Beaux-Arts architecture is a classical revivalist movement that was influenced by the teachings of the French Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It combined earlier Neoclassical forms along with Renaissance and Baroque features, also introducing new materials like steel and glass. Since classical Greek and Roman architecture evoke images of democracy, many Beaux-Arts works are public and government buildings.
The term "Beaux-Arts" (pronounced bohz-ar) is French for "fine art," which came from the name of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, or the "school of fine art" in English.
The Ecole des Beaux-Arts itself was founded in 1648 as the Academie des Beaux-Arts, but at that point French architecture was being determined by the Academie Royale d'Architecture. It was not until the French Revolution that the Ecole des Beaux-Arts began to become the driving force behind the country's architecture.
Beaux-Arts architecture as we currently know it was a reaction against the perceived formality and bareness of Neoclassical architecture. Starting in the 1820s, professors at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts wanted to return to the more elaborate forms and ornamentation of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, which they believed would create a new, uniquely French style. However, the school also taught non-classical medieval architecture. This synthesis created interesting hybrid buildings. An early example is Labrouste's Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve, a highly influential union of classical architecture and modern technology like the iron frame. Its relatively bare exterior is not intended to be the most interesting feature, rather, that distinction is applied to the elaborate reading room.
In the United States, Beaux-Arts architecture was popular between the late 19th century and early 20th century. Many prominent architects studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, such as H. H. Richardson and Daniel Burnham. In particular, the 1893 Columbian Exposition caused the style to explode in popularity, since many of the fair's temporary buildings were Beaux-Arts compositions. However, Beaux-Arts architecture declined in popularity outside of France and the United States after 1860.
Beaux-Arts architecture was not just an architectural style; it was also a pedagogy employed by architecture schools across the world. In the United States, many colleges used this school of thought until the Bauhaus model came into favor starting in the 1920s. Students studied the architecture of antiquity, medieval styles like Romanesque and Gothic, and Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Common exercises included precedent analysis and drawing/modeling traditional forms and orders.
Beaux-Arts architecture is defined by its strict principles. The style employs symmetry and proportion to mass its buildings. Organization involves strong axes, elaborate plans and sections, and a hierarchy of the various spaces within a building. Its ornamentation comes from the various classical models that Beaux-Arts students studied--these include the orders, vaulting, sculpture, decorations like balustrades and anthemia, and a tendency towards eclectic assemblies of these features. Beaux-Arts architecture also incorporates then-new technology like glass, iron, and steel, though the structure of the building was often concealed by a classical veneer.
Early International architecture was a reaction to these extensive requirements, seeking to create a more simple and less dogmatic style. Indeed, elaborate classical architecture began to fall out of favor after 1920s. Any classically inspired buildings after that point were generally designed in the Art Deco-era Stripped Classicism movement.
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