Jean-Louis Charles Garnier (; 6 November 1825 – 3 August 1898) was a French architect, perhaps best known as the architect of the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

and the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...

Early life

Charles Garnier was born Jean-Louis Charles Garnier on 6 November 1825 in Paris, on the Rue Mouffetard, in the present-day 5th arrondissement. His father, Jean André Garnier, 1796–1865, who was originally from

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

, a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, had worked as a blacksmith, wheelwright, and coachbuilder before settling down in Paris to work in a horse-drawn carriage rental business. He married Felicia Colle, daughter of a captain in the French Army. Later in life Garnier would all but ignore the fact that he was born of humble origins, preferring to claim Sarthe as his birthplace.

Education

Garnier became an apprentice of Louis-Hippolyte Lebas, and after that a full-time student of the École royale des Beaux-Arts de Paris, beginning during 1842. He obtained the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1848 at age twenty-three. The subject of his final examination was titled:''"Un conservatoire des arts et métiers, avec galerie d'expositions pour les produits de l'industrie".'' He became a pensioner of the Académie de France à Rome from 17 January 1849 to 31 December 1853. He traveled through Greece providing him the subject of his fourth year submission, presented at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

in 1853. He visited Greece with Edmond About and

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

with

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

. He worked on the Temple of Aphaea in

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

where he insisted on polychromy. He was named in 1874 member of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

in the architecture section of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

Paris Opera

On 30 December 1860 the Second Empire of Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

announced a competition for the design of a new, state-funded opera house. The old opera house, located on the and known as the

Salle Le Peletier The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...

, had been constructed as a temporary theatre in 1821. Street access to that theatre was greatly constricted; and after an attempted assassination of Napoleon III at the theatre's entrance on 14 January 1858, it was decided to build a new opera house with a separate, more secure entrance for the head of state. Applicants were given a month to submit entries. There were two phases to the competition, and Garnier was one of about 170 entrants in the first phase. He was awarded the fifth-place prize and was one of seven finalists selected for the second phase. The second phase required the contestants to revise their original projects and was more rigorous, with a 58-page program, written by the director of the Opéra, Alphonse Royer, which the contestants received on 18 April. The new submissions were sent to the jury in the middle of May, and on 29 May Garnier's project was selected for its "rare and superior qualities in the beautiful distribution of the plans, the monumental and characteristic aspect of the facades and sections".Quoted and translated in Mead 1991, pp. 76, 290. Garnier's wife Louise later wrote that the French architect Alphonse de Gisors, who was on the jury, had commented to them that Garnier's project was "remarkable in its simplicity, clarity, logic, grandeur, and because of the exterior dispositions which distinguish the plan in three distinct parts—the public spaces, auditorium, and stage ... 'you have greatly improved your project since the first competition; whereas Ginain he first-place winner in the first phasehas ruined his.'" Soon the thirty-five-year-old and relatively unknown Garnier began work on the building, which eventually would be named for him, the

. Many people had difficulty in deciding exactly what style he was trying to portray. When asked by

Empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Eugénie in what style the building was to be done, he is said to have replied: "Why Ma'am, in Napoleon Trois, and you complain!" Construction began in the summer of 1861, though setbacks would delay it for another fourteen years. During the first week of excavation, an underground stream was discovered, rendering the ground too unstable for a foundation. It required eight months for the water to be pumped out, though enough was left in the area which eventually became the fifth cellar for operating the hydraulic stage machinery above. Garnier's double-walled and bitumen-sealed cement and concrete foundation proved strong enough to withstand any possible leakages, and construction continued. The defeat of the French army by the Prussians at the

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Napoleon III, Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and ...

in 1870 resulted in the end of the Second Empire. During the Siege of Paris and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

in 1871, the unfinished Opera was used as a warehouse for goods, as well as a military prison. The opera house was finally inaugurated on 5 January 1875. Many of the most prestigious monarchs of Europe attended the opening ceremony, including the President of France's new Republic, Marshal MacMahon, the Lord Mayor of London, and King Alfonso XII of Spain. The people who entered the massive building, spanning nearly , were generally awed by its immense size and extensive ornamentation.

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

described it as resembling a railway station on the outside, and that the interior could easily be mistaken for a Turkish bath. Garnier's works represent a Neo-Baroque-inspired style, popular during the Beaux-Arts period in France. He was influenced by the Italianate styles of Renaissance artisans such as

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one ...

