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.
Built for the Oratorians, this elegant circular church is now given
over to Protestant gloom of the least decorative order. It was
constructed by François Mansard, and dedicated to Notre-Dame-des-Anges
in 1634, upon the site, some authorities say, of the Hôtel of Gabrielle
d'Estrèes; it may therefore be said to have passed from the good
Gabrielle, through the better fathers, to the best Protestants; or,
contrariwise, from the bad Demoiselle to the worse Catholics, and, worst
of all, Calvinists. However, now all is calm, and passions have
subsided; and a fine statue of Admiral Coligny is fixed to its wall,
facing the scene of his murder on that fearful feast of bloodshed which
S. Bartholemew must have been scandalized to find attached to his name.
SAINT-PAUL-SAINT-LOUIS.
In the Rue Saint-Antoine is the old church of the Jesuits, gorgeous in
marbles, gilding and stucco, as is the wont of the architects employed
by those wary fathers. It was built from the designs of François Derraud
from 1627-41. The remains of the conventual buildings are now occupied
by the Collège Charlemagne. The expenses of the building were defrayed
by Louis XIII. and Richelieu, who celebrated his maiden mass there. It
was the second cupola erected in Paris, the first being that belonging
to the Carmelite church. It is Italian in style, the _façade_ being very
similar to that of S. Gervais, recalling the Gesu and S. Ignacius at
Rome, and is adorned with statues of S. Louis, by Lequesne; of S.
Catherine, by Auguste Préault; and of S. Anne, by Etex. Bourdaloue and
archbishop Huet of Avranches are buried there, and in a crypt below lie
the Jesuits who have died in the convent from its foundation until the
suppression of the order. The numerous monuments were swept away at the
Revolution: a rich sculptured coffer for the heart of Louis XIII., and
another by Coustou le jeune, containing Louis XIV.'s heart. The
tabernacle was of silver gilt, but it is no more. The only contents now
of any interest are a picture representing the abbey of Longchamps,
attributed to Philippe de Champaigne, and a fine work by Delacroix,
_Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane_. Although his first known picture,
it is an example of his splendid colouring and grand composition. Victor
Hugo's first child was born in the parish, and baptized at S. Paul's,
and to commemorate the event the poet presented two holy-water stoops,
in the shape of shells, very beautiful in design.
SAINT-PHILIPPE DU ROULE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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