Editing Second Empire architecture in Europe

[[File:Paris Opera full frontal architecture, May 2009.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[Palais Garnier]], a Second Empire architectural mix of [[Neo-Renaissance]] and [[Baroque Revival architecture|Neo-Baroque]] styles]]

[[Second Empire style|Second Empire architecture]] is an [[architectural style]] rooted in the 16th-century [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]], which grew to its greatest popularity in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. As the style evolved from its origins, it acquired a mix of European styles, most notably the [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]], often combined with [[mansard]] roofs and low, square based domes.<ref>[[#Copplestone|Copplestone]], p. 310.</ref> It derived its name from the [[Second French Empire]] of [[Napoleon III]].

==Development==
The Second Empire style quickly spread throughout Europe and evolved as a loose form of [[Baroque Revival architecture]], where its suitability for super-scaling allowed it to be widely used in the design of municipal and corporate buildings

The style is particularly prominent in Paris and Vienna, both of which were heavily redeveloped in the late 19th century. Rome also saw a huge expansion after the [[Italian unification|Risorgimento]], where the [[:File:Monti - via Nazionale Palazzo Koch 1000117.JPG|Bank of Italy]] designed by [[Gaetano Koch]] is a notable example.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/art/Second-Empire-style|www. Britannica.com] retrieved 17 October 2016</ref>

Second Empire became popular in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century, where it emerged as a fusion of the architecture of the classical Renaissance exemplified by [[Christopher Wren]] and the solid mass Baroque of [[John Vanbrugh]], decorated with some of the more ornate Baroque motifs previously found only on mainland Europe.<ref>Dean, Ptolemy; Architectural Britain. P297. The National Trust. {{ISBN|9781905400492}}.</ref> It often featured a low dome, a once complex architectural feat rendered less difficult through the use of iron and reinforced concrete.

In London, the style is exemplified by [[Methodist Central Hall, Westminster]], designed by [[Edwin Alfred Rickards]] of the firm [[Henry Vaughan Lanchester|Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards]].<ref name="Wittich">{{cite book |title=Churches, Cathedrals and Chapels |first=John |last=Wittich |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |year=1988 |isbn=085244141X|page=102 |access-date=October 19, 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gPc6ZYfPYPcC&pg=PA102}}</ref> It is an early example of the use of a reinforced concrete frame for a building in Britain.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rough Guide to London |author=Rob Humphreys |publisher=Rough Guides UK |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B69mtCxyRiYC&pg=PT1322 |access-date=October 20, 2012 |isbn=978-1405384773}}</ref> The interior was similarly planned on a [[Giovanni Battista Piranesi|Piranesian]] scale, although the execution was rather more economical.

<gallery class="center" widths="140px" heights="145px">
File:Hotel de Paris (Monte-Carlo).jpg|[[Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo]], [[Monaco]], was completed in 1868
File:Front of Brussels Stock Exchange 2023 cropped.jpg|[[Brussels Stock Exchange]] was designed by [[Léon Suys]] and built between 1868–73
File:Burgtheater Weitwinkel.jpg|[[Burgtheater]], Vienna, designed by [[Gottfried Semper]] and [[Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer]] and completed in 1888, is a prime example of the Second Empire style<ref>[[#Copplestone|Copplestone]], p. 311.</ref>
File:Methodist Central Hall.JPG|[[Methodist Central Hall]], Westminster, completed in 1911
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{portal|Architecture}}
* [[Beaux-Arts architecture]]
* [[Second Empire architecture in the United States and Canada]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Second Empire architecture}}
{{Reflist|30em}}
*Copplestone, Trewin (1963). ''World Architecture''. Hamlyn.

{{Revivals}}

[[Category:Second Empire architecture| 01]]
[[Category:Second French Empire|*Architecture]]
[[Category:French Renaissance Revival architecture| ]]
[[Category:House styles]]
[[Category:Modern history of France]]
[[Category:Neoclassical movements]]
[[Category:Revival architectural styles]]
[[Category:Victorian architectural styles]]