ABSTRACT
The moment of Viollet-le-Duc's disengagement from Didron's circle corresponds with the changing political climate leading to the February 1848 Revolution. As Viollet-le-Duc loosened his ties to Annales archeologique and Didron, he seems to have strengthened those with Prosper Mrime. His relationship with the latter had evolved considerably since 1840, when the young architect had been handpicked by Inspecteur general of the Commission des monuments historiques to work on Vzelay. The declaration of the Second Empire in 1852 will change nothing for that new reality: the principle of nationality rather than the principle of legitimacy would constitute the true instrument of power. Viollet-le-Duc's new modus operandi after 1848 perfectly reflects the new political orientation. The transformation of Paris by Haussmann, begun at the onset of the Second Empire, is the famous manifestation of an economy oriented toward construction industry. The Second Empire may not have been a military dictatorship, but there is no doubt about army's central importance as an institution.
