From one parallel to another, Antique architecture : a state affair / In the 17th century, parallel to the creation of the academic system, a series of projects saw the day, in order to promote the 'Translatio imperii et studii', already sought and begun in the preceding century. The arts and architecture, in particular, would greatly contribute to this. It is thus that Fréart de Chambray, close to the 'surintendant' Sublet de Noyers, came to publish his 'Parallèle de l'Archtecture Antique avec la Moderne' (1650) in order to promote the new architecture ; the painter, Louis Bertrand and the architect Pierre Mignard were charged by Colbert with the survey of antiquities in the South of France ; and Antoine Desgodets was sent to Italy to survey the prestigious ruins of Rome. Louis XIV's minister confided the publication of Vitruvius' treaty to Claude Perrault. All of these projects, which took place over some forty years, were part of a global artistic policy that aimed at imposing Paris as a new artistic capital, turning the kingdom into a modern state, and making the king of France the arbiter of the world.
