Jean Tijou () was a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

ironworker. He is known solely through his work in England, where he worked on several of the key

English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...

buildings. Very little is known of his biography. He arrived in England in c. 1689 and enjoyed the patronage of William III and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

where he was titled as England's Best Wrought-iron Designer. He was employed at St Paul's for twenty years. Not only did he work for royal destinations, but he also worked for estates and other private homes located on the countryside. He left England for the continent c. 1712. He was father-in-law to the painter of decorative schemes

Louis Laguerre Louis Laguerre (1663 – 20 April 1721) was a French decorative painter mainly working in England. Born in Versailles in 1663 and trained at the Paris Academy under Charles Le Brun, he came to England in 1683, where he first worked with Anton ...

who married in

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

in London. Tijou had a wife named Ann Tijou as well as a daughter. She was married in the church of St. Martin's. Both wife and daughter were buried there as well. Little else is known of Jean Tijou or his training other than that he was a master metalworker.

Works

His major commissions include gates and railings for

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

, where he worked between 1689 and 1700; he was paid £2,160 2s 0.25d for the wrought iron screens at the river end of the "Privy Garden" at Hampton Court. He also is known to have worked at

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

. He produced the screens and grilles of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

for Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

. Tijou's work shown at St. Paul's Cathedral is different from his usual work because it does not contain the repoussé trademark he is known for. Instead it focuses on scrollwork and harmony to the building rather than setting the gate as emphasis no matter the architecture attached to it. He also worked at country houses such as

Easton Neston Easton Neston is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...

, Burghley and Chatsworth. At Chatsworth his surviving works include the balustrade of the upper flight of the grand staircase and the set of gates known as the Golden Gates, which were moved to their present location at the north entrance to the park in the 19th century. Tijou elevated blacksmithing to an art with his lavish

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

sheet metal overlay on iron structures. To achieve this style of artistry, sheet metal is hammered from the rear of the plate to create form and then used to cover fire welds on foundational iron structures such as gates, hinges, fence work or wall deco pieces. Tijou used wrought iron because of the workability it provided. He was able to use charcoal wrought iron in sheets for his portion of repoussé work. The use of wrought iron allowed Tijou to work in more three dimensionality than seen before in other iron work. Many works by Tijou were

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

. It is possible that a portrait of Jean Tijou appears at the bottom of the title page of a book entitled ''A New Book of Drawings Invented and Designed icby John Tijou'', in 1693. The plates were engraved by

Michiel van der Gucht Michael Vandergucht or Michiel van der Gucht (c. 1660 – 16 October 1725) was a Flemish engraver and painter who worked for most of his career in England.Chirk Castle Chirk Castle ( cy, Castell y Waun) is a Grade I listed castle located in Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. History The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk, uncle of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March as part of King Edward ...

located near Llangollen (1719). While the original cast iron gates at St. Paul's Cathedral were not approved (removed in 1714), they provided one of the earliest examples of decorative cast iron work. These gates inspired the creativity of decoration on cast iron to be explored during the golden age. Jean Tijou's use of cast iron shows his in depth understanding for the use of materials.

Gallery

File:Gates to Kensington Palace (24156107225).jpg, Golden Gates, Kensington Palace, late 17th century, attributed to Tijou File:Gilded Coats of Arms at Hampton Court Palace - panoramio.jpg, View from the outside of screens at Hampton Court Palace, c. 1700 File:Hampton Court Avri 2009 59.jpg, Hampton Court Palace, screen representing Scotland, c. 1700 File:Hampton Court Avri 2009 60.jpg, Hampton Court Palace, screen representing Ireland, c. 1700 File:Hampton Court Avri 2009 58.jpg, Hampton Court Palace, screen File:St Paul's Cathedral Northern Tijou Gates, London, UK - Diliff.jpg, Gates in St Paul's Cathedral, London File:Vue extérieure de Burghley House Stamford UK avril2017 Lamiot 10.jpg, Burghley House, entrance, with Tijou's Golden Gates at the base File:Statue at Burghley House.jpg, Burghley House, with Tijou's Golden Gates in background File:Staircase Hampton Court Palace.jpg, Balustrade of King's Staircase, Hampton Court Palace, c. 1695

References

Bibliography

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External links

An illustrated page about Tijou's work at St Paul's Cathedral
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tijou, Jean Huguenots 17th-century French people 18th-century French people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Blacksmiths British blacksmiths French metalsmiths French expatriates in England