Tilman-François Suys (in French) or Tieleman Frans Suys (in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

) (1 July 1783 – 22 July 1864) was a Belgian architect who also worked in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Biography

Suys completed his architectural education in

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 ...

, where he studied under Charles Percier and won 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 1812. During his stay in Rome he became a protégé of King

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who we ...

the new king of the Belgian and Dutch provinces unified in the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

. In 1817 he settled in Amsterdam and worked as an architect for the Dutch Crown. In this period his style shows the marks of the

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

created for

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 ...

by his teacher Charles Percier and

Pierre François Léonard Fontaine Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. From 1825 onwards, Suys was employed on a series of royal commissions in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, a city that, together with

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in the province of Holland, had been given the title of capital of the new established kingdom. His projects in Brussels were more severely neoclassical in character. Important creations in Brussels include the great conservatory of the

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, which is noted for its innovative use of iron and glass construction, as well as the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. After the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

, which established Belgium's independence from the Netherlands, Suys remained in Brussels. He devoted himself mainly to the restoration of the new nation's historic monuments. Some of these projects, especially his

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 ...

restorations, were not historically accurate, and were later harshly criticized. His renovation (started in 1832) of the medieval Bouchout Castle at

Meise Meise () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Meise proper and Wolvertem (a ''deelgemeente''), and, several smaller villages like Sint-Brixius-Rode, Oppem, Meusegem, Impde/I ...

, near Brussels, included not only Gothic Revival additions but also the earliest example of

Flemish Renaissance Revival Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

interior architecture in Belgium. Suys was also engaged in urban-scale projects, notably the project for the

Leopold Quarter The Leopold Quarter (french: Quartier Léopold, Dutch: ) is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today, the term is sometimes confused with the European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union (EU) an ...

, commissioned to him in the 1830s and carried out in the following years. Eventually Suys continued to design other buildings in the new quarter designed by him. An example of such monumental buildings he designed later in his career is the Italianate Saint Joseph's Church (1842–1849) on the /. Suys continued to carry out commissions in the Netherlands after the revolution such as the Roman Catholic, Mozes and Aaron Church in Amsterdam, built between 1831 and 1847. From 1835 to 1861 Suys was a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he taught almost every important Belgian architect of the younger generation such as

Hendrik Beyaert Hendrik Beyaert (Dutch) or Henri Beyaert ( French) (29 July 1823 – 22 January 1894) was a Belgian architect. He is considered one of the most important Belgian architects of the 19th century. Biography Beyaert was of very humble descen ...

Joseph Poelaert Joseph Poelaert (21 March 1817 – 3 November 1879) was a Belgian architect. 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 Royal Theatre of la ...

and Alphonse Balat. Through his teaching he deeply influenced later Belgian architecture in both the Neo-classical and the eclectic or revivalist styles. Tilman-François Suys was the father and teacher of Léon-Pierre Suys who would also play an important role as an architect and urban planner in 19th-century Belgium.

List of works

Churches: * Reconstruction (after a fire) of the "

Ronde Lutherse Kerk The Ronde Lutherse Kerk (''round Lutheran church'') or Koepelkerk (''cupola church'') is a former Lutheran church in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on the Singel canal. The church can be easily seen from the Singel, identified by its copper dome. Histor ...

" in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(in collaboration with Jan de Greef, 1822-1826) * ''Sint-Anthoniuskerk'' ( St. Anthony's Catholic Church, better known as the

Mozes en Aäronkerk The Moses and Aaron Church ( nl, Mozes en Aäronkerk, ), in the Waterlooplein neighborhood of Amsterdam, is officially the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua ( nl, Sint-Anthoniuskerk). Originally a clandestine church, it was operated ...

), in Amsterdam (1837–1841) * ''Groenmarktkerk'' (Green Market Church) in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

(1843–1844) * ''Sint-Joriskerk'' (Saint-George), in

style, in

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,

(1847–1850) * Saint Joseph's Church in Brussels, / (1842–1849) * Saint-Martin, in

style, in

Jemeppe-sur-Sambre Jemeppe-sur-Sambre (; wa, Djimepe-so-Sambe) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006, the municipality had 17,990 inhabitants. The total area is , giving a population density of 384 inhabitants ...

(1842) File:Mozes en Aaronkerk 1.jpg, Mozes and Aaron Church in Amsterdam File:Brussel-Sint-Jozefkerk.jpg, Saint Joseph's Church in Brussels Public buildings: * Great conservatory of the

in Brussels (1829–1834) *

in Brussels (1820–1829) *

Academy Palace The Academy Palace or Palace of the Academies (french: Palais des Académies, nl, Paleis der Academiën) is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally built between 1823 and 1828 for Prince William II of Orange. Today, it ...

in Brussels, formerly the palace of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

. Completion of the designs of Charles Vander Straeten. File:Botanical Garden of Brussels during golden hour (DSCF8171).jpg, Great conservatory of the

in Brussels File:Royal Palace of Brussels Old Facade.jpg, Former façade of the

in Brussels File:Brussels after the attacks (19).jpg,

in Brussels Urban design: * Project of the new

in Brussels, (1830–) Private buildings: * Château Waroquée, ( Castle of Mariemont), in

Morlanwelz Morlanwelz (; wa, Marlanwé) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Morlanwelz had a total population of 18,595. The total area is 20.26 km2 which gives a population density of 918 inhab ...

, (1830–1836) (destroyed by fire in 1960) * Bouchout Castle in

(restoration and rebuilding in Gothic Revival), (1832–) *

Egmont Palace The Egmont Palace (french: Palais d'Egmont, nl, Egmontpaleis), also sometimes known as the Arenberg Palace (french: Palais d'Arenberg, link=no, nl, Arenbergpaleis, link=no), is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally bu ...

in Brussels, (extension of left wing), (1830–) File:Meise JPG01.jpg, Bouchout Castle in

File:Bruxelles Palais d'Egmont 802.jpg,

in Brussels Other: * Tomb for the soprano

Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...

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' ...

File:Tombe de la Malibran.JPG, Tomb of

External links

Buildings of T.-F. Suys on www.belgiumview.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suys, Tilman-Francois 1783 births 1864 deaths Flemish architects 19th-century Belgian architects Prix de Rome for architecture People from Ostend Belgian neoclassical architects Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium