About
Claude Perrault (1613-1688) was a French polymath, physician, and architect. He earned a doctorate in medicine from the University of Paris and was one of the first members of the Academy of Sciences in 1666. He led animal dissections, and his death was reportedly caused by an infection contracted while dissecting a camel. He is best known for designing the eastern façade of the Louvre Palace (1667-1670) with Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Brun, and for drawing the plans for the Paris Observatory. He translated and annotated Vitruvius, and published a treatise on the orders of columns.
* 1613-09-25 — † 1688-10-09
Major works
- Façade orientale du Louvre (1670)architecture
- Observatoire de Paris (1672)architecture
- Les Dix Livres d'architecture de Vitruve (1673)translation
- Ordonnance des cinq espèces de colonnes selon la méthode des Anciens (1683)treatise
Key milestones
- 1666Appointed founding member of the Academy of Sciences.
- 1667Begins designing the eastern façade of the Louvre.
- 1688Dies in Paris, likely from an infection contracted during a dissection.
Themes
Classical architectureAnatomyScientific translationArchitectural ordersPolymathy
Sources: britannica.com · britishmuseum.org · id.loc.gov