Jacques-Germain Soufflot

Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Birthday	Saturday, July 22, 1713
Birthplace	Irancy, France
Died	Tuesday, August 29, 1780

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Soufflot, Jacques-Germain

 

Born July 22, 1713, in Irancy, near Auxerre; died Aug. 29,1780, in Paris. French architect; a leading representative of 18th-century classicism.

Soufflot studied in Rome from 1734 to 1737. In the 1730’s he visited Asia Minor, and in 1750 he studied and took measurements of the remains of classical buildings in Sicily and Paestum. He began his career in Lyon, where he designed the Hótel-Dieu (a hospital, 1741–42) and other buildings.

In 1755, Soufflot began working in Paris. His most important structure was the church of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris (1758–90), which became the Panthéon in 1791. The building has a large interior space crowned by a dome, and the entrance is emphasized by a classical portico. The structure is divided into large, clearly defined elements. It is severe and majestic in form and bold in design; the dome has a large span and rests on four light three-sided supports.

WORKS

Oeuvres, vols. 1–2. Paris, 1767.

REFERENCES

Monval, J. B. M. Soufflot. Paris, 1918.
Petzet, M. Soufflots Sainte-Geneviève und der französische Kirchenbau des 18. Jahrhunderts. Berlin, 1961.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.