Books – Architecture

Published in 1971, Denise Basdevant‘s L’Architecture française : des origines à nos jours is an illustrated historical survey of French architecture, from its Roman antecedents to the architectural developments of the 20th century. Written with the collaboration of Gérald Gassiot-Talabot (1929-2002) and Marc Gaillard for the contemporary sections, it attempts to explain the development of French architecture as a continuous historical tradition, while recognising the transformations introduced by changing political institutions, artistic movements, construction techniques and social requirements.

Its ambition is considerably greater than that of a conventional architectural guide. Rather than describing individual monuments in geographical order, Basdevant examines the evolution of architectural forms, their historical origins, their adaptation to new functions and the influence of French architecture beyond France itself.

The publication is particularly interesting because of its date. Appearing in 1971, it looks back upon nearly two thousand years of architectural history while also documenting the emergence of modern architecture, postwar reconstruction, new building materials and the increasingly important role of public and industrial buildings.

It therefore has a double value. It is a general introduction to French architectural history, but it is also a historical document reflecting how that history was understood and presented in France at the beginning of the 1970s.

A contemporary review published in the Bulletin des bibliothèques de France in 1972 considered the project unusually ambitious and judged that the authors had, on the whole, succeeded. That review is especially valuable because it evaluates the publication from the perspective of its own period, rather than retrospectively.

The book is substantial without being excessively large. Its numerous illustrations, architectural plans, details and photographs make it a practical reference as well as a continuous historical narrative.

The book combines two approaches, firstly a relatively traditional chronological history of architectural styles and monuments, then followed by a more thematic account of modern building types, materials and architectural experimentation.

This is not entirely seamless, as the contemporary reviewer observed, but it gives the publication a breadth that a purely stylistic history might have lacked.

The book begins with an introduction and a discussion of the nature of architecture, followed by its origins, Carolingian architecture, Romanesque architecture, Gothic architecture (described as architecture ogivale), the Renaissance, Classicism and the 19th century.

There is a imbalance in that Classicism occupies an exceptionally prominent position, while the 19th century receives a comparatively short treatment. However, this imbalance is one of the most interesting aspects of the publication, and it was already noticed in the 1972 review.

Romanesque and Gothic architecture: the medieval foundations

The medieval sections occupy approximately the first third of the book and provide a substantial account of the emergence of recognisably French architectural traditions.

Romanesque architecture is examined through the development of churches, monasteries, vaulting systems and regional schools. The diversity of Romanesque construction is especially important, since medieval France did not possess a single architectural language, but a variety of regional traditions shaped by materials, technical knowledge and religious requirements.

The Gothic section is one of the largest individual parts of the historical narrative. The development of rib vaulting, pointed arches, flying buttresses and increasingly ambitious systems of structural support transformed the possibilities of church construction. These developments allowed architects to create taller buildings, larger windows and increasingly complex interior spaces.

The great cathedrals of northern France became influential models throughout Europe. The Gothic period therefore provides a particularly strong example of the international diffusion of architectural ideas originating in the territories of medieval France.

Basdevant’s emphasis on Gothic architecture is understandable in the context of traditional French architectural historiography, which frequently regarded the great cathedral-building period as one of France’s most distinctive contributions to European architecture. The 1972 review specifically praises the inclusion of a map illustrating the spread of medieval architectural forms across Europe and into the Middle East.

A modern reader should nevertheless distinguish between the emergence of Gothic architecture in the Île-de-France and the later construction of a national historical narrative around that development. The political, cultural and geographical boundaries of medieval France were not identical to those of the modern state.

Renaissance and Classicism: architecture and royal power

The Renaissance section addresses the transformation of French architecture through renewed engagement with classical antiquity and the influence of Italian Renaissance models.

The period is particularly associated with the development of royal and aristocratic residences, the adaptation of Italian architectural principles and the emergence of new relationships between buildings, gardens and their surroundings. The Loire châteaux exemplify this transitional process. They combine elements inherited from medieval castle architecture with new architectural forms associated with Renaissance court culture.

Classicism receives an exceptionally extensive treatment. This allocation reflects the importance traditionally attached to the 17th and 18th centuries in French architectural history. During these periods, architectural production became closely associated with royal authority, the organisation of the court, the development of Paris and the formalisation of architectural education.

The creation of the Académie royale d’architecture in 1671 was particularly important in establishing architectural theory and professional institutions.

Versailles and the international influence of French architecture

The Palace of Versailles provides a particularly useful example of why architectural history should be distinguished from the broader history of decorative arts. Its architectural development under Louis XIV involved Louis Le Vau, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and André Le Nôtre, among others. The relationship between palace, gardens, avenues and surrounding urban space created an architectural ensemble that expressed royal authority through spatial organisation.

The building cannot be understood simply as a collection of richly decorated rooms. Its architectural importance also lies in the relationship between the original château, successive extensions, ceremonial spaces, gardens and the wider landscape.

Basdevant’s treatment of French Classicism is particularly interesting because the book includes a map entitled Les satellites de Versailles en Europe. The 1972 reviewer specifically identifies this illustration as evidence of the authors’ concern with the international circulation of French architectural ideas. The map also illustrates the central historical proposition of the book, that French architecture should be understood not merely through buildings located in France, but through the influence of French architectural principles beyond its borders.

The 19th century: an important but compressed transition

The 19th-century section rapidly turns to the international influence of French architecture. This is remarkable considering that the 19th century witnessed the development of industrial construction, the growing use of iron and glass, new railway infrastructure, large commercial buildings, modern urban planning and the transformation of Paris under Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann.