, Sansovino, and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

, perhaps the result of his many visits to Greece and Rome during his lifetime. He was also a pioneer of architectural beauty as well as function; his opera was built on a framework of metal girders, unprecedented at the time. Aside from being fireproof, steel and iron was much stronger than wood, allowing it to successfully withstand the countless heavy tons of marble and other materials heaped upon it without breaking.

Later work

In 1872 and 1873 Garnier built a vacation home on the

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( ; ) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinally it extends from the border with F ...

, the Villa Garnier in

Bordighera Bordighera (; , locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, the French coast is visible from the town. Having the Capo Sant'Ampel ...

. He was one of the first to build there after the arrival of the railroad in 1871 and later contributed various private and public buildings to the town until his death in 1898. Other architectural contributions include the Grand Concert Hall of the

Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...

(1876/79–1879, since remodeled as the

) and the Salle de Jeu Trente-et-Quarante (1880–81), both on the Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo; the Nice Astronomical Observatory (1879–88); the 117 boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris (1878–80); the Hôtel Hachette, 195 boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris (1878–1881); the Panorama Marigny in Paris (1880–82);Bernard Comment:
The Panorama
', Reaktion Books, London, 2003, p. 68ff now the Marigny Theatre); and his last work, the Magasin (storehouse) de Décors de l'Opéra on the rue Berthier in Paris (1894–95; now the Ateliers Berthier of the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe).

Death

Garnier retired from his private architectural practice in 1896, but continued to serve on juries for architectural competitions and to appear at official functions. He suffered a first stroke at 4 o'clock in the morning on 2 August 1898 while at home in Paris, and a second stroke the following evening, dying at 8 o'clock in the evening. He was interred in the

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

. After his death a public monument (completed in 1902 to designs by

Jean-Louis Pascal Jean-Louis Pascal (4 June 1837 – 17 May 1920) was an academic French architect. Life Born in Paris, Pascal was taught at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts by Émile Gilbert and Charles-Auguste Questel. He won the Grand P ...

and crowned with a copy of the bust of Garnier, which had been created by

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (; 11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpe ...

in 1869) was erected west of the Rotonde de l'Empereur of the Palais Garnier. The huge ornate granite pedestal was created in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

by Alexander McDonald & Co.

Works

In France

*In Paris : **

(1861–1875) **Panorama Français (1880–1882; demolished) **Panorama Marigny (1880–82); remodeled 1894 as the

Théâtre Marigny The Théâtre Marigny () is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnie ...

) **The (1878–1880), 117 boulevard Saint-Germain) **Maison "Opéra" (1867–1880), a ''

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

'', 5 rue du Docteur Lancereaux **Tomb of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

, cimetière de Montmartre (1880) **The (1894–1898), on the boulevard of the same name, the annex of the Opéra and its fabrication workshops for decorations and storage of

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

s and

scenery Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether the item was custom-made or ...

. This building was his last realisation. *In Provence : **Villa Eilenroc (1867), Cap d'Antibes **Villa Maria Serena (1882), 21 promenade Reine-Astrid,

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

(attributed) **The casino and thermal baths of Vittel (built 1883–1884; baths much modified after 1897; casino destroyed by fire in 1930 and replaced with a different structure) **Église Sainte-Grimonie (1886) in La Capelle **The Astronomical Observatory in Nice (1881–1888, in collaboration with the engineer

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

)

Abroad

The information concerning Garnier's work on the

is taken from the inventory of Bouvier.Bouvier 2004. *In

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

: ** Grand Concert Hall of the Monte Carlo Casino (1876/78–1879; remodeled by Henri Schmit in 1897) ** Trente-Quarante Gaming Room of the

(1878–1880/81; modified at the end of the 19th century, little of Garnier's work remains) *In

, Italy: ** Villa Garnier (1872–1873) ** Town hall of Bordighera (1872–1878) **Villa Bischoffsheim (1876–1879/80; now Villa Etelinda) ** Church of the Immaculate Conception or Terrasanta(1879/83–1898) **Villa Studio (1884; Garnier's studio near the Villa Garnier)

Gallery

File:Panorama Français facade design by Charles Garnier c1880 - Leniaud 2003 p72.png, Panorama Français, facade File:Panorama Français section - Durm et al 1904 p285 (cropped).png, Panorama Français, long section File:Panorama Marigny 1886 Architektonische Rundschau - Comment 1999 p67.jpg, Panorama Marigny, Paris File:Cercle de la Librairie.JPG, Cercle de la Librairie, Paris File:Ateliers Berthier 1.JPG, Ateliers Berthier, Paris File:Coupole Bischoffsheim.jpg,

Nice Observatory The Nice Observatory () is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mount Gros. The observatory was founded in 1879, by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim. The architect was Charles Garnier (architect), Charles Garnier, ...

