Augustin-Charles d'Aviler

He was one of the main promoters of the vignolesc canon, but far from simply publishing it, he developed it by proposing variations of motifs to give more flexibility and expressiveness to the rigid system of the five orders.

His qualities as an architect earned him a scholarship to the Académie de France à Rome.

He left in 1674 with Antoine Desgodetz, but the ship that was taking him to Italy was stormed by the Moors, and he was held in slavery for 18 months in Algiers and then in Tunis.

Upon Colbert's death, he obtained the protection of Louvois, which allowed him to publish a complete Cours d'architecture[1] (1691).

He then settled in Montpellier where the orders which were addressed to him multiplied, including the Porte du Peyrou and the beginnings of the development of this vast esplanade similar to a royal square (the equestrian statue of Louis XIV thrones in its middle).

Illustration of the critic in the Cours d'architecture published in the Acta Eruditorum (1694)