Carl von Diebitsch (1819–1869) was a Prussian architect from Berlin active in Egypt and Prussia. He is notable for his role in the design of the Gezira Palace for Khedive Isma'il of Egypt.
Biography
He traveled from 1842 to 1848 during his studies, in Rome, Sicily, North Africa, and Spain.
He worked with Julius Franz [de] and Owen Jones on the design of the Gezira Palace for Khedive Isma'il of Egypt, contributing an Alhambresque portico and a monumental garden kiosk.
He designed the “Maurischer Kiosk [de],” inspired by the Alhambra which he studied while in Spain, for the Prussian participation in the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris.
Clients and works
| Client's name | Profession | Religion | Building | Building location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johann Christian Gentz [de] | Bourgeois in Neuruppin, Brandenburg | Protestant | Turkish Villa | Nerrupin, Brandenburg, Germany |
| Carl von Diebitsch | Architect | Protestant | Moorish House | Berlin, Germany |
| Alexander Gentz [de], son of Johann Christian Gentz | bourgeois in Neuruppin, Brandenburg | Protestant | Granary of Gentzrode | Near Neuruppin, Brandenburg, Germany |
| Henry Oppenheim | German banker | Jewish convert to Anglicanism after marrying a British wife | Iron work and interior design of Villa Oppenheim (no longer exists) | Cairo, Egypt |
| Mohamed Sherif Pasha | Minister of foreign affairs in Egypt | Muslim | Hypostyle and stairway in cast iron (no longer exists) | Cairo, Egypt |
| Soliman Pasha al-Faransawi | Major General in Egyptian army | French by birth converted to Islam | Mausoleum (still existing) | Cairo, Egypt |
| Ismaʼil Pasha | Khedive of Egypt | Muslim | Iron work and interior design of palace (still existing) and garden pavilion on Al-Gazira island (no longer exists) | Cairo, Egypt |
| Nubar Pasha | Egyptian Minister | Armenian Christian | Rebuilding and enlarging the palace of Nubar Pasha (no longer exists) | Cairo, Egypt |
| Descendant of a Mecca pilgrim | Muslim | Maqsura for a saint in a mosque on the Muqattam hills | Cairo, Egypt | |
| Menshausen | Banker | Protestant | Villa Menshausen (no longer exists) | Alexandria, Egypt |
| Count Gerbel or Göbel | Aristocrat | Christian | Villa Gerbel or Göbel (no longer exists) | Cairo, Egypt |
| Bethel Henry Strousberg | Railway magnate | Jewish convert to Anglicanism after marrying a British wife | Moorish pavilion from the 1867 Exposition Universelle, (bought from Diebitsch's wife after his death) | Schloß Zbirow, Bohemia (today in Schloß Linderhof, Bavaria, Germany) |
| Ludwig II | King of Bavaria | Catholic | Moorish pavilion from the 1867 Exposition Universelle, (bought from Strousberg when he became insolvent) | Schloß Linderhof, Bavaria, Germany |
References
- ^ Aziz, Elke Pflugradt-Abdel (2017-12-05), Oulebsir, Nabila; Volait, Mercedes (eds.), "A Proposal by the architect Carl von Diebitsch (1819-1869): Mudejar Architecture for a Global Civilization", L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs, D'une rive, l'autre, Paris: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art, pp. 69–88, ISBN 978-2-917902-82-0, retrieved 2023-02-14
- ^ McSweeney, Anna (2015). "Versions and Visions of the Alhambra in the Nineteenth-Century Ottoman World". West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture. 22 (1): 44–69. doi:10.1086/683080. hdl:2262/108262. ISSN 2153-5531. JSTOR 10.1086/683080. S2CID 194180597.