Charles Chipiez

Born in Écully-lès-Lyon on January 11, 1835, Charles Chipiez was a French architect, draftsman, and architectural historian. He is remembered for combining technical training with a gift for visual reconstruction, using drawings to show how ancient monuments and cities may once have looked.

Chipiez worked closely with the archaeologist Georges Perrot on the influential multi-volume History of Art in Antiquity. Their books explored the art and architecture of civilizations including Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome, and Chipiez's illustrations became a major part of their appeal. Rather than simply recording ruins, he tried to help readers picture complete buildings, interiors, and urban spaces.

He died in Paris on November 9, 1901. Even now, he is often associated with the imaginative yet carefully argued reconstructions that shaped how generations of readers pictured the ancient world.