| Church of Saint-Marie-Madeleine | |
|---|---|
| French:L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine | |
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| 48°52′12″N2°19′28″E / 48.869984299038485°N 2.324432979292807°E /48.869984299038485; 2.324432979292807 | |
| Location | 8th arrondissement of Paris |
| Country | France |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | eglise-lamadeleine.com |
| History | |
| Status | Parish Church |
| Founder(s) | Napoleon (1807) |
| Dedication | Mary Magdalene |
| Consecrated | 24 July 1842 |
| Relics held | Bone of Mary Magdalene |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation |  Monument Historique PA00088812[1] |
| Designated | 1915 |
| Architect(s) | Pierre-Alexandre Vignon |
| Architectural type | Roman temple |
| Style | Neo-Classical |
| Groundbreaking | 1807 |
| Completed | 1828 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 108 m (354 ft) |
| Width | 43 m (141 ft) |
| Other dimensions | Columns: 20.0 m (65 ft 7 in) |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Paris |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | François-Henri Houbart |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Part of | Paris, Banks of the Seine |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iv |
| Reference | 600 |
| Inscription | 1991 (15thSession) |
TheChurch of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (French:église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine,pronounced[eɡlizsɛ̃tmaʁimadlɛn]), or less formally,La Madeleine ([lamadlɛn]), is aCatholic parish church on Place de la Madeleine in the8th arrondissement of Paris.[2][3][4] It was planned byLouis XV as the focal point of the new Rue Royal, leading to the new Place Louis XV, the presentPlace de la Concorde. It was dedicated in 1764 byLouis XV, but work halted due to theFrench Revolution.Napoleon Bonaparte had it redesigned in theNeoclassical style to become a monument to the glory of his armies. After his downfall in 1814, construction as a church resumed, but it was not completed until 1842. The building is surrounded on all four sides byCorinthian columns. The interior is noted for its frescoes on the domed ceiling, and monumental sculptures byFrançois Rude,Carlo Marochetti and other prominent 19th-century French artists.[5]
The exterior and interior of the church are undergoing a major project of cleaning and restoration, which began in 2020 and is scheduled for completion in 2024.[6][7]
The neighbourhood, then at the edge of Paris, was annexed to the city in 1722. An earlier church of Saint-Marie-Madeleine was built in the 13th century on avenue Malesherbes, but was considered too small for the growing neighbourhood. Louis XV authorised the construction of a new, larger church, with a view along Rue Royale toward the new Place Louis XV, nowPlace de la Concorde. In 1763 the King laid the first stone for a new church, designed by Pierre Contant d'Ivry and Guillaume-Martin Couture.[8][9][10]
The first design for the new church byPierre Contant d'Ivry proposed a large dome atop a building in the form of Latin cross, similar to theLes Invalides church designed byJules Hardouin Mansart. D'Ivry died in 1777 and was replaced by his pupil Guillaume Martin Couture. Couture abandoned the first plan, demolished much of the early work. and went to work on a simpler, more classical design, modelled after an ancient Greek or Roman temple.
The construction of the new church was abruptly halted in 1789 by theFrench Revolution, with only the foundations and grand classical portico completed. After theexecution of Louis XVI in 1793, his body was transported to the old Church of the Madeleine, which was still standing until 1801. The King's body was thrown onto bed of quicklime at the bottom of a pit and covered by one of earth, the whole being firmly and thoroughly tamped down. Louis XVI's head was placed at his feet. On 21 January 1815Louis XVI andMarie Antoinette's remains were moved to a new tomb in theBasilica of Saint-Denis.
