Théodore Ballu
Théodore Ballu (born June 8, 1817 in Paris ; † May 22, 1885 ibid) was a French architect and winner of the Prix de Rome in the architecture category.
The work of the Grand by Théodore Ballu all too often seems to be reduced to the realization of the Trinity Church of La Trinité (Paris) and the redesign of the Hôtel de Ville , the Paris city hall. Even if these two works made up a large part of his career, they conceal his broad oeuvre, which manifests itself in a multitude of public buildings, mostly of a religious nature, and private buildings.
The great price of Rome
Admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in 1835, Ballu became a student of Louis-Hippolyte Lebas , the architect of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette . At the age of only 24, he received the Grand Prix de Rome in 1840 . The young laureate left Paris for Rome to become a boarding school student at the Académie de France à Rome . He lived in the Villa Medici from January 1841 to December 1845 . This stay in the heart of the "Eternal City" did not stop him from visiting the famous ruins of ancient Greece .
The Parisian architect
After his return to Paris, Théodore Ballu was assistant to the architect François-Chrétien Gau (1790-1856) while working on the Ste-Clotilde basilica . After Gau's death he became the main architect responsible for the work. In 1860 he finally became the chief architect in charge of the city of Paris for religious buildings. Since then he realized the Église de la Trinité (1861-1867), the temple de la rue d'Astorg and the churches of Saint-Ambroise (1863-1869) and Saint-Joseph (1866-1875). He was given responsibility for both the restoration of the Saint-Jacques tower (1853–1855) and the construction of the Saint-Denis church in Argenteuil (1866).
The Église de la Trinité remained the epitome of his knowledge of the various architectural styles, his keen taste for modern eclecticism and the abundance of sculpted or painted decorations, without going beyond the budget of the work. The area around the church of La Trinité in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, in which he owned some land and buildings, has always remained a preference of the architect. He lived and died there at 78 Rue Blanche, not far from the Église de la Trinité.
In 1873 he won the tender for the reconstruction of the Paris town hall Hôtel de Ville , which had fallen victim to a major fire during the Paris Commune . He carried out the work together with Pierre Deperthes . Ballu has meanwhile been appointed to the institute and the “Council for Civil Buildings” (conseil des bâtiments civils). In 1874 he took over the post of General Inspector for Buildings of the Dioceses ( Inspecteur général des édifices diocésains ) from his predecessor Eugène Viollet-le-Duc . As Inspector General of the City of Paris ( Inspecteur général des travaux de la Ville de Paris ) he held the office for church buildings between 1871 and 1876.
The master of the work of the Belfry of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois
Between 1858 and 1863, Théodore designed and realized the belfry of the parish church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois .
Web links
- List of buildings by Théodore Ballu in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French text)
- Théodore Ballu. In: Structurae (French text)
- Théodore Ballu. In: arch INFORM . (French text)
- Théodore Ballu in the Répertoire des architectes diocésains du XIXe siècle
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ballu, Théodore |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French architect |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1817 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 1885 |
| Place of death | Paris |