templedit d'Hercule,"from H. D'Espouy,Fragmentsd'architecture,Paris,I899, pi. 35.
portant in two ways. First, they made traditional dessin
principlesmore explicit than Frenchsourceswhich assumed
their idiomaticmeaning.Secondly,they refinedand empha-
sized traditional dessin principles so that a more abstract
compositionwas produced.The achievementin these books
of a moreelegant,abstract,two-dimensionaldessinconcept,
especiallyin architecturalplan, can be appreciatedby con-
sideringthe concept of the analytique.74 In the analytique,
74. The concept of the analytiquewhich dominatedAmericanand Eng-
lish publicationshas many historicalsources, especiallywithin the French
tradition, but it was most directlythe result of work by Hector d'Espouy
(Prix-de-Rome,1884). In his Fragmentsd'architectureantique, z vols.,
Paris,I896, an ambitioustwo-volume set of plates representingrestoration
of classicalbuildingsby membersof the AcademyandEcoledes Beaux-Arts,
one findsan almost cubist concoction of architecturaldetails.The principle
of organizationis a synoptic composite that conveys through an analytic
process the programmaticnature of the total architecturalphenomenon.
Espouy's book was representativeof the academic,Beaux-Artssystem of
dessinat a deeperlevel. It is basedupon architecturalrenderingsby Prix-de-
Rome studentsof the Academiede Franceat Rome. SinceI86z, i.e., the year
beforethe Reorganization,the Ecole won the legal rightfrom the Academy
to collect and store the projectrenderingsand reconstructionsof the Prix-
(Figs.14 and 15) conspicuousparts of a building (e.g., capi-
tal, cornice, etc.) were arrangedaccording to dessin geo-
metral, i.e., to create an abstractsuggestionof the whole in
plan and elevation.75Between the abbreviatedidea of the
plan (parti or indication), focused by the interlockingof
major axes at right angles, and the finished Beaux-Arts
presentation (i.e., the Prix-de-Rome),was again the part-
whole synthesis instilled in the academic student by the
analytique. Although the analytique was one of the last
characteristicteachingdevicesdeveloped,its importantrole
has been given little considerationin the perfectingof dessin
theory.
In France, the Beaux-Artssystem was more successfully
de-Rome students. Ironically, this insured, by immediatelyavailable ex-
ample in the Ecole, the dominion of the Academy'sstandards.
75. The analytique,both an intellectualand visuallydefineddessinexer-
cise, is derivedprimarilyfrom Frencheditions of Vignola. Vignola was the
major source of a popularmethod of succinctdrawingof the formalunity
of the classicalorders.

Fig. 15. E. Paulin, "Fragments
divers a Pompei," from D'Espouy,
Fragments, pl. 27.
retained than in America. It continued well into the zoth
century,even afterthe SecondWorldWar, althoughby 1940
it was significantlydiminishedas a majorinfluence.Its his-
tory can be markedin such architecturalcours as those of E.
Arnaud, I9I7-I92I, and G. Gromort, who still, as late as
1942, observedthe traditionalsplit between the alternative
of an art de batir and an art de composer, that is, a choice
between the tradition of Raynaud and that of Gaudet.76
76. EdouardArnaud, Cours d'architectureet de constructionsciviles, 3
I67
vols., Paris,I9z0, was taughtat both the Ecoledes Beaux-Artsand the Ecole
centrale des arts et manufactures.George Gromort's cours, Essai sur la
theorie de I'architecture,Paris, I942, was deliveredat the Ecole nationale
superieuredes Beaux-Artsfrom 1937 to I940.
The academic,Beaux-Artssystempersistedinto the postwarperiodwith
the publicationof Andre Gutton, Conversationssur I'architecture,Paris,
I952-I962. Guttonwas professora l'EcoleNationale Superieuredes Beaux-
Arts. Like the work of P. de Lagarde,Cours d'architecture,Paris, 1954, his
material follows the academic procedure as it was transmittedthrough
Gromort'swork. A. Ferran,Philosophiede la compositionarchitecturale,
Paris, I955, a book that representshis trainingunderGuadet and his own
theoriesof the zos and 30s, is also within this tradition.
i68
In all of these late Beaux-Artsbooks, one is aware of the
academicemphasison dessin as the dominantstandard.The
architectis not the ingenieurbut ratherthe constructeur,a
builder in stone whose knowledge of descriptivegeometry
(stereotomie)allows him to turn structureinto geometrical
patterns.
The Beaux-Arts tradition of the constructeurhad cul-
minated earlier in 1930, with the two-volume, I3oo-page
Cours d'architectureby Gustav Umbdenstock(secondPrix-
de-Rome winner of 1898 and a pupil of Guadet).This work
representsthe most explicit and extensiveexpressionof aca-
demic, Beaux-Arts formalism in architecturaldessin. The
first Ioo pages are devoted to such abstractdessin concepts
as the droit, or straight line, and the horizontal-vertical,
right-angle relation. Significantly,Umbdenstock's system-
atically comprehensiveapproach to dessin results in an ar-
chitecturaltheory dominated,especiallyin the second book,
by the building plan or parti as the achievementof a total
geometricorder.Externally,Umbdenstock'sCoursis of his-
torical importancebecauseit was written for the Ecole Poly-
technique, once again demonstrating the extent to which
academic,Beaux-Artsdessin formalismdominatedeven the
more practical structural knowledge of an engineering
APPENDIX
PART I
La Correction: Principle of Academic Classicism
Whenthe Academy'sartworks andcopiouswrittenmaterialarecon-
sideredtogetheras a single enterprise,la correctionemergesas the
most comprehensivestandard,subordinateonly to the conceptof le
dessin(dessein),whichis actuallya cognateproblem.As a specifically
Frenchconcept,which was eventuallypickedup abroadin Germany
(Mengs,II.o) andEngland(Reynolds,iz.o), la correctionreferredto
a more emphaticallylinearstandardof design than that impliedby
the original Italian term disegno. At a more sophisticatedlevel of
meaning,it was intendedto trainthe youngartistin termsof contours
and closed shapes,especiallywhen drawingthe humanfigure.It was
not without reason that the correctlyposed model was called an
academie,since it was speciallyarrangedto facilitatethis processof
vision (Bosse,3.0).
As a preciseprincipleof abstraction,la correctionwas appliedin
two apparentlydifferentbut subtlyrelatedways. The dual natureof
the conceptis clearevenwhencriticizedby sucha liberalacademician
as Antoine Coypel (aproposof an explanationof his poem "L'es-
thetiquedu peintre")."Le grand gouitdu dessin est differentde ce
qu'on appellecorrection.L'on peut etre exact et regulier,et dessiner
d'un fort petit gouit"(HenriJouin, ed., Conferencesde l'Academie
Royale de Peintureet de Sculpture,Paris,1883,285). It is becauseof
school. Moreover, with the exception of this important
work, the last phases of the fully articulated Beaux-Arts
system were dominated by the proliferation of English and
American works of the I9zos, especially following 1923.
Unbdenstock's Cours represented his teaching method de-
veloped since the first decade of the century and the current
state of the Beaux-Arts system.7 On 14 March 1932, he de-
livered an address in which he reiterated the dessin precon-
ceptions of the constructeur who favors the geometrical
simplicity produced by stone construction and the art of
stereotomie.
In France as well as in England and the United States, the
Beaux-Arts system entered a major decline in the late I930S
and early 4os. In France, however, the fate of the system was
conclusively weakened only after I940, when the architec-
tural diploma created in 1867 was no longer awarded by the
Ecole.
77. AveryLibraryat Columbiahas a typed manuscriptof student'snotes,
apparentlyfrom the first decade of the centurywhen the young Umbden-
stock was teaching in the atelierpreparatoireof Deglane. This set of notes
alreadydemonstratesthe basic ideas of dessin which will be used in more
extensive fashion by Umbdenstockwhen publishinghis 1930 Cours.
A
this apparentequivocation(betweenexactitudeand regularity)that
the termis so often dismissedas little morethan an idiom of expres-
sion. In reality,the termreferredto a rigorousdescriptiveaccuracyin
the handlingof line, and was thereforea practicalprincipleof clear,
factualimitationor realism.In a moretheoreticalsense,it requireda
rationalprocessof simplification.Not only shouldformsthemselves
be drasticallysimplifiedto pureshapes,butdistractingcomplexityof
any type should be radicallyeliminated,or at least held to a neu-
tralizedminimum,whetherit be the resultof overlapping,foreshort-
ening,or erraticlighting.Carriedto this systematiclevel of sophisti-
cation,la correctionindirectlycreatedan academicdistrustof Italian
Renaissanceperspective,which,ironically,was perfectedin its struc-
tureso thatit couldbe formalizedin a way thatneutralizeditsoriginal
effectand purpose.
Ideally,then, as the consummateprincipleof design,la correction
impliedthat everythingshould be reducedto a commonoverallpat-
ternof linearcontrolsthatallowedtheviewerto readanycomposition
virtuallyall at once (toutde suite,or at a coupd'oeil)as a singledesign
motifor unit.Carriedone stepfurther,this meantthatdrawingas the
designbasisof all the artswas not only extremelyaccuratein its actof
imitation,but also that a linearprofilecould be subsequentlytrans-

formedinto geometricalfigureswhich facilitateda mathematicalset
of proportionalvalues. "Les plus belles proportionsdu dessin se
trouvent dans les figuresantiquesdont le gout, la correctionet la
pureteont une approbationgenerale"(Watelet,Dictionnaire. . .
v, II7).
APPENDIX
PART II
Historical Survey of the Academic Application of La Correction
Rogerde Piles, Coursde peinturepar principes,broughtto pressby
Charles-AntoineJombert,Paris,new ed., I867.
I.I "Jeregardedansle dessinplusieurspartiesd'uneextremeneces-
site a quiconqueveut devenirhabile, dont voici les principales.
La correction,le bon gout, l'elegance,le caractere,le diversite,
l'expressionet la perspective."
I.2 "Correctionest un termedont les peintresse serventordinaire-
ment pour exprimer1'etatd'un dessin qui est exempt de fautes
dans les mesures. Cette correctiondepend de la justesse des
proportions,et de la connaissancede l'anatomie."The section
on "De la correction"is followed by a numberof auxiliarysec-
tions which run in this sequence:"De l'antique,""De la beaute
de l'antique,""De l'imitationdes statuesantiques[extractsfrom
Rubens],"and finally"De l'anatomie."