File:Monte Carlo Casino perspective view of the theatre facade - Croquis d'architecture 1879 - Bonillo 2004 p115.png, Monte Carlo Concert Hall, facade File:Monte Carlo Casino theatre interior 1878-79 - Leniaud 2003 p78.jpg, Monte Carlo Concert Hall, interior File:Monte Carlo Casino elevation of the Trente-Quarante Gaming Room c1880 - Bonillo 2004 p132.jpg, Trente-et-Quarante Gaming Room, Monte Carlo File:Casino de Vittel - postal card from akpool 266040.jpg, Vittel Casino File:La Capelle (Aisne) 002.jpg, Church of La Capelle File:Bordighera-chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione o di Terrasanta (adjusted detail).jpg, Terrasanta Church, Bordighera File:Bordighera-municipio3.jpg, Town Hall, Bordighera File:Villa Garnier Bordighera - Bonillo 2004 p88.png, Villa Garnier, Bordighera Spain Palacio Recreo de las cadenas, Fundación Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestre. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz)

Quotations

*In 1851 alors qu'il est pensionnaire à la Villa Médicis à Rome et à l'occasion d'un voyage à

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Garnier s'exclame en découvrant le

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

: ''"Il n'y a pas à choisir entre les arts, il faut être Dieu ou architecte."'' *''"Les ingénieurs ont de fréquentes occasions d'employer le fer en grandes parties, et c'est sur cette matière que plus d'un fonde l'espoir d'une architecture nouvelle. Je lui dis tout de suite, c'est là une erreur. Le fer est un moyen, ce ne sera jamais un principe."''

Notes

Bibliography

* Ayers, Andrew (2004). ''The Architecture of Paris''. Stuttgart; London: Edition Axel Menges. . * Bonillo, Jean-Lucien, et al. (2004). ''Charles Garnier and Gustave Eiffel on the French and Italian Rivieras: The Dream of Reason'' (in English and French). Marseilles: Editions Imbernon. . * Bouvier, Béatrice (2004). "Inventaires" in Bonillo et al. 2004, pp. 186–205. * Bouvier, Béatrice (2003). "Catalogue" in Leniaud 2003, pp. 160 165. * * Kirkland, Stephane (2013). ''Paris Reborn: Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City''. New York: St Martin's Press. . * Leniaud, Jean-Michel (2003). ''Charles Garnier''. Paris: Monum, Éditions du patrimoine. . * Mead, Christopher Curtis (1991). ''Charles Garnier's Paris Opéra: Architectural Empathy and the Renaissance of French Classicism''. New York: The Architectural History Foundation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. . * Savorra, Massimiliano (2003). ''Itinerari italiani di formazione. Charles Garnier a Venezia'', in « Casabella », no. 709, mars 2003, * Savorra, Massimiliano (2003), ''Charles Garnier in Italia. Un viaggio attraverso le arti. 1848-1854'', (pref. Pierre Pinon), Il Poligrafo, Padova 200
scheda libro
* Savorra, Massimiliano (2005). ''Tra attese e scoperte: la Toscana di Charles Garnier'', in G. Orefice (a cura di), ''Architetti in viaggio: suggestioni e immagini'', numero monografico di «Storia dell’urbanistica Toscana», n. XI, 2005, * Savorra, Massimiliano (2010). ''Una lezione da Parigi al mondo. Il teatro di Charles Garnier'', in L. Mozzoni, S. Santini (a cura di), ''L’architettura dell’eclettismo. Il teatro. Architettura, tecniche teatrali e pubblico'', Liguori, Napoli 2010,

External links

*
Ladyghost's web

Villa Etelinda (Google Maps Street View)
former Villa Bischoffsheim, Bordighera
Villa Studio (Google Maps Street View)
Bordighera
Villa Maria Serena (Google Maps Street View)
Menton {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnier, Charles 1825 births 1898 deaths 19th-century French architects Architects from Paris Prix de Rome for architecture École des Beaux-Arts alumni Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Historicist architects Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Theatre architects