Rules of Geometries of Control in Muslim Architecture: Emergence and Conflicts of a Research Field in France (1863–1899)

Abstract

In the second half of the nineteenth century, studies and hypotheses on the geometric rules used in the past for setting up buildings experienced a growing momentum, fueled by the demands of a discipline in the making: the history of architecture. One area yet to be studied was the regulating geometric lines of Muslim architecture. This article describes how this research emerged and developed in France, highlighting its protagonists, hypotheses, and conceptual framework. The research was carried out by a small group of architects, engineers, and diplomats tied by professional or personal links: Vogüé, Mauss, Dieulafoy, and Choisy, being all of whom were in some way influenced by Viollet-le-Duc. Also discusses is why their sustained efforts failed to achieve a consistent overall picture. At the end of the nineteenth century, the task of describing the geometric of Muslim architecture and finding its place in the universal history of architecture was still open.