Nicolas de Pigage was a French builder.

Pigage was born in Lunéville

Lunéville

Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...

. His father was a stonemason. In 1743 he began his studies at the École Militaire

École Militaire

The École Militaire is a vast complex of buildings housing various military training facilities located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, southeast of the Champ de Mars....

  changing to the Académie Royale d'Architecture after only one year studying under Jacques-François Blondel

Jacques-François Blondel

Jacques-François Blondel was a French architect. He was the grandson of François Blondel , whose course of architecture had appeared in four volumes in 1683 -Biography:...

. Elector Karl Theodor

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria

Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria reigned as Prince-Elector and Count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death...

 summoned him to his court in Mannheim

Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

 and in 1752 he became the Oberbaudirector.

Under his supervision Schloss Benrath

Schloss Benrath

Schloss Benrath is a Rococo maison de plaisance near Düsseldorf, Germany, erected for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore by his garden and building director and garden supervisor, Nicolas de Pigage...

 was built in the years 1755 to 1773 in Düsseldorf-Benrath

Düsseldorf-Benrath

Benrath is a part of Düsseldorf in the south of the city. It has been a part of Düsseldorf since 1929.-History:The name Benrath came from the "Knights of Benrode". The settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1222 in a document from Cologne where Everhard de Benrode is named as an attestor...

. In the year 1762 he became the Head-Gardener of the gardens around the castle.

De Piage contributed to the erection of the residency in Mannheim and of Schwetzingen Castle

Schwetzingen Castle

Schloss Schwetzingen, or Schwetzingen Castle is a palace in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Schwetzingen was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Karl III Philip and Charles Theodore. It is situated in Schwetzingen, roughly equidistant from the electors' seats at Heidelberg and...

. He lead the construction of the eastern wing of the Mannheimer Schloss

Mannheim Palace

Mannheim Palace is a large Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the main residence of the Prince-electors of the Electoral Palatinate...

.

He was the architect of the Karlstor and of a mansion called Pflege Schönau. Pigage conducted many joint projects with Franz Wilhelm Rabaliatti

Franz Wilhelm Rabaliatti

Francesco Rabaliatti was a German architect and Court Builder to the Prince-elector Karl Theodor.Rabaliatti was born in Gameragna di Stella...

 but they were also in competition with each other.

He died in Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen is a German town situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of...

.

Literature

• Hans Leopold Zollner: Nicolas de Pigage. Sein Leben und Werk, in: Badische Heimat, Bd. 4, 1975. S. 115-127.

External links