Jean-Gabriel Eynard

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Probably a self-portrait

Jean-Gabriel Eynard (born December 28, 1775 in Lyon , † February 5, 1863 in Geneva ; Greek Ιωάννης-Γαβριήλ Εϋνάρδος: Ioannis-Gavriil Eynardos) was a Swiss banker, philhellene and photographer of the avant-garde.

biography

Grave of Jean-Gabriel Eynard on the Cimetière des Rois
Grave of Jean-Gabriel Eynard on the Cimetière des Rois

Eynard was born in Lyon on December 28, 1775. As early as 1686 his family was admitted to the aristocratic circle of the city of Geneva. He settled in Genoa and became the general tobacco tax tenant of the Kingdom of Etruria and private advisor to the Queen of Etruria and the Grand Duchess of Tuscany . In 1819 he returned to Geneva very wealthy. In 1814 he took part in the Congress of Vienna , where he also met Count Kapodistrias , with whom he has been friends since then. From then on he became involved as a philhellene and after Kapodistria's death he was instrumental in the establishment and development of the National Bank of Greece in 1841 . This also functioned as a state bank until 1928. The bank found itself in distress in 1847 when English bankers insisted on early repayment of a loan in order to squeeze out advantages. Eynard then paid 500,000 gold francs from his private coffers. From 1839 he also dealt with photography and introduced the daguerreotype in Switzerland.

Jean-Gabriel Eynard was buried on the Cimetière des Rois .

Street sign, Jean-Gabriel-Eynard
Street sign, Jean-Gabriel-Eynard

Commemoration

The main building and the foundation of the National Bank of Greece are named after him, as is a street in Athens. A bust of Eynard has been placed in the town house in Geneva (formerly Palais Eynard) and in the National Garden in Athens. His photographic estate is in the Swiss National Museum in Zurich.

On May 4, 1908, the monument to Eynard was inaugurated on the Promenade de Bastion in Geneva. The bust was created by Auguste de Niederhäusern and the monument by the architects Alphonse Laverrière and Eugène Monod .

A street in Geneva was named after Eynard.

literature

Web links

Commons : Jean-Gabriel Eynard  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. 1908, memorial to Jean-Gabriel Eynard