Joseph Poelaert (21 March 1817 – 3 November 1879) was a Belgian

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 ...

. He was entrusted with important projects in Brussels, such as Saint Catherine's Church, the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the

Congress Column The Congress Column (french: Colonne du Congrès, nl, Congreskolom) is a monumental column in Brussels, Belgium, commemorating the creation of the Belgian Constitution by the National Congress of 1830–31. Inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome ...

, the Royal Theatre of la Monnaie and above all, the Palace of Justice. He was also the great-uncle of the architect

Henri Van Dievoet Henri van Dievoet (, 19 January 1869 – 24 April 1931) was a Belgian architect. Biography Early life Van Dievoet was born into an old family of Brussels descended from the Sweerts lineage, one of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels, which ...

Life

Early life

Joseph Poelaert was born in Brussels on 21 March 1817. His father was Philip Poelaert (1790–1875), a former architecture student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. The young Poelaert also trained there under Tilman-François Suys, and then in Paris under

Louis Visconti Louis Tullius Joachim Visconti (Rome February 11, 1791 – December 29, 1853) was an Italian-born French architect and designer. Life Son of the Italian archaeologist and art historian Ennio Quirino Visconti, Visconti designed many Pari ...

and Jean-Nicolas Huyot. He first came to attention with his winning competition entry for the

in 1849. He was made city architect of Brussels in 1856.

Palace of Justice

Poelaert's most significant commission was the colossal Palace of Justice of Brussels, the largest single building constructed in the 19th century and even copied in smaller scale at the Palace of Justice in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, Peru. For the Palace of Justice's construction, a section of the Marolles/Marollen neighbourhood was demolished. Poelaert himself resided in the Marolles, only a few hundred metres from the building, on the /, in a house adjoining his vast offices and workshops and communicating with them. It is thus unlikely he saw himself as ruining the neighbourhood. Nonetheless, many angry citizens personally blamed Poelaert for the forced relocations, and the expression ''schieven architect'' (meaning "shameful architect") became one of the most serious insults in the dialect of the Marolles.

Later life and death

Poelaert retired in 1874 to his villa at the Grande Grille, on 363, /, in the then-rural village of

Laeken () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the ...

. He died on 3 November 1879https://europe-diplomatic.eu/politics/history/a-palace-for-justice-a-never-ending-belgian-story/ and was buried in

Laeken Cemetery Laeken Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Laeken, nl, Begraafplaats van Laken) in Brussels, Belgium, is the city's oldest cemetery still in function and the resting place of the Belgian Royal Family. It is known as the ''Belgian Père Lachaise' ...

under a miniature version of his Palace of Justice.

Works

, Brussels, 1850–1859 * Saint Catherine's Church, Brussels, 1854–1874 * Church of Our Lady of Laeken, Brussels, site of the Royal Crypt of the Belgian Royal Family, begun in 1854, consecrated in 1872, completed in 1909 * Restoration of the Royal Theatre of la Monnaie, Brussels, after the fire of 1855 * Palace of Justice, Brussels, 1866–1883 File:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Brussels - DSC06939.jpg, Pedestal of the

, Brussels File:Théâtre de la Monnaie 1.JPG, Royal Theatre of la Monnaie, Brussels File:Palais de Justice from Hilton.jpg, Palace of Justice, Brussels File:Palais de Justice 1001.jpg, Bust of Poelaert at the Palace of Justice File:Tombe de Joseph Poelaert.JPG, Poelaert's tomb in

, Brussels File:Blason de la famille Poelaert (Bruxelles).svg, Coat of arms of the Poelaert family

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poelaert, Joseph Architects from Brussels 1817 births 1879 deaths Burials at Laeken Cemetery Belgian neoclassical architects Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century Belgian architects Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni