Architecture in France 1800-1900

A book so meticulously researched, clearly and accessibly written and smartly illustrated (with 172 images, 168 in color), it actually deserves the overused and usually unmerited adjective ""encyclopedic."" France in the 19th century had perhaps the most eclectic, studied and theorized architecture of any one century in any one country. Constantly searching for a true expression of 19th-century empire, the French, who have always taken their academics and artists seriously enough to affect all aspects of their culture, advocated, built, criticized and rebuilt in styles that included the Classical, Gothic, Picturesque, Rationalist and early Modern. Add to this the enormous changes in technology and building materials such as concrete and iron, and one begins to see the vast scope of the simply titled book. Lemoine, director of research at France's Centre national de la recherche scientifique, has organized his survey into sensible chapters tracing the development of each building type (Religious, Residential, Public, Institutional, Entertainment, Industrial, Transportation, Retail and Civil). For each type in turn, he specifies the various influences that affected its development via detailed descriptions of buildings or drawings of projects. As an introduction to the subject or as an essential reference, the book is worth far more than its price. (Aug.)