Antoine Babuty Desgodetz's (1653–1728) publication ''Les edifices antiques de Rome dessinés et mesurés très exactement'' (Paris 1682) provided detailed engravings of the monuments and antiquities of Rome to serve French artists and architects. Desgodetz had been sent to Rome in an official capacity, part of French architectural and artistic policy, and the engravings for his publication were supervised by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
, according to Desgodetz' introduction. The young architect with a copy of ''Les edifices antiques de Rome'' could determine the precise proportions of many Roman structures, such as the portico of the Pantheon, or the
Temple of Vesta, Tivoli
The so-called Temple of Vesta is a small circular Roman temple (so a tholos (architecture), ''tholos'') in Tivoli, Italy, dating to the early 1st century BC. Its ruins are dramatically sited on the acropolis of the Etruscan and Roman city, overl ...
, that were considered the best models, a practice that had the effect of standardizing the details of academic architecture in France. His ''Edifices antiques'' was reissued in Paris, 1729 and again in 1779, when it proved as helpful to
Neoclassical architects
Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most promin ...
as it had been to classicizing Late Baroque ones. The young
Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...
toyed with the idea of producing a revised version of Desgodetz before he hit on the idea of striking into fresh territory with measured engravings of the ruins of Diocletian's palace at Spalatro (
Split, Croatia
Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see #Name, other names), is the List of cities and towns in Croatia, second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast ...
).
Claude Perrault
Claude Perrault (; 25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.Tzonis & Lefaivre 1976.
''Les edifices antiques...'' was reproduced in 1972 (Portland, Oregon : Collegium Graphicum).
Notes
Bibliography
* Haskell, Francis, and Nicholas Penny (1981). ''Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900'' (Yale University Press). .
* Herrmann, Wolfgang (1958). "Antoine Desgodetz and the Academie Royale d'Architecture," ''The Art Bulletin'' 40 pp 23–53.
* Tzonis; Alexander; Lefaivre, Liane (1976). Review of Wolfgang Herrmann, ''The Theory of Claude Perrault'' (Studies in Architecture, Vol. XII), London: A. Zwemmer Ltd, 1973, in ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' 3 October 1976. .