03 — ARTWORK
Cenotaph for Isaac Newton
BOULLÉE, Étienne-Louis · 1784 →
- MEDIUM
- Drawing
- TYPE
- Other
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 1400 × 787 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Boullée's most famous project is the cenotaph for the physicist Isaac Newton. It indicates on one hand the increasing respect shown to civilian "intellectual heroes" since the Enlightenment, and on the other constitutes a very clear example of the explicitly commemorative character of Revolutionary architecture. The global figure of the cenotaph describes the sphere of the universe. In the interior the vaulting is perforated into a giant starry sky. Beneath the immensity of this "vaultA roof or ceiling whose structure is based on the arch. There are a wide range of forms, including the barrel (or tunnel) vault, formed by a continuous semi-circular arch; the groin vault, formed when two barrel vaults intersect; and the rib vault, consistong of a framework of diagonal ribs supporting interlocking arches. The development of the various forms was of great structural and aesthetic importance in the development of church architecture during the Middle Ages. of heaven rises the sarcophagusA coffin or tomb, made of stone, wood or terracotta, and sometimes (especially among the Greeks and Romans) carved with inscriptions and reliefs. of Newton on a stepped plinthsquare or rectangular section forming part of the base of a pillar, column, or statue..
The drawing shows a night view.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r929e33d3cc7975,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Cenotaph for Isaac Newton by BOULLÉE, Étienne-Louis},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/boulle-tienne-louis-r06560c44abe42e/cenotaph-for-isaac-newton-r929e33d3cc7975},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
