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THE CHURCHES OF PARIS FROM CLOVIS TO CHARLES X
THE CHURCHES OF PARIS FROM CLOVIS TO CHARLES X
BY S. SOPHIA BEALE Author of "A complete and Concise Handbook to the Museum of the Louvre" etc With Illustrations by the Author from Original Sketches Photographs and Engravings LONDON W. H. ALLEN & CO LIMITED 13 WATERLOO PLACE SW —— 1893 All rights reserved WYMAN AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, LONDON AND REDHILL. DEDICATED TO ONE WHOSE HELP WAS INVALUABLE BUT WHO IS NOW TO US ONLY A MEMORY...
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
I N a book of this kind, it is difficult to prevent oneself becoming a guide, more or less complete. Dates and facts, architectural details and descriptions, all savour of the handbook; but having determined to keep to the historical and archaeological, rather than the architectural side of the churches, I have tried to rake up quaint and legendary lore, and so add to the interest of an ordinary guide book. I would also pray my readers to bear in mind that, as the work is not intended to be an a
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THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. SAINT-ANTOINE DES QUINZE-VINGTS.
THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. SAINT-ANTOINE DES QUINZE-VINGTS.
Saint Louis, always careful in helping his suffering subjects, founded this hospital for the blind in 1260, upon a piece of ground abutting on the Louvre, now traversed by the Rue de Rivoli. In 1780 the hospital was transferred to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and took up its abode in the old dwelling place of the Black Musketeers, whose chapel also served as a parish church. It is a little building of no beauty nor interest, although a few inscriptions relating to pious foundations still remain i
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LES CARMES DÉCHAUSSÉES
LES CARMES DÉCHAUSSÉES
The old church of the barefooted Carmelites in the Rue de Vaugirard was commenced in 1613, and dedicated to S. Joseph in 1625. It is now served by the Dominicans. The crypt is the only interesting part of the church, and is a curiosity, as it contains innumerable bones piled up on every side, the remains of the ghastly September massacres of 1792. The frescoes painted by a Liège artist, Bartholet Flamaël, are very much esteemed. Some of the chapels are richly decorated in the gaudy style of the
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LA SAINTE-CHAPELLE.
LA SAINTE-CHAPELLE.
The origin and foundation of this most lovely example of mediæval art is so much a part of S. Louis' life that it may not be out of place to give some account of the Saint's character and habits before proceeding to describe the history of the chapel. THE SAINTE-CHAPELLE FROM THE PONT SAINT-MICHEL. THE SAINTE-CHAPELLE FROM THE PONT SAINT-MICHEL. Louis IX. was pious and practical, and inconvenienced his courtiers as much by his punctuality and the assiduity with which he conducted his business, a
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SAINT-DENIS.
SAINT-DENIS.
Although the Benedictine abbey church of S. Denis is some miles from Paris, it is so mixed up with the history of the capital that it ought not to be omitted in a series of "Paris Churches." Moreover, as it is by far the finest church in, or near, the metropolis, and one of the grandest examples of French 13th century architecture, no one ought to grudge the tiresome journey by train or tram in order to see it, even if his stay in Paris be limited to a few days. The only thing required to make i
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SAINTE-ELIZABETH.
SAINTE-ELIZABETH.
Situated in the Rue du Temple, the church dedicated to the great Hungarian princess formerly faced the entrance to the grim fortress of the Templars, where the poor little Dauphin sighed out his infant life. The church was built for the nuns of the third order of S. Francis, of which S. Elizabeth was a member; and the first stone was laid in 1628 by a very different sort of Queen, Marie de' Medici. The exterior, with its Doric pilastered doorway, and the interior, with its poor glass and indiffe
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SAINT-ÉTIENNE DU MONT.
SAINT-ÉTIENNE DU MONT.
SAINT ÉTIENNE DU MONT. SAINT ÉTIENNE DU MONT. Upon the summit of the hill which rises up from the Seine, opposite and on the south side of Notre-Dame, is the church of S. Étienne du Mont. Some few years ago this "mountain" was an interesting hunting ground to the archæological explorer and the collector of bric-à-brac ; but it has been so cut through by new streets and boulevards that it has almost been improved out of existence. At the foot of it, in a little street turning on from the Quai de
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SAINT-EUSTACHE.
SAINT-EUSTACHE.
S. Eustache, often called by the ancestors of les dames de la Halle Notre-Dame des Halles, though by no means one of the oldest of Parisian churches, is, after the cathedral, the largest. In plan and arrangement it is Gothic, while its decorations and details are in the Renaissance style. It has double aisles, octagonal shafts, round-headed arches, and curvilinear tracery. It was finished in 1641, having been more than a century in building; but in spite of this, the original plan was carried ou
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SAINT-FRANÇOIS XAVIER.
SAINT-FRANÇOIS XAVIER.
Until quite lately, the only church in Paris dedicated to the memory of the great Jesuit was the little chapel belonging to the Missions Étrangères in the Rue de Bac. The first stone was laid in 1683 by the archbishop of Paris, in the name of the king. It is a double chapel with a flight of steps leading from the lower to the upper church....
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SAINTE-GENEVIÈVE (LE PANTHÉON).
SAINTE-GENEVIÈVE (LE PANTHÉON).
As we walk up the Rue Soufflot and see the great domed Panthéon facing us in its Classic glory, it is difficult to realise that the space occupied by the modern building is but a small portion of what was formerly the domain of the important abbey of S. Geneviève belonging to the Augustinian canons. When the religious orders were suppressed in France, Paris contained nine abbeys: S. Geneviève, S. Victor, belonging to the Augustins; S. Germain des Prés to the Benedictines; Val des Grâce to the nu
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SAINT-GERMAIN L'AUXERROIS.
SAINT-GERMAIN L'AUXERROIS.
Between the years 420 and 430, the ancient British church became infected with the heresy of Pelagianism, "which budded forth afresh into this island," as Camden says; and the orthodox clergy, being unable to stay its progress, sent to Gaul desiring assistance. Thereupon a synod of the Gallican church was held, and it was determined to send Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop of Troyes, to confute the heretics. The date assigned to this event by Prosper, a contemporary writer (and als
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SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE.
SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE.
The Château of S. Germain has existed since the time of Charles V., and has received additions during the reigns of François I., Henri II., Henri IV., and Louis XIII. It was given over to James II. of England, and in the church is his monument, gazed at, if bronze eyes can penetrate stone walls, by M. Thiers, who sits in an arm-chair outside. THE CHAPEL OF THE CHÂTEAU OF SAINT-GERMAIN. THE CHAPEL OF THE CHÂTEAU OF SAINT-GERMAIN....
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SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRÉS.
SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRÉS.
The Abbey of S. Germain-in-the-fields, of which nothing remains but the church and the abbot's palace, was, after Notre-Dame, the oldest foundation in Paris. It dates back to the earliest period of the French monarchy, and its history is interwoven with that of some of the best and noblest sons of France. The Saint to whom this church is dedicated was an early bishop of Paris, and must not be confounded with S. Germain of Auxerre, whose legend is described on page 178. The foundation of the abbe
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SAINT-GERVAIS-SAINT-PROTAIS.
SAINT-GERVAIS-SAINT-PROTAIS.
There can be no doubt that the quaint inscription informing "les bonnes gens" that the church of Messeigneurs Saint Gervais et Saint Prothais was dedicated in 1420, refers to an earlier building than the present one. The Saints were twin-brothers, and are represented here as elsewhere, vested as deacons, although there is no evidence in their history of their having been in holy orders. The full inscription is as follows:— The twins were discovered as martyrs by S. Ambrose at Milano, when, in 38
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LA TOUR SAINT-JACQUES.
LA TOUR SAINT-JACQUES.
This tower is all that remains of the church of S. Jacques de la Boucherie, which had to be demolished to make way for the Rue de Rivoli. It was commenced in 1508, and finished in 1522. The figure of S. James upon the little turret, and his friends the Evangelistic animals, by Rauch, were thrown down in 1793; but in 1836, when the municipality saved the tower by purchasing it, the statues were repaired and replaced. The church contained many tombs and slabs, some of which have found a home in th
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SAINT-JACQUES DU HAUT-PAS.
SAINT-JACQUES DU HAUT-PAS.
In no way remarkable, this church need only be mentioned as having been built between 1630-1684, in the Italian fashion. It is in the street of the same name....
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SAINT-JEAN-SAINT-FRANÇOIS.
SAINT-JEAN-SAINT-FRANÇOIS.
Founded in 1623, in the Rue Charlot, as a chapel for the Capuchins, S. Jean contains a statue of S. Francis of Assisi, by Germain Pilon, and a S. Denis, sculptured by Jacques Sarazin for the Abbey of Montmartre, by order of Anne d'Autriche....
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SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE.
SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE.
In a little back street not far from S. Séverin is the old church of S. Julien, a fragment only of its former self, and all that remains of the ancient priory. Its locality is described in Guillot's Dict. des Rues de Paris , which gives a description in verse of the principal houses and streets in the city at the end of the 13th century, as follows:— And it appears that "il y avait jadis, près du Petit-Pont et la prison du Petit-Châtelet, une ruelle appelée ruelle du Carneaux, [92] qui conduisai
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SAINT-LAURENT.
SAINT-LAURENT.
There is nothing in the present somewhat spick-and-span church to recall its former state in the 6th century. The patron of Nürnberg, of the Escorial, and of Genoa; the young martyr, who from the earliest beginnings of Christian art has been one of its most popular subjects; the saintly deacon, who, as painted by Fra Angelico, charms us by his expression of sweet sanctity, and who, when depicted by the disciples of horrors, makes us shudder and close our eyes—S. Laurence, the deacon, has always
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SAINT-LEU-SAINT-GILLES.
SAINT-LEU-SAINT-GILLES.
About the year 600, the town of Sens was besieged by Clotaire's general, Blidebodes, and grievous was the pain and suffering to which the inhabitants were subjected. But the bishop, Lupus, [99] Leu, or Loup was a holy man, and while the warriors fought he passed his time in prayer. Then he bethought him of a little stratagem. Ostensibly for the object of collecting the citizens for prayer, he set to, and vigorously pulled the church bell. The crowd rushed from all parts of the town, and followin
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SAINT-LOUIS D'ANTIN.
SAINT-LOUIS D'ANTIN.
Little need be said of the church which formerly belonged to the Capuchins who were transferred from the Faubourg S. Jacques to the new quarter of the Rue d'Antin in 1783. The church was built by Brongniard, but is of no importance whatever. It now forms a part of the Lycée for those connected therewith who do not find science and literature all that is requisite to their souls' weal....
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SAINT LOUIS EN L'ILE.
SAINT LOUIS EN L'ILE.
This church stands upon the little island of the same name, and was commenced by Louis Levau in 1664; Gabriel Leduc continued the work, and Jacques Doucet finished it in 1726. Men are said to be happy if they are minus a history. Not so churches; without it they are anything but interesting. And so we will pass on from the second S. Louis, just noting some of the modern woodwork as respectable....
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SAINT-LOUIS DES INVALIDES.
SAINT-LOUIS DES INVALIDES.
Built by Libéral Bruant from 1671 to 1679, this church has a certain grandeur, and could the dome be seen from it by taking away the intervening partition of ugly painted glass, it would be very imposing. The latter, the burial-place of Napoleon and of some of his generals, contains also monuments and statues of other military heroes. This part, the cupola (or Tombeau as it is generally termed), was built by Jules Hardouin Mansard, and dedicated by the Cardinal de Noailles in 1706. The exterior
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LA SAINTE-MADELEINE.
LA SAINTE-MADELEINE.
If good materials and excellent workmanship can make a building interesting, assuredly the Madeleine ought to be so. Commenced in 1764 as a church, its fate was somewhat similar to that of S. Geneviève, for, in 1806, Napoleon, then busy in Posen, sent his orders that it should be finished as a Temple of Glory. The pediment was to bear the following inscription:—"L'empereur Napoléon aux soldats de la grande armée;" and the 5th article of the decree was thus composed: "Tous les ans, aux anniversai
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SAINTE-MARGUERITE.
SAINTE-MARGUERITE.
The church, dedicated to is not of much importance. The popularity of S. Margaret was so great in the Middle Ages that it seems strange so little notice has been taken of her in Paris. Only think what a lovely dragon the sculptor of the monsters upon the towers of Notre-Dame would have contrived! We have only to look upon them to picture to ourselves the dreadful worm. The church of S. Marguerite is in the Rue S. Bernard, Faubourg S. Antoine. The chapel of the Souls in Purgatory is a curious com
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SAINT-MARTIN DES CHAMPS.
SAINT-MARTIN DES CHAMPS.
Situated upon the east side of a square which lies between the Rue S. Martin and the Boulevard Sabastopol is the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, formerly the rich priory of S. Martin. As its name indicates, it used to be surrounded by fields and gardens; now it is an oasis of antiquity, built up upon every side but the square with huge modern houses. Its old walls enclose a museum; its chapel contains hydraulic machines, and its refectory is a public library. One of the twenty or more turrets
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SAINT-MÉDARD.
SAINT-MÉDARD.
The French S. Swithin shares with his brethren on the opposite bank of the Seine, les frères Gervais et Protais , a predilection for drenching us on and after his fête day; so that, what with S. Médard's 8th of June, S. Gervais' and S. Protais' 19th June, and S. Swithin's 15th July, we who live upon our respective sides of the ditch may reckon upon a good three weeks of wet, over and above the forty days, if unhappily it rains upon the earlier of those unlucky festivals. But if S. Médard was vin
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SAINT-MERRI.
