Alexander Vallaury (1850–1921) was a French- Ottoman architect, who founded architectural education and lectured in the School of Fine Arts in Constantinople (

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Biography

Vallaury was born in 1850 into a Levantine family in Istanbul. His father, Francesco Vallaury, was a renowned pastry chef, highly respected in court circles. Vallaury's nationality is not definitively known; however, he is assumed to have been of French extraction due to his affinity to French culture. Between 1869 and 1878, Vallaury lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where he studied architecture at the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scienc ...

. Returning to

in 1880, he met

Osman Hamdi Bey Osman Hamdi Bey (30 December 1842, in Istanbul 24 February 1910) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is regarded as th ...

, who was at that time

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the newly established Imperial Museum ( tr, Müze-i Humayun - now the

Istanbul Archaeology Museum The Istanbul Archaeology Museums ( tr, ) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums: #Ar ...

), during an exhibition of his relief drawings of various architectural monuments. The two artists worked closely together in the fields of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

, museum work and education in fine arts. Following the foundation of the first School of Fine Arts ( tr, Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, now the

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University The Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University ( tr, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, or MSGSÜ) is a Turkish public university dedicated to higher education in the fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, Istanbul ...

) in Turkey on January 1, 1882, Alexander Vallaury started working in the architecture department. He lectured at the school for 25 years until his retirement in 1908. Ottoman Public Debt Administration, Istanbul (16033721400)

Ottoman Public Debt Administration, Istanbul (16033721400)

Following the 1894 Istanbul earthquake, he was appointed to work on various commissions for city planning. Remembered by Osman Bey as the "City Architect" (''Mimar-ı Şehir''), Vallaury was almost invariably the architect chosen by the upper echelons of Ottoman high officials and French business circles while he worked at the School of Fine Arts. On some of these projects, he worked with the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

architect Raimondo Tommaso D'Aronco, the chief architect at the sultan's palace. In 1896, he was awarded France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

to go with many other medals and awards from the French and Ottoman governments. Vallaury combined traditional

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine a ...

with elements of

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorp ...

in the buildings he designed for members of the palace and for high officials in Istanbul. His architecture showed great variety, drawing on a broad spectrum of styles from Islamic- Ottoman synthesis to

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

. He used motifs from international Orientalism for some

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

and Neo-Ottoman structures which often incorporated Neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau details. His workshop was located at

Saint Pierre Han SS Peter and Paul ( tr, Sen Pier ve Sen Paul Kilisesi, it, Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo a Galata) is a Catholic church in Istanbul, important for historical reasons. The church owns an icon of the Virgin of the Hodegetria type, which originall ...

in Galata.

Notable works

* Café Lebon (from 1940 on Café Marquise - ''Markiz Pastanesi'') (1880) - Beyoğlu, Istanbul * Décugis house (today Galata Antique Hotel) (1881) - Beyoğlu, Istanbul * Hotel Pera Palace (1881-1891) - Beyoğlu, Istanbul * Hidayet Mosque (1887) -

Eminönü Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...

, Istanbul *

Imperial Ottoman Bank The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...

and Ottoman Tobacco Company headquarters (1892) -

Karaköy Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus. Karaköy is one of the oldest an ...

, Istanbul *

main building (1891-1907) - Sultanahmet, Istanbul * Imperial Military School of Medicine (with Raimondo D'Aronco; later Haydarpaşa High School, today

Marmara University Marmara University ( Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is named after the Sea of Marmara and was founded as a university in 1982. However, it was created in 1883 under the name of ''H ...

Faculty of Law) (1893-1902) - Haydarpaşa, Istanbul * Union Francaise building (in 2018, temporary home of

İstanbul Modern İstanbul Modern, a.k.a. Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, ( tr, İstanbul Modern Sanat Müzesi) is a museum of contemporary art in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. Inaugurated on December 11, 2004, the museum focuses on artists from Turke ...

) (1896) - Beyoğlu, Istanbul * Ottoman Public Debt Administration building (later

Istanbul High School Istanbul High School ( tr, İstanbul Lisesi, german: Istanbuler Gymnasium), also commonly known as Istanbul Boys' High School ( tr, İstanbul Erkek Lisesi, abbreviated İEL), is one of the oldest and internationally renowned high schools of Turkey ...

) (1897) -

Cağaloğlu Cağaloğlu is a quarter located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Much of the publishing industry in Istanbul is located in Cağaloğlu. It is also famous for its ancient hamam, or Turkish bath, known as the Cağaloğlu Hamam. Name The q ...

, Istanbul * Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage (1898-1899) -

Büyükada Büyükada ( el, Πρίγκηπος or Πρίγκιπος, rendered ''Prinkipos'' or ''Prinkipo''), meaning "Big Island" in Turkish, is the largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about . It is offic ...

, Istanbul * Hezaren Han (1902) -

, Istanbul * Ömer Abed Han (1902) -

, Istanbul * Osman Reis Mosque (1903-1904) -

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea co ...

, Istanbul * Afif Pasha waterfront mansion (''Muhayyeş Yalısı''), (circa 1910) - Yeniköy, Istanbul * Memorial to Sultan Abdülhamid on breakwater at Kadıköy

References

External links

Biography at Museum of Architecture website

Photo gallery at Museum of Architecture website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallaury, Alexander 1850 births Architects from Istanbul Architects from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century French architects 20th-century French architects Buildings and structures in Istanbul Recipients of the Legion of Honour 1921 deaths People from the Ottoman Empire of French descent Art Nouveau architects Ottoman expatriates in France Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University faculty

Biography

Notable works

See also

References

External links