Alfred-Nicolas Normand

French architect and writer, son of Louis-Eléonor Normand (1780–1862), also an architect. After sustained study abroad, he settled in Paris in 1852 and became an important designer during the Second Empire. A confirmed Classicist, he avoided all medieval allusions in his work. His greatest achievement was the Maison Pompéienne, Avenue Montaigne, Paris (designed 1855, destroyed 1891), influenced by Roman villa plans, with a central glazed atrium. Interiors were revivals of Graeco-Roman, Pompeian, Empire, Islamic, and other styles, juxtaposed in a rich and fruity mélange. The house, for Prince Napoléon-Joseph-Charles-Paul (Plon-Plon) Bonaparte (1822–91), was the paradign of the Néo-Grec style. Normand also designed the women's prison, Rennes (1867–76), a vast establishment for 1,000 inmates. Among his other works were the C17 Revival Château Latour at Liancourt-St-Pierre, near Paris (1862–8), the restoration of the Colonne Vendôme and the Arc de Triomphe, Paris (1871–8), and the Hospital at St-Germain-en-Laye (1878–81). He was the editor of Le Moniteur des Architectes (Gazette of Architects) (1866–8) and published illustrations of the pavilions erected for the Exposition Universelle (1867). His sons, Charles-Nicolas (1858– ) and Paul (1861– ) were architects too.

Bibliography

• Gary (1979)
• GdBArts NS 5, lxxxvii (1976), 127–34
• Jane Turner (1996)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)