The human figure, accountable for the many wonderful traditions of painting and sculpture, has had three constant companions since its earliest days – drapery, architecture and nature. An understanding of architectural fundamentals, and especially the construction of ornament, provides a key to much that is missing in contemporary realism.
The images above are by the French designer and architect Pierre-Adrien Paris – and the story below, one of perseverance.
In 1769, Pierre-Adrien Paris travelled to Rome as tutor to his teacher’s son after three unsuccessful attempts at winning the Prix de Rome. While in Italy, Paris traveled extensively and made drawings and casts after antiquity. Based on this catalog of drawings, Louis XVI appointed him King’s Designer and Architect upon his return to France. Later in life he returned to Italy and while acting director of the French Academy in Rome, directed excavations at the Colosseum and arranged the purchase for France of the Borghese collection of antiquities.
Caput Mundi
The Classicist
Traditional Building Magazine
Pure Ornament
Mural Guild