The first phase of neoclassicism in France is expressed in the "Louis XVI style" of architects like Ange-Jacques Gabriel (Petit Trianon, 1762–68); the second phase, in the styles called Directoire and "Empire", might be characterized by Jean Chalgrin's severe astylar Arc de Triomphe (designed in 1806). The book contained architectural prints of famous British buildings that had been inspired by the great architects from Vitruvius to Palladio. This House was a reinterpretation of Palladio's Villa Capra, but purified of 16th century elements and ornament.
Palladian buildings are inspired by the villas of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, who was himself inspired by the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome.