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Maximillian Godefroy, by Rembrandt Peale, c. 1815. Oil on canvas. 23 3/16 x 19 13/64 in. (58.9 x 48.8 cm.) Maryland Commission on Artistic Property of the Maryland State Archives, held by the Maryland Historical Society, Accession: MSA SC 4680-10-0081.
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Medium/Discipline: Architecture, Works on Paper
Birthplace: France
Place of Death: France
Maryland Affiliation: Depicts Maryland subjects, Active while in residence
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: Maximilian Godefroy, a distinguished French architect, fought in the French Revolution on the Royalist side. He later came into conflict with Napolean and was imprisoned in the fortress of Bellegarde. About 1805, he was released and allowed to come to the United States. He arrived in Philadelphia, but went to Baltimore shortly thereafter. Godefroy became an instructor in art and architecture at St. Mary's College, the Sulpician Seminary. While in Baltimore, he designed several important buildings, including the Gothic Cathedral at St. Mary's College, the Battle Monument, the Unitarian Church (built in 1817-18), the Exchange Building and the Commercial and Farmers Bank. He married Eliza Crawford, writer and editor of "The Observer." He left Baltimore in the 1820s for England and then France, where he is thought to have died.
Art-related Employment: architect; art and architecture instructor
Selected References: Pleasants, J. Hall. Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art), 1945.
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: Baltimore Museum of Art (architectural fragment, sculpture)
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