Roger de Piles, Conversationssur la connaissancede la peinture,
Paris, 1677 (Slatkine reprints, Geneva, I970).
z.o Apropos of Rubens, "la rapiditede son genie ne lui ont pas
permis de reflechircontinuellementsur la correction de son
dessin...."
2.i Followed by a discussionof ancient sculptorswho aim at "la
majestedes attitudes,par la grandecorrection,la delicatesseet
la simplicitedes membres,evitanttoutes les minutiesqui sans le
secoursde la couleurne peuventqu'interromprela beautedes
parties...."
z.2 Followed by a dialogic exchange on the natureof correction:
"Non, mais ne contez-vouspour rienla correctionde dessindit
Caliste ?"
2.3 "Qu'appellez-vouscorrectiondu dessin, reprit Philarque,des
contours bien proprementtirez, et un peu plus durs que la
marbremesmed'apresquoi ils ont este copiez?"
2.4 "J'appelleun dessincorrect,repartitCaliste,celui qui a precise-
ment toutes ses justesproportions."
2.5 "C'estpas peu, dit Philarque,quandil est affermiparune longue
et belle pratique;permettez-moineantmoinsde vous dire que
c'est un effectde la regleet du compas,c'est une demonstration
et par consequentune chose ou tout le monde peut arriver."
2.6 "Lepeintreest commel'orateur,et la sculpteurcommele gram-
merien. Le grammerienest correct et juste dans ses mots, et
s'explique nettement, et sans ambiguite dans ses discours,
comme le sculpteurfait ses figures...."
Abraham Bosse, Le peintre converty . . ., Paris, I667.
3.0 "Ensuite,etant venu a copierdes figureshumainesentieres,sur
des estampeset aussi d'aprescelles que l'on nomme ici acade-
169
It is this inexorablesense of stylisticrefinementby preconceptual,
geometricalrationality that requiresthose auxiliary qualities de-
scribedby the cognatewords of la correction:le developpement,la
justesse (2.4), la rectitude, le fini, and la precision (14.0).
A
mies, il m'avertitqu'il fallait d'aborden faire a vue d'oeil l'es-
quisse ou l'ordonnancede leurs plus grosses parties, en com-
mencantpar la tete et finisantaux pieds, pour apresen arreter
les contoursau net, et la plus correctementque je pourrais;et
lorsencoreque j'allaisa correctiona lui ou a d'autresde l'acade-
mie, on me disaitaussiquelquefoisque j'avaisfait le total de ma
figureou trop trapue ou trop svelte, et de meme de quelques
partieset de plus mal placees."
Noel Coypel,Discours,Paris,I706.
4.0 "I leur semble qu'ils ont fait merveillequand ils se sont fort
attache a grainerou hacher avec le crayon, et que pourvueu
qu'ils ayentdonne un oeil agreablea leursombresaux yeux de
ceux de leur force, ils ont bien reusi, sans faire leur principale
estudede les bien placer,ce qui seul avecles contoursde dehors,
peut rendreles choses correctes."
Champagne,Philippede, Conferencesur "La Vierge,L'enfantJesus
et SaintJean-Baptiste,"June I671.
5.0 "Cetterechercheest ce qui donne beaucoupde paine,et comme
cest en elle que consistel'unede plus bellespartiesdu peintreque
est la correctionet la justessedes proportions,cet ausi ce qui
doit occuper le plus, car cette partie est plus a acquerirpar
l'effortde l'etude,qu'a l'attendrede la nature."
Dezallier Dargenville, "Lettresur la choix et l'arrangementd'un
cabinetcurieux,"Mercurede France,February1727.
6.o "Michel-Ange,Raphael,JulesRomain,Polydoreet les Carache
n'ont eu que la correction,le beau genie, les grandesordon-
nanceset l'expressionen partage."
LaFontde Saint-Yenne,Sentimenssurquelquesouvragesdepeinture,
sculpture et gravure, Paris, I754.
7.0 "Jauroisdonne la preferenceau genie,talentle plus sublimedes
beauxarts,et auquelle dessinest fort subordonne.Mais comme
ce precieuxtresorne s'acquiertpoint, et qu'a son defautla cor-
rectionet l'ilegancedes contours... peutmieuxy suppleer,son
idee peut etre tres juste."
Jombert,Ch.-A., Methodepour apprendrele dessin, ou l'on donne
les regles generalesde ce grand art et des preceptespour en
acquerirla connaissance... ,Paris, 1755.
8.o "L'etudedu dessinayantete conformeeet perfectionneeet per-
fectionneepar celle du modele vivant,il y a tout lieu de croire,
qu'apresavoir suivi cette methode pendant plusieursannees,
170
les eleves se trouvointen etat d'imiterla nature,et de composer
des figureset des groupesde leur invention.C'est alors qu'on
pourra essayer de corrigerd'apres les marbresou des platres
moulesdessus,ce qu'il y a defectueuxdans la nature,en se con-
formanta la maniereque les auteursdes bellesstatuesantiques
ont pratiques,pour en prendrele gout."
Dandre-Bardon,Traite de peinture, followed by an Essai sur la
sculptureet d'un catalogueraisonnedes plus fameux peintres,
sculpteurset graveursde l'Ecolefranfaise,Paris,I765.
