Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève (Paris, France) : Frontal view of a single upper bay

Creator:

Labrouste, Henri, 1801-1875

Published/Created:

Paris, Île-de-France, France
1838-1851

Date Depicted:

ca. 1990's
1800 AD - 1849 AD

Materials:

iron
stone

Notes:

Labrouste finally received his first important public commission: the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Place du Panthéon, Paris. He worked for four years (1839-1842) on the design of the building, which was opened in 1851. He conceived the library as a sort of basilica in the Roman manner, with an elongated rectangular plan; the building is also reminiscent of a medieval monastic refectory and it has been compared to the refectory of the 13th-century St Martin-des-Champs, Paris. The main book stacks were placed on the ground-floor, expressed externally as a heavily rusticated base with small openings; above was placed the reading-room, with access via a staircase block projecting from the centre of the long, rear façade. The most striking feature of the Bibliothèque is the structure of the reading-room, where an exposed iron frame was used for the first time in a monumental building. The frame consists of decorated cast-iron arches and piers, with fireproof 'vaults' formed from latticework clad in plaster.

Variant Titles:

Sainte-Geneviève Library

Topics:

Architecture -- France -- 19th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Neoclassical
Renaissance Revival

Culture:

French

Accession Number:

1A1-LH-BS-A6

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
libraries (buildings) (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

architectural exteriors construction buildings; libraries (buildings) window

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Base Collection

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
ca. 1990's

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10089952

PID:

digcoll:1822205