1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Servan, Jean Nicolas

SERVAN (or Servando known as Servandoni), JEAN NICOLAS (1695-1766), French decorator, architect and scene-painter, was born on the 2nd of May 1695. He was the son of a carriage-builder at Lyons. From 1724 to 1742 he was director of decorations at the Paris Opera, at that time situated in a wing of the Palais-Royal. His activity was considerable, whether as a painter or as an inventor of scenic contrivances for fêtes at the marriage of royal personages. He also designed the decorations for altars, and the façade for the church of Saint Sulpice in Paris. He died in Paris on the 19th of January 1766. His writings include Description abrégée de l'église Saint Pierre de Rome (Paris, 1738), and La Relation de la representation de la forêt enchantée sur le théâtre des Tuileries, le 31 mars 1754.