Lequeu was born in Rouen, and won a scholarship to go to Paris. Following the French Revolution, his architectural career never took off. He spent time preparing the Architecture Civile, a book intended for publication, but which was never published. He became a civil servant working as a surveyor and a cartographer until his retirement in 1815.
Lequeu is now considered part of the period of "visionary architecture" which developed in the period leading up to the French Revolution. This was directly influenced by the great competitions organised by the École des Beaux-Arts. These competitions encouraged entries comprising massive buildings unfettered by budgetary constraints. This resulted in scores of designs for vast and impressive buildings which had little connection with the real world and remained "paper architecture". Architects of this genre include Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, Étienne-Louis Boullée, and Antoine Vaudoyer; most of these, like Lequeu, are more famous for their unbuilt works than for buildings actually constructed.
Most of his drawings can be found at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Some of them are pornographic and are kept in the Enfer of the library. They include a cow barn in the shape of an Assyrian bovine; an erotic garden folly called the Hammock of Love, replete with a copulating couple; a priapic fountain in a Gothic tabernacle and two self-portraits in drag. Most of these drawings have been reproduced in Duboy's book in 1986. More recently, an exhibition took place at the Musee du Petit-Palais (Paris) in December 2018.
Lequeu's historiography has led to a deep reflection. It was only at the middle of the 20th century that he was rediscovered by the Viennese historian Emil Kaufmann.[1] Kaufmann saw in Lequeu a "revolutionary architect" as well as Boullée and Ledoux, but this epithet must be used with caution: although some of his drawings express sympathy for Revolutionary ideas, his views seem to have evolved in line with social and political changes.
It was not until 1986, however, that the first monograph devoted to Lequeu was published, written by architect and architectural historian Philippe Duboÿ. This pioneering work takes the controversial view that Lequeu's work is partially the result of a deliberate manipulation involving Marcel Duchamp. As early as 1987, the theorist and historian of architecture Joseph Rykwert, in a review of Duboÿ's book, underlined the weakness of his scientific justification which mixed fact, fiction, fancy, incongruous comparisons and the most unverifiable conjectures.[2] According to Elisa Boeri, “Assumptions that Duchamp contributed to the possible manipulation of Lequeu's legacy at the National Library now appear to be chimerical”.[3] American art historian and art critic James Elkins considers that this is a deliberate hoax.[4]
There is ambiguity surrounding the relations of Lequeu to Surrealism. A kind of retrospective illusion could lead us to see several of Lequeu's drawings through the prism of the paintings by De Chirico, Magritte or Delvaux. But if we refer to the writings of André Breton and his friends, and even to those of Marcel Duchamp, it is very difficult to find any trace of admiration for Lequeu, who is not mentioned either by the first historians of this artistic movement.
Jean-Jacques Lequeu, Bâtisseur de fantasmes, sous la direction de Laurent Baridon, de Jean-Philippe Garric et de Martial Guédron, catalogue d’exposition Petit Palais | Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, du 11 décembre 2018 au 31 mars 2019. Paris : BNF Éditions, Éditions Norma, ISBN2376660211, 2018 (192 p.).
Felice Romano, Nouvelle Méethode di Jean-Jacques Lequeu. Ridisegno, analisi grafica e rilettura critica. Milano, FrancoAngeli, ISBN978-88-351-1782-7, 2021
Referencesedit
^Emil Kaufmann. Von Ledoux bis Le Corbusier. Ursprung und Entwicklung der autonomen Architektur. Vienne, Rolf Passer, 1933.
^Joseph Rykwert. « Pinnacolà di assurdità : Lequeu-Duchamp-Duboy ». Casabella, tome LI, n° 535, mai 1987, 36-37.
^Elisa Boeri. Jean-Jacques Lequeu : un atlas des mémoires. Éditions des Cendres, 2018, p. 16.
^James Elkins. Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles? On the Modern Origins of Pictorial Complexity. London, Routledge, 2004, 67, 198.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jean-Jacques Lequeu.
