QUESTEL, Charles-Auguste - b. 1807 Paris, d. 1888 Paris

French architect. He was a student of Felix Duban (1797-1870) at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and took a second-place Prix de Rome in 1844. He obtained medals of the first class in 1852 and 1855.

His architectural work includes: the church of Saint-Paul in Nimes (1838-50); restoration of the Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard (1841-46); the Pradier Fountain, Nimes (1851); the Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris (1867); Préfecture de l’Isère, Grenoble (1861-66); the Library and Museum of Grenoble (1872).

He became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1871.

Exterior view

The importance of national awareness in the early phase of historicism in France can be traced in the church of Saint-Paul in Nimes, built by Charles-Auguste Questel between 1838-50, following a competition in 1835. The vaulted basilica with transept is based on Romanesque models in France. The lavish furnishing with stained-glass windows from a workshop in Metz is an essential feature of the spatial design, bearing witness to the growing interest in medieval art.

The photo shows the view towards the main front.