Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Architecture Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Architecture

Meubles: The Ever Mobile Middle Ages, Elizabeth Emery Jan 2020

Meubles: The Ever Mobile Middle Ages, Elizabeth Emery

Department of World Languages and Cultures Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Medieval furnishings preserved in aristocratic estates and ecclesiastical institutions took on new life in the nineteenth century as the turmoil of the French Revolution reactivated their use value, transforming them into collectibles, fuel, or raw materials for new building projects. This essay relies on the taxonomies of reuse proposed by archaeologist Michael Schiffer to evaluate the preservation, recycling, and repurposing of objects such as medieval choir stalls, chests, and beds by conservators, architects, artists, and collectors Alexandre Du Sommerard, Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, Albert Jacquemart, Victor Hugo, Pierre Loti, and Frédéric Spitzer. These prominent figures' repurposing of antique furniture mirrors nineteenth-century constructions …


Madame Chrysanthemum’S Sisters, Elizabeth Emery Jan 2020

Madame Chrysanthemum’S Sisters, Elizabeth Emery

Department of World Languages and Cultures Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

English translation of two articles published in the newspaper Le Temps by Adolphe Brisson in April and May 1900. They are dedicated to the twelve "geishas" brought from Japan to perform at the Panorama du Tour du monde, the "sisters" of Pierre Loti's “Madame Chrysanthemum” (the model for Puccini's Madama Butterfly). Brisson's interviews with a number of figures important for Japonisme (Hayashi and Bigot, in particular) provide insights into Franco-Japanese relations in 1900 and to the living and working conditions of foreign performers at the Paris Exposition.