"Chaillot, très ancien village de la banlieue de Paris érigé en faubourg, sous le nom de la Conférence, par arrêté du conceil du mois de Juillet 1659. Le nom de ce faubourg lui fut donné à cause de la porte de la Conférence, située sur la rive droite de la Seine, vers l'extrémité de la terrasse du jardin des Tuileries."
The apse of this church is the only part that is old; the rest is Italian, and very poor of its kind, which makes the groined vault of the apse all the pleasanter to contemplate. Lately a new chapel has been added on in the Avenue Marceau, something between a Swiss châlet and a café, all ablaze with gilding and tawdry decoration.
The abbey of Sainte-Perrine de Chaillot was founded by Philippe le Bel about 1300, in the forest of Compiègne for the canonesses of the order of S. Augustin; and in 1646 it was transferred to La Villette. Later, the monastery was united to another community of the same order which was established at Chaillot in 1659. In 1760 the abbey ceased to exist, and the buildings gradually disappeared, with the exception of a few fragments belonging to some school buildings. Augustin's sisters may still be seen at Chaillot, working in the parish of S. Pierre, and observable by their quaint head-gear and their quainter clogs worn over spotless white stockings. By the way, why do Anglican sisters and nurses wear long gowns trailing about the wards of our hospitals? Are they not possibly receptacles for the germ and microbe population?
The first church of S. Peter is said to have been founded by Louis VI. and Alix de Savoie his wife, upon the site of a still older edifice; and its most remarkable event in those early days was the presence of S. Bernard at its consecration. Little remains earlier than the 15th century, except two verd antique columns and some of the pillars of the choir. Upon a slab may be read an inscription bearing upon the martyrdom of S. Denis and his companions, who suffered here upon the mountain; and in the open ground outside is a Calvary to which the pious world resorts. A splendid new church dedicated to the Sacré Cœur is being built hard by, to which a vast number of processions and pilgrimages now industriously and toilfully wend their way.
Built by Jacques Lemercier, after the first-stone-laying by the Grand Monarque, this church became fashionable and much affected by the great ones of the City. Bossuet lived hard by in the Rue S. Anne, and was placed in the church he had often preached in, previously to being removed to his cathedral of Meaux. Another celebrity, Marie Anne de Bourbon, Princesse de Conti, daughter of Louis and his handmaiden La Vallière, was buried in the chapel of the Virgin; and the sculptors François and Michel Anguier also found their rest here.
The portico was commenced in 1736 from the designs of Robert de Cotte. It is in no wise beautiful; but it is celebrated as having been the scene of the terrible 13 Vendémiaire An IV. (5 October, 1795). In the "cul-de-sac Dauphin" against the church walls the "young bronze Artillery Officer" set his guns. "The firing was with sharp and sharpest shot; to all men it was plain that there was no sport."[119] In a couple of hours it was all over; insurrection quelled; and the "Whiff of Grapeshot" proved so successful that it became the active power in subsequent doings of the dynasty of the "Man of bronze."
S. Roch is a vast edifice mainly conspicuous by its ugliness; but it contains much furniture that is worth noting. Over the altar is a fine crucifix by Michel Anguier, formerly in the Sorbonne. The group of the Nativity brought from Val de Grâce is by François Anguier. Saint-Jean-en-Grève has contributed the Baptism of Our Lord, by Lemoine; the Latin Fathers were sculptured for the Dome of the Invalides; the figure of S. Roch on the right of the choir is by one of the Coustou brothers; a dying Christ by Falconet. The bust of Lenôtre, by Coyzevox, was part of a monument; so was the statue of Cardinal Dubois by Guillaume Coustou. Mignard was buried here and has a memorial bust by Desjardins. Medallions also abound: the Maréchal d'Asfeld, the Duc de Lesdignières, the Comte d'Harcourt, and the Duc de Cérqui; also a monument to Maupertius, l'abbé de l'Epée; and an epitaph to Pierre Corneille. Madame de Feuquières, in white marble, was treated after the manner of the kings and queens at S. Denis. Lemoine made her kneeling at her father, Mignard's feet; some one improved upon this, and turned her into a Madeleine at the foot of the cross.
Behind the choir is the chapel of the Virgin, with the Crucifixion lighted up after the manner of that terrible tomb at Windsor erected to the memory of the Princess Charlotte; but they vie with each other in popularity from the many sightseers who pass by. There is also an entombment which, on Good Friday, is visited by thousands of people; and in the chapel of the S. Sacrament, a reproduction of the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim—about the most interesting part of the church; it is I believe, used as the tabernacle. "S. Roche is doubtless a very fine building, with a well proportioned front and a noble flight of steps; but the interior is too plain and severe for my taste. The walls are decorated with unfluted pilasters, with capitals scarcely conformable to any one order of architecture. The choir, however, is lofty, and behind it, in Our Lady's chapel, if I remember accurately, there is a striking piece of sculpture of the Crucifixion, sunk into a rock, which receives the light from an invisible aperture, as at S. Sulpice. To the right, or rather behind this chapel, there is another—called the Chapel of Calvary—in which you observe a celebrated piece of sculpture, of rather colossal dimensions, of the entombment of Christ. The dead Saviour is borne to the sepulchre by Joseph of Arimathea, St. John, and the three Maries. The name of the sculptor is Deseine. Certainly you cannot but be struck with the effect of such representations—which accounts for these two chapels being a great deal more attended in general than the choir or the nave of the church. It is, right, however, to add, that the pictures here are preferable to those of S. Sulpice, and the series of bas-reliefs, descriptive of the principal events in the life of Christ, is among the very best specimens of art, of that species, which Paris can boast of."[120]
The music at S. Roch gained much renown some years ago, and although it is not now in any way remarkable, its reputation is still great. People assure you that the best music in Paris is at S. Roch. True, we may hear the masses of Haydn and Mozart very fairly performed there; but neither voices nor organ equal the refinement of the Madeleine. In one respect, however, we may prefer S. Roch. The boys sit upon their little stools in the choir, and when they have to sing, group themselves with the singing men round a huge lectern, which stands out in the centre of the chancel. Thus they stand before the old noted service book, and in their picturesque costume of red cassocks, white albs, and blue or red sashes, they form a most picturesque coup-d'œil, very different from the other churches. At the Madeleine the choir sits behind the altar, and you hear the singing from invisible voices,—very charming if you did not see the boys in their collégien uniform pass round before the commencement of the service; but this gives a somewhat theatrical effect. At S. Roch the grouping of the men and boys and the double basses round the lectern gives the whole affair such a delightfully old-world appearance that it is most refreshing, and the effect of the huge service-book, with its plain-song notation up above the heads of the boys, takes one back hundreds of years. That S. Roch was much esteemed in the early years of the century our American's letter shows. His criticism of the sermon might apply very well to many a one in this year of grace, more especially here at home. The French preachers almost always speak well, and are eloquent, even if their matter be indifferent, dull, or twaddly. Englishmen unfortunately despise the manner, and think their hearers ought to be content with good matter only; and so it comes about that in a life-time only two or three great preachers stand out in one's memory—a Henry Parry Liddon and a Samuel Wilberforce. However, the "American," is of a diverse opinion. "Yesterday, being Sunday, I went to S. Roch's; I had the luck to hit upon the fashionable church; but the preacher was the god of dulness. The world, he says, is growing worse and worse; our roguish ancestors begot us bigger rogues, about to produce a worse set of rogues than ourselves. The Antichrist is already come. If he had said the antichrist of wit, anybody would have believed him, and yet this is the very pulpit from which the Bossuets and Bourdaloues used to preach. The church was filled almost entirely of women; one might think that none go to heaven in this country but the fair sex" (or perhaps the men require no help, he might have added). "The worshippers seem intent enough upon their devotions, but the wide avenues at the sides are filled with a crowd of idle, curious, and disorderly spectators. Give me a French church; one walks in here booted and spurred, looks at the pretty women and the pictures, whistles a tune if one chooses, and then walks out again. They have not spoilt the architectural beauty (!) of S. Roch's by pews and galleries. The walls are adorned splendidly with paintings; and here and there are groups of statuary, and the altar being finely gilt and illuminated, looks magnificently. When I build a church I shall decorate it somewhat in this manner. It is good to imitate nature as much as one can in all things; and she has set us the example in this. She has adorned her great temple, the world, with green fields, and fragrant flowers, and its superb dome the firmament with stars."[121] The trotting about at S. Roch is the same to this day, which makes it the least restful of churches.
The church of S. Séverin is particularly interesting as showing a gradual development from the 13th to the 16th century. Founded upon the site of an oratory by Henri I. in 1050, it was first rebuilt at the end of the 11th century.
SAINT-SÉVERIN FROM THE TOWERS OF NOTRE-DAME.
SAINT-SÉVERIN FROM THE TOWERS OF NOTRE-DAME.
There were two saints of this name; one, the founder of the Abbey of Châteaulandon, who miraculously cured Clovis I. of some sickness by placing his chasuble upon him; and the other, the patron of this church, a monk, or rather a hermit, who lived during the reign of Childebert I., in a cell near Paris, and was of course much given to prayer and supplications, and other pious exercises. Considering the brutal manners and customs of the early sovereigns and their companions, it is a blessed sign that human nature, even in those dark ages, was not completely diabolical; and to find that some men and women cared for other matters than fire and sword and pillage. S. Séverin was one of these more peaceful souls; and so well did he preach his pacific faith, that S. Cloud, or Clodoaldus, the grandson of Queen Clotilde, became one of his disciples, and received the religious habit of the Benedictine order from him. S. Cloud was the youngest of the sons of Chlodomir, one of three brothers who suffered from the murderous inclinations of wicked uncles. What brigands they all were! Imagine a woman being asked in all seriousness whether she preferred death or the tonsure for her grandchildren. No wonder monasteries and convents flourished, for where else was there any culture, enlightenment, civilization, or even safety to life and limb? And yet Clotilde must have had some reason for her passionate answer, "Better they were dead than shaven monks!" for she must have foreseen that such an exclamation could only lead to assassination, and thus we find that S. Cloud alone of the brothers escaped death, and became a shaven Benedictine.
S. Séverin was probably buried near the oratory, and what would be more natural than that the disciple should consecrate the spot to the memory of his master? In 1050 Henri I. gave the patronage, which had been up to his reign in the hands of the kings, to the then Bishop of Paris, Imbert. At the end of the 11th century, it became an enormous parish, extending almost over the whole of the southern part of the city. It is now the centre of the Italian legion, models, organ-grinders, white-mice men, and plaster-image vendors; and it is a pretty sight on Sundays and fête days to see the church packed with emigrants from the sunny South decked out in all the splendour of their holiday attire. How a group of people can alter the whole aspect of a building, was once demonstrated to me in S. Paul's cathedral. Walking down that dismal and gloomy nave upon an afternoon to which the same adjectives might be appropriately applied, it seemed suddenly to become bright and light by the entrance of a group of three or four Italian women with their children, dressed in the familiar, and upon any other human beings, hideously crude violet, emerald-green, and raw-blue coloured garments; colours which are totally wanting in beauty and harmony of themselves, but allied to the snow-white chemises and trimmed with gold braid, and partially covered with silver ornaments, they seemed to drop into harmony with the church, and to completely change the general appearance of the melancholy background, as even a ray of sunshine fails to do completely. S. Paul's is so essentially Italian that its usual congregations, clad in blacks and browns, form an utterly inharmonious foreground to the architecture, and give one the idea that the building is dépaysé.
The present church of S. Séverin was re-built in the 13th century, in great part by money obtained by indulgences, which Clement VI. in 1347 accorded to the generously inclined among the faithful. In the next century this system was revived, and the churchwardens, with shrewd foresight, bought up more ground, with a view to the enlargement of the building. The first stone of the new part was laid in 1489, the chapel of S. Sebastian being built three years later. In 1490 the chapel of the Conception, which was situated near the east end, was demolished to make way for the lengthening of the north aisle. Five years later, Jean Simon, Bishop of Paris, consecrated the new portions of the church, including the high altar, and several of the chapels of the chevet. In 1498 the chapels on the south side were commenced by Micheaul le Gros; the sacristy and treasury being added in 1540, and the chapel of the Communion in 1673, to make an entrance to which the chapel of S. Sebastian had to be destroyed. Thus for four hundred years, more or less, the church was undergoing constant change and development. Then began the downward path, commencing with the destruction of the jubé and the "ornamentation" of the sanctuary to suit the taste of the devotees of Classic art. Originally, many of the Paris churches had jubés (rood-screens), but the only one now remaining is that of S. Étienne du Mont. A brass attached to one of the pillars gives the names of the donors of the screen, Antoine de Compaigne (illuminator) and his wife Oudette.
Were it not for the elegant little tower and spire, few persons would know of the existence of S. Séverin. It is out of the beaten track, beyond Notre-Dame and the "monuments" of the Faubourg S. Germain. It has to be hunted up; but it is well worth the trouble, and any one visiting the remains of the Roman amphitheatre of Lutetia, in the Rue Monge (now laid out as a public garden) can see S. Séverin at the same time.
The portal is profusely carved and bears an inscription upon the stylobate (the letters of which are of the 13th century), giving the various duties of the grave-diggers, amongst others the cleansing of the vaults of the roof as well as the lower part of the church on the feast of S. Martin, in order to be tidy for the dedication festival which fell two days later. As in many other churches, there are two lions on each side of the arch, probably the supports formerly of some heraldic shields. This, no doubt, is the origin of the formula, which terminates certain ecclesiastical judgments pronounced at the threshold of the temple, Datum inter duos leones. The tympanum bas-relief has been restored. It represents the charity of S. Martin, who is one of the patrons of the church, and whose mutilated mantle, or a portion of it, has been one of the cherished relics of S. Séverin since the 14th century. There is also a chapel dedicated to the venerable bishop of Tours, which was formerly completely covered with ex voto horse-shoes, the gifts of thankful travellers; for S. Martin having been on horseback when he divided his cloak, became the patron of the travelling community. The western façade is composed of portions of the portal of S. Pierre-aux-Bœufs in the Cité, which was demolished in 1837, and is, the little which has been left unrestored, of the 13th century. S. Pierre was situated in the Rue d'Arcole; the only fragment remaining being a bas-relief fixed against the wall of the house which occupies the site of the church, representing an Ecce Homo surrounded with the emblems of the Passion. Above the porch of S. Séverin are an open work gallery, a rose window and a cornice upon which a party of little animals are playing among some foliage, all in Flamboyant style. The statue of the Virgin is quite modern. The whole of the chapels, as well as the greater part of the nave, are of the 15th and 16th centuries; but the first three bays of the nave are of a totally different style; the form of the arches and of the windows shows the craftsmanship of the 13th century artists. Birds and beasts, natural and grotesque, form gargoyles, shooting the rainwater from their open mouths. At the north-west end of the chapels, an elegantly carved canopied niche encloses the patron Saint, and near him is an inscription inviting the passers-by to pray for the souls of the departed
The last word has been mutilated.
The interior consists of a nave and double aisles. The triforium is very similar to that of Westminster Abbey church; but at the commencement of the apse, the 13th century arches were filled in with round-headed ones, Cupid-like Cherubs being placed between the two to "ornament" the intervening space, and the pillars converted into marbled pilasters.
INTERIOR OF SAINT-SÉVERIN.
INTERIOR OF SAINT-SÉVERIN.
Some of the capitals and corbels of the south aisle are most droll—prophets, flying Angels, and divers kinds of animals, all more or less grotesque, after the manner of the miserere seats at Wells cathedral. During the reign of Henri IV. Sibyls, and Prophets, Patriarchs and Apostles, were painted by one Jacques Bunel on a gold ground above the arches of the nave; but happily they have disappeared. It was Mlle. de Montpensier who caused the marbling of the choir to be undertaken in 1684, and who also bore the expense of the baldachino of the altar, employing the sculptor Tubi to carry out the designs of Lebrun.
SAINT-SÉVERIN.
SAINT-SÉVERIN.
In the side aisle, on the south, is a little door leading through a garden, formerly the graveyard, to the presbytère. This, in summer, forms a charming little picture. In one of the side chapels (Notre-Dame de l'Espérance) is a 15th century wall-painting of The Resurrection of the Dead; and in the chapel of the chevet a Preaching of John the Baptist, also in fresco. In the apse are a series of fluted and spiral columns. The bosses are many of them ornamented with figures—the Annunciation, S. Anne and S. Joachim at the golden gate, a Holy Face, and a chalice surmounted by the host.
A number of distinguished persons were buried at S. Séverin: Étienne Pasquier, an eloquent Avocat-Général under Henri III. who was mainly instrumental in causing the exclusion of the Jesuits from the University, and who died in 1615; the brothers Saint-Martre, celebrated men of letters living at the beginning of the 17th century; and Moreri, the author of the Dictionnaire Historique, who died in 1680.
There are only three ancient epitaphs remaining—that of Nicolas de Bomont, who died in 1540; Guillaume Fusée, president of the Parliament of Paris, and of his wife, Jeanne Desportes, who made several pious foundations in 1521; and Jean Baptiste Altin, conseilleur au Châtelet, who died in 1640. The first, Nicolas Bomont, his wife, and fifteen children, are represented as pigmy personages praying at the foot of the Crucified. The emblems upon the Altin slab have been borrowed from the Roman catacombs; and the epitaph is as follows:
ALTINI PECCATORIS OSSA
HIC JACENT,
PIE JESU MISERERE EIUS
TU VIATOR PRECARE PRO EO
VIX
AN
PLU
JUNIVS
A
C
DIONYSIANO MDCXL
SENATOR FOIT IN CASTELL
PAR
PŒNE QUADRAGEN
VALE VIATOR ET VALERE
MANES IOBE
A modern tablet states that the first confraternity established in France under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception was founded at S. Séverin in 1311, but the chapels used by the association have disappeared.
The church contains no furniture of any value artistically, except perhaps, the organ and wrought-iron gallery, erected in 1747 to replace an earlier instrument of 1512; the original organ, given in 1358 by Maître Regnaud de Douy, the master of the parish schools, is described as une bones orgues et bien ordenées.
A good deal of the stained glass is of the 15th and 16th centuries, and bears the figures and arms of the donors (some of whom appear by their long robes to have been magistrates), accompanied by their wives and families. The subjects are the usual ones taken from the New Testament, or from the lives of the Saints; but a few are somewhat out of the beaten track, as for instance: Two families of numerous members accompanied by, or superintended by S. Peter and S. Andrew; S. Michael clad as a warrior bearing a shield upon which are emblazoned the arms of France; S. Geneviève holding her demon-extinguished taper which an Angel relights; S. Anthony with his staff and bell, and holy fire under his feet, which is in dangerous proximity to his faithful porkling; and lastly, S. Thomas of Canterbury celebrating mass, while his murderers fall upon him with their swords. One of the chapels of S. Séverin was dedicated to the memory of the martyred archbishop.
Several modern artists have decorated the side-chapels—Alexandre Hesse, Cornu and Flandrin; but the student of the latter painter must go to S. Vincent-de-Paul and S. Germain-des-Prés to fully appreciate this great master of religious art.
The symbols upon the slab mentioned above are very similar to those found in the cemetery of S. Marcel which occupied the site of the abbey of S. Geneviève. In the Breviary of Paris we read, in the office for the Translation of S. Marcel, that his body was put in a chapel, aedicula, named after S. Clement, and from which the Saint had driven out an enormous serpent. Coming from a neighbouring wood the monster had seized upon the remains of a rich woman who had been a great sinner, and was regaling himself therewith, when Marcel came to the rescue, and chasing him away three miles, forbade him ever to return. This miracle was popular upon the churches of Paris, and is still to be seen on the centre pier of the Porte S. Anne of Notre-Dame and in the voussure of the Porte Rouge.
On the slab at S. Séverin are the doves with olive branches and the sacred monogram. Below, the Lamb is standing upon the earth, from which flow the rivers of Paradise, Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates, typical, according to S. Ambrose, of the Cardinal Virtues, Prudence, Strength, Courage, and Temperance. The epitaph is written between the doves and the Lamb.
TOMB OF CARDINAL RICHELIEU.
TOMB OF CARDINAL RICHELIEU.
THE OLD SORBONNE.
THE OLD SORBONNE.
Another institution which owes its initiative to S. Louis is the Sorbonne, actually founded in 1250 by Robert de Sorbon, a canon of Paris, for sixteen poor students in theology. The present church is a fine example of 17th century Classicism, such as the world of that day affected. Jacques Lemercier was the architect, and the great Cardinal the pay-master, and between them they certainly turned out a very respectable piece of work with a certain sense of grandeur, and a very fine dome, the first that figured in Paris. It was built between 1635 and 1659. Within, is the marble tomb of Richelieu, the work of Girardon (1694) from the design of Lebrun. The great man reclines gracefully upon a couch supported by a figure of Religion, and a weeping lady of Science at his feet. It has not the feeling of the Renaissance sculpture, and although Religion forms a principal part of the composition, it is purely and simply a secular design. It might be the memorial of a Pagan, and it would be just as appropriate in a town hall, a garden, or a theatre; but that perhaps gives it the more fitness as the monument of so singular a churchman and so farcical a Christian. The wary Cardinal turns up his face and piously gazes at Heaven as if that were his only thought; he appears overwhelmed with holiness and sanctity, a veritable Pecksniff arrayed in the gorgeous robes of a prince of the holy Roman Church. But artistically, the composition is fine, far finer than many of the works of the 17th century; and one feels that could the figure rise, it would move about with the same grace as that portrayed in the noble portrait of the great statesman by Philippe de Champaigne in the Louvre. As posthumous retribution for his crimes and vices, Richelieu's head was chopped off into three pieces in 1793, and remained fragmentary until 1861, when they were patched together. The church also contains a painting by Hesse of little value, Robert de Sorbon présentant à S. Louis de jeunes élèves en théologie, and some statues by Romy and Bure.
"Yonder majestic portico forms the west front of the church called S. Sulpice.... It is at once airy and grand. There are two tiers of pillars, of which this front is composed; the lower is Doric, the upper Ionic; and each row, as I am told, is nearly forty French feet in height, exclusively of their entablatures, each of ten feet. We have nothing like this, certainly, as the front of a parish church, in London. When I except S. Paul's, such exception is made in reference to the most majestic piece of architectural composition which, to my eye, the wit of man hath yet ever devised. The architect of the magnificent front of S. Sulpice was Servandoni; and a street hard by (in which Dom Brial, the father of French history, resides) takes its name from the architect. There are two towers—one at each end of this front, about two hundred and twenty feet in height from the pavement; harmonising well with the general style of architecture, but of which that to the South (to the best of my recollection) is left in an unaccountably if not shamefully unfinished state. These towers are said to be about one toise higher than those of Notre-Dame. The interior of this church is hardly less imposing than its exterior. The vaulted roofs are exceedingly lofty; but, for the length of the nave, and more especially the choir, the transepts are disproportionally short, nor are there sufficiently prominent ornaments to give relief to the massive appearance of the sides. These sides are decorated by fluted pilasters of the Corinthian order, which for so large and lofty a building have a tame effect. There is nothing like the huge, single, insulated column, or the clustered slim pilasters, that separate the nave from the side aisles of the Gothic churches of the early and middle ages.
"The principal altar between the nave and the choir is admired for its size and grandeur of effect, but it is certainly ill-placed; it is perhaps too ornamental, looking like a detached piece which does not harmonise with the surrounding objects. Indeed, most of the altars in French churches want simplicity and appropriate effect, and the whole of the interior of the choir is (to my fastidious eye only, you may add) destitute of that quiet solemn character which ought always to belong to places of worship. Rich, minute and elaborate as are many of the Gothic choirs of our own country, they are yet in harmony and equally free from a frivolous and unappropriate effect. Behind the choir is the chapel of Our Lady, which is certainly most splendid and imposing. Upon the ceiling is represented the assumption of the Virgin, and the walls are covered with a profusion of gilt ornament which, upon the whole, has a very striking effect. In a recess above the altar is a sculptured representation of the Virgin and Infant Christ in white marble, of a remarkably high polish; nor are the countenances of the mother and child divested of sweetness of expression. They are represented upon a large globe, or with the world at their feet; upon the top of which, slightly coiled, lies the "bruised" or dead serpent. The light in front of the spectator, from a concealed window (a contrivance to which the French seem partial), produces a sort of magical effect. I should add that this is the largest parochial church in Paris, and that its organ has been pronounced to be matchless.
"This magnificent church is the production of several periods and of several artists. Anne of Austria laid the foundation stone in 1636, under the superintendence of Levau. Levau died shortly afterwards, and was succeeded by Gittard and Oppenard. The finish was received by Servandoni, who, in the West front, or portico, left all his predecessors far behind him. The church was dedicated about the middle of the last century. The towers are the joint performances of Maclaurin and Chalgrin; but the latter has the credit of having rectified the blunders of the former. He began his labours in 1777; but both the South tower, and the Place, immediately before the West front, want their finishing decorations."
A PROCESSION IN SAINT-SULPICE.
A PROCESSION IN SAINT-SULPICE.
I have quoted this long dissertation by Dibden because I do not think a better description of the church could be given; but the writer is wrong in some of his details. The church was commenced in 1646, not '36, the first architect being Christophe Gamart. The finishing stroke was put by Jean Servandoni, the funds being provided by means of a lottery started by the energetic curé Languet de Gergy. I cannot endorse Dibden's praise of the chapel of the Virgin by De Wailly, the surrounding paintings by Vanloo, and the Slodtz brothers' decorations. It is all very splendid with gold and marbles, and the statue by Pajou is looked upon as a chef-d'œuvre. The cupola, with an Assumption painted by Lemoine, is graceful; but the effect of light is theatrical to the last degree, and the whole chapel is wanting in dignity and the religious feeling without which a building fails as a Christian church. Another statue of the Virgin, a Notre-Dame des Douleurs, by Bouchardon, a great tomb of the curé Languet de Gregy, by Michel-Ange Slodtz, and the pulpit given in 1788 by the Maréchal de Richelieu, are all very grandiose, but fail utterly to impress one; whereas the two shells serving as holy-water stoops, given to François I. by the Republic of Venice, are charming examples of pure Renaissance sculpture. The general effect of the church, by its enormous size alone, is exceedingly grand; but, being entirely of stone, it is cold and colourless. An Italian edifice wants Italian materials, which is the reason that the Brompton Oratory is so highly satisfactory, and perhaps the most magnificent example of Italian architecture on this side of the Alps. The details of glass, furniture, pulpit, &c., in S. Sulpice are utterly uninteresting, with the exception of the mural paintings by Delacroix in the chapel of the Holy Angels, which are splendid examples of the great artist's work. The subjects are: Saint Michel triomphant de Lucifer; Héliodore terrassé et battu de verges; and La lutte de Jacob et l' Ange dans le désert. In the west chapel, dedicated to the souls in Purgatory, are pictures by Heim; and in the other chapels, works by Abel de Pujol, Vichon, Lafon, A. Hesse, Drolling, and Guillemot. In the crypt, used as a chapel for catechising, are the statues of S. Paul and S. John Evangelist, by Pradier.
The organ is an enormous instrument by Cavaillé-Coll. It possesses 118 stops, 5 manuals, 20 composition pedals, and some 7,000 pipes. Exquisitely played by M. Widor, one is carried away from the unsympathetic surroundings, particularly when the Seminarists form in procession and pour out the solemn old Gregorian tones, the beauty of which no one can understand unless they have been heard by a mass of men's voices and accompanied by an organist who understands harmonizing with taste. The organ here, as at all the Paris churches, is at the west end of the nave, and is only used for voluntaries and solo performances, never to accompany voices, for which purpose a small instrument is always placed close to the choir, either at the side or behind the altar. This is a much better arrangement than our modern one of having a huge organ in the chancel thundering away and drowning the voices. Of course it necessitates two organists, but the gain in refinement is worth the outlay; and there is no reason why the choirmaster, who would accompany the singers, should necessarily be a first-rate player.
Although there are no remains of an earlier building, there was a parish church upon the same site as S. Sulpice as early as the 12th century; this was enlarged under Louis XII. and François Ier.
SAINT-SULPICE FROM THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN.
SAINT-SULPICE FROM THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN.
A brass slab incrusted in the pavement of the south transept indicates the meridian in a direct line towards the north—an obelisk. When the weather is fine, the midday sun shines through a little opening in the window of the south transept, and strikes the middle of the plaque in Summer, and the top of the obelisk in the Winter solstice. This meridian was established in 1743 by Henri Sully and Lemonnier, to fix the Spring equinox and Easter Day.
This is another church for the smart people, but not the nouveaux riches, rather the old noblesse of the Faubourg S. Germain—tall, lean old gentlemen, with fine aquiline noses and distingué figures; and old ladies in sober black, much lace and old-fashioned grey curls. There was a story told in one of the newspapers of a lady wanting an anniversary mass said at S. Thomas, but, the price being 10 fr., she could not afford it. "Eh bien, madame, vous pouvez en avoir à S. Pierre du Gros-Caillou pour 7 frs. 50 c." I cannot vouch for the truth of the tale; but it is well-known that masses for the dead could not possibly be said in sufficient number in the city churches except by uniting many heterogeneous souls, which would not be pleasant to those who wish to spare no expense, and to run no chances of failure as regards the future of their dear relatives and friends; and so commemorative and anniversary masses are farmed out, like the poor babies, to country priests; which has the double advantage of aiding the departed souls and of augmenting the miserable stipends of the unfortunate provincial curés, who have to be "passing rich" literally upon forty pounds a year—and fees, which are no small items in certain places. The system of stretching out an income by fees is terrible. So much for weddings and burials at the High Altar; so much less at a side one; a little more at the altar of the Blessed Virgin than at that of S. Holobellou, and so on; by which means the curés of the rich churches, the Madeleine, S. Augustin, La Trinité, S. Thomas, S. Philippe and the like, multiply their incomes to an enormous extent. This is not the only country where equalization of the incomes of the clergy is desirable.
S. Thomas formerly belonged to the Jacobins; the conventual buildings are now used for the museum of artillery. The church was commenced in 1683, but only finished in 1740. The portal was designed by brother Claude, a religious of the monastery; the ceiling of the choir was painted in 1724 by Lemoine, and represents the Transfiguration.
When Hannah of old obtained her desire, she dedicated her son to God's service in the Temple; but Anne d'Autriche, under the same circumstances, went further, and built the church and founded the monastery of Val de Grâce, in the Rue S. Jacques. It it not often that the gratitude of sovereigns takes so magnificent a form. The Benedictine nuns of the monastery of Val Profond, which had been established near Bièvre le Châtel since the 13th century had been removed by the Queen to the Hôtel du Petit-Bourbon some years previously; but she did not commence the new buildings until she became regent. The little King laid the first stone of the church in 1645, François Mansard being the first architect; Jacques Lemercier continued the work, and Pierre Lemuet, Gabriel Leduc, and Duval finished it. The abbey is now a military hospital.
The decoration of the church points to the Birth of Christ as symbolising the birth of Louis XIV., in future years, known as the "Roi Soleil." In the great courtyard is a statue in bronze of Larrey, Napoléon's great army surgeon, by David d'Angers, the celebrated sculptor. The dome is exceedingly elegant, but the church below is, like the Invalides, too small as a basement. Both buildings give the impression of an elongated dome, and nothing else; hence they look far better from a point which hides the lower part of the buildings. The pavement is laid with rich marbles, and the baldachino, supported by six twisted columns, recalls that of S. Peter's. "If you wish to see the prettiest fresco painting in all Paris, you must go in here, and look up at the dome; the chapels, too, are full of virgins, and dirty little Angels." Why dirty, I know not; but the praise of the painting in the dome is not exaggerated. It is a mass of figures, a whole hierarchy of Saints adoring the Trinity, and Anne d'Autriche, introduced by S. Louis, presenting the model of her church. Like all Mignard's work, it is grandiose rather than grand, with exaggerated attitudes and hurricane-blown garments. In the chapel of the Communion are some works by Philippe de Champaigne.
Many were the royal hearts placed in neat little golden and silver-gilt boxes, which formerly adorned the church. It was privileged to entertain these appendages of Bourbon bodies, but the Revolution made light of them, and carried off the casings. Poor hearts, alive or dead, they were not worth much, except for their settings.
Consecrated in 1710, this chapel is, like the whole palace, an example of exquisite workmanship. Not a bolt or a hinge but is of the best bronze, exquisitely designed and gilt. We may not admire the style, but all Mansard's subordinates turned out the best work they could produce. Can anything be more worthy of praise in this respect than the staircases of the palace, resplendent with different coloured marbles, or the magnificent Salle des Glaces? The same may be said of the chapel. As a church it may fail; it certainly inspires no feeling of religion; but as a building it is magnificent.
CHAPEL OF THE CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES.
CHAPEL OF THE CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES.
The Kings sat in the gallery, and in consequence of the holiness of S. Louis, they were allowed a privilege only accorded to ecclesiastics—that of kissing the paten at mass; and when they received the Holy Sacrament, they were presented with as many wafers as there had been Kings in succession to Clovis—a custom which had come down from the time of Louis le Débonnaire, as a safe-guard against poison, Louis having been poisoned by a consecrated wafer.
The beautiful chapel attached to the castle of Vincennes was begun in 1379, by Charles V., but was only finished by Henri II., who adorned the interior, and especially the glass, with the interlaced H. and D., which figure upon everything of the period, without the slightest shame. The apse contains glass by Jean Cousin, an exquisite Last Judgment.
At once a royal residence and a prison, the Château de Vincennes has a long history to recount. It was much beloved by S. Louis; he lived there, and delivered his judgments sitting under an oak in the forest. It was there also that he received those precious relics from the Emperor Baldwin, deposited for a time at the convent of the Minimes; and from Vincennes also the departure for those unhappy Crusades took place.
Louis X., Philippe V., Charles IV., and our own Henry V. died there; Charles IX. and Mazarin died there; and Henry IV. was imprisoned there. So was Mirabeau, who passed his time in composing L'Essai sur les lettres de cachet et les prisons d'Etat. Diderot was also a prisoner; and the Duc d'Enghien was shot within its precincts. Like the Bastille it had its lettres de cachets, and although less notorious, it was probably no less dark in its tales of legal and regal crimes. But for all that its woods were favourite hunting-grounds, a part having been enclosed by Philippe-Auguste to receive the stags and roebucks sent by Henry II. of England to his most Christian majesty.
Vincennes was also the birthplace of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, started by one Charles Adam in 1745: but this is guide-book information, with no bearing upon the Paris churches. Let no one, however, visit the Chapel at Vincennes without sauntering into the wood, which is quite the equal, if not prettier than the Bois de Boulogne. You may pick violets and enjoy a splendid view of the Seine and the Marne meandering among the valleys; but you will not enjoy le monde, which does not venture so far east of the Champs Elysées. If you require fashion, go not east of the Louvre.
THE CHAPEL OF THE CHÂTEAU DE VINCENNES.
THE CHAPEL OF THE CHÂTEAU DE VINCENNES.
Whether we consider this church from the architectural or the decorative point of view, it is quite worthy of its titular Saint, and is one of the grandest of modern churches to be seen anywhere. It is built on the plan of the early Roman basilicas. Begun by Lepère in 1824, it was finished from designs by Hittorf. The situation is fine, and the step and slopes leading up to it are at once grand and original. The subject in the tympanum is by Nanteuil, representing S. Vincent de Paul surrounded by Sisters of Charity and Angels.
S. Vincent de Paul was the founder of the picturesque grey Sisters we all know so well by their pretty flapping headgear, and of foundling hospitals in France. He was born in 1576 at Puy in Gascony, and being of a contemplative disposition, full of piety and sweetness, was fitted, his father thought, for the religious life; and so he was sent to a convent of the Cordeliers near by, and assumed the Franciscan frock at the age of twenty. For ten years he studied, and then an incident occurred which settled his destiny. Going to Marseilles to transact some business, and returning by sea, the bark was attacked by African pirates, and S. Vincent, with the others on board, was bound and sent into slavery at Tunis. Vincent spent two years in captivity, passing from one owner to another, when, one day, being asked by his master's wife to sing to her, he burst into tears, chanting, "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept," and "Salve Regina." But the songs or the preaching converted the woman, and then her husband; which being so, they all escaped and landed at Aiguesmortes. Vincent went to Rome, and then to Paris, where he pleaded the cause of the wretched galley-slaves of Marseilles. We all remember the grand picture by Bonnat, of S. Vincent taking the place of a slave and having the fetters put upon him. I forget its exact name; it was exhibited, in London some years ago, and is now in one of the churches. The Saint began his good work by visiting the prisons or dépôts, whence the criminals were forwarded to the galleys. There he saw "des malheureux renfermés dans de profondes et obscures cavernes, mangés de vermines, atténués de langueur et de pauvreté, et entièrement negligés pour le corps et pour l'âme." S. Vincent then took up the cause of the street girls, and finally he instituted the Order of Sisters of Charity, nuns "qui n'ont point de monastères que les maisons des malades, pour cellules qu'une chambre de louage, pour chapelle que l'église de leur paroisse, pour cloître que les rues de la ville et les salles des hôspitaux, pour clôture que l'obéissance, pour grille que la crainte de Dieu, et pour voile qu'une Sainte et exacte modestie, et cependant elles se préservent de la contagion du vice, elles font germer partout sur leurs pas la vertu." Such was S. Vincent's idea when founding the Sisterhood, and such the Sisters are to this day, eminently practical, whether in their work or their quaint costume, which is short enough to clear the muddy street pavements, a model to most nurses in or out of hospital. They move with the world, but are not of it.
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL; FROM AN OLD ENGRAVING.
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL; FROM AN OLD ENGRAVING.
S. Vincent is generally represented carrying one babe and holding another by the hand, typical of his founding la Maison des Enfants Trouvés, which was the outcome of his first plan of gathering up children in the streets and placing them with his Sisters. Such an accumulation of little outcasts did he obtain that a special house had soon to be founded.
Nor was S. Vincent out of his element at Court, for he was friendly with Cardinal Richelieu, and attended Louis XIII. in his last moments. He died, in 1660, at S. Lazare, and was canonized in 1747; but, in the words of the people, he was "l'Intendant de la Providence et Père des Pauvres." When the fine new church, dedicated to S. Vincent de Paul, was built, Hippolyte Flandrin was at the height of his reputation. He had decorated S. Germain-des-Prés with exquisite pictures, telling the whole story of the Redemption from the Old and New Testament; the churches of S. Paul at Nismes and S. Martin of Lyons were no less great successes. But the frescoes of S. Vincent were to be the painter's crowning work. The church has a feature in common with S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, namely, a long flat wall space on each side of the nave and the west end, supported by pillars, and, in the case of the Paris church, forming a gallery. This it was that Flandrin was commissioned to cover with frescoes; and just as he had gone to the Roman catacombs for his inspiration for the Romanesque church at Lyons, so he looked to Ravenna for his designs for the Paris basilica. There is great similarity of idea in the two processions, and if S. Apollinare carries off the palm for its gorgeous mosaic, it must give way to S. Vincent in beauty of form and spirituality of design. Few, if any, churches can show pictures so full of beauty as this procession to Paradise (the "Christian Panathenæa" it has been called), a magnificent army of sufferers who have gained the crown. There they walk with stately steps, a hundred and fifty men and women, carrying their emblems and their palms; and yet there is no repetition; each one has his own individuality, his own idiosyncrasy.
M. Ingres was the first artist invited to undertake the work, then Delaroche; but happily, both of them declined, and Picot accepted the commission. The 1848 Revolution broke out and interrupted the work; then the new administration, struck with the beauty of the frescoes of S. Germain, wished to give over the decoration of S. Vincent to Flandrin. Naturally this great artist did not relish ousting a brother brush, and so a compromise was arranged; Picot chose the choir, and the frieze of the nave was left for Flandrin.
S. GREGORY AND S. LEO, BY FLANDRIN.
S. GREGORY AND S. LEO, BY FLANDRIN.
The procession of men is on one side, that of women upon the other, both being marshalled into Paradise by Angels bearing crowns for the elect. These stand on each side of the sanctuary, symbolic of Heaven: "Beati misericordis, Beati qui persecutionem patientur propter justitiam."
Beginning with the Apostles, we see SS. Peter and Paul as the pillars of the Church and the two great preachers of Christianity. S. Matthew and S. John follow, accompanied by the rest of the twelve. Then come the Holy Martyrs, beginning with S. Stephen looking up at the "Son of Man seated on the right hand of God." S. Pothinus and S. Eustace lead the group of soldier martyrs, ended by S. Christopher bearing the Infant Christ upon his shoulders. Then follow the doctors of the Church: S. John Chrysostom, "the golden mouthed"; S. Jerome; S. Augustin, of Hippo; and S. Leo, said to be a portrait of M. Ingres. Of these I give slight sketches, as they seem to be peculiarly fine in expression.
The Bishops and Confessors follow, a notable figure for refinement and dignity being S. Nicholas with his three little chubby boys; S. Joseph bears the carpenter's rule instead of the palm, and a lily, emblem of chastity. Charlemagne, sainted, and S. Clodoald, his kingly robes being covered by the monk's habit, are followed by S. Roch, S. Francis of Assisi, S. Dominic, and a crowd of others it is impossible to mention.