The Paris Opera House, or Palais Garnier, is known as the backdrop for
the Broadway musical Phantom of the Opera, which has been seen by more
than 100 million people worldwide since its debut a quarter-century
ago. Outside of France, more people know about the fictional phantom
Erik and his white mask than they do Charles Garnier, the buildings
real life architect. Based on substantial archival research at
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Bibliothèque-Musée de lOpéra
and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, this study presents
a rare biographical portrait of Garnier, whose rags-to-riches tale was
emblematic of a nineteenth-century Paris where opportunities abounded
for men of talent and drive.
Born the son of a blacksmith, Garnier was too sickly to follow in his
fathers professional footsteps. He took advantage of new educational
opportunities that taught him first how to read and write, then to
draw, then to be an architect. The award of a Prix de Rome in 1848
granted him five years to study, sketch and travel throughout Italy,
Greece and Turkey. Away from Paris, he stoked his ambitions, refined
his sensibilities and gained an appreciation for classical buildings
and art. Sifting through rubble with his bare hands at the Temple of
Aegina, the power of ancients seized his imagination. On his return to
Paris, his newly developed expertise enabled him to win the commission
to build the new Opera house which Napoleon III wanted to be the crown
jewel of his refurbished and modernized Paris. Garnier needed thirteen
years to complete the work, but when it was done, it stood
magnificent. Born in obscurity and poverty, Garnier was now wealthy
and the most famous architect in Europe.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-06042012-104004 |
| Date | 05 June 2012 |
| Creators | Bowers, Paige |
| Contributors | Marchand, Suzanne, Lindenfeld, David, Martin, Benjamin |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06042012-104004/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds