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• Beaux-Arts
  Beaux-Arts

  adjective

  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.
• beaux-arts
  beaux-arts

  plural noun

  another word for fine art

Beaux-Arts

American  

[boh-zahr, boh-zar] / boʊˈzɑr, boʊˈzar /

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.

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plural noun

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

beaux-arts British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of Beaux-Arts

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Beaux-Arts beaux-arts

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2025

Abidjan's École des Beaux-Arts would expose Aboudia to the Ivorian art icons whose influence can be found in his current work.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024

Amid the backdrop of Mannerist statues and the names of great artists gracing the storied walls of Les Beaux-Arts, where Garavani, 91, once honed his craft, the runway was — in contrast — unmistakably contemporary.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2023

Outside the Academie des Beaux-Arts he wanders for hours through the shops selling prints, eventually buying a drawing of the Hotel de Lauzun.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Its beaux-arts design was inspired by Rome’s Baths of Caracalla and its myth has only grown since its untimely demise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

After returning to France in 1831, Debret joined the Académie des beaux-arts.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

The brainchild of businessman Kenneth Stoakes, the eight-story beaux-arts building was designed to resemble surrounding residential structures, and to the casual observer, the 85,000-square-foot building appeared to be apartments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2022

The Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens is tucked behind a beaux-arts Italian villa on one of those wide, anonymous Los Angeles boulevards.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2018

He seeks "the true principles of the beaux-arts," in order to transform criticism into "a rational science."

From Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Croce, Benedetto