9.o "La correctiondu dessinconsistedans l'observationexactedes
justesproportionsdu corps, conformementa l'indicationqu'en
donnentles ouvragesdes grandsmaitres,les chef-d'oeuvragesde
l'antique,et le beauchoix de la nature.Donnera une figureplus
ou moins de noblesse, de sveltesse,de grandeur,suivantl'age,
l'etat,le sexe et le caracteredu personage;en travaillertoutesles
parties;en ressentirou en passerlegerementles contourset les
muscles,relativementau genre de son action; reformersur les
beautesde l'antiqueles insipiditesdu modele rarementparfait
et ajouter a ces beautes les verites de la nature; voila ce qui
constitueun dessin correct."
9.I "C'estdans Raphaelet dans Carracheque l'on doit chercherla
correctionet la grandcharacterdes formeset des contours."
Mengs,A. R., The Worksof AnthonyRaphaelMengs,London,I796.
Io.o "Correctness is taken in different senses . . ., and if when
Raphaelhad learntcorrectnessfrom his master,they had at the
same time taught him to avoid their dry taste, and to draw
natureby geometricalfigures,he would not have been obliged
afterwardsto changehis manner."
Io.I "Eleganceconsistsin thegreatvarietyof curvedlinesandangles,
and it is geometryalone that can give the facilityof performing
these things with a sure hand, and with the qualitiesrequired.
But I do not pretendthat this studyalone of geometricalfigures
can form great painters.I say that correctnessbeing the most
difficultpartto be found in them, and that dependingon exact-
ness of sight, it can be acquiredin no mannerso easilyas by the
study of geometry."
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Discourseson Art, especiallythe Tenth Dis-
course, ii December 1780.
II.o The sculptor'sart'islimitedin comparisonof others,but it has
its varietyand intricacywithin its properbounds.Its essenceis
correctness...."
"The grave and austerecharacterof sculpturerequiresthe ut-
II.I
most degree of formality in composition; picturesqueeffects
have here no place; every thing is carefullyweighed and mea-
sured,one side makingalmost an exact equiposeto the other.
Lacombe,P., Dictionnaireportatifdes beaux-arts,Paris,1759.
iz.o Aproposof the termla correction:"cetermes'employepoursig-
nifier l'exacte proportion qui est entre toutes les parties du
dessin. ... La correction s'acquiert par l'etude des beaux
modelesdes statuesantiques,et elle dependprincipalementde la
connaissancede l'anatomie."
iz.I "Ce qu'on peut dire,c'est qu'ilest des formesprincipales,et des
formes inferieurs.Les premiersdoivent etre renduesdans les
proportionsde leur justelongeurmesuresurun modeleparfait,
et dans leur juste largeurdepend...."
Watelet, Dictionnaire des arts de peinture, sculpture et gravure,
Paris, I792.
I3.o Aproposof the auxiliarytermprecision:"Laprecisiondu dessin
est elle-memesoumisa des conventions.On a vu, dansplusieurs
articlesde ce dictionnaireque les formesdoiventetre agrandies,
que les petits details doivent etre negliges que les vices de la
naturedoivent etre corrigesd'apresles plus beaux monumens
antiquesqui nous enseignentle plus savantemanierede la lire."
Boullee,Etienne,Architecture-essaisurl'art(unpublished:
seeHelen
Rosenan, Boullee and Visionary Architecture,London/New
York, I976).
14.0 "Lanaturea cetteepoquea termineson ouvrage;elle est l'image
de la perfection;les objets ont acquis la precisiondes formes;
elles sont grandes,elles sont correcteset pures."
14.1 "La nature, en assignantune grandeurparticulierea chaque
objet, nous a mis a porteed'etendrenotre jugementsur tout ce
que nous envisageonspar mille comparaisonsdiverses;ce n'est
queparla grandeurconstantede chaqueobjetquenouspouvons
jugerde l'etendue,en ce que les objetsqui sont contenusdansun
espace quelconquenous font juger du contenant. Sans cette
assignationparticulieredes choses, quel jugementpourrions-
nous porter et quelle comparaisonjuste pourrions-nousfaire?
Leslois de l'optiqueet les effetsde la perspectivenous jetteraient
sans cesse dans l'erreur,attenduque les objets diminuenta nos
regardsen raison de leur eloignement.Mais la grandeurdes
objets fixes par la nature nous etant connue, leur grandeur
devientun guide et nous fait jugerles distancesrelativementa
leur diminution.C'est une echelle retrogradanteavec laquelle
nous pouvons tout mesurer."
Blanc,Charles,Grammairedes arts du dessin,Paris,1867.
I5.o "Pourun commencant,rien ne serait plus malentenduque de
lui conseillerl'idealet de lui dire: 'Corrigezla nature.'L'artiste
qui debutedoit copierla nature... il ne suffitd'avoirdes yeux;
il faut savoirla regarder,il faut apprendrea la voir...."
I5.I "Y a-t-il un principepour dessinerjuste? Oui, et maintenant
nous allons nous retrouveravec les grandsmaitres.Ils nous en-
seignerontque l'art repose,comme la science,sur des axiomes
d'unesimplicitequi, a premierevue, fait sourire.'Letout est plus
importantque la partie,' voila une des verites qui serventde
regle au dessinateurcomme elles sont le point de depart du
geometre."
Thore,Theophile,1863(seeLindaNochlin,Realismand Traditionin
Art, I848-1900, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, I966, 6i).
I6.o "Andthereis a methodof workingaltogetherdifferentfromthe
workingmethodsconsecratedby the long dominationof Italian
art. Insteadof searchingfor the contours,what the Academy
callsdrawing,insteadof insistingupon thedetail,what loversof
the classical call finish, they aspire to renderthe effect in its
strikingunity, without worryingabout the correctnessof the
lines or the minutiaeof the accessories."
Castagnary,JulesAntoine, 1863.
I7.o "The classicalschool assertsthat natureshouldbe correctedby
means of the indicationssuppliedby antiquityor the master-
pieces of the Renaissance.It is disturbedand frightenedby
reality.Underthe pretextof purifyingand idealizingreality,it
weakensor deformsit; it is always a case of diminution,even
if it is not always one of pure convention."

Le VicomteDelaborde,Eloge de Labrouste,circa 1815.
I8.o "A force d'attacherune arriere-penseeaux moindrescombinai-
sons de ligneset pretendrecondenserle sensde touteschoses,on
en est venu a faire parler a la pierre un langage a peu pres
enigmatiqueou bien on voulait trop syst6matiquementreduire
les formesarchitectoniquesau strictnecessaire,on n'a exprime,
au lieu de la correction,que la secheresse,au lieu d'intentions
simplesque le pedantismede la simplicite.
APPENDIX
PART I
The Aplomb: A Problem in the Definition of Academic Classicism-
Summary of the Problem in the Second Half of the 18th Century
The aplombis a technical,quasi-scientificconceptthat can be traced
back through the Renaissanceto antiquity,where the evidence is
mainlyvisual,but plentiful.The conceptualor theoreticaldiscussion
of the aplomb appearsin the I5th century.It continuesto developin
specificityand quantity into the zoth century.For the Frenchaca-
demicsystemthatevolvesfromthe I7th century,it seemsto havehad
particularmeaning.In the secondhalfof the i8th centurythe aplomb
is an importantindex to a refurbishedacademicsystem, which is
generallyunderestimatedin comparisonwith the Roman archaeo-
logicalmovementas a sourcefor the new classicism.As a conceptual
and practicalissue it providesone of the most consistentand specific
standardsfor definingclassicism.Nevertheless,it is generallyover-
looked or only partiallyunderstood.
The aplombis actuallya problemof that fieldof mechanicscalled
statics, which investigatesand describesthe structuralstability of
stationaryobjects. In the simplest artistic terms it means that the
humanfiguremustrepresentthefullrangeof possiblemovementfrom
preciselyarranged,self-sufficient,stationaryposes, no matterwhat
the degreeof dramaticinvolvement.In this sense it providesa clear
conceptualstandardfor makingthe difficultbut unavoidabledistinc-
tion betweenimitationaland abstracteffects.
Concretelydemonstrated,the aplomb, so integral to academic
pedagogy,limitedthe naturalvarietyof humanmovementto an ideal
rangewhose parameterswere given by a pose with the engagedleg
bearingnearly all the weight, and approachinga right angle at the
knee. The almost totally disengagedleg trailingbehindwas so com-
pletelyextended,at the end of a movement,that it is straightenough
to suggestthe hypotenuseof a triangledefiningthe entirepose. Practi-
cally, as a working method, the aplomb, or ligne de milieu, was a
weighteddroplineof thecarpenter'svariety,thatswungat theground
betweenthe ball and heel of the engagedleg when hung fromthe pit
of the throat (LomazzocreditsPolyclituswith the discoveryof the
importanceof the instep in creatinga classicalbalance).A figureso
constructedmay be said to conformto a right-anglepose, wherethe
aplomb definesthe limits of forwardmovement,broughtto an aes-
theticand physicalarrest,and creatingat the grounda righttriangle
whose hypotenuseis providedby the profileof the backandextended
leg.
I7I
Gustav Umbdenstock, Paris, I930.
19.0"L'education intervientpour une part intressante lorsque le
sentimentde 'justemesure',de 'bonneproportion','d'arrange-
ment heureux' ou de 'tenue' s'impose naturellementa l'etre
humainbieneduque.Cette 'correction'dansla tenue,aussibien
que la 'mesure'dans les termesappropriesdu langage,semblent
fairepercevoirque tout ce qui se rapportea un sentimentd'art
est necessairementregled'apresdes proportionsque l'on pres-
sent du 'premiercoup'."
B
The studyof the aplombin theFrenchAcademyis subjectto several
historicalconsiderations.First, there is the specificallyFrenchten-
dency, evident from the beginningsof the Academy,to develop a
more complete and precise definitionof what the aplomb should
meantheoreticallyand logically.Secondly,thereis the demonstrated
desireto reinforcethe formal,abstractqualitiesof the aplombat the
expenseof the more traditional,mimeticones; concomitantly,there
was the concentrationof the figure'sweighton one foot, so that,with
the figure at maximum height, parfaitementd'aplomb, the ideal
linearbasis of the aplomb was more manifestas a salientcomposi-
tional element.Finally,thereis the emergenceof a systemof design
dominatedby the more inclusiveartistic concept of la correction,
which absorbsthe aplomb as a purelylinearelementof design,now
almost anonymousas a separateartisticproblem.
