Jean-Louis-Charles Garnier (November 6, 1825 – August 3, 1898) was a renowned French architect, ideologist and practitioner of the eclectic Beaux-Arts style*, or Second Empire style, and historian; designer of the Paris Opera House, which now bears his name.

Charles Garnier was born in the centre of Paris into the family of an owner of a small business who specialised in renting out horse-drawn carriages. The parents of the boy, noticing his artistic abilities at an early age, sent him to art school. After graduating, Charles for two years had been working as an assistant in the studios of several renowned French architects. The knowledge he acquired through practice helped the young man not only to enter the School of Fine Arts, but also to graduate with flying colours. Charles won the prestigious Rome Prize and was sent to study in the Italian capital. From January 17 to December 31 1849, Charles studied at the French Academy of Arts in Rome. Over the next four years, Garnier travelled extensively to see the architectural masterpieces of ancient masters with his own eyes. He travelled all over Italy, visited Greece and Istanbul several times, and became a lifelong enthusiast of Eastern architecture.

After returning to Paris, Garnier became an architect for small projects. In 1854, he was appointed sub-inspector of restoration work on the Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris. In 1858, Charles Garnier married Louise Berry, the sister of his friend Arthur Berry, and lived happily in this marriage until his death.

In 1860, Garnier was appointed city architect for two Paris districts. The 1861^th brought Garnier widespread fame after he won the competition to design the new Paris Opera House. The work of Garnier was recognised as the best of the 171 projects submitted for consideration, after which the architect embarked on a tour of Europe to see the best opera houses of the Old World with his own eyes. Upon return, he made minor adjustments to the finished design of the building and started to realise his most famous architectural masterpiece to life. In total, the construction of the Paris Opera House took almost 14 years, and it was not until January 1875, that the grand opening of the new building took place.

From 1873 onwards, Charles Garnier and his family spent every winter in Italy in order to improve the health of his son Christian, who was suffering from tuberculosis. Garnier bought a plot of land in the resort town of Bordighera and built a modern villa there.

The grandiose Grand Opera House in Paris (building area – 11,000 square metres), designed in the eclectic style with its set of exaggerated Renaissance-Baroque architectural forms and pompous interior decoration, is the main work of Garnier, which has spawned numerous imitations in a number of European capitals. It is not surprising that Prince Charles III of Monaco invited the architect, who had made a loud statement about himself, to build a complex of majestic public buildings, which nowadays still serves as a showcase and symbol of Monte Carlo.
In 1863, the Monte Carlo Casino was built according to the project of Charles Garnier. In 1878-1879, the building was reconstructed, expanded and given its modern appearance, and Opéra de Monte-Carlo, known as Salle Garnier was added. The building impresses with its luxurious decoration, stained glass windows and sculptures. The construction and popularity of the Casino played a key role in the financial rise of the Principality of Monaco. Thus in 1871, Monaco became the leading gambling centre in Europe.

The impressive facade of the Casino is complemented by a garden and swimming pools surrounded by immaculate lawns. Luxury is perhaps the only accurate description of the casino interiors, with their abundance of gold leaf, magnificent stucco mouldings, frescoes and sculptures. The marble-paved atrium is surrounded by 28 Ionic columns made of onyx. The atrium leads to the entrance of the recently renovated Salle Garnier – the red and gold auditorium of the Opera, which opened in 1879, with a performance by Sarah Bernhardt and has since become a global scale stage for opera and ballet performances by renowned performers. The hall has a capacity of 524 people. The name of the Monaco Opera House, Salle Garnier, echoes the name of the Paris Opera House, the Grand Opera Theatre (Opéra Garnier).

Charles Garnier wrote numerous articles on architecture for various French periodicals, “An explanatory note on the temple on the island of Aegina”, and “A treatise on theatre” – a book devoted entirely to the construction of theatre buildings. Creative work of Garnier and his educational activities at the School of Fine Arts influenced the development of the Beaux-Arts style. The architecture of Garnier addresses to fundamental eclecticism (the Renaissance and Baroque motifs) combined with rational solutions of functional issues.

In 1896, Charles Garnier broke off private architectural practice, but continued to serve on the jury of architectural competitions and appear at official events. The architect died on August 3, 1898, and was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery.
The eclectic style of Garnier inspired many architects both in France and abroad. His art work influenced the development of urban planning and organisation of public space. His buildings combine artistic aesthetics with functional reasoning.

The museum Collection section “Printed Matter” features a set of photographic postcards depicting the Casino and Opera House (Salle Garnier) in Monte Carlo, designed by Charles Garnier (212 items).

Some of these postcards were included in the thematic album prepared for the 200^th birth anniversary of the prominent French architect.

*Beaux-Arts architecture was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19^th century. It drew upon the principles of the French Neoclassicism, but also incorporated the Renaissance and Baroque elements, and used modern materials, such as iron and glass, and later, steel. It was an important style and enormous influence in Europe and the Americas through the end of the 19^th century and into the 20^th, particularly for institutional and public buildings.