The Académie Royale D'architecture (1671–1793)

Abstract

Abstract From 1671 to 1793, the Academy of Architecture existed under the direct authority of the French Royal Works Administration (the Bâtiments du roi ) and contributed to defining the image of the French monarchy during the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. Created by Louis XIV's powerful chief minister, Jean‐Baptiste Colbert, the Academy served as a consultative body of leading professionals and included a school where aspiring young architects were exposed to the principles of classical design theory. When it was suppressed during the French Revolution, the Academy's membership comprised an outstanding array of figures whose work had contributed substantially to defining late‐eighteenth‐century neoclassicism and to reshaping Paris through numerous royal monuments and private buildings.