| Louis-Jean Desprez
in France |
11/2006 |
Desprez
in France (1755-1777)
The
Young Desprez's
Years of Apprenticeship
seen
against the background
of
the wealth of architecture
in
France
during
the eighteenth century
Gilbert
Blin & Rémy-Michel Trotier
-
Extract -
Louis-Jean
Desprez was born in France in 1743, and died in Sweden two
hundred years ago. Gustaf III brought him from Italy to the
Swedish court, where he gave him responsibility for the design
of scenery for festivities and plays. This French artist’s
extensive work during his years in Sweden are, then, mainly
documented in relation to his assignments as a stage designer,
while his work as an architect – at Drottningholm and Haga,
and in Uppsala – is less well understood. Biographies of
Desprez maintain, however, that up to 1777, he studied
architecture at an academic level during his years of training
in France. On the other hand, while his mature period as a stage
designer is well documented, mainly thanks to his projects for
Drottningholms Slottsteater, people are not particularly
acquainted with his years of apprenticeship in the theatrical
world. With this double perspective in mind, our newly
undertaken researches have led us to scrutinise a number of
neglected sources. The impulses Desprez derived from his long
stay in Italy are undisputed, but the years of his youth in
Paris, the apprenticeship years in the theatre which to a great
extent were combined with architectural studies, were certainly
equally decisive for his artistic development. [...]
|
Groupe de
soutien
