Alfred-Nicolas Normand (1 June 1822,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 2 March 1909, Paris) was a French architect and photographer.

Biography

His father, Louis-Eléonor Normand (1780-1862), was also an architect and provided some of his first lessons. In 1842, he entered the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

, where his primary instructor was . He won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1846, with his design for a natural history museum, and lived at the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

from 1847 to 1851. Normand-Pompeienne

Upon returning to France, he developed an interest in photography.

Maxime Du Camp Maxime Du Camp (8 February 1822 – 9 February 1894) was a French writer and photographer. Biography Born in Paris, Du Camp was the son of a successful surgeon. After finishing college, he indulged in his strong desire for travel, thanks to ...

, who had recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, encouraged his efforts and offered professional advice. He went back to the Mediterranean, and stayed until 1852, producing a series of over 130

calotype Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low ...

s in Rome,

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

, Athens and Istanbul. In 1855, after a successful showing at the Exposition Universelle, he decided to devote himself to architecture, rather than photography, although it would continue to be a hobby. In 1853, he was named an inspector of works and a deputy to

Victor Baltard Victor Baltard (; 9 June 180513 January 1874) was a French architect famed for work in Paris including designing Les Halles market and the Saint-Augustin church. Life Victor was born in Paris, son of architect Louis-Pierre Baltard and attended ...

, the official

Architect of the City of Paris The Architect of the City of Paris (''Architecte de la ville de Paris'') is the incumbent of a municipal position, responsible for the design and construction of civic projects in Paris. In the Ancien Régime in France, the position of Bâtiments ...

. His individual career was launched in 1856, when he was one of several architects chosen by Prince Napoléon-Jérôme to design a palace in Neo-Grecian style that would come to be known as the

Maison Pompéienne Maison (French for "house") may refer to: People * Edna Maison (1892–1946), American silent-film actress * Jérémy Maison (born 1993), French cyclist * Leonard Maison, New York state senator 1834–1837 * Nicolas Joseph Maison (1771–1840), M ...

. When his work there was completed, in 1860, he was named a Knight in the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. It was demolished in 1891, due to years of neglect after the establishment of the Third Republic. He was named Inspector General for prison buildings in 1861, and built the

Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes The ''Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes'' is a women's prison of the French Prison Service in Rennes, Brittany, France. Since 2008, it has been the only women's prison in France. Its operations began in 1878.Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer (6 February 1829 – 7 February 1914) was a French people, French architect. He won the prix de Rome and designed several public buildings in France, particularly in Paris, four of which have been designated ''Monum ...

, drew up a plan for cells organized around a central courtyard; a plan which still plays a major role in prison design.Fabienne Doulat, "L’architecture carcérale, composante majeure de la réflexion sur l’enfermement pénal au XIXe siècle", In: ''Drac Rhône-Alpes, la DISP Rhône-Alpes/Auvergne, l’Arald'', 2008, pgs.26-35
Online
In the late 1870s, he also did reconstructive work on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

and the column at the

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as the Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as the Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madelein ...

. From 1882 to 1887, he added a swimming pool and classrooms to the lycée Michelet in

Vanves Vanves () is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France. History On ...

. After that, he indulged his interest in photography by taking an extended trip throughout France, Italy, Greece, North Africa, Scandinavia and Russia, making a photographic record of

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

structures, as well as monuments. Rennes prison des femmes

He was elected to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

in 1890, taking Seat #6 for architecture. From 1898 to 1900, he was President of the

Société Centrale des Architectes Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

. He also served as vice-president of the

Société Française de Photographie The Société française de photographie (SFP) is an association, founded on 15 November 1854, devoted to the history of photography. It has a large collection of photographs and old cameras. Among the founding members were Olympe Aguado, Hippoly ...

. He had three sons; (1858-1934), an art historian, Paul (1861-1945), an architect, and Robert (1873-1929), a military engineer, with the rank of General, who participated in constructing the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

References

External links

Documents, references, and a biography
@ AGORHA, Institut national d'histoire de l'art {{DEFAULTSORT:Normand, Alfred-Nicolas 1822 births 1909 deaths Prix de Rome winners Recipients of the Legion of Honour Members of the Académie des beaux-arts Architects from Paris

Biography

References

Further reading

External links