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Simon de la Vallée (1590–1642) was a French-Swedish architect. The first architect in Sweden to have received formal academic training, he created the Swedish school of architecture.


Biography

Born in Paris, he was the son of Marin de la Vallée (1576–1655), an architect associated with the Paris Hôtel de Ville and the
Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...
. After studying under
Salomon de Brosse Salomon de Brosse (c. 1571 – 8 December 1626) was an early 17th-century French architect who moved away from late Mannerism to reassert the French Baroque architecture, French classical style and was a major influence on François Mansart. ...
(1571–1626), he spent the next eight years on several study trips, travelling in particular to Italy, Syria, Jerusalem and Persia. After returning to Paris in 1633, he was charged by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange to undertake work on the Honselaarsdijk Palace in the Netherlands."Simon de la Vallée"
''Historiesajten.se''. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
In 1637, he was invited to Stockholm by Field Marshal Ã…ke Tott (1598-1640) on behalf of
Queen Christina of Sweden Christina (; 18 December O.S. 8 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from ...
where he first worked on Ekolsund Castle. In 1639, he was given the title of Royal Architect. His commissions included the castles of Tidö and Hässelby as well as several palaces in Stockholm. He designed the exquisite
Riddarhuset The House of Nobility () in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the knight ...
but was killed by the nobleman Erik Oxenstierna (1624-1656), a week after construction had begun. The building was completed by his son Jean de la Vallée whom he had trained as an architect. Other buildings designed by Simon de la Vallée include Axel Oxenstierna Palace, inspired by the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
palaces of
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, and the octagonal
Hedvig Eleonora Church Hedvig Eleonora Church () is a church (building), church in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Hedvig Eleonora Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden), ...
, both in Stockholm."Simon de la Vallée" from "Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscaping"
''Answers.com''. Retrieved 2 May 2012.


Family

Simon de la Vallée was married at least four times, with: *Margarethe de Villars (died 1635) with whom he had two sons, Jean (born 1624) and Henri (born 1634); *Marie le Cockaine (marriage dissolved) *Marie le Tuilliers (marriage dissolved) *Pauline de Courlas, one of Queen Christina's ladies in waiting, with whom he had a son, Gustaf de la Vallée (born 1641).


Principal works

Simon de la Vallée designed or contributed to the design of the following buildings: * Ryning Palace, Stockholm (1640-1644) *
Hedvig Eleonora Church Hedvig Eleonora Church () is a church (building), church in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Hedvig Eleonora Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden), ...
, Stockholm * Axel Oxenstierna palace, Stockholm * Ekolsund Castle *
Riddarhuset The House of Nobility () in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the knight ...
, Stockholm (1641-1674) * Hässelby Castle,
Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...
(1640s) * Tidö Castle in
Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...
* Huis ter Nieuwburg in Rijswijk,
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
* Part of Rosersberg Palace, Uppland * Renaissance additions to Örbyhus Castle, Uppland * Completes and furnishes
Huis Honselaarsdijk Huis Honselaarsdijk is a former palace and country residence of the Dutch Stadtholders and princes of Orange which lies about 2.6 km (2 mi) southwest of the border of The Hague, Netherlands. It was one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture ...
, near
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
,
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
File:Ryningska palatset.Munktorget.jpg, Ryning Palace, Stockholm File:Hedvig Eleonora kyrka västvy.jpg, Hedvig Eleonora Church, Stockholm File:Tidö slott, Västmanland.jpg, Tidö Castle, Västmanland File:Oxenstiernas platset stockholm.jpg, Oxenstierna Palace, Stockholm File:Örbyhus slott 1.jpg, Örbyhus Castle, Uppland


References


Sources

* Louis Dussieux ''Les artistes français à lʹétranger: recherches sur leurs travaux'', 1856, p. 447. * Tord Öson Nordberg, ''Marin de la Vallée'', in: ''Konsthistorisk Tidskrift'', Stockholm, volume 27, Nos 1-4, 1958. * Tord Öson Nordberg, ''De la Vallée: en arkitektfamilj i Frankrike, Holland och Sverige'', Stockholm, Almqvist & Wiksell, 1970. * Linnéa Rollenhagen Tilly, "De maître maçon à architecte: Simon et Jean de la Vallée en Suède " i Olga Medvedkova (dir.) Les Européens : ces architectes qui ont conçu l’Europe (1450-1950), Paris 2017, p. 107-127. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallee, Simon de la 1590 births 1642 deaths Swedish architects 17th-century French architects Huguenots French emigrants Immigrants to the Swedish Empire