GABRIELLE Ange Jacques (Gabriel Ange-Jacque)

(1698-1782)
Born in Paris on 23 October 1698, he studied under his father, the architect Jacques Gabriel, and from 1718 - at the Academy of Architecture in Paris. In 1728 he became superintendent of royal buildings, and in 1742 - 'the first architect of the King' and the President of the Academy of Architecture. For thirty years, chiefly engaged in the construction and decoration of interiors of royal palaces. Among the largest of his works: the Opera House in Versailles (1748-1770), reconstruction of the interior and rebuilding the north wing of the Palace of Versailles (1734-1774), Petit Trianon (1762-1764). Gabriel was the designer of the Place Louis XV (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris (1754) and began to build a military school, already completed by other artists. He completed several projects decorate the apartments of the Louvre, but, unfortunately, few of the conceived was carried. The wide scope of ideas, harmony and elegance of the proportions of buildings constructed and decorated interiors give a reason for calling him a major architect of France 18. Gabriel died in Paris on January 4, 1782.