Louis Jean Desprez (occasionally but incorrectly ''Jean Louis Desprez'') (28 May 1743–18 March 1804) was a French painter and architect who worked in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

during the last twenty years of his life.

Biography

Desprez, who was born in

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

Bourgogne Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. T ...

, France. He studied architecture and was awarded the Great Prize of the

Académie royale d'architecture The Académie Royale d'Architecture (; ) was a French learned society founded in 1671. It had a leading role in influencing architectural theory and education, not only in France, but throughout Europe and the Americas from the late 17th centur ...

in 1776. He lived in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

from 1777 to 1784 and was associated with Piranesi in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He came to the attention of King

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

, who offered him a two-year contract as director of scenic decorations at the new Stockholm Opera founded by the King two years earlier. His first task there was the decorations for the new opera ''Gustaf Wasa'' (with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

authored by the King in collaboration with Johan Henric Kellgren and music by

Johann Gottlieb Naumann Johann Gottlieb Naumann (17 April 1741 – 23 October 1801) was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister. Life Johann Gottlieb Naumann was born in Blasewitz and received his musical training from the teachers at his town school, where h ...

). As an architect, Desprez designed in a monumental, neoclassical style influenced by his study of Greek and Roman ruins in the south of Italy and in Sicily. A good example of this is

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

Church in Finland - Finland at that time still being part of the Swedish kingdom - completed in 1799. His greatest project was one never realized: the magnificent new palace planned by the King for the Haga Park outside Stockholm, the Haga Great Palace. Because of lack of money, only the foundations were ever built and the project was abandoned after the assassination of the King. The smaller "royal pavilion" which stands at Haga was built by architect, Olof Tempelman. His most significant completed project was the conservatory building in the new botanical garden in

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, inaugurated after his death on May 13, 1807, the 100th anniversary of

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

's birth. He also built the Villa Frescati in 1791-92 for

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish-Swedish count, baron, courtier, general and diplomat who was later in Russian service. In Finland, he is considered one of the greatest Finnish statesmen. His advi ...

, after which the whole Frescati area in Stockholm later was named.

Selected works

File:Hämeenlinna Church.jpg,

Church File:Kupferzelt Hagapark.jpg, Copper Tent at Haga Park File:Uppsala Botanical Garden in winter.jpg, Conservatory in the Botanical Garden, Uppsala File:Déjeunersalongen Drottningholms slottsteater.JPG, Déjeuner Salon at Drottningholm Castle Theater

References

Other Sources

*
Nordisk familjebok
' * Richard Godfrey ''Louis-Jean Desprez'' (Print Quarterly Vol. 3, No. 3, September 1986, pp. 238–240 {{DEFAULTSORT:Desprez, Louis Jean 1743 births 1804 deaths People from Auxerre Swedish people of French descent 18th-century French architects 18th-century French painters French male painters Swedish architects 18th-century Swedish painters 18th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters French neoclassical painters French neoclassical architects Prix de Rome for architecture 18th-century French male artists

Biography

Selected works

See also

References

Other Sources