Jean-Baptiste Cicéron Lesueur (5 October 1794,

Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is the base of the Clairefontaine French National football academy. See also *Communes of the Yvelines department * ...

- 25 December 1883,

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 ...

) was a French architect, best known for his work on the

Paris City Hall 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. Si ...

(Hôtel de Ville).

Biography

In 1811, he entered the

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

, where he studied with

Charles Percier Charles Percier (; 22 August 1764 – 5 September 1838) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer, who worked in a close partnership with Pierre François Léonard Fontaine, originally his friend from student days. For ...

and . He won the Prix de Rome in 1819, with his design for a memorial cemetery. While in Rome, he made a study of the

Basilica Ulpia The Basilica Ulpia was an ancient Roman civic building located in the Forum of Trajan. The Basilica Ulpia separates the temple from the main courtyard in the Forum of Trajan with the Trajan's Column to the northwest. It was named after Roman emp ...

, which was being excavated. Upon returning to Paris in 1826, he was engaged to build a parish church in Vincennes, which kept him occupied until 1830. When the

Comte de Rambuteau Claude-Philibert Barthelot, comte de Rambuteau () (Mâcon, 9 November 1781 – Château de Rambuteau, 11 April 1869) was a French senior official of the first half of the 19th century. He was Préfet of the former Départment of the Seine, w ...

became

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the Département de la Seine in 1833, he reconsidered a plan to expand the Paris City Hall, proposed by

Étienne-Hippolyte Godde Étienne-Hippolyte Godde (26 December 1781 – 1869) was a French neoclassic architect. Born in Breteuil, Oise, educated at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and Architect of the City of Paris from 1813 to 1830, Godde designed ...

, which had been rejected by his predecessor, due to lack of funds. He eventually called on Godde and Lesueur to develop new plans. Their proposal was approved by the Ministry of the Interior in 1836, and construction began the following year. Work was halted by the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, but resumed after the proclamation of the Second Republic. The final decorative work was done between 1854 and 1866. It was destroyed only a few years later, in 1871, during the Commune. During this time, in 1842, the city of

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

bought the seventeenth-century Hôtel de la Rochefoucault, to make it the Town Hall. The project was designed by Lesueur and a local architect named Adam. Four years later, his manuscript ''Chronologie des rois d'Égypte'' (Chronology of the Kings of Egypt), received an award from the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and was printed by the French government. In 1848, after the Revolution, he was appointed to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, where he took Seat #2 for architecture; succeeding

Antoine Vaudoyer Antoine-Laurent-Thomas Vaudoyer (21 December 1756, Paris - 27 May 1846, Paris) was a French architect. He was married to Alexandrine-Julie Lagrenée, daughter of the painter, Louis Jean François Lagrenée. Their son, Léon Vaudoyer, Léon, was a ...

(deceased). Following the death of

Abel Blouet Guillaume-Abel Blouet (6 October 1795 – 7 May 1853) was a French architect who specialised in prison design. Biography Blouet was born at Passy. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1821 at the École des Beaux-Arts, entitling him to five years' ...

, in 1852, he was named Professor of Theory at the École, and a member of the jury. He also served as an architectural curator for the City of Paris. At the request of , first President of the , Lesueur designed a new building for the Geneva Music Conservatory. Construction began in 1856 and was completed in 1858. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1861, and was made an Officer of the

Legion of Honor 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 ...

in 1870. During his later years, he published two works, ''La basilique Ulpienne (Rome) Restauration exécutée en 1823'' (1877), and ''Histoire et théorie de l'architecture'' (1879).Listings
@ the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

References

* Gustave Vapereau, ''Dictionnaire universel des contemporains, contenant toutes les personnes notables de la France et des pays étrangers....'', Vol. II. I-Z, Hachette Livre, 1858

External links

Biographical notes and references
from the Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifiques @ La France Savante {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesueur, Jean-Baptiste 1794 births 1883 deaths French architects Academic staff of the École des Beaux-Arts Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Yvelines Members of the Académie des beaux-arts