Beaux-Arts

[boh-zahr, boh-zar]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, popularly associated with the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, that prevailed in France in the late 19th century and that was adopted in the U.S. and elsewhere c1900, characterized by the free and eclectic use and adaptation of French architectural features of the 16th through 18th centuries combined so as to give a massive, elaborate, and often ostentatious effect, and also by the use of symmetrical plans preferably allowing vast amounts of interior space.

2. resembling the architecture, architectural precepts, or teaching methods of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris: often used in a pejorative sense to designate excessive formalism disregarding considerations of structural truth, advanced aesthetic theory, rational planning, or economy.

plural noun

1. (lowercase),  the fine arts, as painting or music.

beaux-arts

/ bəʊˈzɑː /

plural noun

1. another word for fine art

2. (modifier) relating to the classical decorative style, esp that of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris

   beaux-arts influences

Word History and Origins

Origin of Beaux-Arts¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Word History and Origins

Origin of Beaux-Arts¹

C19: French, literally: fine arts

Example Sentences

The old museum is housed in a stately yet crumbling Beaux-Arts building in Tahrir Square that dates from 1902, while the GEM, sprawling over the Giza Plateau, is sleek and ultramodern, and sometimes reminiscent of an Emirati airport with its high-end gift shop and food court.

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One thing it clarifies is why Jim Crow monuments are all rendered in the same backward, Beaux-Arts style, exploiting classical forms and elaborate ornamentation harnessed for the 1890s City Beautiful movement.

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Instead, using Beaux-Arts style deep into the 20th century invoked the pre-modern past.

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Several of these artists were students of the great 19th century Beaux-Arts sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who was a generation older.

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The retailer occupied various locations over the years and moved to its current Beaux-Arts home in 1928.

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