Catalogue of the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects - Jacques Gentilhatre

Oct 24, 2026

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Catalogue of the drawings collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects, compiled by Rosalys Coope and dedicated to Anthony Blunt. The introduction identifies Jacques Gentilhatre as the first owner of an album of early seventeenth-century drawings, discusses his likely background as a mason in France, and summarizes research linking the family to Champagne and cathedral work. It also explains how rebinding altered pagination and inserted engravings, and evaluates the architectural drawings’ historical value through dates and internal evidence spanning c.1600–1610.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages78

Reading Time3 h 17 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Provenance and identity of Jacques Gentilhatre

Archival research on the Gentilhatre family

Rebinding history and inserted engravings

Arrival of the album in the RIBA (1927)

Dating of drawings and evidence for Gentilhatre’s career

Links to the du Cerceau atelier and related drawings

prauiy, Coluahi Catalogue of the Dravings Collectionof the Royal Institute of Britisb Arcbitects JACQUES GElJTILHÂTRE compiled by Rosalys Coope GREGG INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS LIMITED THE SIR BANISTER FLETCHER LIBRARY,ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS Copyright 1972 by Royal Institute of British ArchitectsAll rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by anymeans,clectronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise,without the prior permission of Gregg International Publishers Ltd. Published 1972 by Gregg International Publishers Ltd,1 Westmead,Farnborough,Hants,England0576159999(complete set)0576155608(this volume) Derigned and produced by Design for Print Ltd,London SW1Text printed in Hungary by Franklzn Nyomda,BudapestPlates printed in England by Cotswold Collotype Co.Ltd,Wotton-under-Edge TO ANTHONY BLUNT with affection and gratitude 2 管管喜 1 # Introduction All that we know about the first owner of this album of early seven-teenth-century drawings is inscribed in the book itself,or can be inferredfrom some of the drawings,of most of which he was himself the author.His name was Jacques Gentilhatre.He is described as an architect butwas more probably a fairly humble master mason,and he was born atSainte-Menehould in north-eastern France in 1578(folio 1 recto and theverso of the last,un-numbered,folio). Research among legal documents preserved in the Minutier Centralof the Archives Nationales in Paris has revealed that a family of masonsnamed Gentilhatre was active in Champagne in the seventeenth centuryand in the first part of the eighteenth century.Jacques Gentilhatremade one drawing definitely connected with this area,which shows anorgan case and is inscribed a troye en champagne(f.168v).One EtienneGentilhatre was employed by the Canons of Rheims cathedral duringthe reign of Louis XIV and made for them an altar and retable in thechapel of Saint-Rémy.Later on his sons,Jacques and Léonard,madedrawings for another altar and retable to replace their father's work.Léonard Gentilhatre died in 1732,his brother Jacques in 1740.1 Etienne,Léonard and Jacques were undoubtedly related to and were probablythe direct descendants of our Jacques Gentilhatre. The album was,at some period,rebound;several pages have beencut and many renumbered in the process.From folio 110 verso onwardswe find the frequent insertion of engraved cartouches containingminiature landscapes from a series published by Melchior Tavernier in1632.Gentilhatre could have stuck these plates in himself,however,sothat it is the presence of an engraving from Francesco Fanelli's Variearcbiteture,published in 1661,affixed to folio 55 recto,and another,after Le Brun,dated 1662 and affixed to folio 288 recto,which probablyindicates the period at which rebinding took place.Whoever had by theninherited the album probably wrote the inscriptions concerning theoriginal owner. The book came into the possession of the RIBA in 1927.The nameof the previous owner is not recorded,neither do we know anythingof its earlier provenance nor how it came to England from France.Thedrawings,architectural and otherwise,which it contains are undistin-guished;the architectural ones mostly portray buildings,or designs forbuildings,of a style already old-fashioned for the date at which theywere drawn.Their value lies not in their quality but in the light whichthey throw upon a very difficult and obscure period of French architec-tural history.In some cases they are a unique record of buildings whichhad previously been entirely forgotten(e.g.f.46v);in other instances theyprovide valuable additional evidence about known buildings,sculptures&c(for example,ff.74r-75r). Dates inscribed on drawings in the album range from 1600 to 1622,and many of the drawings,both dated and undated,provide internalevidence for the record of Gentilhatre's career between c.1600 and 1610.After 1610 w

FAQs

Who is identified as the first owner of the album?

The introduction says the album’s first owner was Jacques Gentilhatre.

What research helps place Gentilhatre within a family of masons?

Legal documents preserved in the Minutier Central of the Archives Nationales in Paris show a family of masons named Gentilhatre active in Champagne in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

How did rebinding affect the album’s contents and numbering?

At some period the album was rebound, with pages cut and many renumbered; from folio 110 verso onward, engraved cartouches with miniature landscapes were frequently inserted.

Oct 24, 2026

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