Architectural relationships; changing ideas on architecture in the Encyclopedie, 1750-1776

Explores the place, status and meaning of architecture in the Encyclopedie (1750-1772) and its Supplement (1776-1777). Identifies the articles on architecture and the fine arts and studies them principally in terms of internal development. Seven participants in the Encyclopedie determined or provided the majority of the information on architecture: three editors, Denis Diderot (1713-1784), Jean d'Alembert (1717-1783), and Jean Robinet (1735-1820); the architect Jacques Francois Blondel (1705-1774); two amateurs, the Chevalier de Jaucourt (1704-1780) and Johann Georg Sulzer (1720-1779); and the writer and academician Jean Marmontel (1723-1799). Argues that it is the method of using reason to understand taste, rather than the personal tastes of the contributors, that marks their contribution.