It was in the school of David that all the variablesof the foregoing
discussionabout the aplomb seem to find concretedemonstration.
Indeed,it seemsto be with David and the artistsconnectedwith his
atelierthat the new academicsystemreachesmaturity,settingstan-
dards that will continue or reappeardown to the end of the Igth
century.In the art of David and his followersone findsa numberof
distinctusesof the aplomb,whichtakentogetherindicatean effective
far-reachingsystem.Initially,fivedistincttypes shouldbe identified,
althoughtheyarenot necessarilymutuallyexclusive,frequentlybeing
compound,cognateuses: the empiricalor descriptiveaplomb,giving
the centerof gravityin more natural,universalizedvarietyof move-
ments frequentlyprecipitatedoutside the limitsof stationaryposes;
the statical aplomb, giving the descriptionof what is physicallya
stable stationarypose, minimally idealized; the mimetic aplomb,
mentionedby a numberof Frenchtheorists,and which, drawnas a
line down the centerof the figures,suppliesthe basis for a mechani-
cally useful grid, which helps the artistto judgeand transcribepro-
portions and transferthe particularpose to a larger,more finished
composition;the aestheticaplomb,maximumidealization,in which
the plumbline, when held up to the figure,stays within the contour
from head to supportingfoot, thus avoidingthe fallacyof the porte-
a-fauxwheresolid is over void, insteadof solid over solid (a virtuoso
act of designthat reducesthe staticsto a simplerequirementof high
point over low point); and lastly, the correctedaplomb, which in-
I72
tensifiesand prolongs,actuallyand by suggestion,the verticalof the
figureto dramatizeits architectonicrelationwith the setting. This
frequentlyincludesan externalizedsenseof the verticalwhich works
as a rectilinearqualityof the figure'sprofile,thus settingthe basisfor
a total linearabstractionof the surfacewherethe complementof the
aplomb is the equally rigid handlingof the sight line to generatea
comprehensivegrid. The realityand ultimatevalue of such a set of
alternativeswithin the emergentconceptof the aplombis a function,
first,of the way aestheticvariationscould counteractinfringements
of the staticalconcept,and, secondly,the purelymethodologicalpre-
cision allowed when describinga particularpose and its dramatic
effect.
The humanfigureas the idealmodelof dessinwas relatedto archi-
APPENDIX
PART II
Chronological Sampling of the Literature Dealing with the Aplomb
Felibien, Entretienssur la vie et les ouvrages des plus excellents
printresanciens et modernes,passagesfrom A. Blunt'sGregg
reprinting of the I669 edition.
I.o "Si l'equilibrevient de l'egalepesanteurqui se rencontresur la
partiequi sertde centreaux autreset si sanscettejustepondera-
tion le corpsne peut ni agir,ni se soutenir;il est donc important
que le peinture prenne garde a chargerla partie qui sert de
centreet de base a sa figure,en sorte quelle se soutienneavec
fermeteparla positionde tous les membresdu corps-quidoivent
s'entre-aidera soulagerla partie la plus chargee,ou a charger
celle qui ne le seroit pas assez. II est faciled'eprouverque nous
ne pouvonsagiravec force,si la partiequi sertde soutiena l'ac-
tion que nous faisons, n'est egalementchargee,parcequ'autre-
mentelle feroitemporteed'uncote ou d'unautre, ... et fairepar
ce moyen que le balancementdu poids sort toujoursegal alen-
tour de la ligne du centrequi se trouvedans l'un des pieds."
I.I "Pourconcevoirencore ceci plus facilement,prenezgardeque
vous ne scauriezavancerla partiesuperieuredu corps,de quel-
que cote que ce soit, qu'aumemetemsunedes partiesinferieures
ne recule ou n'avancepour le soutenir; comme, si vous vous
panchez en arriere,il faut qu'une des jambesrecule. Enfin la
demonstrationde cella est si evidente,et chacunla peut si bien
remarqueren sa personne,que je n'etonnede ce que plusieurs
peintres ont manque dans ces observations,faisant voir des
figuresqui semblenttomber,et dont les jambessi elongees,l'une
de l'autre,et les actions si violentes,qu'ellesn'ont aucuneforce
ni beautedans leur expression."
Testelin, Henri, Conferenceof I678-made aproposof the Gladia-
teur.
z.o "En l'attitude,l'on remarquala position de la figureet la con-
traste de ses parties; en l'une on trouva parfaitementbien ob-
serveela ponderation,qui est le reglede bienposersurson plan,
et que la creux du col porte a plomb sur la chevilledu pied qui
soutienttout le corps...."
tecturalform through the concept of the porte-a-faux.As already
mentioned, the porte-a-fauxwas a physical or statical concept of
physicalstructurethat excludedsolid over void. In the late theoryof
the human figure,the figurewas requiredto stand uprightso as to
havesolidoversolid,with no gapsin its verticalstructure.In architec-
ture the porte-a-faux,as in the humanfigure,was appliedfrontally
and in profileviews. In profileit meantthat overhangingsectionsor
projectionswere minimized.This producedan architecturalen bas
reliefthat adheredto a basic geometricsurfaceplane calledthe nu-
de-mur,which insuredthe senseof volume.In both architectureand
the representationof the human figure, the porte-a-fauxbrought
about a more correct volumetriccontainmentof the art within a
geometricalprofile.
