Women and Architecture : The Example of the Parisian Hôtel in the Eighteenth Century (1700-1750) This essay studies the place of women in the Parisian hôtel of the first half of the eighteenth century and their influence on architecture, cross-referencing architectural treatises with documents pertaining to ways of life in this period. Built between 1700 and 1750, the group of hôtels retained for this study was selected from L'Architecture française by Jacques-François Blondel, an exemplary collection of architectural plans, designed and commented with extreme care and in great detail. Our research focused on the space occupied by women in the home. According to the treatises of the eighteenth century, men and women lived in separate quarters. These texts, however, are essentially theroretical and do not describe actual situations. In practice it is difficult to localize the appartements that were attributed to women. Through an in-depth study of a selection of plans it has been possible to distinguish room groupings and formulate a few hypotheses on the space allotted to women in the hôtels. In addition, the case of hôtels designed specifically for women clients allowed us to examine the direct imprint of feminine tastes and needs on the building of a private home. This influence can be traced in the number and distribution of rooms, the manner in which they decrease in size and in the greater specialization of some spaces.

Ollagnier Claire. Architecture au féminin : le cas de l’hôtel parisien du XVIIIe siècle (1700-1750). In: Histoire de l'art, N°59, 2006. Nouvelles approches en architecture. pp. 41-50.

Architecture au féminin : le cas de l’hôtel parisien du XVIIIe siècle (1700-1750)

Architecture for women: the case of the Paris hotel of the eighteenth century (1700-1750)

women ; Parisian hôtel ; architectural treatises ; Jacques-François Blondel ; women’s quarters.

Abstract