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Châteauesque

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also:French Renaissance architecture
Château Frontenac,a hotel inQuebec City,Quebec, Canada, completed in 1893
Biltmore,a Vanderbilt house inAsheville, North Carolina,US, completed in 1895
Massandra Palace,a Russian emperor's villa inCrimea,completed in 1900
Stadium High School,a secondary school inTacoma, Washington,USA, completed in 1906

Châteauesque(orFrancis Istyle,[1]or inCanada,theChâteau Style[2]) is arevivalistarchitectural stylebased on theFrench Renaissance architectureof the monumentalchâteaux of the Loire Valleyfrom the late fifteenth century to the early seventeenth century.

The termchâteauesque(literally, "château-like ") is credited (by historianMarcus Whiffen) to American architectural historianBainbridge Bunting,[1]although it can be found in publications that pre-date Bunting's birth. As of 2011, theGetty Research Institute'sArt & Architecture Thesaurusincludes both "Château Style" and "Châteauesque", with the former being the preferred term for North America.

The style frequently features buildings heavily ornamented by the elaborate towers, spires, and steeply-pitched roofs of sixteenth century châteaux, themselves influenced by lateGothicandItalian Renaissancearchitecture. Despite their French ornamentation, as a revival style, buildings in the châteauesque style do not attempt to completely emulate a French château. Châteauesque buildings are typically built on an asymmetrical plan, with a roof-line broken in several places and a facade composed of advancing and receding planes.

History[edit]

The style was popularized in the United States byRichard Morris Hunt.Hunt, the first American architect to study at theÉcole des Beaux-Artsin Paris,[3]designed residences, including those for theVanderbilt family,during the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s.[4]A relatively rare style in the United States, its presence was concentrated in theNortheast,[3]although isolated examples can be found in nearly all parts of the country. It was mostly employed for residences of the extremely wealthy, although it was occasionally used for public buildings.

The first building in this style in Canada was the 1887Quebec City Armoury(now named the Voltigeurs de Québec Armoury, formerly called the Grande-Allée Armoury (French: Manège militaire Grande-Allée, or simply Manège militaire) designed byEugène-Étienne Taché.[5]Many ofCanada's grand railway hotels,designed byJohn Smith Archibald,Edward Maxwell,Bruce PriceandRoss and Macdonald,were built in the Châteauesque style, with other mainly public or residential buildings. The style may be associated with Canadian architecture because these grand hotels are prominent landmarks in major cities across the country and in certain national parks.

In Hungary,Arthur Meinigbuilt numerous country houses in the Loire Valley style, the earliest being Andrássy Castle inTiszadob,1885–1890, and the grandest being Károlyi Castle in Nagykároly (Carei), 1893–1895.

The style began to fade after the turn of the 20th century, and it was largely absent from new construction by the 1930s.

Architects who designed in Châteauesque style[edit]

Examples in Europe[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

Examples in the United States[edit]

Examples in Canada[edit]

See also:List of Canadian railway hotels

Many of the Châteauesque-style buildings in Canada were built by railway companies, and their respective hotel divisions. They includeCanadian National RailwayandCanadian National Hotels,Canadian Pacific RailwayandCanadian Pacific Hotels,and theGrand Trunk Railway.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abWhiffen, Marcus,American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles,The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142.
  2. ^Maitland, Hucker and Ricketts,A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles,Broadview Press, Peterborough, Ont., 1992, p. 93.
  3. ^abMcAlester, Virginia & Lee (1996).A Field Guide to American Houses.New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp.375.ISBN0-394-73969-8.
  4. ^Stein, Susan R., ed.,The Architecture of Richard Morris Hunt,University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL, 1986, p. 151.
  5. ^Maitland, Hucker and Ricketts,A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles,Broadview Press, Peterborough, Ont., 1992, p. 94.
  6. ^Craven, Wayne (2009).Gilded Mansions: Grand Architecture and High Society.New York: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 111–126.ISBN978-0-393067-54-5.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toChâteauesque architecture.
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