François-Simon-Alphonse Giroux (6 April 1776,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

- 1 May 1848, Paris) was a French art restorer and

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

Life and work

He studied painting under Jacques-Louis David, and founded an art restoration business near the end of the 18th century. He was the official restorer of

Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

, and collected and exhibited art by

Louis Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( , ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photog ...

, Charles Marie Bouton, Charles Arrowsmith, Charles Renoux, and others. As well as restoring art, his business made and sold furniture in various styles for the French royal family and others.. In June 1833 Alph. Giroux & Cie. introduced the Phénakisticope in France, as one of the first companies to publish the animation device after it was more or less simultaneously invented in Belgium and Austria. The company's name for the device would end up to be the most commonly used one, soon adapted as 'phenakistiscope' in England (and later misspelled as 'phenakistoscope'). Giroux is also known for constructing the daguerreotype cameras designed by Daguerre, the first commercially manufactured photographic camera in the world. A mass-produced daugerrotype camera cabinet manufactured by Giroux, who was the brother-in-law of

, was exhibited at the 1839

Exposition des produits de l'industrie française The Exposition des produits de l'industrie française (Exhibition of Products of French Industry) was a public event organized in Paris, France, from 1798 to 1849. The purpose was "to offer a panorama of the productions of the various branches of ...

in Paris. It did not win an award, although Giroux did gain a silver medal for a jewelry box. The painter André Giroux was one of his sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giroux, Alphonse French furniture designers Conservator-restorers French artists Year of birth unknown 1848 deaths