Henri Labrouste
Portrait photograph of Labrouste in profile.
Born	11 May 1801(1801-05-11) Paris
Died	24 June 1875 (aged 74)
Nationality	French
Occupation	architect
Known for	École des Beaux Arts

Pierre François Henri Labrouste (11 May 1801–24 June 1875) was a French architect from the famous École des Beaux Arts school of architecture. After a six year stay in Rome, Labrouste opened an architectural training workshop, which quickly became the center of the Rationalist view. He was noted for his use of iron frame construction, and was one of the first to realize the importance of its use.

Sainte-Geneviève library in Paris.

[edit] Biography

Born in Paris, Labrouste entered Collège Sainte-Barbe as a student in 1809. He was then admitted to the second class in the Royal School of Beaux Arts to the Lebas-Vaudoyer workshop in 1819. In 1820, he was promoted to the first class. Competing for the Grand Prix, Labrouste took second place behind the Palais de Justice by Guillaume-Abel Blouet in 1821. In 1823 he won the departmental prize, and worked as a lieutenant-inspector (sous-inspecteur) under the direction of Godde during the construction of Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou. 1824 was a turning point in Labrouste's life, as he won the competition with a design of a Supreme Court of Appeals. In November he left Paris for Italy, visiting Turin, Milan, Lodi, Piacenza, Parma, Modena, Bologna, Florence and Arezzo.

[edit] Stay in Rome

Receiving a pension or stipend from the French government for five years, the laureates stayed in the Medici Villa. The Directors of the French Academy at Rome said in correspondence about the laureates that in their studies of Anitiquity they "must research the laws of proportion and reduce them to formulas to be used by masters and students in Paris." ^[1]

His buildings include:

• Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, built between 1843 and 1850 in Paris.
• The Reading Room of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Rue Richelieu, Paris and built between 1862 and 1868.

[edit] References

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