Pierre Bossan

Commemorative plaque for Pierre Bossan in Notre-Dame de Fourvière :
"His heart rests under this marble."

Pierre Bossan (born July 23, 1814 in Lyon , † July 23, 1888 in La Ciotat ) was a French architect of historicism . He designed u. a. several monumental church buildings that gave expression to the Catholic renewal movement in France.

Life

Bossan came from a humble background. As the oldest of seven children, he was given the opportunity to study and opted for architecture. After beginning his studies at the Art School in Lyon, he joined Henri Labrouste's studio in Paris . At the age of 25 he returned to Lyon. He was appointed master builder of the Archdiocese of Lyon and was commissioned to build the new church of Saint-Georges . It was completed in 1845 in purely Gothic forms. Bossan later called it a “youthful sin”, but it is considered a successful example of neo-Gothic architecture. In the same years he designed a. a. the church in Tassin , the Jesuit chapel in Lyon, rue Sala, and the cathedra for the cathedral .

In 1845 he went on a study trip to Italy . On the way to Sicily he discovered Byzantine art and architecture and was fascinated. Then he was shocked by the death of his brother who had accompanied him. On the way back he stopped in Ars . The meeting with Jean-Marie Vianney completed his conversion from freethinking to resolute Catholicism .

In 1847 his position as a cathedral builder ended, but construction contracts increased. Now he found his personal, strongly neo-Byzantine style. Even then he began to design a “great church” for the Fourvière hill in Lyon. During a stay in Rome in 1850, the plan took shape. From 1852 he built numerous churches, chapels and houses. He also designed sculptures, furniture and jewelry.

In 1862 the expansion of Ars into a place of pilgrimage began . Bossan created the plans for the pilgrimage basilica and, from 1864, for Saint-Jean-François Régis in Lalouvesc . He was still in the midst of this work when the decision to build the votive church Notre-Dame de Fourvière was made in Lyon in 1871 . Bossan submitted his twenty-year-old draft, which was accepted, so that the foundation stone could be laid as early as 1872. Soon afterwards, Bossan suffered from old age and illness and retired to La Ciotat on the Côte d'Azur . From there he stayed in contact with his long-time employee Louis Sainte-Marie-Perrin , who was given the job of construction management. He also continued to create designs, especially for the interior of his main work, the Fourvière Basilica. A circle of architects and artists gathered around him.

Bossan died in La Ciotat at the age of 74. He was buried in the old Cimetière de Loyasse cemetery west of Fourvière Hill in Lyon. His heart rests in the basilica.

Works (selection)

Basilica of Ars

Notre-Dame de Fourvière

• 1839–1842: Saint-Joseph Church, Tassin-la-Demi-Lune (demolished in 1971 for a motorway)
• 1845 (completion): Saint-Georges church, Lyon
• 1852 (completion): Saint-Polycarpe church, Lyon
• 1854–1856: Salesian convent, Lyon
• 1854–1859: Parish Church of Saint-Pierre, Mornant
• Around 1855: Maison Blanchon, Quai Fulchiron, Lyon: Moorish-style house, corner statue by Joseph-Hugues Fabisch (1855)
• 1855: Church in Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or
• 1858–1862: Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée-Conception church , Lyon
• 1859 (completion): Small seminar building in Meximieux (Ain), today town hall
• 1865: Church of Sainte-Anne, Lyon; unfinished, closed in 1938, demolished in 1939
• 1862–1898: Pilgrimage Basilica, Ars
• 1863: House of the painter Paul Borel, Lyon
• 1864–1900: Saint-François-Régis basilica, Lalouvesc
• 1865 (completion): Saint-Maurice church, Échallon
• 1867–1895: Church in Régnié-Durette , Rhône department; completed seven years after Bossan's death
• 1868–1878: Dominican monastery of Saint-Lazare, Marseille
• 1872–1896: Notre-Dame de Fourvière basilica, Lyon

literature

• Louis Sainte-Marie-Perrin: Pierre Bossan, architecte: sa vie, son caractère, son œuvre, sa doctrine , 1889
• Philippe Dufieux: Le Mythe de la primatie des Gaules. Pierre Bossan (1815–1888) et l'architecture religieuse en Lyonnais au XIXe siècle , 2004

Individual evidence

1. ↑ structurae
2. ↑ Notices ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the Lyon City Library 
3. ↑ History of the Basilica of Ars ( Memento of the original from April 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( Brou website ) 
4. ^ Note on the Lalouvesc basilica on the Cimetières de France page
5. ↑ The churches of Tassin on the website of the congregation ( Memento of the original from June 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Saints et Madones au coins de nos rues , éditions lyonnaises d'art et d'histoire, 1995, p. 58
7. ↑ Jean Pelletier, Connaître son arrondissement, le troisième , éditions lyonnaises d'art et d'histoire, pp. 42–43
8. ↑ Nicolas Jacquet, Façades lyonnaises , édition Laurence Solnais, 2008, p. 154
9. ^ History of the monastery and the church

Web links

Commons : Pierre Bossan  - collection of images, videos and audio files