École de Chirurgie
The École de Chirurgie ("School of Surgery") is a historic building located at 10–12 rue de l'École de Médecine in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Today it is the headquarters of the Paris Descartes University.
Background
In the 18th century, surgery was increasingly recognized as a specialized discipline in the medical sciences, while previously surgeons had often been confused with barbers. Consequently, an independent academy for surgery was established in 1731 and ratified in 1750.
Architecture
The ground floor housed a rectangular theatre for the instruction of midwives, a chemistry lab, a public hall, a room reserved for students in training for the army, and a small hospital. The second level housed a library for displaying medical instruments, several lecture rooms, and offices.
Gondoin wrote about the building that it "a monument of the beneficence of the King...which should have the character of magnificence relative to its function; a school whose fame attracts a great concourse of Pupils from all nations should appear open and easy of access. The absolute necessity of columns to fulfill these two objects, is alone sufficient to protect me from the reproach of having multiplied them unduly."[1]: 139–140 Ecole de Chirurgie changed the hôtel typology by building in the style for a public building versus a private house. Three wings surround a court acting as circulation for the entire building. Situated on an irregular plot, the Ecole is able to appear symmetrical.[2] Gondoin placed a screen of Ionic columns along the facades of both the walls facing the court and the street. A plain frieze rests directly upon the column capitals. Above the main entry arch, lying between the entablature and the upper cornice on the street façade is an Ionic relief panel, designed by Pierre-François Berruer. The relief panel depicts the muse of architecture giving a scroll of the building plan to the god of medicine.[1]: 140 The hemispherical anatomy theatre is at the rear. It is signified by the exterior by a Corinthian portico featuring freestanding columns. As a purely symbolic temple front, entrance occurs from the sides. Modeled after the Pantheon, it is lit by an oculus. A coffered ceiling drapes over the main stage and seating for 1200 spectators including the public, not just students. The people of the time saw surgery as a progressive movement and wanted to be a part of it. A semicircular lunette above the main doorway shows portraits of famous predecessors including Le Martinière along with paintings showing the King encouraging their progress and the gods engaged in transmitting the principles of anatomy.[1]: 141
Later developments
A new wing was built on the rear of Gondoin's building, bordering the
The building is currently a part of the
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View of Amphitheatre -
Street Facade and Relief Panel -
Late-19C portal of the extension at 83, boulevard Saint-Germain
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Legacy
Gondoin's design for the main theatre was copied later in debating chambers and post-revolutionary government buildings. The
References
- ^ a b c d e f Allan Braham (1980). The Architecture of the French Enlightenment. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- ^ Andrew Ayers (2004). The Architecture of Paris: An Architectural Guide. Axel Menges. p. 128.
- ^ Christian Hottin (2006), Construire l’identité architecturale des établissements d’enseignement supérieur parisiens
- ^ "Entrée par les caryatides". Université de Paris. 22 March 2013.
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