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The Beaux-Arts Influence:
During the late 19th century, architects were deeply influenced by the Beaux-Arts movement. Relying on the traditions of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) in Paris, France, the approach studied classical architecture from antiquity through the Renaissance and emphasized the use of classical and neoclassical forms. In the United States, the Beaux-Arts approach was first introduced on a large scale at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. At this fair, architects and artists created the "Great White City," a landscape filled with monumental neoclassical buildings which impacted American architecture through the 1920s. The ideas from the fair were put to practical use in the "City Beautiful" movement that directly influenced the development of the Nation's Capital, culminating in the McMillan Plan of 1902. Although Cass Gilbert did not attend the influential Ecole nor did he play a large role at the Exposition, he embodied the Beaux-Arts philosophy and used its approach in the design of public buildings throughout his career. |