Lequeu's page with drawings at the BNF
April 10, 2024
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This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jean Jacques Lequeu September 14 1757 March 28 1826 was a French draughtsman and architect Self portrait late 18th century Gate of a hunting ground a project by Lequeu Contents 1 Life 2 See also 3 Bibliography 4 References 5 External linksLife editLequeu was born in Rouen and won a scholarship to go to Paris Following the French Revolution his architectural career never took off He spent time preparing the Architecture Civile a book intended for publication but which was never published He became a civil servant working as a surveyor and a cartographer until his retirement in 1815 Lequeu is now considered part of the period of visionary architecture which developed in the period leading up to the French Revolution This was directly influenced by the great competitions organised by the Ecole des Beaux Arts These competitions encouraged entries comprising massive buildings unfettered by budgetary constraints This resulted in scores of designs for vast and impressive buildings which had little connection with the real world and remained paper architecture Architects of this genre include Claude Nicolas Ledoux Etienne Louis Boullee and Antoine Vaudoyer most of these like Lequeu are more famous for their unbuilt works than for buildings actually constructed Most of his drawings can be found at the Bibliotheque nationale de France Some of them are pornographic and are kept in the Enfer of the library They include a cow barn in the shape of an Assyrian bovine an erotic garden folly called the Hammock of Love replete with a copulating couple a priapic fountain in a Gothic tabernacle and two self portraits in drag Most of these drawings have been reproduced in Duboy s book in 1986 More recently an exhibition took place at the Musee du Petit Palais Paris in December 2018 Lequeu s historiography has led to a deep reflection It was only at the middle of the 20th century that he was rediscovered by the Viennese historian Emil Kaufmann 1 Kaufmann saw in Lequeu a revolutionary architect as well as Boullee and Ledoux but this epithet must be used with caution although some of his drawings express sympathy for Revolutionary ideas his views seem to have evolved in line with social and political changes It was not until 1986 however that the first monograph devoted to Lequeu was published written by architect and architectural historian Philippe Duboy This pioneering work takes the controversial view that Lequeu s work is partially the result of a deliberate manipulation involving Marcel Duchamp As early as 1987 the theorist and historian of architecture Joseph Rykwert in a review of Duboy s book underlined the weakness of his scientific justification which mixed fact fiction fancy incongruous comparisons and the most unverifiable conjectures 2 According to Elisa Boeri Assumptions that Duchamp contributed to the possible manipulation of Lequeu s legacy at the National Library now appear to be chimerical 3 American art historian and art critic James Elkins considers that this is a deliberate hoax 4 There is ambiguity surrounding the relations of Lequeu to Surrealism A kind of retrospective illusion could lead us to see several of Lequeu s drawings through the prism of the paintings by De Chirico Magritte or Delvaux But if we refer to the writings of Andre Breton and his friends and even to those of Marcel Duchamp it is very difficult to find any trace of admiration for Lequeu who is not mentioned either by the first historians of this artistic movement Lequeu died in Paris in 1826 See also editArchitecture parlante Claude Nicolas LedouxBibliography editJean Jacques Lequeu Batisseur de fantasmes sous la direction de Laurent Baridon de Jean Philippe Garric et de Martial Guedron catalogue d exposition Petit Palais Musee des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris du 11 decembre 2018 au 31 mars 2019 Paris BNF Editions Editions Norma ISBN 2376660211 2018 192 p Laurent Baridon Jean Philippe Garric et Martial Guedron Lexique Lequeu Paris Editions B2 ISBN 978 2 36509 097 1 2018 222 p Elisa Boeri Jean Jacques Lequeu Un atlas des memoires Paris Editions des Cendres ISBN 978 2 86742 287 4 2018 240 p Philippe Duboy Lequeu An Architectural Enigma MIT Press ISBN 978 0 262 04086 0 November 29 1986 Emil Kaufmann Three Revolutionary Architects Boullee Ledoux and Lequeu American Philosophical Society 1952 Jean Claude Lemagny Visionary Architects Boullee Ledoux Lequeu Hennessey amp Ingalls ISBN 0 940512 35 1 July 2002 Felice Romano Nouvelle Meethode di Jean Jacques Lequeu Ridisegno analisi grafica e rilettura critica Milano FrancoAngeli ISBN 978 88 351 1782 7 2021References edit Emil Kaufmann Von Ledoux bis Le Corbusier Ursprung und Entwicklung der autonomen Architektur Vienne Rolf Passer 1933 Joseph Rykwert Pinnacola di assurdita Lequeu Duchamp Duboy Casabella tome LI n 535 mai 1987 36 37 Elisa Boeri Jean Jacques Lequeu un atlas des memoires Editions des Cendres 2018 p 16 James Elkins Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles On the Modern Origins of Pictorial Complexity London Routledge 2004 67 198 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jean Jacques Lequeu Lequeu s page with drawings at the BNF Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean Jacques Lequeu amp oldid 1201465125, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
