Occupation Architect Role Architect Children Jacques Gabriel | Name Ange-Jacques Gabriel Parents Jacques Gabriel | |
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Born October 23, 1698 Paris, France Died January 4, 1782, Paris, France Structures Palace of Versailles, Petit Trianon, Hotel de Crillon, Place de la Bourse, Hotel de la Marine Similar People Jacques Gabriel, Louis‑Francois Trouard, Jean‑Rodolphe Perronet, Mutaib bin Abdullah | ||
Ange-Jacques Gabriel (23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the most prominent French architect of his generation.
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Early life
Ange-Jacques Gabriel was born on October 23, 1698 to a Parisian family of architects. He was initially trained by the royal architect Robert de Cotte and his father Jacques Gabriel (who died in 1742), whom he assisted in the creation of the Place Royale (now Place de la Bourse) in Bordeaux (completed in 1735).
Career
He was made a member of the Academie royale d'architecture in 1728. He was the principal assistant to his father as Premier Architecte at Versailles from 1735 and succeeded him in the position in 1742, essentially making him the premier architect of France, a role he retained for most of the reign of Louis XV.
Gabriel's symmetrical palace-like facades for the hotels particuliers that enclose the north side of the Place Louis XV (Place de la Concorde), Paris, were begun in 1754 and completed in 1763. That on the right housed the storerooms for the royal furnishings (mobilier de la couronne), with luxurious apartments for the intendant; it has housed the naval ministry since the court returned from Versailles in 1789.
His sober rationality in planning and detail promoted the transition from Rococo to Neoclassicism. For forty years, Gabriel supplied all designs not only for exterior construction (the "Gabriel Wing" at Versailles was named for him in modern times) and also for the constant remodeling of interiors at Versailles. His Petit Trianon at Versailles (illustration) is one of the gems of French Classicism.
Death
He died in Paris in 1782.
Major works
