Alphonse Alexandre Defrasse (30 September 1860,

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. S ...

- 18 March 1939, Paris) was a French architect; best known as the Chief Architect for the

Banque de France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

Biography

His father was a merchant. He entered 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 Science ...

in 1877, where he was a student of Jules André. His first showing came in 1882, at the

Salon des Artistes Français The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

; obtaining a second-class medal. Three years later, his display there earned a travel grant.René Édouard-Joseph, ''Dictionnaire biographique des artistes contemporains'', tome 1, A-E, Art & Édition, 1930, Alphonse Defrasse2

He stood for 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 ...

three times; winning the Grand Prize in 1886 with a project for the "palace" of the

Court of Audit A Court of Audit or Court of Accounts is a Supreme audit institution, i.e. a government institution performing financial and/or legal audit (i.e. Statutory audit or External audit) on the executive branch of power. See also *Most of those in ...

. He was in residence at the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

from 1887 to 1890. With a stipend from the

Académie de France à Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

, he travelled to Greece, where he made studies of various structures at the Sanctuary of Asclepius in

Epidaurus Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the ...

. They earned him a medal of honor at the Salon in 1893 then, two years later, were published in a book, with explanatory text by the art historian, He briefly served as an then, in 1898, was named Chief Architect for the Banque de France; a position he held until his retirement in 1936. In response to a law of 1897, requiring the Banque to have a branch in the capital city of every

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, his first major project involved creating a standard plan for those branches, which was utilized over twenty times. During his years with the Banque, he also executed a few private commissions for mansions, in and around Paris. He was awarded a Grand Prize at the Exposition Universelle of 1900, for his layout of the inner courtyard at the

Petit Palais The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

. From 1906, he directed a free workshop at the École. In 1928, he was elected to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, where he took Seat #2 for architecture; succeeding

Alexandre Marcel Alexandre Marcel (11 September 1860 - 30 June 1928) was a French architect, best known for his Belle Époque interpretations of "exotic" international architectural styles. Marcel studied at the Parisian École des Beaux-Arts in the atelier of ...

(deceased). In his later years, his projects included new facilities for the interior of the

Hotel Gaillard A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

(1921), underground rooms at the Banque's headquarters (1925–27), and work on the hospital in

Juvisy-sur-Orge Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located 18 km south-east of Paris, a few kilometres south of Orly Airport. The site of the town has been occu ...

(1932). A collection of his plans for projects that were never realized is being preserved by the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

His project for the Palais Central
@ the Musée d'Orsay website Altar and statue of temple of Aesculapius at Epidaurus Wellcome L0016950

References

External links

Works by Defrasse
@ the

Base Mérimée The ''Base Mérimée'' is the database of French monumental and architectural heritage, created and maintained by the French Ministry of Culture. It was created in 1978, and placed online in 1995. The database is periodically updated, and contains ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Defrasse, Alphonse 1860 births 1939 deaths École des Beaux-Arts Banque de France Architects from Paris Prix de Rome winners Members of the Académie des beaux-arts

Biography

References

Further reading

External links