Artvee
  • Browse
    • Abstract
    • Figurative
    • Landscape
    • Illustration
    • Posters
    • Religion
    • Mythology
    • Drawings
    • Still Life
    • Animals
    • Botanical
    • Asian Art
  • Books
  • Artists
  • Explore
    • Topics
    • Culture
    • Movements
  • Highlights
  • Collections
  • Galleries
  • Artvee Pro
Login
Artvee
Menu
Jules Bourgoin
Jules Bourgoin

Jules Bourgoin

French, 1838-1908
Follow

Jules Bourgoin was a pioneer in the study of the finer details of Islamic art.
Born in Joigny (Yonne, Burgundy region) in 1838, and trained as an architect at the École des beaux-arts in Paris (though non-practicing), he spent several years, between 1863 and 1884, in the Near East, mainly in Egypt. Confronted by a world of forms and compositions unknown to him, he became fascinated by the way artists and craftsmen arranged geometrical forms, from the simplest to the most complex, interweaving their lines endlessly. Bourgoin, who had wanted to be a mathematician, understood that there was an underlying system to these compositions, and his driving ambition became to explain, through many concepts and drawings, the rules of the patterns.

Besides being fascinated by the geometry of forms, or aesthetic geometry, Bourgoin was an exceptional draftsman and his skills were widely recognized. During his stays in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, he made thousands of pencil drawings, sketching the Islamic monuments of Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem and Damascus. His approach to the monuments was very specific; even if he had been authorized to enter the mosques, qubbats, madrasas, etc., he was not really attracted by picturesque views. His ambition was not to draw the monument or the building in its entirety, but to take note of the structure or decorative elements specific to Islamic art and architecture. This is why, when he draws a minaret in Cairo – an architectural feature that had always attracted the interest of Western travelers or artists – he pays close attention to the richly carved muqarnas used as corbelling for the minaret’s balcony. This is similarly true for the Sultan Qaytbay wikala complex and the sabil-kuttab at al-Azhar: Bourgoin is not interested in the small shops at the street level, but in the profusion of carved stones scattered across the façade, or the fine woodwork of the mashrabiyas. His drawing sheets are covered with small, delicate decorative elements.

In Cairo, a city he loved, he was impressed by the architectural majesty of the monuments, the use of geometrical design, the specific colors of the mosaic pavements and wall decoration, by the fantasy and invention of the mashrabiya-screens’ woodwork, and by the variety of decoration evident in mosque domes (qubbats). Once in Damascus in 1874–1875, where he had been sent to draw the main historical monuments of the city, especially the Umayyad mosque, he discovered the Ottoman patrician houses, with their overwhelming decoration composed from a great variety of materials – from marble, mother of pearl, mirrors, and color-pastes, to gold and silver – displaying bright colors and a profusion of vegetal and floral motifs. Back in France, he planned to publish a book on the Damascene houses, which sadly never materialised. The drawings he brought back, however, document his fascination.

The other major aspect of Bourgoin’s work was the theoretical thinking he developed around the notion of ornament after returning from his first stay in Egypt. At the beginning, this was rooted in the parallel between the Western and Eastern historical and cultural approaches, but as time went by, Bourgoin’s thinking became more and more abstract, even abstruse, modified by the use of neologisms and the turn to philosophy and even psychology. Even more, his drawings too became completely abstract. Writing his theoretical volumes, a huge task, consumed Bourgoin’s vital energy.

200 items

Show 30 50 70
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 170

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 170 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 169

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 169 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 168

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 168 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 167

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 167 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 166

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 166 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 165

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 165 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 164

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 164 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 163

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 163 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 162

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 162 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 161

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 161 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 160

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 160 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Abstract
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 159

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 159 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Abstract
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 158

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 158 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Abstract
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 157

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 157 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Abstract
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 156

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 156 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 155

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 155 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 154

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 154 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 153

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 153 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 152

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 152 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 151

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 151 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 150

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 150 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 149

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 149 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 148

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 148 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 147

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 147 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 146

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 146 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 145

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 145 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 144

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 144 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 143

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 143 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 142

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 142 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 141

Les éléments de l’art arabe pl 141 (1879)

Jules Bourgoin (French, 1838-1908)
Illustration
  • ←
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • →

0 Artworks
Follow
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Favourite
Collect

Standard, JPG, Size:

Download

Max Size, JPG, Size:

Download
License: All public domain files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects. .
Why is this image in the public domain?
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact us
Artvee.com 2024 All Rights Reserved
We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies.
More info Accept
  • Sign in
  • Browse
    • Abstract
    • Figurative
    • Landscape
    • Illustration
    • Posters
    • Religion
    • Mythology
    • Drawings
    • Still Life
    • Animals
    • Botanical
    • Asian Art
  • Artists
  • Books
  • Explore
    • Topics
    • Culture
    • Movements
  • Highlights
  • Collections
  • Galleries
  • Artvee Pro