Jacques Perret

Jacques Perret (* 1540-1545 in Chambéry (Savoy ) † 1610-1619 ) was a nobleman, a Huguenot, mathematician, architect and was renowned for his vision of the ideal cities.

Life

Jacques Perret first appeared in 1568 in the archives of Savoy as Lecteur des Arts et de l' Arithmétique Géometrie at the Jesuit college of his native town on. In 1573 he taught the town of Chambery, a professor of mathematics for informing the youth at their new secondary school.

Bibliographic documents describe Perret often as Ingénieur Militaire. This title he shared with other contemporary mathematicians such as Guillaume Flamant and Renaut Sedanois. His work shows that he dealt with the then modern military science. Perret mastered its principles and knew the most important classical authors Végèce and frontin.

In Savoy Perret worked until 1575th in the late 16th century he emigrated to Paris, probably after he had converted to Protestantism French (Huguenot ). There he enjoyed the support of the major movement for the Huguenots, Catherine de Parthenay and her son, the Duc de Rohan.

After the conquest of Savoy by Henri IV in 1600, he benefited from a meeting with the king in order to devote his visionary, still not fully recognized work of architecture. He worked from then on behalf of the king.

About his life the lack of details. From the fact that the latest edition of his textbook was published in 1620 with many weaknesses and faults, it is concluded that Perret this obviously could not be more correct and believed that he died 1610-1619.

Work

Almost two centuries ago Claude -Nicolas Ledoux described and drew Jacques Perret called Ideal Cities and announced with great imagination already at the renewals of the 18th century. He expanded the architecture typical formalism and thus designed his futuristic city designs. The designs, as such models follow the Italian Renaissance with a tendency to radially symmetric city layouts, eg Filarete Sforzinda.

What makes his work remarkable is the decoration of the walls with quotations from the Bible, preferably from the Psalms. A recurring sentence reads: "In God alone is peace and true happiness ." He wanted to show that secular fortifications are useless even against worldly threats. Some inscriptions show variations of the theme by the king as the divinely appointed punisher of evil and protector of the good, an idea with personal involvement of the Calvinists ( Huguenots ) Perret in a Catholic and often hostile France.

Overall, several major issues of his work Des fortifications et artifices published. Architecture et perspective, namely:

• The first publication without area and date only bears the dedication to the King (July 1, 1601)

• Shortly afterwards in Paris printed edition with an accompanying royal privilege (4 July 1601)

Both editions are identical. They consist of a title page and a dedication with 22 engravings by Thomas de Leu ( creative period 1576-1614 ) and 17 comments of Jacques Perret. The copper plates are framed with quotations from the Old Testament. You put in plan view and perspective models of fortifications and special buildings dar.

• In 1613 Johann Theodor de Bry published in Oppenheim an abridged German version, which he lets the printing house Hieronymus Galler print.

• Finally, in 1620 appears the last French edition, but in lower quality, suggesting the experts that Perret was no longer alive at the time.