Franz Christian Gau

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Franz Christian Gau , also François Christian Gau and François Chrétien Gau (born June 15, 1790 in Cologne , † December 31, 1853 in Paris ) was a German, from 1826 ( naturalized ) French architect , explorer and builder .

Life

Gau was born in Cologne in 1790 as the son of a merchant from the old town and came to Paris in 1810 with his Cologne friend Jakob Ignaz Hittorff . There he studied at the academy and went on study trips to Italy and the Orient . In 1826 he became a French citizen. Gau was engaged in the study of the Gothic and restored several churches, including St-Julien-le-Pauvre and St-Séverin . He also drew designs for Ste-Clotilde and used Rhineland cathedrals as models for his work. He was also responsible for building the Paris hospitals and the Grande Roquette prison . From 1824 to 1848 Gau was the director of an architecture school that mainly trained Germans. His most famous student was Gottfried Semper .

Gau made a decisive contribution to the exploration of the still largely unknown country and its buildings through his adventurous trip to the Orient, his exploration of Egypt and Nubia. His findings led to recognition in the highest circles in France and Germany in the age of emerging nationalism.

In December 1842, he and Heinrich Heine founded an aid association for the Central Cathedral Association in Cologne in Paris . Gau was elected President and Heine Vice President of the association. Franz Christian Gau was later awarded honorary membership in the Cologne Cathedral Building Association.

In 1992 the art historian and director of the Cologne City Museum , Mario Kramp, did his doctorate on Gau at the University of Aachen .

In his hometown of Cologne, a street in the Braunsfeld district was named after him in his honor.

Special exhibitions

  • in the Cologne City Museum : March 9th to May 26th, 2013 A Cologne native discovers Egypt. Franz Christian Gau's adventurous expedition to the Orient, 1818–1820

Fonts (selection)

  • Franz Christian Gau: Les antiquités de la Nubie. ou monumens inédits des bords du Nil situés entre la première et deuxième cataracte, dessinés et mésurés, en 1819, by FC Gau, architecte . Cotta, Stuttgart 1822 ( uni-heidelberg.de ).
  • Les ruines de Pompei (the last two volumes: Volume 3, 1829; Volume 4, 1838)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mario Kramp; Heinrich Heine's Cologne Cathedral. The 'poor rascals from the Cathedral Association' in exile in Paris 1842–1848 ; German art publisher ; Munich / Berlin; 2002; ISBN 978-3-422-06373-0 ; Page 45 Review
  2. ↑ The man from Cologne who was the first European in Nubia
  3. ^ Homepage Kölnisches Stadtmuseum ( Memento from April 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on September 26, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Gau, Franz Christian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gau, François Christian; Gau, François Chrétien
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Franco-German architect and builder
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1790
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH December 31, 1853
Place of death Paris , France