Louis Jean Desprez (occasionally but incorrectly Jean Louis Desprez) ca 1743–18 March 1804 was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 painter and architect who worked in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 during the last twenty years of his life.

Desprez, who was born in Auxerre

Auxerre

Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...

 in Bourgogne

Bourgogne

Burgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...

, studied architecture and was awarded the Great Prize of the Académie d'architecture

Académie d'architecture

The Académie royale d'architecture was a French learned society founded on December 30, 1671 by Louis XIV, king of France under the impulsion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert...

 in 1770. He traveled frequently to Italy and was associated with Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" .-His Life:...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, when he came to the attention of Swedish King Gustavus III

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....

, who offered him a two-year contract as director of scenic decorations at the new Stockholm Opera

Royal Swedish Opera

Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...

 founded by the King two years earlier. His first task there was the decorations for the new opera Gustavus Vasa (with a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 authored by the King in collaboration with Johan Henric Kellgren

Johan Henric Kellgren

Johan Henrik Kellgren was a Swedish poet and critic.-Biography:He was born at Floby in Västergötland...

 and music by Johann Gottlieb Naumann

Johann Gottlieb Naumann

Johann Gottlieb Naumann was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister.- Life :...

).

As architect, Desprez built in a monumental, neoclassical

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 style influenced by his study of Greek and Roman ruins in the south of Italy and on Sicily. His greatest project was one never realized: the magnificent new palace planned by the King for the Haga Park

Hagaparken

Hagaparken , or simply Haga in Solna Municipality just north of Stockholm, Sweden is a vast and popular nature area, with large parks, lakes, woods and gardens...

 outside Stockholm. Because of lack of money, only the foundations were ever built and the project was abandoned after the assassination of the King. The smaller "royal pavilion" which stands at Haga was built by another architect, Olof Tempelman. His most significant completed project was the conservatory building in the new botanical garden in Uppsala

Uppsala

- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...

, inaugurated after his death on May 13, 1807, the 100th anniversary of Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

's birth. He also built the Villa Frescati in 1791-92 for Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt

Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt was a Finnish and Swedish courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one of the great Finnish statesmen. Born in Tarvasjoki, Finland, he was the great grandson of Charles XII of Sweden's general, Carl Gustaf Armfeldt...

, after which the whole Frescati

Frescati (Stockholm)

Frescati is a park-like area on the northern outskirts of Stockholm. The name has occationally been spelled Freskati. Originally it was a part of Norra Djurgården but was granted to the societé for building private villas...

area in Stockholm later was named.

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