| Title |
A Study on the Question of the Notion of Originality, with E. E. Viollet-le-Duc's Arguments as the Central Viewpoints, Reflected on French Architecture in 19th Century |
| Keywords |
Originality ; Imitation ; Viollet-le-Duc ; Ambivalence |
| Abstract |
The establishment of the notion of originality, during the nineteenth century in France, as important criteria of artistic practice and of aesthetic appreciation, signifies a radical change of the history of art and architecture. Many architects and theorists can be referred as key persons in the development and the diffusion of the notion of originality for which their works span between the concretization of the design methodology and the publication of architectural books in unprecedented formulae. The domain of publication, as an important aspect of accelerating an evolution of architectural culture, provides architects with a variety of opportunities for raising questions about tradition and modernity in architectural styles, and eventually takes a major part in manifesting and diffusing the notion of originality. E. E. Viollet-le-Duc, who takes particularly full advantage of this phenomenon, demonstrates his polemic theory with respect to lessons offered by gothic architecture and expands it with regard to the notion of originality in architecture with greater thoroughness in major publications in the nineteenth century. This study investigates both the expansion of the field of publication in the nineteenth century and the notion of originality with Viollet-le-Duc's arguments as the central viewpoints, equally critical and interrelated, and shows that they are one of the veritable thresholds of modern architecture. |