Boullée, Étienne-Louis

(born Feb. 12, 1728, Paris, Fr.—died Feb. 6, 1799, Paris) French architect, theorist, and teacher. He studied architecture and opened his own studio by age 19. Through his investigation of the properties of geometric forms, to which he attributed innate symbolic qualities, Boullée achieved a pure, modern Classicism. His greatest influence was as a teacher and theorist. In a series of theoretical plans for public monuments, culminating in the design (1784) for an immense sphere that would serve as a cenotaph honouring Isaac Newton, he gave imaginary form to his theories.

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