Michel-Robert Penchaud
Encyclopedia
Shaan Penchaud was a French architect.
The son of Robert-Louis Penchaud, a provincial architect of Poitou
and grandson of a mason who died in Paris, in 1756, his forced enrollment in the Armée de l'Ouest
during the Revolution
interrupted his studies. In 1795 he was admitted to the architectural studio, a virtual academy, of Percier and Fontaine
in Paris.
He was soon employed as a draughtsman by the Conseil des Bâtiments civils and participated in numerous public competitions organised by the Ministry of the Interior. In 1803 A.-C. Thibaudeau, the prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône
, named him to the post of architect to the City of Marseille
, with as his first grand civil project, the glasshouses of the botanical garden. But, caught up in quarrels between Thibaudeau and the mayor of Marseille, Antoine-Ignace d'Antoine, he found himself replaced by another architect Louis-Gabriel Michaud, 1807-12.
During this period of official ostracism at Marseille he was kept occupied from Paris by the Ministry of the Interior, which commissioned him to act as arbitrator in works in Languedoc and to prepare preliminary studies for the projected restoration of monuments of Roman antiquity in the Midi: the Flavian Bridge at Saint-Chamas
, remains at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
, the Maison Carrée
of Nîmes
, the Roman temple at Vernègues
, the amphitheatre of Arles
. Penchaud visualised collecting his papers into a decriptive work on the Roman monuments of the south of France, as a counterweight to the tour of Italian studies that were considered a necessary preparation for a career as architect in France. These articles were eventually published in a somewhat different form in the Statistique du département des Bouches-du Rhône.
The prefect Thibaudeau, wishing to attach his services more permanently, named Penchaud architect to the département in 1808, and in 1812 Penchaud returned to the civil position from which he had been ousted in Marseille, following the unsatisfactory work of Michaud in transforming the former Hôtel Roux-de-Corse into the seat of the Préfecture. Penchaud occupied these double posts, in the city and the département, resisting temptations to be drawn to the larger sphere of patronage in Paris, until his death in 1833.
His lasting monuments at Marseille all date from the period of the Bourbon restoration:
The son of Robert-Louis Penchaud, a provincial architect of Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
and grandson of a mason who died in Paris, in 1756, his forced enrollment in the Armée de l'Ouest
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1795
The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1794 between Revolutionary France and the First coalition.The year opened with French forces in the process of attacking the Dutch Republic in the middle of winter. The Dutch people rallied to the French call and started the Batavian revolution. City...
during the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
interrupted his studies. In 1795 he was admitted to the architectural studio, a virtual academy, of Percier and Fontaine
Percier and Fontaine
Percier and Fontaine was a noted partnership between French architects Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine. Together, Percier and Fontaine were inventors and major proponents of the rich and grand, consciously archaeological versions of neoclassicism we recognize as Directoire...
in Paris.
He was soon employed as a draughtsman by the Conseil des Bâtiments civils and participated in numerous public competitions organised by the Ministry of the Interior. In 1803 A.-C. Thibaudeau, the prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
, named him to the post of architect to the City of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, with as his first grand civil project, the glasshouses of the botanical garden. But, caught up in quarrels between Thibaudeau and the mayor of Marseille, Antoine-Ignace d'Antoine, he found himself replaced by another architect Louis-Gabriel Michaud, 1807-12.
During this period of official ostracism at Marseille he was kept occupied from Paris by the Ministry of the Interior, which commissioned him to act as arbitrator in works in Languedoc and to prepare preliminary studies for the projected restoration of monuments of Roman antiquity in the Midi: the Flavian Bridge at Saint-Chamas
Saint-Chamas
Saint-Chamas is a commune in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France.-Geography:...
, remains at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
, the Maison Carrée
Maison Carrée
The Maison Carrée is an ancient building in Nîmes, southern France; it is one of the best preserved temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire.- History :...
of Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, the Roman temple at Vernègues
Vernègues
Vernègues is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.The commune is made up of two villages: Vernègues and Cazan.On June 11, 1909 an earthquake killed two villagers and destroyed the castle and most houses in Vernègues, which was later rebuilt at a lower...
, the amphitheatre of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
. Penchaud visualised collecting his papers into a decriptive work on the Roman monuments of the south of France, as a counterweight to the tour of Italian studies that were considered a necessary preparation for a career as architect in France. These articles were eventually published in a somewhat different form in the Statistique du département des Bouches-du Rhône.
The prefect Thibaudeau, wishing to attach his services more permanently, named Penchaud architect to the département in 1808, and in 1812 Penchaud returned to the civil position from which he had been ousted in Marseille, following the unsatisfactory work of Michaud in transforming the former Hôtel Roux-de-Corse into the seat of the Préfecture. Penchaud occupied these double posts, in the city and the département, resisting temptations to be drawn to the larger sphere of patronage in Paris, until his death in 1833.
His lasting monuments at Marseille all date from the period of the Bourbon restoration:
- The triumphal archTriumphal archA triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
called the Porte d'AixPorte d'AixPorte d'Aix is a triumphal arch in Marseille, in the south of France, marking the old entry point to the city on the road from Aix-en-Provence. The classical design by Michel-Robert Penchaud was inspired by the triumphal arches of the Roman Empire...
; - The Hôpital Caroline on the Île de Ratonneau;
- The temple protestant in rue Grignan, Marseille.