Louis Delacenserie (1838–1909) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

architect from

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. The spelling of his name differs greatly; De la Censerie, Delasencerie, Dela Censerie or Dela Sencerie are the most common alternative forms. His father was a merchant and building contractor from

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

. Delacenserie studied architecture at the Académie of his native city under Jean-Brunon Rudd (1792–1870). He was a laureate of 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 ...

in 1862. This prize enabled him to travel to Paris, Italy and Greece where he could admire masterpieces of antique architecture. After his studies he worked for a while in the office of

Louis Roelandt Louis Roelandt or ''Lodewijk Joseph Adriaan Roelandt'' with his full Dutch name, was a Belgian architect that played an important role in the evolution of Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Classical architecture in Belgium. During the period that Belg ...

, architect to the city of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

who worked in the Neo-Classical style. In his early career Delacenserie adopted the Neo-Classical style of his teachers. After he was appointed architect to the city of Bruges he became involved in the Belgian

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

movement. He led many "restorations" of the rich Gothic architectural heritage of his native city. This made him familiar with the Gothic brick and sandstone architecture of medieval

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. Thanks to his profound knowledge of medieval architecture he was able to imitate this historic style in all its details although he often used new construction techniques and materials in his own original creations. At the pinnacle of his career Delacenserie made the designs for the

central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. In this design he made use of a rather eclectic

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style that refers to the economic and artistic prime of the city in the 16th century. Some aspects of this edifice, like the use of colours and materials, were clearly influenced by

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

architecture.

Works

Some restoration projects in

: *Basilica of the Holy Blood (1870–77) *Tolhuis (1879) *Hof van Gruuthuse ( Gruuthusemuseum) (1883–95) (east and south wings) *Town hall and

Belfry of Bruges The Belfry of Bruges ( nl, Belfort van Brugge) is a medieval bell tower in the centre of Bruges, Belgium. One of the city's most prominent symbols, the belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation po ...

(1894–95 and 1903–04) *Sashuis (1895–97) *Poortersloge (1899–1903) *West front of the Church of Our Lady (1905–09). Some of his new original projects: *City hall of

Diksmuide (; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, N ...

(1877–1900) * Castle Bloemendale, Beernem (1878) *Palace of the Provincial Council ( Provinciaal Hof) in Bruges. *School (Normaalschool) in Bruges (1880–83) *Nieuw Sint-Janshospitaal (New Saint-Johns Hospital) in Bruges. *

Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk (Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul), the main church of Ostend, Belgium, is a Roman Catholic Neo-Gothic church. It is built on the ashes of a previous church that occupied the site. King Leopold II enthusiastically su ...

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

(1899–1905). *Post Office in Bruges. (1901–05) * Central station of Antwerp (1895–1905) *Belgian legation building in

Beijing Legation Quarter The Peking Legation Quarter was the area in Peking (Beijing), China where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In the Chinese language, the area is known as ''Dong Jiaomin Xiang'' (), which is the name of the ''huto ...

(1902)
Image:Antwerpen-central-station.jpg, Arrival at Antwerp Central Station Image:Brugge Provinciaal Hof.JPG, " Provinciaal Hof" (Provincial Court) in Bruges Image:PPkerk(01).jpg,

References

*Inge Van Oyen, ''De neogotische architectuur te Brugge, in Vlaams en Europees perspectief, met als belangrijkste Brugse architect Louis Delacenserie (1838–1909)'', Unpublished Masters Thesis,

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

, 1985.

External links

Buildings of Louis Delacenserie on www.belgiumview.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delacenserie, Louis Artists from Bruges 1838 births 1909 deaths Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners