Louis Tullius Joachim Visconti (

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

February 11, 1791 – December 29, 1853) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-born French

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

Life

Paris - Dôme des Invalides - Tombeau de Napoléon - 002

Son of the Italian archaeologist and art historian Ennio Quirino Visconti, Visconti designed many Parisian residences, public buildings and squares, including the

Place Saint Sulpice Place Saint Sulpice is a large public square, dominated on its eastern side by the Church of Saint-Sulpice. It was built in 1754 as a tranquil garden in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Features In addition to the church, ...

and the overall design of the

Fontaine Molière The Fontaine Molière is a fountain in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, at the junction of rue Molière and rue de Richelieu. Its site was occupied by a fountain known as the ''fontaine Richelieu'' until 1838, when it was demolished due to interfe ...

, and was briefly the official architect for 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 ...

under

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. He is probably most famed for designing the 1842 tomb of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

at Les Invalides. His students include Joseph Poelaert, designer of the Palais de justice de Bruxelles. Louis Visconti came from a famous family of archaeologists - his grandfather Giambattista Antonio Visconti (1722–1784) had founded the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

and his father, Ennio Quirino Visconti (1751–1818), was a curator. Ennio and his family moved to Paris in 1798 and were naturalised as French citizens in 1799, with Ennio becoming a curator of antiquities and paintings at the

Musée du 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 ...

. Between 1808 and 1817 Louis studied at Paris's

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 centur ...

under Charles Percier. He also studied under the painter François-André Vincent. After winning second prize in the architecture section 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 ...

(1814) and the architecture department prize at the École des Beaux-Arts (1817), he was made architecte-voyer to the 3rd and 8th arrondissements of Paris in 1826, curator of the 8th section of public monuments in Paris (made up of the Bibliothèque royale, the monument on place des Victoires,

Porte Saint-Martin The Porte Saint-Martin ( en, St. Martin Gate) is a Parisian monument located at the site of one of the gates of the now-destroyed fortifications of Paris. It is located at the crossing of Rue Saint-Martin, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin and the '' g ...

, Saint-Denis and the colonne Vendôme) in 1832, divisional architect in 1848, and government architect in 1849. In the meantime, in 1840, he designed Paris's decorations for the return of Napoleon's remains and Napoleon's tomb at the

Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

The grave of Louis Visconti in Pere la Chaise Cemetery in Paris

Collaborating with Émile Trélat in the works to rebuild the Bibliothèque royale du Louvre in May 1848, he produced a first-draft design for completing the

Palais du Louvre The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and the ...

. He was made architect to the palais des Tuileries on 7 July 1852 and architect to Napoléon III on 16 February 1853, and was put in charge of connecting the Palais du Louvre and the

Palais des Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, ...

, a project known as Nouveau Louvre and only completed later by Hector-Martin Lefuel. He was also made president of the Société Centrale des Architectes in 1852. Visconti died of a heart attack in 1853, the year of his election to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. He is buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with a full size reclining figure of himself on the tomb.

Major works

* Hôtel de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, also known as Mle Mars, 1 rue de la Tour-des-Dames, 1821. * Aménagements de l'hôtel de Charost, 39 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 1825. * Fontaine Gaillon, place Gaillon, Paris, 1824-1828. * Agrandissement du

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

, 1834. * Immeuble Farine, 104 rue de Richelieu, 1834. * Château du Grand-Bury, 1834. * Fontaine Louvois, Paris, 1835-1839. * Hôtel de Pontalba, 41 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 1839. * Hôtel Collot, 25 quai Anatole-France, Paris, 1840, neoclassical style * Hôtel Visconti, 3 rue Fortin, 1840. * Fontaine Molière, 37 rue de Richelieu, Paris, 1841-1843. * Fontaine de la place Saint-Sulpice, Paris, 1842-1848. * Hôtel de La Tour du Pin, 25 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, 1844. * Château de Lissy,

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

, 1844. * Hôtel Rigaud, 10 rue Mogador, 1845. * Agrandissement du ministère de l'Intérieur, rue de Grenelle, with Moreau, 1846. * Extension du ministère des Finances, 1846. * Hôtel de La Vaupalière, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, rebuilding (undated)

Sources

* A Dictionary of Architecture and Building, Biographical, Historical, and Descriptive, Russell Sturgis editor, 1901 * Françoise Hamon and Charles MacCallum, ''Louis Visconti. 1791-1853'', Paris, Délégation à l'Action Artistique de la Ville de Paris, 1991 – .

External links

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Page on base Structurae
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on a site about rue Visconti, Paris {{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Joachim 19th-century French architects 1791 births 1853 deaths Architects from Rome Italian emigrants to France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Members of the Académie des beaux-arts Prix de Rome for architecture Members of the Académie d'architecture Officiers of the Légion d'honneur People associated with the Louvre