Architecture et parties qui en dependent

"ARCHITECTURE ET PARTIES QUI EN DÉPENDENT, from the "ENCYCLOPEDIA REZONADA DE LAS CIENCIAS, LAS ARTES Y LAS OFICES", edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, second half of the 18th century. "General observations on sacred buildings, applied to an abbey (Penthemont Abbey) in particular". Set of three engravings (two of them in double plate). Size: 22 x 35 cm (print); 29 x 44 cm (paper) / 35.5 x 45 cm (print); 44 x 54.5 cm (paper). The set of three engravings presented here comes from the volume "Architecture et parties qui en dépendent", one of the 28 exceptional volumes that made up the "Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers" (Encyclopédie raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers), published in the second half of the 18th century in France under the direction of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Together with the other illustrations, this engraving disseminates the fruits of the knowledge accumulated in architecture up to that time, under the criticism of reason, through plans and elevations of public and private buildings, devices and other advances of the time. The Encyclopaedia became a key element of the Enlightenment, the ideology of which set out the approach to different subjects. It was intended to be the compendium of human knowledge, so that it served as a basis for the education and progress of mankind. Its 28 volumes (with 71818 articles and 3129 illustrations) covered topics ranging from the construction of a cathedral to the workings of a clock to the philosophical ideas of Rousseau. Many of these articles were considered radical at the time and led to intense controversy and a ban on the publication's continuation, although it was always supported by the upper classes, including Malesherbes and Madame Pompadour. In 1775, Charles Joseph Panckoucke obtained the rights to republish the work. He published a total of seven volumes of supplementary materials. Some scholars include these seven "extra" volumes as part of the first complete edition of the Encyclopédie, to make a total of 35 volumes, even though they were not written or edited by the original authors. Previously, the Cyclopaedia (Universal Dictionary of the Sciences and Arts), published in 1728 by Ephraim Chambers, as well as Trévoux's Dictionary (1704-1771) composed by the Jesuits, had unveiled interest in this type of publication. In 1745, the bookseller André Le Breton obtained a licence to translate Chambers' Cyclopaedia into French, but the inclusion of Diderot and D'Alembert in the project completely changed the project from a simple translation to a monumental new work.