"A fine and applied arts polymath, as well as a mystically inclined visionary, Viollet-le-Duc, a native Parisian from a family of artists and high-ranking civil servants, is celebrated in France for overseeing the preservation and restoration of some of the country's most important Medieval structures and monuments, including the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. But he was also a theoretician and a gadfly, and had an immense impact, not only on the direction of architecture,"
"Relying on a number of French sources, especially the archives of the Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie, Viollet-le-Duc: Drawing Worlds will span five decades, starting with his fanciful teenage depictions of French harbours and culminating in late ruminations on Medieval weaponry. The curators have had a wealth of material to choose from-the Médiathèque alone holds some 20,000 of his drawings. Viollet-le-Duc was a "compulsive" draughtsman, explains Martin Bressani,"
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc combined preservation, inventive restoration, and theoretical writing to reshape perceptions of medieval architecture. He oversaw major restorations, including Notre-Dame de Paris, and designed a distinctive spire during the 1850s revival. His prolific output includes tens of thousands of drawings that range from fanciful teenage views of harbours to detailed studies of medieval weaponry. A forthcoming exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center presents over 150 drawings spanning five decades to reveal his imagination and methods. Curators draw heavily from French archives, and scholars like Martin Bressani and Barry Bergdoll have organized the show.
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