B
Jombert,Ch.-A.,Methodepour apprendrele dessin..., Paris,I775.
3.0 "La structured'un squelete,on en voit toutes les parties dis-
posees de manierea se servirde soutienles unes aux autres,les
differensmouvementsdont cette machineest susceptible.Toute
cette charpente semble avoir ete uniquement formee pour
serviede baseet d'appuia la tete qui doit la conduire,et quipour
cet effetest placeea l'endroitle plus eminent.Cettetete est donc
commeassise sur une colonne formeede plusieursos, qui s'ap-
pellentvertebres...."
LaFontde Saint-Yenne,Sentimenssurquelquesouvragesde peinture,
sculptureet gravure,Paris,I753.
4.0 "D'ailleursla position de la figurede la Viergen'est point dans
son a plomb, elle fatiguela vue, et paroit trop renversee.Tout
Peintredoit etreesclavedes lois de la perspective,de l'optique,et
de la statique; et quand meme il ignoreroitles regles de cette
derniere,il doit avoir un niveauet un a plomb dans l'oeil, sans
lequelil blesseratoujoursceluide spectateurdans la positionde
ses figures."
Dandre-Bardon,Traitede Peinture,Paris,I765.
5.0 "Lesprincipesde cet equilibrene sont pas differentsde ceux de
la ponderation.On peutles reduirea cetteremarqueimportante:
la ligne centralesur laquellepose la figureen doit partagerles
poids en deux partiesegales;de maniereque si elle est deboutet
qu'ellepose surses deux jambes,la lignecentraledoit partirde la
fossettedu col et tomberperpendiculairement sur le milieude la
ligne, contenueentreles deux pieds."
Mengs, letterto Falconet:passagefrom 1796Englishtranslationby
J. N. d'Azara.
6.o "I have known even in Rome itself some professorswho criti-
cizedthe mostcelebratedclassicalworksandcopyingtheApollo
in the Vaticanpretendedto have correctedhim by puttinghim
upright,and presentlylost the beautyof the original."

Falconet,E., lettersent fromSt. Petersburg,Russia,on 23 September
1776, in replyto Mengs letterof the same year.
7.0 "Vousdites en passant,monsieur,que des artistesqui copioient
l'Apollondu Vatican,le remettoientparfaitementd'aplomb,et
perdoientainsi une grandepartiedes beautesde l'original.Vous
savez mieux que moi que les jambes de cette figure ont ete
retrouves;qu'on a mal remonte ces jambes, qu'elles sont re-
jointes avec du ciment; et vous conviendrez que, dans son
premieretat, l'Apollon devoit etre parfaitementd'aplomb; si
c'etoit une faute, il faudroiten accuserle premierauteur,qui
certainementl'audroitcommise."
Watelet, Dictionnairedes arts, des peinture,sculptureet gravure,
Paris, 1793, v, I37f.
8.o "Soit que l'on veuille copier cette figure dans sa grandeur
naturelle, ou la reduire a une proportion differente il faut
d'abordtracerla ligned'a-plombde cette figure,et ensuitefixer
par des lignes ou des points le grandeurqu'on veut donner a
l'une de ses parties."
8.I "Quanta la ligne perpendiculaired'a-plomb,elle serviraa s'as-
surerqu'on ne fait pas perdrea la figureson equilibreet a re-
marquercombineles differentespartiess'ecartentde cette ligne.
On s'assureraencorede la situationrespectiveet du movement
des differentespartiespar une operationmechanicalen tenant
tantot perpendiculairetantot horizontalele porte-crayon,fre-
mon un oeil muant ainsi la figure."
Millin,A. L., Dictionnairedes Beaux-Arts,Paris,1838;passagefrom
entryentitledPonderation.
9.o "Pourne pas se tromperdans les mouvements,et bienconnoitre
ceux dont le corps est capable, il faut considererd'abord le
modelecommeimmobile,et dansquelqu'attitudequ'ilsoit...."
Emeric-David,Recherchessur l'artstatuaire,1805.
Io.o "Votremodeleest la reglepremiere;il ne s'agitquede l'embellir.
Posez encore le modele debout, sans mouvement tel qu'une
APPENDIX
The Beaux-Arts Abroad
Largernumbersof books on dessin began to appearafter the 1863
Reorganization.No matter how persistentlythese new books in-
corporatedsome mentionof industryinto theirtitles,the puredessin
traditiondominatedtheir content. This was a criticaldevelopment,
sinceit effectivelycounteractedmuchReorganizationcriticismwhich
favoredthe medievalperiod for referencesto the relationshipof in-
dustry and art production.Viollet-le-Ducand his associateslinked
medievalindustrialarts with manualratherthan mechanicalmeans
of production. On the other hand, the approachof the academic
Ecole des Beaux-Artsto industrialart was geometricallysimplified
dessin, which was susceptibleto mass production.
The refurbishedacademicsystem also influencedforeignschools.
In the administrationof art in Belgium,the Frenchacademicsystem
of dessinwas standard,especiallyafterthe periodof the Reorganiza-
I73
figure egyptienne.C'est dans les poses simples qu'un modele
cache le moins ses imperfections."
