During the Romantic Era, there was the revival of a movement related to Romanticism and to the Medieval Gothic Style. This movement was referred to as the Gothic Revival. The Revival of this style has to do a lot with architecture. In the course of this era, several architects left their marks on some of the buildings they worked on or simply restored some buildings, such as historical monuments. But one of the central figures of the Gothic Revival was Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, who is well known for the restorations he worked on Notre-Dame de Paris.
However, before examining Viollet-le-Duc's life and some of his restorations, the Gothic style will be briefly discussed. The Gothic style began in the medieval period. It is said that it began “with the patronage of the Abbot Suger, of the monastery of St. Denis near Paris”. (Martindale, 7) It should be mentioned that Suger was a French priest, statesman, and historian as well being an important patron of Gothic Architecture, at the time that the Gothic style was introduced in the Medieval Ages.
But, for some countries, such as England or Spain, this new style would only arrive later. It was by about 1250 that “European art had been transformed, and in all media what might be called a recognizably Gothic style was in the process of emerging.” (Martindale, 7) Each country had its own different timeline within this era. For example, in France, this timeline was divided into four sections, which were called: Early Gothic; High Gothic; Rayonnant; and Late Gothic also known as Flamboyant Style. These sequences described each period within the Gothic era, in their own way.
The two periods in which the Gothic style appeared, the medieval ages and the Romantic, had different ways of viewing and describing this type of art. When the Gothic style first appeared, society thought “it was never a precise descriptive word, since it was coined by men who were uninterested in making it precise.” (Martindale, 7) At the time, society from the Middle Ages saw it more as a barbaric style than a Gothic style or anything at all. However, during the Gothic Revival era, this type of architecture was no longer as insulting or abusive as it once was. It was much more accepted by society. This Gothic method “became merely a descriptive of all medieval art up to the time of the Italian Renaissance.” (Martindale, 7)
Although, perhaps, some of the most important figures of Gothic style would not arrive until the 19th century, much after the first apparition of the first Gothic church. Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was born on January 27, 1814, in Paris, France. His father was a civil servant, working in Paris. Though it was not with the help of his father that the young Viollet-le-Duc received his education. He owes his schooling to his mother's brother, Eugène Délécluze, This uncle of the future architect had been described by Summerson, one of the main English architectural historians of the 20th century, as “a painter in the mornings, a scholar in the evenings.” (Wikipedia)
After returning from a study trip to Italy, in 1835, Viollet-le-Duc was asked to restore a Romanesque style, Abbey of Vézelay. The man who asked him to complete this task was the French dramatist, historian and archaeologist, Prosper Mérimée. The restoration of the Abbey of Vézelay was Viollet-le-Duc's first official job as an architect. As he was working on the restorations of this monastery, the young architect chooses to apply his knowledge of Gothic architecture. A lot of his future architectural works would involve the Gothic style and restoring some medieval buildings. All throughout his career, Viollet-le-Duc made some notes and drawings of various buildings he worked on, as well as drawings and notes of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance buildings, which had been torn apart. These notes and drawings were published and were very much helpful to our knowledge of the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
As well as having an architectural career, Viollet-le-Duc had a military career. One of the battles he was involved in was the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870-1871. As an old man, Viollet-le-Duc decided to move to Lausanne, Switzerland. It was there that he died in 1879.
During a discussion of Viollet-le-Duc, his architectural restorations are an influential aspect. As mentioned, his first architectural work was the restoration of the Abbey of Vézelay, on behalf of Prosper Mérimée, in 1835. Prosper Mérimée was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. He later became the first inspector of ancient monuments of France.
