Charles Garnier, like many architects, also wrote. He was interested in architecture, theater, art, chronicles of the present, as well as monuments of the past, archaeology, and theories. In addition to a remarkable mastery of drawing, Garnier distinguished himself by an extraordinary talent as a writer, evidenced by the wide and multiform series of texts in which his “plume précise et colorée” emerged. And like drawing, writing was a tool for communicating his aesthetic thought and a precise worldview. Naturally, his reflections were influenced as much by the context of the great Haussmannian transformations and the academic disquisitions that arose at the École des Beaux-Arts as by the discussions that arose on the occasion of the great exhibitions or by the circumstances and encounters, sometimes conflicting, he had during the many years on the building site of the Opéra. Along with that of a polemicist and passionate engagé, the architect also manifested a skill as a theorist and popularizer, trying his hand at works for the general public, as evidenced by his collaboration with Auguste Amman in the ambitious volume L'habitation humaine , published in 1892 and appearing following the construction of the buildings in the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle . His voice was constantly heard on matters related to artistic creation in general; he composed songs, poems and orations for the inauguration of monuments, texts for commemorations, speeches intended for public sessions of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and reports for various ministerial commissions . In 1985, François Loyer, in the preface to the reissue of the volume À travers les arts. Causeries et mélanges, a collection of writings and articles published by Garnier in 1869, highlighted the importance of those texts for understanding his architecture. Similarly, in 1990, Georges Banu emphasized, in the introductory essay to the 1871 reprint of Le Théâtre, the importance of writings revealing a modern way of thinking about the theater. Yet despite these reissues, few have paid attention to Garnier as a writer, and his dramatic work still awaits rediscovery. Therefore, in this essay an attempt will be made to analyze some of his texts, with the aim of reflecting on the architect's relationship with writing and theater, proposing a new way of interpreting and understanding his work.
Charles Garnier e l’altro teatro. Scritti teorici, libretti d’opera, testi drammatici
Savorra M
2025-01-01
Abstract
Charles Garnier, like many architects, also wrote. He was interested in architecture, theater, art, chronicles of the present, as well as monuments of the past, archaeology, and theories. In addition to a remarkable mastery of drawing, Garnier distinguished himself by an extraordinary talent as a writer, evidenced by the wide and multiform series of texts in which his “plume précise et colorée” emerged. And like drawing, writing was a tool for communicating his aesthetic thought and a precise worldview. Naturally, his reflections were influenced as much by the context of the great Haussmannian transformations and the academic disquisitions that arose at the École des Beaux-Arts as by the discussions that arose on the occasion of the great exhibitions or by the circumstances and encounters, sometimes conflicting, he had during the many years on the building site of the Opéra. Along with that of a polemicist and passionate engagé, the architect also manifested a skill as a theorist and popularizer, trying his hand at works for the general public, as evidenced by his collaboration with Auguste Amman in the ambitious volume L'habitation humaine , published in 1892 and appearing following the construction of the buildings in the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle . His voice was constantly heard on matters related to artistic creation in general; he composed songs, poems and orations for the inauguration of monuments, texts for commemorations, speeches intended for public sessions of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and reports for various ministerial commissions . In 1985, François Loyer, in the preface to the reissue of the volume À travers les arts. Causeries et mélanges, a collection of writings and articles published by Garnier in 1869, highlighted the importance of those texts for understanding his architecture. Similarly, in 1990, Georges Banu emphasized, in the introductory essay to the 1871 reprint of Le Théâtre, the importance of writings revealing a modern way of thinking about the theater. Yet despite these reissues, few have paid attention to Garnier as a writer, and his dramatic work still awaits rediscovery. Therefore, in this essay an attempt will be made to analyze some of his texts, with the aim of reflecting on the architect's relationship with writing and theater, proposing a new way of interpreting and understanding his work.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
