Beaux-Arts Movement and Enlightenment Theory
Built in 1907 by James Massey Rhind, the two monuments in front of the Federal Building were emblematic of a booming trend in architecture and sculpture: the Beaux-Arts Movement. In the late 19th century to early 20th century, the industry of architecture was undergoing a mass professionalization project, with the epicenter of it being the École des Beaux-Arts located in Paris, France. This school heavily privileged Neoclassical design, resulting in many of the architects who graduated from its premises disseminating the now iconic style of great, white columns and pediments reminiscent of the Greek Parthenon. [2] This imagery of the “White City” as utopia was first popularized at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, establishing a “national vogue” for Beaux-Arts and “tangible and practical” methods of urban reform. [3]
While scholars have debated heavily what made this style explode into popularity, as it doesn’t prioritize form relating to function like other contemporary styles of the early 20th century, some have argued that the dominance of Beaux-Arts is a symptom of The Enlightenment and ideologies that privileged Rationalism. In fact, the Neoclassical style was originally called Structural Rationalism, emphasizing the symmetry of the building as well as viewing architecture as a science. This was a direct response to Enlightenment thinkers that were considering Humanism as a mode of living in the world. For Western philosophers, “while God had established and mantained order in the Universe, it was the role of Man to establish and maintain order in Society,” through nationalism and experimental philosophy. [4] The Neoclassical style lended itself to establishing “order” over society: it was believed to be a “return to the perceived purity of the arts of Rome and Greece." [5]
For the architects of the Federal Building, it must have seemed obvious to employ this style; in the early 20th century, many instittions were similarly looking for a way to visually assert their dominance as core elements of a growing industrial market, and Providence's new exchange building was no different. [6]