Io.I "I1faut, par consequent,distinguerdans le corps de l'homme
deux lignesque l'on peut appelerlignedu milieu.L'uneest celle
qui parcourtchaque membredans la longueura une distance
egale des points principauxde la surface.Elle est au centredes
coupes;elle marqueun milieupurementmathematique.L'autre
est la ligne centraledes movementset de force; elle n'est pas au
milieudes coupes,elle est au milieudu squelette;elle se continue
dans tous les membres,jusqu'aleur extremites.Elle passe au
centredes emmanchements,elle les accorde,elle les unit. Si elle
est rompuel'harmoniedu movementn'existe plus. En faisant
reconnaitreles epaisseurs le compas donne la premiere; la
natureseule donne la seconde...."
io.z "Mais si l'on considereles corps vivants,et particulierement le
corps de l'homme,on trouve sur la longueurde chaquepartie
un centrerelatifa la masse, un centrerelatifa l'action."
d'Angers, David, Les Carnets de David d'Angers (I828-I855).
I .o "Itis necessary,as muchas possible,to maintainthis movement
in a straightline.... That is the principlethat the Greeksknew
so well and which gives so much grandeurto their works, so
much elevationto the lines."
11.1 "One must always straightena man up so that he appears
majestic."
Eugene Guillaume,Allocation et discours, Paris, I899; statement
given at presentationof prizesfor the concoursof I873.
iz.o "Il faut, a mesure que l'on s'eleve, observerdans les oeuvres
dignes d'etre prises pour modeles, les lois d'equilibreet de
ponderationvariee,gracesaux quellesles plus brillantscaprices
de l'imaginationse trouventordonneset fixes. I1faut respecter
les lois de cette geometrie secrete qui, depassantpar une ir-
resistibleaspiration,les bomes de ce monde, faite que l'homme
veut toujoursassocier,dans la meme imagesortiede ses mains,
la representationde la vie qui lui echappea l'ideed'unestabilite
immuableet d'une dureesans fin."
C
tion. As in France,the controversyragedbetweenindividualfreedom
and contemporaryneeds on the one hand and academictrainingon
the other,but the lattergrewin strength.The closenessof theBelgian
to Frenchacademicprinciplesof dessin geometralcan be found in
LouisJosephAlvin'sbook entitledLesacademieset les autresecoles
de dessinen Belgiqueen I864.... Likethe French,Alvin recognized
contemporarytechnology when he discussedincorporatingthe in-
dustrialarts into the new, more systematicallyabstractteachingof
dessin.(Alvin'spolicy in this respectis foundin his L'Alliancede I'art
et de l'industriedans ses rapportsavec l'enseignementen Belgique.)
The alliance and virtual dependenceof the Belgian school on the
Frenchacademicsystemis furtherexemplifiedin the book on dessin
by the well-known artist and teacherM. Hendricke,who followed
the en geometralmethodologyof the French.
174
In Switzerlandas well the influenceof dessinin the post-Reorgani-
zation periodservedto reinforcea preexistentacademicBeaux-Arts
tradition.A more articulateutilizationof dessingeometralwas evi-
dent in FredericGillet, Resumesommaired'une methodede dessin,
Geneva, 1867.The orthodoxyof Gillet'sdessinapproachis demon-
stratedby his choice of the ligne verticaleas the most characteristic,
and one which escapeseffetsperspectifs.Gilletwas a professorat the
Ecole Municipale,but his book reflectsthe method of the Geneva
Ecole des Beaux-Arts,whereBarthelemyMenn taughtin the late 6os
and early70s. It was Menn who was instrumentalin teachingFerdi-
nandHolder,afterhe enrolledat the Ecolein I872, how to applythe
aplombto the paintingof humanfiguresso as to achievean unprece-
dentedlymonumental,even architectural,effect.The interactionof
the Swisswith the FrenchEcole des Beaux-Artssystemwas particu-
larlyfruitfulin the writingsof David Sutter.Sutterwas a Swisstheo-
ristfromGenevawhose theoreticalwritingswereclose enoughto the
standardsof theEcoleto allow himto serveas a supplementalteacher
in artandaestheticsfrom1865to 1870,theperiodfollowingthepubli-
cation in Franceof his Esthetiquegeneraleet applique,contenantles
reglesde la compositiondans les artsplastiques.In the specificterms
of architecture,the overallimportanceof the Beaux-Artssystemfor
the Swiss is demonstratedby the fact that they were second only to
the UnitedStatesin the numberof studentsenrolledin the architec-
ture sectionof the Ecole aroundthe turn of the century.
In the UnitedStates,the influenceof the Beaux-Artsmethodafter
the Reorganizationwas also felt. The firstAmericanschool of archi-
tecture was founded in I865 at M.I.T., just when Henry Hobson
Richardsonreturnedfrom his second period of study in Paris.The
staff of M.I.T. was populatedby architectswith indirector direct
knowledgeof the Beaux-Artsmethod(respectivelyWilliamWarethe
founderand F. W. Chandler).In 1871, M.I.T. hiredits firstFrench-
man, EugeneLetang,from the Ecole, thus initiatinga policy of im-
portedFrenchBeaux-Artspersonnel.Letangwas activeas an archi-
tect-critic,fulfillinga need that would continuethroughoutthe i9th
centuryand into the zoth, and spreadto most of the otherAmerican
schools.