Background
Jean Jacques Nicolas Arveuf-Fransquin was born in Paris in 1802.
Jean Jacques Nicolas Arveuf-Fransquin was born in Paris in 1802.
He built several châteaux, and undertook work on various cathedrals in the French provinces. He was admitted to the école des Beaux-Arts in 1822. In 1830 he was assigned to work on the abbey church of Saint-Denis.
That year he was asked to report on the cathedrals of Auvergne, including those of Clermont-Ferrand, Le Puy-en-Velay and Saint-Flour, Cantal.
He was also charged with maintenance of the Cathedrals of Reims, Chalons and Saint-Flour. Arveuf-Fransquin and the Belgian architect Jean-François Coppens (1799-1873) were given the task of building Solvay Castle in the forest of Soinges, Belgium.
lieutenant was completed in 1842. Arveuf built the Château de Boursault in the Marne valley for Madame Clicquot Ponsardin, the "Veuve Cliquot" who founded the champagne brand.
lieutenant was located on the wooded summit of a hill planted with vines, and dominates the surrounding countryside and the village of Boursault.
Construction began in 1843 and was completed in 1850. In 1843 Arveuf submitted a plan for restoration of Notre Dame de Paris in competition with Jean-Charles Danjoy and with the winning team of Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Arveuf"s design was criticized for slighting the historical in favor of the religious function.
In 1844 Arveuf presented a project for a high altar for the cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand.
Arveuf was made diocesan architect for the Cathedral of Rheims in 1848. Arveuf designed the neo-Flamboyant organ case of the Châlons Cathedral.
The case was created by the cabinetmaker Etienne Gabriel Ventadour, and housed the instrument made by John Abbey, who delivered the instrument in 1849. In 1851 Arveuf built the churches of Eurville and Fayl-Billot in Haute-Marne.
Viollet-le-Duc wrote of him in 1853 that he was known to be an excellent architect, and the works done under his leadership were well-planned and well-managed.
However, he was working on outside projects and was not spending enough time at Reims. He was temporarily replaced by Viollet-le-Duc in 1860, and permanently replaced in 1862. He died in 1876.