Victor Louis

Louis -Nicolas Louis called Victor Louis (c. May 10, 1731 in Paris, † July 2, 1800 in Paris) was a French architect.

Biography

Victor Louis was the son of a master mason. At the age of 15, he entered the École royale d'Architecture, and after at least seven failed attempts, he won in 1755 in a competition a gold medal, which offered him the financial opportunity to continue his studies in Rome ( 1756-1759 ). There he met among others with the painters Jean- Honoré Fragonard and Hubert Robert together, but his main interest was the art of antiquity and the Renaissance. However, he fell out with the director Charles Joseph Natoire and was expelled from the academy and thus of royal orders. After a stay in Poland ( 1765 ), he returned to Paris, where he along with his wife, a composer and pianist, lived since the year 1770.

After his return from Rome, he had adopted the name ' Victor ' ( = ' the winner ') and received first minor orders, including the renovation of Paris ' Palais ' by Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, the great-nephew of Cardinal Richelieu. This was royal governor of the province of Guyenne, whose capital was Bordeaux. In the years 1773-1780 he drew up the plans for the famous theater of the city; whether he held the construction management, is unclear. Besides, he also took over other smaller jobs in the region; many of its buildings are now owned by wineries.

For Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Louis Victor took over construction work at the Palais Royal in Paris. In the years after the start of the French Revolution he received no more orders.

Major works

Importance

The main work of Victor Louis, the theater of Bordeaux, assures him forever a place in the architectural history of France; the triple-flight staircase in the entrance hall of the building was a model for a similar construction in the Opéra Garnier in Paris.