Gothic Revival and Gothick

(b Turin, Oct 11, 1829; d Turin, Nov 9, 1921).

Italian architect. He studied under Carlo Promis (1808–72), an architect active in Turin in the first half of the 19th century, and in 1851 graduated in hydraulic engineering and civil architecture. He worked first in the engineering office of Severino Grattoni, who was then engaged on the Moncenisio tunnel. In the competition (1861) for a new façade for Florence Cathedral, Ceppi was a joint winner (announced 1863), but when a new competition was arranged he refused to enter. He decided instead to concentrate exclusively on the construction industry in Turin, which was at that time undergoing considerable changes, as Turin had just become the capital of Italy. From 1861 he worked with Alessandro Mazzuchetti (1824–94) on the project for the Stazione di Porta Nuova Centrale (completed 1868), facing Piazza Carlo Felice, for which Promis had provided the initial designs. While the outline and general layout of the design were largely Mazzucchetti’s, the decorative and architectural schemes of the façade were largely the work of Ceppi, who adopted a successful and convincing formal vocabulary derived from the English Gothic Revival. The station, notable for its ample fenestration, achieves a fine balance between decoration and functional and structural concerns. The long façades are punctuated with appropriate and elegant decoration highlighted by a lively use of colour. This work shows one of Ceppi’s main merits—the ability to adopt the formal vocabulary of a past age and to re-invent it to meet modern needs. Simultaneously attracted by technical progress and fascinated by classical architecture, Ceppi knew how to adapt any style with originality, and bring its content back to life....

(b 1802; d 1855).

French silversmith and jeweller. The pieces that he exhibited at the Paris Industrial Exhibitions of 1839 and 1844 made him the most celebrated silversmith in France. He worked in a variety of styles, notably Renaissance Revival, but also produced distinguished Gothic Revival and Rococo-style pieces. His most famous creation is the toilette of the Duchess of Parma (...

(fl 1518–66).

Sicilian goldsmith. His early work is Gothic, notably a magnificent processional monstrance with Gothic spires (1536–8; Enna, Mus. Alessi) and a reliquary of S Agata (1532; Palermo Cathedral). From the 1540s he adopted a Renaissance style, as exemplified by a crozier (Palermo, Gal. Reg. Sicilia) and a reliquary of S Cristina (Palermo Cathedral)....

(b Brussels, 1825; d Brussels, April 10, 1902).

Belgian architect. He was trained by Joseph Jonas Dumont and spent much of his career working on the restoration or reconstruction of a large number of medieval and Renaissance monuments in Brussels as a member of the city’s architectural staff; he became its Chief Architect in 1864. Most of his original designs were of Gothic Revival or Flemish Renaissance Revival character, reflecting his archaeological interests. His own house (1874–9) at 62 Avenue de Stalingrad, Brussels, was the most remarkable of these designs. The exposed timber structure of its gabled façade recalled the destroyed wooden houses of 15th- and 16th-century Brussels. Jamaer’s major work involved the restoration of several buildings in the Grand’Place, Brussels, which began with his participation in the restoration (1850s) of the 15th-century Gothic Hôtel de Ville and the complete rebuilding (1873–85) in Gothic Revival style of the 16th-century Maison du Roi. In 1883...