Claude Perrault, French architect, scientist and physician, c 1660s

Claude Perrault, French architect, scientist and physician, c 1660s. Engraving. Claude Perrault (1613-1688) was one of the most eminent French scholars of his time. He received his doctorate in physics and medicine from the University of Paris and became one of the first members of the 'Academie des Sciences', founded in 1666. He advanced the study of anatomy and wrote on physics and zoology, as well as contributing several scientific inventions. He was also a celebrated architect. His greatest achievement in this field was the Colonnade on the east facade of the Louvre (1667-70). He also built parts of the south facade and the Paris Observatory (1667Ð72) and in 1683 published a treatise on the five orders of columns in architecture. Published by Daumont, Rue St Martin, Paris. ©SSPL/Science Museum