(b Bruges, 10 June 1810; d Brussels, 10 July 1870). Watercolourist and lithographer, nephew of (1) François Simonau. He first worked in oils and then turned to watercolour. At the same time he trained as a lithographer in the London studio of his father, Pierre Simonau. On their return to Brussels in 1828 they founded a lithographic firm, which specialized in publishing suites of architectural drawings such as the Choix de vingt-quatre monuments gothiques des Pays-Bas (1843) and the Recueil des principaux monuments gothiques de l’Europe (Brussels, 1840). For the latter Simonau travelled extensively in France, England, Germany and Italy, bringing back drawings and a considerable number of watercolours. He made a series of lithographs of the disturbances of the September Days in 1830. These were very successful and enabled him to reopen his studio, which had been destroyed by the Dutch during the events he depicted. Later he worked with L. van den Wildenberg on the original plates for Portraits des peintres les plus célèbres (Leuven, 1833). He also illustrated the Vues et monuments d’Oudenaerde (1839).

Part of the Simonau family