Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (February 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine | |
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 Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine by Joseph-Désiré Court | |
| Born | 20 September 1762 Pontoise, France |
| Died | 10 October 1853 (aged 91) Paris, France |
| Burial place | Père Lachaise |
| Other names | Pierre Fontaine |
| Education | Marie-Joseph Peyre |
| Occupation(s) | Architect, designer, interior decorator |
| Known for | Creation of the Directoire style and the Empire style |
| Notable work | Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Galerie d'Orléans |
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (pronounced [pjɛʁ frɑ̃swa leɔnaːʁ fɔ̃tɛn]; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a French neoclassical architect, interior decorator and designer.
In addition to his important contributions to the architecture of his days, Pierre Fontaine is remarkable for his ability to not only prosper in his architectural career, while also surviving numerous tumultuous regime changes : he maintained his architectural practice from the Consulate to the Second Empire, pretty much without interruption.
Life and work
[edit]Fontaine was born at Pontoise, Val-d'Oise in 1762. His gifts in drawing were recognized early and, as a child, he was identified as being well suited to following a career in architecture.
In 1778 and 1779, the 16-year old participated, with his father Pierre Fontaine (1735-1807), architect and fountain designer, the hydraulic systems at the Château de L'Isle-Adam, which belonged to Louis-François-Joseph de Bourbon, Count of La Marche and Prince of Conti.
In 1779, he arrived in Paris, where he followed the teachings of Antoine-François Peyre. It was during this period that he met Charles Percier, a fellow student in Peyre’s workshop.[1]
This was the beginning of a lifetime partnership. Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked so closely with Percier that it is difficult to distinguish their work. Together they were inventors and major proponents of the rich and grand, consciously archaeological versions of neoclassicism we recognize as Directoire style and Empire style.
One of their major collaborations was the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Fontaine, significantly, was also the architect of the Galerie d'Orléans, rebuilt in 1830 on the site of the former Galeries de Bois, as part of the Palais Royal in Paris.[2]
Percier and Fontaine had lived together as well as being colleagues. Fontaine married late in life and a daughter was born out of this union. Following Charles Percier's death in 1838, Fontaine designed a tomb in their characteristic style in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
Fontaine died in Paris on 10 October 1853. His body was interred in the tomb he designed for Percier, in accordance with his wishes.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Parts of this page are translated from the corresponding French Wikipedia page, Fr:Pierre Fontaine (architecte).
External links
[edit]
- "Fontaine, Pierre François Léonard" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Percier and Fontaine, Linda Rapp, glbtq
- Percier and Fontaine Collection
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 18th-century French architects
- 19th-century French architects
- 1762 births
- 1853 deaths
- People from Pontoise
- French neoclassical architects
- École des Beaux-Arts alumni
- Prix de Rome for architecture
- Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
- Members of the Académie des beaux-arts
- Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
- People associated with the Louvre