Nicolas Delespine (1642 in Paris – December 1729 in Paris) was a French master mason, entrepreneur and architect. He belonged to a dynasty of Parisian master masons.

Biography

The dynasty of Parisian master masons and contractors was established by Simon Delespine (around 1600-1675), adviser to the king, general master of his buildings and of the French bridges and roads. The genealogy of the architects Delespine was studied by Mireille Rambaud. Their family tree is given in "Documents du minutier central concernant l'histoire de l'art", volume II, 1971, published by the Archives Nationales. Several members of the family have the same first names - Alexandre, Nicolas, Pierre, Jules - and they should not be misidentified. Nicolas II Delespine is often mistaken with his cousin, Nicolas I Delespine, son of Simon Delespine, or with Pierre-Nicolas Delespine, son of Nicolas I Delespine. In 1676 he was one of the contractors carrying out the works of modernization of the judicial premises of the

Grand Châtelet The Grand Châtelet was a stronghold in Ancien Régime Paris, on the right bank of the Seine, on the site of what is now the Place du Châtelet; it contained a court and police headquarters and a number of prisons. The original building on the s ...

conceived by

Libéral Bruant Libéral Bruant (''ca'' 1635 – Paris, 22 November 1697), was a French architect best known as the designer of the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris, which is now dominated by the dome erected by Jules Hardouin Mansart, his collaborator in earlier st ...

. In the same year he built a pavilion in the

Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés The ''Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés'' was an institution of Paris established to take care of abandoned children. It was founded by Vincent de Paul in 1638. See also * Child abandonment * Foundling hospital The Foundling Hospital in Lo ...

for Aligre's chancellor, Élisabeth Lhuillier, in the

Faubourg Saint-Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Saint-Ant ...

. For this person he built the Chapel of Mercy in this hospital. Delespine has distinguished himself more as an expert juror than as a builder. In July 1690 he bought an office as an expert bourgeois architect which he kept until his death. He appears on the list of 25 expert sworn architects whose offices were created by the edicts of May and December 1690, or "Édits de création des Experts" and published in the

Royal Almanac The Royal Almanac is a French administrative directory founded in 1683 by the bookseller Laurent d'Houry, which appeared under this title from 1700 to 1792, and under other titles until 1919. He presented each year in the official order of prece ...

from 1701. In 1702, Delespine

tendered Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or servi ...

the works of

Jules Hardouin-Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand T ...

place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is ...

. He visited the rotunda of Valois in the

abbey of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

with

Jean Beausire Jean Beausire (26 February 1651 - 20 March 1743) was an architect, engineer and fountain-maker and the chief of public works in Paris for King Louis XIV of France and King Louis XV of France between 1684 and 1740, and was the architect of all t ...

and concluded to the need to demolish it. In 1702 and 1704, he made with Lemaistre the expertise of the building of the Hotel des mousquetaires noirs erected by

and Charles Lemaire, in the

faubourg Saint-Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Saint-Ant ...

. He erected houses in the rue Sainte-Anne, , , rue des Moulins. In the ''Procès-verbaux de l'Académie royale d'architecture'',

Henry Lemonnier Joseph Henri Lemonnier (8 August 1842, Saint-Prix, Val-d'Oise, Saint-Prix - 17 May 1936, Paris) was a French art historian; the first to hold the chair of art history at the University of Paris, Sorbonne. Biography His father was André-Hipp ...

distingues two Delespine, father and son, members of the

Académie royale d'architecture The Académie Royale d'Architecture (; en, "Royal Academy of Architecture") was a French learned society founded in 1671. It had a leading role in influencing architectural theory and education, not only in France, but throughout Europe and th ...

. This distinction between two Delespine comes from the fact that this name appears both in the first and second classes without chronological logic. Before the reform of the Academy imposed by the

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

of April 1717, the organization of the Academy allowed non-members to participate in meetings of the Academy and to sign the minutes. A Delespine is a member of the 2nd class of the academy in 1699. Nicolas II Delespine was appointed member of the 1st class of the Academy of Architecture by increasing the number of architects of the 1st class, in 1706 at the same time as

and

Pierre Cailleteau Pierre Cailleteau (1655–1724), called Lassurance, was a French architect.Neuman 1996. He is not to be confused with his son Jean Cailleteau, also known as Lassurance, or Lassurance le Jeune to distinguish him from his father. Biography: He was ...

called "Lassurance". He signed the minutes of 1717. He was listed as a 2nd class architect in 1718. He was presented to be appointed architect of the 1st class on 4 March 1720 but was not chosen by the king. His death was announced during the session of the Academy of Architecture on 5 December 1729.Henry Lemonnier, ''Procès-verbaux de l'Académie Royale d'Architecture, 1671-1793'', volume V ''1727-1743'', , Édouard Champion, Paris, 191
Read online
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Henry Lemonnier, W. Viennot, ''Procès-verbaux de l'Académie royale d'architecture'', tome X, ''Table générale'', , Librairie Armand Colin, Paris,
Read online
* Mireille Rambaud, ''Une famille d'architectes : Les Delespine'', , Archives de l'art français, Nouvelle période, tome XXIII, 1968 * , ''Les architectes parisiens. Dictionnaire biographique et critique'', , éditions Mengès, Paris, 1995 * Henry Jouin, ''Notes sur divers artistes des deux derniers siècles. Contrat de mariage de Pierre de L'Espine et de Pierrette Hardouin'', , Revue de l'art français ancien et moderne, 189
Read online
* ''La grande encyclopédie : inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts'', volume 13, ''Cotesbach-Dellden'', , H. Lamirault et Cie éditeurs, Pari
Read online

External links

Archives nationales : Inventaire après décès de (Pierre)-Nicolas Delespine, architecte juré expert, dressé en sa demeure, rue de Cléry, et dans sa maison de Croissy près de Chatou, à la requête de Pierre Delespine, contrôleur des bâtiments du roi, demeurant ordinairement à la machine de Marly, et de Marie-Anne-Françoise Gabriel, femme de Jean-Baptiste Dulac, écuyer, sieur de Besse, demeurant rue de Cléry, dans la maison du défunt, (par représentation de défunte Marie-Anne Delespine, sa mère, femme de Jacques Gabriel, écuyer, contrôleur des bâtiments du roi), héritiers de Nicolas Delespine et de défunte Judith Fresseins, leurs parents et grands-parents (20 December 1729)

Archives nationales : Mireille Rambaud, Documents du minutier central concernant l'histoire de l'art, volume I, 1964

Archives nationales : Mireille Rambaud, Documents du minutier central concernant l'histoire de l'art, volume II, 1971
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delespine, Nicolas II 17th-century French architects 18th-century French architects Members of the Académie royale d'architecture Architects from Paris 1642 births 1729 deaths