Jules Lavirotte

Jules Aimé Lavirotte (March 25, 1864 in Lyon – March 1, 1929 in Paris) was a French architect who is best known for the Art Nouveau buildings he created in the 7th arrondissement in Paris. His buildings were known for his imaginative and exuberant decoration, and particularly for his use of sculpture and glazed ceramic tiles on the facades, made in collaboration with leading sculptors and the ceramic manufacturer Alexandre Bigot. He was three times awarded prizes by the city of Paris for the most original facades, for the Lavirotte Building at 29 Avenue Rapp (1901), for the Ceramic hotel, 34 Avenue de Wagram (1904), and for the building at 23 avenue de Messine (8th arrondissement) in 1907.

Biography

Lavirotte was born in Lyon, and went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, where he was a pupil of Antoine Georges Louvier (1818–92). He subsequently studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under the tutelage of Paul Blondel (1847–97), and gained his architect's diploma there in 1894.

The first five buildings built by Lavirotte were all in the same part of Paris, the 7th arrondissement. Three were in close proximity to each other, at 3 Square Rapp, 29 Avenue Rapp, and 12 Rue Sedillot. The first two buildings benefited from Lavirotte's collaboration with Alexandre Bigot, a chemistry professor who imported the technology of making glazed earthenware tiles, which he had seen at the 1889 Paris Exposition. His firm provided the exterior decoration for Lavirotte's most famous buildings, as well as for works by the other prominent art nouveau architects, Three of his buildings were awarded prizes in the Paris facade competition, which gave prizes to several buildings each year; The Lavirotte Building (1901), at 29 Avenue Rapp, his most flamboyant and famous work, known for its extravagant sculpted portal; The Ceramic Hotel, 34 Avenue de Wagram, 8th arrondissement (1904), which also featured ceramic decoration by Bigot; and the building at 23 avenue de Messine in the 8th arrondissement (1906-1907). His last two major Paris buildings, next to each other at 23 Avenue de Messine and 6 rue de Messine, were in a more subdued style, with less flamboyant decoration, but with refined craftsmanship and sculptural ornament. They were his last art nouveau works.

In 1904, he traveled to Tunisia, where he designed a villa and a chateau and restored a church in the town of Chaouat. In 1906, he built an experiment in low-cost housing, a bungalow at 169 Boulevard Lefebvre in 15th arrondissement (no longer existing). In 1907, he designed the villa Dupont, located at 2 rue Balzac in Franconville, Val-d'Oise, in the Paris suburbs.

He died in 1929, and his work was largely ignored until the 1960s, when art nouveau was rediscovered. His major works were declared historic landmarks, and he was recognized, along with Hector Guimard and Henri Sauvage. as one of the major figures of the Paris art nouveau,

Notable works (1898-1899)

Istituto Statale Italiano Leonardo Da Vinci