Léon Dufourny (5 March 1754,

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 ...

– 16 November 1818, Paris) was a French Neoclassical architect.

Biography

His father, Jean-Baptiste, was a wealthy textile merchant. His older brother, , was originally involved in the family business, but later became a revolutionary. He studied architecture with

Julien-David Le Roy French engraver Julien-David Le Roy or Leroy (; 6 May 1724 in Paris – 28 January 1803 in Paris) was an 18th-century French architect and archaeologist, who engaged in a rivalry with Britons James Stuart and Nicholas Revett over who woul ...

. In 1782, attracted by

classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

, he went to Italy to study the ancient monuments. After travelling throughout Northern Italy, he spent some time in Rome. Léon Dufourny

From 1788 to 1793, he lived in Sicily, as a guest of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. In

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, he studied the reliefs at the

Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena The Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in Catania, Sicily is a former Benedictine monastery, located on Piazza Dante 30 in the city of Catania, region of Sicily, Italy. After the Mafra, this abbey is the second largest Benedictine monastery in Eur ...

. Arriving in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

in 1789, he immediately sought to make connections with the intelligentsia there. Soon, the Viceroy of Sicily,

Francesco d'Aquino, Prince of Caramanico Francesco Maria Venanzio d'Aquino, prince of Caramanico (27 February 1738, Naples - 9 January 1795, Palermo) was ambassador to London and Paris for the Kingdom of Naples and later viceroy of Sicily. Life Family He was the son of prince Antoni ...

, was entrusting him with important commissions. This enabled him to introduce Neoclassical styles to an area that was dominated by the

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 ...

. Of particular note is the "Entrance Temple" for the new Botanical Gardens. It was the first building in Sicily in the Doric style, and began a trend. In 1793, he was forced to leave Sicily and sail for

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, due to a state of hostility between the Kingdom of Naples and France. After travelling a bit more, he returned to Paris in 1795. The following year, he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, where he took Seat #3 for architecture, succeeding

Pierre-Adrien Pâris Pierre-Adrien Pâris (1745 - 1 August 1819) was a French architect, painter and designer. Biography Pâris was born at Besançon, the son of an architect and official surveyor at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. He went to Paris to stu ...

, who had resigned. He was also appointed Chairman of the Funds Commission, and served on the Administrative Commission of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

. He would return to Italy in 1801, as a Commissioner for the First Republic, to acquire art objects; including a copy of the Athena of Velletri, and items from the sculpture collection at the

Palazzo Giustiniani Palazzo Giustiniani may refer to: * Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, palace in Rome, Italy * Palazzo Giustiniani Businello The Palazzo Giustiniani Businello is Gothic-style palace located on the Grand Canal, in the Sestiere of San Polo, adjacent to the ...

. He was also an avid private collector of paintings and prints, but above all of antiquities, such as architectural elements and fragments, which he later used in his capacity as a teacher at the Académie. As a conservator at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, he helped organize their collection. Following the death of his teacher, Le Roy, in 1803, he took his place as a Professor of Theory at 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 ...

. His private collections, originally donated to the École, are now in the Louvre. He planned to publish a comprehensive work on the ancient and modern architecture of Sicily, but it was never completed. The manuscript is in the possession of 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 ...

Sources

* ''Journal de Léon Dufourny à Palerme, 8 juillet 1789-29 septembre 1793'', translated by Raimondo A. Cannizzo as ''Diario di un giacobino a Palermo, 1789-1793'', Fondazione Lauro Chiazzese della Sicilcassa, Palermo, 1991 * Liliane Dufour, ''La Sicilia del '700 nell'opera di Léon Dufourny'', Giuseppe Pagnano (Ed.), Ediprint, 1996 * Pietro Burzotta, "Dall’Orto botanico al giardino del mondo. Le opere di Léon Dufourny in Sicilia", In: ''Lotus International'' #52, 1986, pp.112-127

External links

Brief biography
@ Istrapedia
Biographical notes
from the Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifiques @ La France Savant {{DEFAULTSORT:Dufourny, Leon 1754 births 1818 deaths French neoclassical architects French art collectors Architects from Paris Members of the Académie des beaux-arts