Under the Revolutionary government, a debate began on the future purpose of the building. Proposals included a library, a public ballroom, and a marketplace. The new building of theNational Assembly, in thePalais Bourbon, at the other end of the formerRue Royale, was given a classical colonnade to match the already completed portico of church.[11] The new Emperor,Napoleon Bonaparte, was crowned in 1804 and in 1806 settled the debate. In 1806 he declared that the church would become "A Temple to the Glory of the Grand Army". While on a military campaign in Poland, he personally chose the design of a new architect,Pierre-Alexandre Vignon (fr: Pierre-Alexandre Vignon), over the design that was recommended to him by the Academy of Architecture.[12] The plan of Vignon took the form of a classical temple with Corinthian columns on all four sides.[13] The work began anew, with new foundations but preserving the classical columns that had already been raised.[14]
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After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the new King,Louis XVIII, resumed construction on the unfinished church, which he intended to make anExpiatory chapel for the sins of the Revolution and the execution of Louis XVI. However, this idea was dropped, and the new church was instead dedication toMary Magdalene, or the Madeleine, a follower of Jesus who witnessed both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ.[15]
The architect Vignon died in 1828 before completing the project and was replaced byJacques-Marie Huvé. A new competition was set up in 1828–29 to determine the design for sculptures for the pediment. The design chosen wasThe Last Judgment, depicting Saint Mary Magdalene kneeling to pray for sinners, byPhilippe Joseph Henri Lemaire. The new government of theJuly Monarchy decided to go ahead with the church, despite financial difficulties. in 1830 they declared that it would be dedicated to national reconciliation. The vaults were finally completed in 1831.[16]
Work on the church was largely completed during the reign ofKing Louis-Philippe, between 1830 and 1848. in 1837 a proposal was brought forward to convert church into the first railroad station in Paris, but this was abandoned as expensive and impractical. The church was finally inaugurated on 24 July 1842, the day of Saint Mary-Magdalene.[17]
The new church became popular with musicians. The funeral ofChopin at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris was delayed almost two weeks, until 30 October 1849. Chopin had requested thatMozart's Requiem be sung. The Requiem had major parts for female voices, but the Church of the Madeleine had never permitted female singers in its choir. The church finally relented, on condition that the female singers remain behind a black velvet curtain.
During theParis Commune of 1871, thecuré of the church, Abbé Deguerry, was one of those arrested and held hostage by the Commune. He was executed alongsideGeorges Darboy, theArchbishop of Paris and four other hostages on 24 May, during theSemaine sanglante, as French government troops were bloodily retaking the city and executing Communard defenders.
Besides Chopin, musicians and artists whose funerals were held at the church includeJacques Offenbach,Charles Gounod,Camille Saint-Saëns,Coco Chanel,Joséphine Baker,Charles Trenet,Dalida andJohnny Hallyday.[18]
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The design of the church by Vignon was an example of theNeo-Classical style, using the plan of aperipteral Greek temple, with rows of classical columns around all four exterior sides, not just on the facade. Notable examples included theTemple of Olympian Zeus, the largest temple in ancient Athens, located below theParthenon, and the much smaller RomanMaison Carrée inNîmes in France one of the best-preserved of allRoman temples (here the columns around thecella are "engaged" or half-embedded in the wall). The Madeleine is one of the rare large neo-classical buildings to imitate the whole external form of an ancient temple, rather than just the portico front. Its fifty-twoCorinthian columns, each 20 metres (66 feet) high, surround the building.
The inscription on the frieze over the entrance reads in Latin:D⸱O⸱M⸱SVB⸱INVOC⸱S⸱M⸱MAGDALENAE, that isDeo Optimo Maximo sub invocatione Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae ("To God all-powerful and Very Great, under the invocation of Saint Mary Magdalen.")
Thepedimental sculpture of theLast Judgement is byPhilippe Joseph Henri Lemaire. Lemaire's sculpture also has a prominent place on theArc de Triomphe. In the sculpture, Christ is in the centre, presiding over the Last Judgement, flanked by two angels. On the right is the Archangel Michael, with a group of figures representing the Vices, who will be refused entry to heaven. To the left are the Virtues, escorting those admitted to heaven. Mary Magadelen is shown kneeling with those refused entrance to heaven, expressing her repentance.[19]
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The large bronze doors of the south portal have reliefs illustrating the Ten Commandments. The artist wasHenri de Triqueti (1804–1874), who was only thirty years old when he won the commission. His main influence was the doors made byGhiberti for theBaptistry of Florence, as well as those found onPantheon in Rome and Christian basilicas in Pisa, Rome, Verona and Venice. Their size is exceptional; they are larger than the doors of the Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome; but they were also designed to be thinner and lighter. Unlike many bronze church doors, they have no gilding, just the color of the bronze. The doors earned Triqueti a place as a royal sculptor for the projects of KingLouis-Philippe, including sculpture inNapoleon's tomb.[20]
