Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine was a Frenchneoclassicalarchitect, interior decorator and designer. He was a pillar of theDirectoirestyle and theEmpirestyle.
About his life
Fontaine was born in Pontoise on September 10, 1762. Several members of his family were architects. At the age of sixteen, he left for L’Isle-Adam, where he assisted the architect André in the hydraulic work. To help young Fontaine with his studies, André gave him access to his plans and allowed him to copy his projects. In October 1779, he began his studies at the school of Peyre the Younger in Paris. There he metCharles Percier。他们的朋友和发表几l works together. Fontaine died in Paris on October 10, 1853.
Image source:https://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_369772/Pierre-Francois-Leonard-Fontaine/Romancing-The-Coy-Lady
What were his major works?
In collaboration with Percier he worked on:
- Arch of the Carrousel, the restoration of thePalais-Royal;
- The grand staircase of the Louvre;
- Works designed for the union of theLouvreand the杜伊勒里宫。
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/adc3cd8c-5a94-4c61-8379-713da76202febyMarkusMark
Fontaine and Percier have published the following works:
- Palais, maisons, et autres edifices de Rome moderne(1802);
- Descriptions de ceremonies et de fetes(1807 and 1810);
- Recueil de decorations interieures(1812);
- Choix des plus celebres maisons de plaisance de Rome et des environs(1809-1813);
- Residences des souverains, Parallele(1833).
- L’histoire du Palais-Royal.Published by Fountain after Charles Percier’s death in 1838. Fontaine designed a tomb in their distinctive style in Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
Image source:https://commons.wikimedia.org
How can we identify his style?
Together with Percier, Fontaine was a symbol of theDirectoirestyle andEmpirestyle. The Directoire style was part of the last phase of theLouis XVIstyle and was based on ancient Roman objects recovered from theexcavations of Pompeii。The Empire style, on the other hand, was born from Napoleon’s desire for a style that was inspired by the greatness of ancientEgyptand imperial Rome.
Image source:https://trouvais.com
Info sources:
http://www.theodora.com/encyclopedia/f/pierre_francois_leonard_fontaine.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Fran%C3%A7ois-L%C3%A9onard_Fontaine
