Joseph Pilié
Gilbert "Gil" Joseph Pilié (* around 1789 in Mirebalais , Colony of Saint-Domingue ; † 1846 in New Orleans , Louisiana ) was an American painter, drawing teacher, architect and city surveyor in New Orleans. He was of Creole descent.
Career
Joseph Pilié was born around 1789 as the son of Louis Pilié and Marguerite Elisabeth Deschamps in the French colony of Saint-Domingue on the island of Hispaniola and grew up there. His childhood and youth were overshadowed by the war of independence against France, which led to the establishment of the state of Haiti . Before 1805 he emigrated to the United States and settled there in New Orleans (Louisiana), which was acquired by the First French Republic in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase by the United States .
On February 17, 1805 he started a two-year job with the surveyor, architect and engineer Barthélémy Lafon . During this time he was paid $ 16 a month, food and a place to sleep. His activities included the making of drawings, scribbles (preliminary drawings), copies, etc., but also geographical and geodetic activities.
Pilié went into business for himself in 1808. He worked as a painter of portraits, landscapes and flowers ( still lifes ), but also gave lessons in drawing and painting. He also made architectural plans and topographic maps . His notoriety grew rapidly in the years that followed. In 1818 he was appointed City Surveyor of New Orleans - a post he held until 1836. Because of the subdivision of New Orleans into three independent boroughs in 1836, he was appointed city surveyor by the Second Municipality in 1836 , today's business district of New Orleans. In 1843 he was also appointed city surveyor by the First Municipality . Pilié gave up his jobs in 1844 and retired from public life because of his poor health. During his work, he carried out public and private surveying jobs, but also created architectural plans. In this context, he designed the first iron fence around Jackson Square and the triumphal arch, which was built on Jackson Square for the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to New Orleans in 1825.
In 1813 he married Thérése Anne Deynaut (1798–1839), daughter of Joseph Christophe Deynaut and Marie Thérése Valade, who was born in Dondon (colony of Saint-Domingue). The couple had at least two children: a daughter named Celina (1816–1866) and the city surveyor Louis Henri Pilié .
literature
- New Orleans Architecture: Jefferson City , Volume VII, Pelican Publishing, 1989, ISBN 978-1-4556-0938-3 , pp. 55f
- Mary Louise Christovich: The American Sector , Friends of the Cabildo, 1991, ISBN 978-0-9111-1680-9 , p. 229
- Stanley Arthur: Old New Orleans, a History of the Vieux Carre, Its Ancient and Historical Buildings , Heritage Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7884-2722-0 , p. 137
- Roulhac Toledano: A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture , Pelican Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4556-1017-4 , pp. 21 and 31
Web links
- Joseph Pilié on the ancestry.com website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thérése Anne Deynaut on the ancestry.de website
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pilié, Joseph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pilié, Gilbert Joseph (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American painter, drawing teacher, architect, and city surveyor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1789 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mirebalais , Saint-Domingue colony |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1846 |
| Place of death | New Orleans , Louisiana |