Gilles-Barnabé Guimard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1734 (1734) Amboise, France |
| Died | 21 September 1805 (aged 70–71) Mosnes, France |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Palace of theCouncil of Brabant inBrussels (now theBelgian Parliament) |
| Projects | Place Royale/Koningsplein inBrussels Brussels Park |
Gilles-Barnabé Guimard (French pronunciation:[ʒilbaʁnabeɡimaʁ]; alsoGilles Barnabé Guymard de Larabe orBarnabé Guimard; 1734 – 1805) was a French architect.
He spent his entire career in theHabsburg Netherlands (present-day Belgium) where he led important architectural and urbanistic projects such as thePlace Royale/Koningsplein and thePalace of the Council of Brabant, which today houses theBelgian Federal Parliament, both in theCity of Brussels.
Guimard was trained at the prestigiousAcadémie royale d'architecture inParis. There he participated at theConcours de fin d'année twice: the first time in 1759 with a design for an equestrian school, a second time in 1760 under the patronage ofJacques-François Blondel with a design for a parish church.
From August 1761, Guimard's name can be found in the records of the Brussels court ofPrince Charles Alexander of Lorraine where he worked under direction of court architect J. Faulte. In 1765, he left Faulte's studio, probably because the latter used his designs and ideas without acknowledging his patron. His talent was then recognised by the influentialCount Cobenzl who also admired his knowledge of antique architecture and culture. After being introduced to the chancellor of the Habsburg Netherlands,Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg, he received his first official commissions; a catafalque for the funeral of EmperorFranz I in theChurch of St. Michael and St. Gudula (now Brussels' cathedral) and a public fountain in the form of anobelisk near theChurch of Our Lady of the Chapel (the latter monument has recently been reconstructed near the Chapel Church after the original designs).[1]
In 1766, Guimard was installed as professor of architecture at the newly founded architecture section at the Brussels 'Academie'. He soon resigned this post to work full-time at new commissions in Brussels andAntwerp. For years he tried in vain to be appointed to an official function at the court. Instead of Guimard, it was the slightly older Walloon architectLaurent-Benoît Dewez who succeeded Faulte as official court architect. Guimard continued to work 'freelance' for the state and the court during several years, without receiving the benefits of an official function.
In 1768, Charles Alexander of Lorraine asked him to make the plans for the levelling of the former site of theCoudenberg Palace which had been destroyed by fire in 1731. This area would eventually become the new centre of government in Brussels, with realisations such asBrussels Park, thePlace Royale/Koningsplein and thePalace of the Council of Brabant. From 1770 onwards he mainly worked at the different plans for this new 'Royal Quarter'. For this task he had to collaborate with other architects that were consulted by the government such asJean-Benoît-Vincent Barré for the designs of the Place Royale or the Austrian landscape architectJoachim Zinner [fr] for the lay-out of Brussels Park. The design of the Place Royale has long been attributed to Guimard. In fact Guimard had the task to supervise the works in Brussels, carried out after the plans that Barré had sent from Paris. Still Guimard had an important input, as it was his task to adapt the plans to the local situation and to overcome unforeseen practical difficulties.
In 1773, Guimard made a project design for a new state prison that the government planned inVilvoorde near Brussels. His project is close to contemporary French designs of this kind. At the end, he did not get the commission and the building was eventually carried out after the project of court architectLaurent-Benoît Dewez.
Guimard was involved in the design and execution of numerous mansions erected in a uniform style around Brussels Park such as theHotel Errera. His most important personal realisation within the project of the Royal Quarter were the designs of the Palace of the Council of Brabant. In the early 1780s, the government entrusted him with the design for the monumental gateways of Brussels Park. This commission was executed in collaboration with the sculptorGilles-Lambert Godecharle who also made the designs for the relief decorating the pediment of the Palace of the Council of Brabant. After the death of Charles Alexander of Lorraine the government of the Habsburg Netherlands was entrusted toArchduchess Maria Christina of Austria and her husbandAlbert of Saxe-Teschen. As also Dewez had fallen into disfavour - officially due to shortcomings in his designs for the Vilvoorde prison - they choose for new architects to work in their service such asCharles de Wailly andLouis Montoyer. Ironically the last official commission that Guimard received was a triumphal arch erected in Brussels at the occasion of the Triumphant Entry of the new Governors into their Capital (1781).
In the last years under Austrian rule, Guimard designed his most important private commission; theChâteau of Wannegem-Lede. It is a small but elegant country house on the top of a hill in a RomanticEnglish garden. It is a fine neoclassical design, strongly reminiscent toAnge-Jacques Gabriel'sPetit Trianon. After the occupation of theHabsburg Netherlands by the French revolutionary troops Guimard returned to his country of origin where he was named professor of theEcole Centrale in Tours in 1796.
* Jean Paul Midant, Jean-Charles Balty, Françoise Dierkens a.o.,Academie de Bruxelles. Deux siècles d'architecture, exhibition catalogue, exhibition catalogue, Brussels, 1989
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
| People | |