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Another feature of the exterior is a series of statues of Saints, made by different sculptors, alternating women and men, arranged on the outside walls along the portico, within the colonnade. The original plan by Vignon had only bare walls on the exterior, but the new architect, Huvé, proposed a series of thirty-three statues in niches. The selection of Saints was largely made by the Orleans family of KingLouis Philippe and his family. The two most prominent places, by the south entrance, were given to traditional French Saints,Louis IX andSaint Philip,Bernard of Clairvaux, as well as SaintJoan of Arc andSaint Genevieve, the Patron Saint of Paris. Women saints alternate with men. At the north or rear end of the church, the heads of four of the statues were knocked off by the explosion of a German shell during the First World War, in 1918.[21]
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The plan of the church was inspired more by the classical Roman architecture, particularly the baths, than by traditional church architecture.Inside, the church designed by Huvé is composed of a single long space, without a transept. It is divided into three wide arched bays, each with a dome, with circular skylights that provide limited illumination. All the walls and arches and the ceiling are covered with decoration, largely composed of colored marble in intricate geometric forms, and frequently gilded.[22]
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The cul-de-four or half-dome over the choir of the church is decorated with a painting by Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804–1856) which depicts major events in the history of Christianity, with an emphasis on France. At the top is the figure of Christ withApostles andMary Magdalene. In the foreground are Napoleon Bonaparte and PopePius VII signing theConcordat of 1801, which, following theFrench Revolution, marked the reconciliation of the French church and state and allowed Catholic churches to re-open in France. Ziegler was a pupil ofIngres, and painted the figures with the same realism and animation. The work took four years to complete.[23]
Below theHistory of Christianity and above the altar is later, unusual work; a wide ceramic mosaic depicting Christ with a group of Saints who had connections with France. This was conceived between 1888 and 1893 by Father LeRebours, the curate of the church, and is in the Neo-Byxantine style, very different from the rest of the art in the choir. It painted by Charles-Joseph Lameire, and transformed into ceramic by theSevres Porcelain workshops in Paris. In the dim light inside of the church, the gilded ceramic tiles catch the light, sometimes making it the most visible art work in the church.
The Christ of the Resurrection is the central figure in the mosaic, accompanied by the first disciples and missionaries who lived and preached in Gaul, including the patron saint of the church,Mary Magdalene;Saint Martha, sister of Mary Magdalene, buried inTarascon;Saint Lazare, who founded the first church in Marseille;Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris; Saint Trophyme, a disciple of Saint Paul and founder of the church inArles. The figure of Saint Front of Perigeaux, founder of the church inRocamadour, who is given the features of the artist, Lameire);Saint Ursin, founder of the church inBourges, who is given the features of the architectCharles Garnier, and others.[24]
Below the mosaic is a row of Corinthian columns which form a theatrical background behind the altar. and a marble stairway leading up to the altar. Behind the altar is a monumental sculpture,The Ecstasy of Mary Magdalene, byCarlo Marochetti (1805–1868), depicting Mary Magdalene, kneeling in prayer, as she is transported into heaven by three angels.[25]
In the vestibule at the south end of the church, is another monumental sculpture,The Baptism of Christ byFrançois Rude (1784–1855). Rude was already famous for a work he made in 1836, "The Departure of the Volunteers of 1795", prominently featured on theArc de Triomphe.[26]
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The decoration of the interior was completed in a relatively short period, under King Louis-Philippe, and is noted for its unusual harmony.
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The church has had a long association with music and musicians. The funeral ofChopin took place in the church, and the composersCamille Saint-Saëns andGabriel Fauré each held the title of the church organist.[27] The church has a celebratedpipe organ, located in the tribune over the south entrance to the church. It is contained in a very ornate case with sculpted angels, spires, and other ornament harmonised with the decor. The organ was built byAristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1845. It was restored by Cavaillé-Coll's successorCharles Mutin in 1927, who also extended the manuals to 56 notes. Tonal modifications were carried out byRoethinger,Gonzalez-Danion, andDargassies in 1957, 1971 and 1988 respectively. :.[28][29][30] A smaller organ from the same period is located in the choir.
In the basement of the Church (entrance on the Flower Market side) is the Foyer de la Madeleine. Typical of various foyers run by religious and civic groups throughout France, the Madeleine is the home of a restaurant in which, for a yearly subscription fee, one can dine under the vaulted ceilings on a three-course French meal served by volunteers for a nominal price. The walls of the Foyer are often decorated by local artists.[31][32]
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