Winner of the 2017 Alice award from Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, given annually to an illustrated book that makes a valuable contribution to its field and demonstrates high standards of production. Read the full announcement here.
Named a 2016 50 Books | 50 Covers award winner by the AIGA, the professional association for design.
Handsomely designed and richly illustrated, this publication surveys the magnificent spectrum of projects undertaken by French architect and interior designer Charles Percier (1764–1838). After gaining an illustrious reputation for supervising the scenery at the Paris Opéra during the French Revolution, Percier was later appointed by Napoleon Bonaparte. With the Emperor’s support, he developed the opulent versions of neoclassicism closely associated with the Napoleonic era, and now known as Directoire style and Empire style. Percier worked on the renovation or redecoration of many of France’s royal palaces, including the Louvre, the Tuileries, and the chateaux of Malmaison, Saint-Cloud, and Fontainebleau. The full scope and variety of Percier’s design projects are revealed in this book, which also includes archival material detailing Percier’s relationships with patrons and peers.
Jean-Philippe Garric is professor of architecture at the University of Paris I, Panthéon Sorbonne.
Susan Weber
Preface
Jean-François Hebert
Biography
Jean-Philippe Garric
Chronology
Saskia Wallig
Government and the Arts in France, 1789-1848
Thierry Sarmant
Charles Percier
Percier Alone
Jean-Philippe Garric
The Schools of Percier
Jean-Philippe Garric
Percier’s Ring
Jean-Philippe Garric
The Atelier of Isabey
Vincent Cochet
The Roman Sojourn
Letizia Tedeschi
Letter to John Flaxman, November 1791
Jean-Philippe Garric
Architectural Patrimony
The Château de Fontainebleau
Vincent Droguet
The Abbey of Saint-Denis, 1936
Jean-Philippe Garric
The Musée des Monuments Français
Jean-Philippe Garric
Architect of the Book
Graphic Art as Matrix
Jean-Philippe Garric
Percier under the Loupe
Jean-Philippe Garric
Documenting the Recueil de Décorations Intérieures
Iris Moon
The Italian Edition of the Recueil
Letizia Tedeschi
The Livre du Sacre
Christophe Beyeler
Decorative Arts
Percier and François Honoré Georges Jacob-Desmalter
Jean-François Belhoste
Two Commodes
Iris Moon
A Scrapbook from Percier’s Workshop
Jean-Philippe Garric
Designs for the Manufactories and the Garde-Meuble
Anne Dion-Tenenbaum
Two Tureens and Their Variations
Anne Dion-Tenenbaum
Court Architect
The Synthesis of Architecture and Decor
Jean-François Bédard
Percier and the Imperial Court
Vincent Cochet
Josephine’s Boudoir, Château de Saint-Cloud
Jean-François Belhoste
The Louvre and the Tuileries
Jean-Philippe Garric
The Arcades on the Rue de Rivoli
Charlotte Duvette
The Rhetoric of Unbuilt Architectures
Jean-Philippe Garric
Percier’s Legacy
Jean-Philippe Garric
Checklist
Bibliography
About the Authors
Index
