Alexandre Perregaux (1 April 1749 – 21 May 1808) was a Swiss architect, goldsmith, and ivory carver. He is best known for his design of government buildings for the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland.[1]

Alexandre Perregaux
Anonymous portrait of Perregaux (made between 1774 and 1789) holding a medallion
Anonymous portrait of Perregaux (between 1774-1789)
Born1 April 1749
Died21 May 1808
Lausanne, Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
OccupationArchitect
ChildrenMarie Perregaux
BuildingsGrand Council of Vaud

Biography

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Perregaux was born in Lausanne on April 1, 1749, to Jonas Perregaux, a carpenter from Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, and Marie-Françoise Bergier.[1] After an apprenticeship as a goldsmith from 1761 to 1765, he completed his formation in Rome.[1] He then returned to Lausanne, where he was active as an ivory carver in miniatures and medallions. Many of these ivory reliefs were then painted by Perregaux's daughter, Marie Ferrier-Perregaux.[1]

He began his career as an architect in 1789, his first work being the Maison de Villamont, in Lausanne, a house built for himself between 1791 and 1793.[1] In 1798, with the ascension of the Helvetic Republic, he was employed by the new government and entrusted with the maintenance of public buildings.[1] After the Act of Mediation and the collapse of the republic in 1803, the Swiss Confederacy was restored but with new sovereign cantons, among them Vaud, formerly ruled as subject lands before the French invasion.

Perregaux was quickly commissioned by the new cantonal administration with the design of buildings that were to be used by the Vaudois government in Lausanne, among them the central Post Office, built between 1805 and 1807,[1] and the building of the Grand Council of Vaud, built between 1803 and 1806.[1] The latter housed the Grand Council since its inauguration until it was severely damaged by a fire in 2002.[1] He also designed the first theatre of Lausanne, the Marterey,[2] inaugurated in 1805 and later replaced in 1871.[3]

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Works

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bissegger, Paul. "Perregaux, Alexandre". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  2. ^ Lovis, Béatrice (2012). Le théâtre de Marterey par Alexandre Perregaux (1803-1805) ou la laborieuse entreprise. Monuments vaudois. pp. 55–69. ISSN 1664-3011.
  3. ^ "Municipal Theater". Lausanne Tourisme. Retrieved 15 April 2021.