Editing Charles Percier (section)

=== Architect, designer and artist ===
Their initial successes in interior decoration came while serving wealthy, private clients: "The first clients of Percier and Fontaine were the financiers Ouvrard, Chauvelin and Gaudin, who had their recently acquired hotels in the Chaussée d'Antin district fitted out and decorated."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lafont |first=Anne |date=2005 |title=À La Recherche D'une Iconographie « Incroyable » Et « Merveilleuse »: Les Panneaux Décoratifs Sous Le Directoire |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41889181 |journal=Annales historiques de la Révolution française |issue=340 |pages=5–21 |issn=0003-4436}}</ref> It was through these private projects, which impressed the influential artist, David,<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Huyghe |first=Rene |date=1968 |title=Napoléon Et Les Arts |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44599435 |journal=Revue des Deux Mondes (1829-1971) |pages=13–31 |issn=0035-1962}}</ref> that they first came to the attention of [[Joséphine de Beauharnais]] and [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]].<ref name=":0" />

Bonaparte thought highly of their work and gave them responsibility for some of the most prestigious projects of the [[French Consulate|Consulate]] and the [[First French Empire|Empire]] periods, including the creation of the Rue de Rivoli and the development of the Louvre Palace.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Les architectes : Percier et Fontaine |url=http://passerelles.essentiels.bnf.fr/fr/article/f41a6470-ff26-4726-bb4e-a10d4eca7020-architectes-percier-et-fontaine |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Passerelles |language=fr}}</ref> He appointed them as his personal architects and never wavered in his decision; they worked on imperial projects throughout Napoleon's time in power. The relationship only dissolved when Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to Elba in 1814. From that time forward, Percier conducted a student ''atelier'', a teaching studio or workshop,<ref name=":2" /> and Fontaine became the more public face of the partnership. 

They worked for ten years (1802–1812) on the [[Louvre]]. The old Louvre palace had not been a royal residence for generations, so it was free of any taint associated with the detested Bourbons. It stood in the heart of Paris, so that the Emperor could be seen coming and going, unlike [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]], which had been rendered uninhabitable through destruction and looting. They also pierced the first, western part of the rue de Rivoli, and built its distinctive arcades, and, in the process, built the northern, 'Rivoli' wing of the Louvre, thereby competing the [[Cour Carrée]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Poisson |first=Georges |title=Napoleon 1er et Paris |publisher=Taillandier |year=2002 |isbn=2-84734-011-4 |location=Paris}}</ref><sup>:199</sup>
[[File:Paris - Jardin des Tuileries - Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel - PA00085992 - 003.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|The eastern façade of the [[Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel]]]]
[[File:Peace riding in a triumphal chariot Bosio Carrousel - 2012-05-28.jpg|left|thumb|Detail of Peace riding in a triumphal chariot from the [[Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel]]|245x245px]]
They refurbished and restructured the [[Tuileries Palace]] that, prior to be burnt down during the [[Paris Commune]], faced the Louvre across the [[Place du Carrousel]] and the [[parterre]]s. In that prominent square, Percier and Fontaine designed the [[Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel]] (1807–1808), commemorating the Napoleonic victories of the [[War of the Third Coalition|Third]] and [[War of the Fourth Coalition|Fourth Coalitions]]. Far from adhering to the classical model of nude statues, the designers of the Arc innovated by positioning, at the top of each of the Arc's eight marble columns, statues representing the eight corps of the Napoleonic army. Their uniforms are faithfully depicted in detail in these statues.<ref name=":3" /><sup>:115</sup>

Percier and Fontaine also refurbished Josephine's [[Château de Malmaison]], as well as the [[Château de Montgobert]] for [[Pauline Bonaparte]], and made alterations and decorations for former Bourbon palaces or castles at [[Château de Compiègne|Compiègne]], [[Château de Saint-Cloud|Saint-Cloud]], and [[Palace of Fontainebleau|Fontainebleau]].<ref name=":0" /> In working on these projects, they designed every detail of the interior decors: state beds, sculptural side tables, and other furniture, wall lights and candlesticks, chandeliers, door hardware, textiles, and wallpaper. 

On special occasions, Percier was called upon to design for the [[Sèvres porcelain]] manufactory: in 1814 Percier's published designs were adapted by [[Alexandre Brogniart]], director of Sèvres, a grand classicising vase 137&nbsp;cm tall, that came to be known as the "[[Londonderry Vase]]" when Louis XVIII gave it to the Marquess of Londonderry just before the [[Congress of Vienna]].<ref>The vase, now at the [[Art Institute of Chicago]], is discussed by Lynn Springer Roberts, "The Londonderry Vase: A Royal Gift to Curry Favor", ''Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies'' '''15'''.1 (1989:68–81+88)</ref> Percier also designed the religious objects used in the baptism of Napoleon’s son.<ref name=":3" /><sup>:220</sup>

In 1812, Percier and Fontaine published the ''Recueil de décoration intérieure concernant tout ce qui rapporte à l'ameublement'' ("Collection of interior designs: Everything that relates to furniture") with its engravings in a spare outline technique. These engravings spread their style beyond the Empire, helping to put a French stamp on the English [[Regency style]] and influencing the Dutch-British connoisseur-designer, [[Thomas Hope (1769–1831)|Thomas Hope]]. Indeed, their Empire style proved to be influential throughout Europe.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Raoul-Rochette |date=1840 |title=Percier. Sa vie et ses ouvrages |url=https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Charles_Percier,_architecte |journal=période initiale |pages=246–268}}</ref>