The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles XBeale, Sophia
History
The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles X
Beale, Sophia
Church buildings -- France -- Paris; Paris (France) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
Alma_, the _Mort d'une Sœur de Charité_, and _La Prière à l'Hospice_.
The subjects are from the life and death of the titular saint, Andrew;
on one side, his crucifixion upon the transverse cross which bears his
name; upon the other, Angels bearing him to heaven. In the latter, a
more delicious little group of children, _soi-disant_ Angels, has rarely
been painted, even by that master of chubby and graceful babies,
Prud'hon. Pils, says M. l'abbé Koeneg[69] loved children, and he
certainly painted them as none but a lover of childhood could have done.
The chapel Richelieu was founded by the great cardinal, and is the
burial place of the Vrillière family, whose hotel is now the Banque de
France. The door close by is called the _Porte de la Miséricorde_ by
reason of its paintings, which represent the _Seven Works of Mercy_.
They are by M. Biennourry.
The Chapelle des Catéchismes is a very ancient foundation, having been
erected in the old church by Louis d'Orléans, the brother of Charles
VI., in honour of S. Michael. Two centuries later, the Orléans family
sold it to Président Forget, and a chapel was built out of it to serve,
first as a sacristy, and then as a room for confraternities to hold
their meetings in. The staircase is very elegant, with its handsome
wrought-iron _grille_ and balustrade of the time of Louis XVI. The
chapel seems to be used now as a boys' vestry, and the effect of the
acolytes in their red cassocks and white albs passing up or down this
beautiful flight of steps is picturesque in the extreme. S. Eustache is
one of the few churches in Paris which has not adopted the Roman use as
regards the dress of the acolytes, who still wear the long alb plaited
or trimmed with lace, and the sash, red, white, or pale blue, according
to the season. Years ago, before the Parisian rite was superseded by the
Roman, there were many little differences in the ritual; to wit, the two
precentors sitting near the chancel _grille_, vested in copes, and at
certain times during mass marching up and down the choir. Then again, on
great festivals, six men holding censers stood in a row, and throwing
them up, knelt upon one knee to catch them. The effect of this during
Benediction was grand in the extreme; the Roman practice of two boys
gently swinging the censers bearing no comparison to the Parisian. The
Lady chapel, known as Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours, served in the 17th
century as the assembling place of various charitable societies, and
notably of the Société de Bons-Secours, which was so much patronised by
the _noblesse_ and the rich tradespeople. The chapel is in the same
style as the side ones, and is a mass of colour, the decorations being
by M. Dénuel. The frescoes were originally undertaken by Ary Scheffer,
who, perhaps fortunately for posterity, was so long working out his
subject that he gave the matter up, Couture taking his place. But great
artist as he was, Couture was hardly the man to decorate a church; his
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account