It was also a period of architectural revivalism and debate about historical styles, restoration and the relationship between construction techniques and architectural form. The work of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, for example, illustrates the close relationship between architectural history, medieval restoration and emerging ideas about structural rationalism.

The contemporary reviewer explicitly considered the 19th-century treatment somewhat brief. This is a significant weakness. The 19th century provides much of the technological and institutional foundation of modern architecture, and its relatively limited treatment makes the transition from Classicism to 20th-century architecture less satisfactory than it might otherwise have been.

It is also revealing of the book’s historical perspective, with monumental architecture and established stylistic periods receiving greater emphasis than some of the technological and urban transformations that fundamentally changed the built environment.

The 20th century: the book’s most distinctive historical contribution

The final third of the publication is devoted largely to modern and contemporary architecture. Here the method changes. Rather than maintaining a strictly chronological sequence, the contributors organise much of the discussion by building type, function and construction material.

Residential buildings, industrial architecture, public buildings, schools, hospitals, commercial facilities, cultural institutions and religious buildings are examined alongside the work of major modern architects.

Le Corbusier receives particular attention, as does the architectural reconstruction following the Second World War.

The book also considers the architectural possibilities introduced by materials such as reinforced concrete, aluminium, glass, steel, plastics and wood.

This thematic organisation reflects the increasing diversity of 20th-century architectural practice. Architecture was no longer adequately represented by churches, palaces, town halls and other traditional monuments. Housing, industrial production, transport, education, healthcare and commerce had become central architectural concerns.

The 1972 reviewer considered this contemporary coverage exceptionally rich in examples and information. However, he criticised its organisation, noting that architects could appear repeatedly under different functional or material categories.

But the contemporary section is arguably the part of the book that has gained the most historical interest since publication. Written at the beginning of the 1970s, it documents modern French architecture before many later developments had transformed the architectural landscape.

The Centre Pompidou, for example, did not open until 1977. The Grande Arche at La Défense was completed in 1989, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France’s François-Mitterrand site opened in 1996.

Basdevant’s book therefore captures a particular moment, when modernism and postwar reconstruction had become established historical subjects, while much of the architecture now associated with late-20th-century France had yet to appear. This makes the publication a useful contemporary witness to architectural priorities and critical judgements around 1970.

The central argument: is there a continuous French architectural tradition?

The most intellectually interesting aspect of the book is its attempt to identify continuity across very different architectural periods. The publisher’s description emphasised the continuity of French architecture and the existence of a national tradition. It gave particular importance to transitional periods, notably the 15th and 19th centuries.

This approach raises an important historical question. Can Romanesque churches, Gothic cathedrals, Renaissance châteaux, classical palaces, 19th-century railway stations and modern concrete buildings genuinely be understood as expressions of a continuous national architectural tradition?

The answer depends on what is meant by continuity. There is certainly institutional and historical continuity. Building practices, architectural education, patronage, urban development and the transmission of technical knowledge connect successive periods. There are also recurring concerns with proportion, order, structural expression and the relationship between buildings and their surroundings.

But the notion of a permanent national architectural character is more difficult to sustain. French architecture developed through repeated exchanges with neighbouring cultures. Roman construction, Italian Renaissance architecture, international Gothic developments, industrial technology and 20th-century modernism all demonstrate the importance of influences that crossed political boundaries.

Indeed, the contemporary reviewer observed that the geographical boundaries of French architecture did not always correspond to France’s political frontiers. He nevertheless praised the authors for acknowledging architects born outside France who contributed to its architectural development.

The book is therefore most valuable when its idea of national continuity is treated as an organising historical interpretation, rather than an unquestionable fact. This does not diminish its usefulness. On the contrary, it makes the work more interesting as a document of architectural historiography.

The extensive visual documentation is a major strength. The 374 drawings and reproductions, 24 separate plates and two maps provide material for examining architectural form and construction. Architectural drawings and plans are especially important because photographs alone cannot adequately explain the organisation of a building. A photograph may illustrate the appearance of a cathedral or château, but a ground plan, section or structural drawing can reveal the relationships between spaces, walls, supports and circulation.

The inclusion of a repertory of architects, bibliography and index further increases the book’s usefulness as a reference.

The principal limitation is the predominantly black-and-white reproduction. This was entirely conventional for a substantial illustrated reference work in 1971, but colour can be important in understanding architectural materials, decorative programmes and the relationship between buildings and landscape. Nevertheless, architectural photography in black and white can be particularly effective in showing structure, proportion, massing and the effects of light.

The book therefore retains considerable practical value, especially for readers interested in the historical evolution of architectural forms rather than only the visual appearance of monuments.

Contemporary reception: the 1972 review by Jean Bleton

One of the strongest bibliographical sources for evaluating this publication is its contemporary review by Jean Bleton in the Bulletin des bibliothèques de France, 1972. Unlike a modern bookseller’s description, this is an independent critical assessment written shortly after publication.

Bleton identifies the central difficulty of the project, namely presenting the entire history of French architecture in a single volume while satisfying historical scholarship, remaining accessible to the general reader and providing adequate illustrations.

He considers that the authors largely achieved this ambition. His principal positive observations concern the breadth of the historical survey, the recognition of international architectural exchanges and the particularly extensive coverage of twentieth-century architecture.

His reservations concern the relatively brief treatment of the 19th century and the organisation of the contemporary sections, where grouping buildings by function or material results in repetition and a less coherent historical sequence.

He also points out some omissions and errors concerning architects associated with library construction, a subject of particular interest to the journal’s readership.

This is a valuable review because it confirms both the book’s strengths and its limitations from the perspective of a contemporary professional reader.