Review of the work “Architecture moderne, ou l’art de bien bâtir pour toutes sortes de personnes tant pour les maisons des particuliers que pour les palais / [Charles-Etienne Briseux]”, written by Claude Jombert and Charles Etienne.
Published 1728.
These two pages depict in great detail the sectional view and ground plane of a very thin city house, which sparked my interest, as well as drawings of machines, that are possibly used in construction.
Although these two pages are different from the ones I looked at online, I found them to be the most eye-catching. Page 1 shows the variety of forms a spiral staircase can take on. The image almost looks like something from Harry Potter. On page 2, we have a detailed view of a Grand Salon façade. I would like you to pay close attention to the detail of the cornice, which I now have a deep appreciation for.
The book is very thick, approximately the length of a credit card. I have never held such an old book in my hands before. The pages were so dry, a single drop of sweat would have probably melted a hole into it as if it were acid. As a little extra: I was able to spot a reference to our “lord and savior” Vitruve halfway into the book. My flattery for the french language is very limited though, so I did not know exactly what Claude Jombert meant. Incredible to see yet again, how big of an impact Vitruvius had on the architecture throughout the ages.