Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève (Paris, France) : Close side 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-A5
- 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)
- 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:
- 10089951
- PID:
- digcoll:1834957