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Architecture terrible

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18th century French architectural style
A West View of Newgate by George Shepherd. London's demolished Newgate Prison is an example of the architecture terrible architectural style.

Architecture terrible (lit. 'Terrible architecture') was an architectural style advocated by French architect Jacques-François Blondel in his nine-volume treatise Cours d'architecture (1771–77). Blondel promoted the style for the exterior design of prisons: the form of the building itself would proclaim its function and serve as a deterrent, and so achieve a "repulsive style" of heaviness that would "declare to the spectators outside the confused lives of those detained inside, along with the force required for those in charge to hold them confined". Blondel further described it as "...a style where the principles of art seem to be crushed under the weight of the Artist's ignorance".

London's second Newgate Prison, built between 1768 and 1775, is an example of this style of architecture: reinforced walls almost without windows, a deliberate inelegance, and overt symbolism, such as carved chains over entrances were all designed to instill terror in those who saw it.

See also

References

  1. Blondel, Jacques-François (1771–77). Cours d'architecture ou traité de la décoration, distribution et constructions des bâtiments contenant les leçons données en 1750, et les années suivantes. Vol. I. Paris. pp. 426–427.
  2. ^ Kalman, Harold D. (1969). "Newgate Prison". Architectural History. 12. Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain: 50–61. doi:10.2307/1568336. ISSN 0066-622X. JSTOR 1568336. S2CID 246047291 – via Cambridge University Press.
  3. Wiebenson, Dora (May 1968). "'L'Architecture Terrible' and the 'Jardin Anglo-Chinois'". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 27 (2). University of California Press: 136–139. doi:10.2307/988471. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 988471.
  4. Bergdoll, Barry (2000). European architecture, 1750–1890. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 0-19-284222-6.
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