Beaux-Arts Architecture

Beaux-Arts Architecture

Beaux Arts, literally meaning fine arts or beautiful arts, is an architectural style that originated in France around mid-18th century to late 19th century. The style was based on ideas taught at the L’Ecole des Beaux Arts (The School of Fine Arts), one of the most prestigious architecture and design institutes in France. With a goal to create a novel and authentic French style, students from the school combined different elements from Baroque, Renaissance, Gothic, and classical Roman architecture and materialized beaux arts as an architectural style heavily influenced by antiquity (Wikipedia 2022(a)). Graduated students of the Ecole then returned to their home countries so to disperse this “authentic French” style internationally (Schires 2021).
Essentially, Beaux-Arts exalts classical antiquity and the preservation of classical forms and ideals (Wikipedia 2022(b)). It emphasizes the concept of “architecture parlante”, or “speaking architecture”, in which a building is a both an artistic and social product (The Art Story n.d.). The style is characterized by formal symmetry, historic forms, and elaborate classical decorative elements like columns, balustrades, pediments as well as arched windows and doors, sculptures, statues (Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide 2015). Decorative motifs in beaux-arts style mostly include quoins, balconies, terraces, porticoes, and ornamental windows and grand entrances. Each of these element tends to have its own function in explaining specific social values, purposes, or situations of the overall construction. Most often, symbolic motifs are employed on exterior decorations. Beaux-Arts style was commonly used in large monumental buildings like court houses, university campuses, libraries, museums, , stations, churches, or personal mansions (Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide 2015).
The first Beaux-Arts trained architect that came to Saigon in 1866 was Georges Lhermite as he was invited to design the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Palace of the Governor-general. Later on, Beaux-Arts style could be seen in many French colonial buildings in Saigon (Wright 1991).

References:
The Art Story. n.d. "Beaux-Arts Architecture." Last modified n/a (15 April 2022). Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide. 2015. "Beaux Arts Style 1885–1930." Last modified August 26, 2015 (15 April 2022).
Schires, Megan. 2021. "6 Schools That Defined their Own Architectural Styles." Archdaily. Last modified March 1, 2021 (15 April 2022).
Wikipedia. 2022(a). "Beaux-Arts Architecture." Last modified June 10, 2022 (10 June 2022).
Wikipedia. 2022(b). "École des Beaux-Arts." Last modified June 10, 2022 (15 June 2022).
Wright, Gwendolyn. 1991. The Politics of Design in French Colonial Urbanism. University of Chicago Press.

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