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Jacques Ignace Hittorff or, in German, Jakob Ignaz Hittorff (, ) (
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, 20 August 1792 – 25 March 1867) was a German-born
French architect The following is a chronological list of French architects. Some of their major architectural works are listed after each name. Middle Ages Étienne de Bonneuil (late 13th century) * Uppsala Cathedral, Sweden Jean de Chelles (13th century ...
who combined advanced structural use of new materials, notably
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impu ...
, with conservative Beaux-Arts classicism in a career that spanned the decades from the Restoration to the Second Empire.


Biography

After serving an apprenticeship to a mason in his native city, he went in 1810 to
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, and studied for some years at the
Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
while working concurrently as a draughtsman for Charles Percier. At the Académie, he was a favourite pupil of the government architect François-Joseph Bélanger, who employed him in the construction of one of the first cast-iron constructions in France, the cast-iron and glass dome of the
grain market The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike othe ...
, '' Halle au Blé'' (1808–13). In 1814, Bélanger appointed Hittorff his principal inspector on construction sites. Succeeding Bélanger as government architect in 1818, Hittorff designed many important public and private buildings in Paris and also in the south of France. From 1819 to 1830, in collaboration with Jean-François-Joseph Lecointe he directed the royal fêtes and ceremonials, for which elaborate temporary structures were required, a post with a long history, which the two architects inherited from Bélanger. Hittorff also designed a new building for the Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique with Lecointe. After making architectural tours in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, Hittorff published the result of his Sicilian observations in ''Architecture antique de la Sicile'' (3 volumes, 1826–1830; revised, 1866–1867), and also in ''Architecture moderne de la Sicile'' (1826–1835). One of his important discoveries was that colour had been employed in ancient Greek architecture, a subject which he especially discussed in ''Architecture polychrome chez les Grecs'' (1830) and in ''Restitution du temple d'Empédocle à Sélinonte'' (1851). In accordance with the doctrines enunciated in these works, he was in the habit of making colour an important feature in most of his architectural designs. In 1833, Hittorff was entrusted with redesigning the
Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...
, carried out in stages between 1833 and 1846. In 1836 the
obelisk of Luxor The Luxor Obelisks (French: ''Obélisques de Louxor'') are a pair of Ancient Egyptian obelisks, over 3,000 years old, carved to stand either side of the portal of the Luxor Temple in the reign of Ramesses II (). The right-hand (western) stone, ...
was erected and the two '' Fontaines de la Concorde'', one commemorating river navigation and commerce and the other ocean navigation and commerce, were placed on either side. At each angle of the square's extended octagon a statue was erected representing a French city: Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen and Strasbourg. In 1833 he was also elected a member of the
Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
. With Thomas Leverton Donaldson and
Charles Robert Cockerell Charles Robert Cockerell (27 April 1788 – 17 September 1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke. He went on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years, mainly spent in Greece. ...
, Hittorff was also a member of the committee formed in 1836 to determine whether the
Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greece, Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of th ...
and other Greek statuary in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
had originally been coloured; their conclusions were published in ''Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects'', 1842.


Principal works

Hittorff's principal buildings are the church of St. Vincent de Paul in the
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
style, which was constructed in partnership with Jean-Baptiste Lepère, 1830–44, and the ''
Cirque d'hiver The Cirque d'Hiver ("Winter Circus"), located at 110 rue Amelot (at the juncture of the rue des Filles Calvaires and rue Amelot, Paris 11ème), has been a prominent venue for circuses, exhibitions of dressage, musical concerts, and other events, ...
'', also in Paris, which opened as the ''Cirque Napoléon'' in 1852. Its 20-sided polygon around an oval central ring or stage surrounded by steeply tiered seating, is covered by a polygonal roof with no central post that could block the view. Hittorff also designed the Circus of the Empress, the Rotunda of the panoramas, the
Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capit ...
(1861–63), many cafés and restaurants on the
Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...
, the facades forming the circle round the Arc de Triomphe in ''Place de l'Étoile'', as well as many embellishments in the
Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by ...
and other places. A project that failed to please
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
was Hittorff's proposal for the ''Palais de l'Industrie'' to be constructed in 1853 to house the Exposition Universelle of 1855. On 27 March 1852, the ''Prince-Président''— soon to declare himself Emperor— decreed that this exhibition would take place in a hall to rival the Crystal Palace of the 1851
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...
in London. Hittorff's solution, an immense hall of iron and glass, was too audacious. The commission passed to other architects, and a conservative compromise was effected. Hittorff was part of the team that designed the
Grand Hôtel du Louvre Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and com ...
in Paris, which opened in 1855 in time for the Exposition Universelle. He worked on this project with Alfred Armand (1805–88),
Auguste Pellechet Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...
(1829-1903) and Charles Rohault de Fleury (1801–75).


Notes


See also

* List of works by Eugène Guillaume


References


Jacques Ignace Hittorff


External links

*
Die Sammlung Jakob Ignaz Hittorff
in der Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln The Hittorff-Collection in the University and City Library of Cologne {{DEFAULTSORT:Hittorff 1792 births Architects from Cologne 1867 deaths 19th-century French architects Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Members of the Académie des beaux-arts École des Beaux-Arts alumni Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)