Duban, Félix-Louis-Jacques

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Duban, Félix-Louis-Jacques (1797–1870). Paris-born French architect, he was in the vanguard (with Duc, Labrouste, and Vaudoyer) of the younger generation that came to eminence in the 1830s, and he won a reputation as a restorer of lavish interiors. Appointed architect to the École des Beaux-Arts in 1832, he incorporated Picturesque techniques in his composition, and his details were refined. With Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc he restored the C13 Sainte-Chapelle, with its powerful colouring attracting the favour of Pugin, although he seems to have been more at ease with Italian Classicism. His best work is probably the Salle de Melpomène (1860–3) at the École des Beaux-Arts, and the richly opulent resuscitation of the salons in the Louvre. From 1845 he worked on the restorations of the Châteaux at Blois, Chantilly, Dampierre, and Fontainebleau.

Bibliography

Bellenger & Hamon (eds.) (1996);
Middleton (ed.) (1982);
Middleton & and Watkin (1987);
Placzek (ed.) (1982)
Questel (1872)

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