À Paris, chez les auteurs, et P. Didot l’aîné, [1802].
Folio, 8 pp., 100 engravings on 99 plates, 3 pp., 40.
A wide-margined copy in red straight-grained morocco, gilt framing of geometric motifs and vegetal friezes with gilt coat of arms in the center, ribbed spine decorated with geometric latticework, blue “tabis” doublures and endleaves, gilt edges. Contemporary armorial binding.
409 x 285 mm.
Second edition, the original having been published without authors’ names in several issues by Ducamp from 1798 to 1801.
The text has been entirely recomposed, with small editorial changes, and one engraved vignette has been displaced.
Copper engraved illustration out of text: 99 plates bearing 100 copperplates numbered 1 to 100 (with nos. 12 and 13 on the same sheet) and 16 titles illustrated with fictitious architectural and ornamental compositions. 3 vignettes in the text, including one engraved on the printed title.
“Modern” Rome revisited. The result of a stay in Rome by the architects Percier, Fontaine and Bernier, from 1786 to 1791, this superb collection brings together perspective views drawn by Fontaine, frontispieces composing architectural and ornamental elements in sumptuous fictitious views, imagined by Percier, and geometrical plans drawn by Bernier; printed historical notes were provided by the architect Dufourny. The book is mainly devoted to Roman Renaissance architecture, but does not neglect the Middle Ages nor the Baroque period, and deals with buildings of various sizes and natures: major and more modest palaces, even simple houses, and a few churches.
“A rupture in the theory of architecture” (Jean-Philippe Garric). Unlike earlier catalogs of ancient buildings, which were simply juxtapositions of examples such as those by Bibiena, Ferrerio or Vasi, Percier and Fontaine’s selection here is dictated by a global purpose that obeys particular criteria, an ideal geometrical stylization, sometimes involving transformations, retrenchments and recompositions that are far from documentary accuracy. In addition, the frontispieces of the issues were given a special status, demonstrating an art of ornamentation, and one of them was modeled on the churches of the Eastern Empire. In their creative abundance, Percier’s eclectic compositions depend on Piranesi’s compositions, but depart from them with a refined design that reconstructs an idealized Antiquity.
Aimed at a wider audience of artists and enthusiasts, “Palais, maisons et autres édifices modernes dessinés à Rome” is the first in a series of collections published in France by Percier et Fontaine, Durand, Rondelet and Ledoux, which marked a major evolution in architectural concepts, in line with the expectations of the time, and inspired a whole generation of architects.
The first printed collaboration between Percier and Fontaine, who were to become the official designers of the imperial regime, Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853) met while studying in Paris with the architect Antoine-François Peyre, and spent time together in Italy from 1786 to 1790.
On their return, Percier was appointed director of decorations at the Opera, and Fontaine his assistant. In 1798, Fontaine was commissioned to work on the Castle de Montgobert, recently acquired by General Leclerc and his wife Pauline Bonaparte. Their designs appealed to Bonaparte and Joséphine, and in 1802 they were entrusted with the development of the Malmaison, with Percier designing and Fontaine executing. They went on to hold a number of official positions, including that of government architect, and worked on a succession of projects: the staircase of the Louvre colonnade, decorations for major festivities including the coronation, the Carrousel triumphal arch, rue de Rivoli, fitting out the imperial apartments in the Crown palaces, etc. – they were also in demand from foreign clients. The fall of the Empire put an end to their great ambitions, and they had to abandon their project for a palace for the King of Rome, son of Napoleon 1st. Fontaine continued his official career under subsequent regimes, while Percier fully devoted himself to teaching.
They ultimately exerted an immense influence, through their concrete achievements, their publications and, independently, Percier through his teaching and Fontaine through his position as advisor to the sovereigns.
Claude-Louis Bernier (1755-1830) did not have as brilliant a career as his two friends, but remained a regular collaborator under the Empire as inspector of works at the Saint Cloud and Louvre palaces. Very close friends, the three men were laid to rest side by side in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
A superb copy in morocco with the imperial arms of Russia.
Provenance: Hermitage Palace Library (2nd ex libris with handwritten additions, one lithographed in the 19th century from the foreign books section, the other printed in 1909 from the engravings and drawings department, with handwritten mention of double).
