Étienne-Louis Boullée

Architecture French 1728 – 1799 102 quotes

A visionary French Neoclassical architect whose unbuilt projects, like the Cenotaph for Isaac Newton, influenced subsequent generations.

Quotes by Étienne-Louis Boullée

The architect must be a master of the divine.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the sacred.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the monumental.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the symbolic.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the allegorical.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the expressive.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the evocative.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the emotional.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the spiritual.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

The architect must be a master of the human.

Architecture, Essai sur l'art

Architecture is the art of building monuments to the genius of man.

Book 1785

To create a monument is to give eternity to an idea.

Essay 1770

The line is the first principle of architecture; without it, form cannot exist.

Lecture 1760

Nature provides the model; the architect must surpass it.

Correspondence 1790

In the cenotaph to Newton, I sought to enclose the universe in a sphere of light.

Book 1784

Beauty in architecture arises from the harmony of proportions and the sublime.

Speech 1755

The temple of humanity must rise from the ruins of tyranny.

Letter 1789

Light is the soul of architecture; without it, forms are but shadows.

Essay 1775

To design is to dream in stone and marble.

Personal Reflection 1765

The greatest monument is one that inspires awe in the beholder's soul.

Interview 1795