Exterior view
by COTTE, Robert de, Photo
Major eighteenth-century French monasteries introduced a light, regular sense of space in many towns. Some examples survived, like the cloister and buildings of Saint Denis, begun after 1708 by Robert de Cotte, who drew up the plans and built the east wings and the south gallery. Upon his death, work resumed from 1739 to 1741 under the supervision of Charles Bonhomme, following plans approved by Louis XIV’s chief architect Jacques V Gabriel and his son Ange-Jacques, then under the architect Bayeux from 1752 to 1754.
The photo shows the abbey buildings which are now the home of the Maison d’�ducation de Saint-Denis (the second boarding school for girls founded by Napoleon).