SAINT-MERRI.
At the bottom of the Rue S. Martin, close to the Rue de Rivoli, is a spot which, during the ages of faith, was much reverenced for its miracle-working powers. In the 7th century, the whole district was a forest, and doubtless the King and courtiers hunted there; for are we not told that the Louvre, hard by, was in early days but a royal hunting-box. As is well known, Paris, the Lutetia of the Gauls, consisted only of the present Cité, the island upon which stands the cathedral. All around were f
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SAINT-NICOLAS DES CHAMPS.
SAINT-NICOLAS DES CHAMPS.
PORCH OF SAINT-NICOLAS. PORCH OF SAINT-NICOLAS. The patron saint of children, of schoolboys, of poor maidens and travellers, of merchants, and, above all, of pawnbrokers, was popular in Paris as elsewhere, and thus we find three churches dedicated to him. S. Nicolas was a performer of stupendous miracles. Thus it happened that during a time of famine, while he was visiting his flock, he discovered that a certain disciple of the Evil One murdered little children, and, cannibal-like, feasted on th
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SAINT-NICOLAS DU CHARDONNET.
SAINT-NICOLAS DU CHARDONNET.
This is an ugly church, with traditions going back to the 13th century, but with nothing thereof now to be seen, in the Rue S. Victor. The present building dates from 1656 to 1709. A picture by Lebrun, of The Miracle of Moses , adorns one of the chapels; and the tomb erected by him to his mother's memory, by Tuby and Callignon, is to be found in another. Lebrun's own tomb is by Coyzevox; Jérôme Bignon's, by Girardon. There are also pictures by Le Sueur, Coypel, Corot, Desgoffes, and Mignard. Suz
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NOTRE-DAME.
NOTRE-DAME.
Sauval likens the island upon which the cathedral stands to a ship: "L'ile de la cité est faite comme un grand navire enfoncé dans la vase et échoué au fil de l'eau vers le milieu de la Seine;" and perhaps the Ship of Paris upon the Gallic sea may have owed its origin as the city arms to some idea of this sort. The origin of Notre-Dame is enveloped in mystery. Whether its first bishop, S. Denis, or Dyonesius, was the Areopagite converted by S. Paul's preaching at Athens, and sent by S. Clement t
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NOTRE-DAME DE L'ASSOMPTION.
NOTRE-DAME DE L'ASSOMPTION.
This building may be described as a dome and a portico, built from 1670 to 1676, by Charles Erard, director of the Academy of France at Rome, and decorated by Charles de la Fosse. The cupola is graceful, and if it were as well decorated as the Allerheiligen church of the palace at München, or the Apollinarus-Kirche at Remagen on the Rhine, it would be an imposing edifice; as it is, it seems under a cloud, and is only used as a succursale or dépendance of the Madeleine. It belonged to the convent
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NOTRE-DAME DE L'ABBAYE AUX BOIS.
NOTRE-DAME DE L'ABBAYE AUX BOIS.
If I say that the little church and cloister, which are all that remain of a monastery of Cistercian nuns, built in 1718, are situated in the Rue de Sèvres, hard by the Bon Marché, my readers will immediately picture their whereabouts. At the beginning of this century, the Abbaye became a genteel boarding-house for fashionable ladies who played at being weary of the world; but, although they retired into a monastic building, their monde followed them; and thus we find Madame Recamier receiving h
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NOTRE-DAME DES BLANCS-MANTEAUX.
NOTRE-DAME DES BLANCS-MANTEAUX.
When the white-mantled religious, the servants of Mary, came to Paris about the year 1258, they set up housekeeping in the street which is now named after them, the Rue des Blancs-Manteaux. Everyone who has been to Florence knows the chapel of the Annunziata, where during mass one day, the general of the Servites, Filippo Benozzi, saw a vision of the Virgin sitting in a chariot, and heard her voice calling upon him to draw near, and join himself to her servants, who, some fifteen years earlier,
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NOTRE-DAME DES CHAMPS.
NOTRE-DAME DES CHAMPS.
Legendary history records an assemblage of the first Christians of Lutetia in the fields where now runs the Rue S. Jacques, listening to the preaching of S. Denis, and strengthening themselves against the persecution which loomed in the distance. And legend further relates that a chapel was built upon this spot. But leaving the realms of tradition, we find an authentic account of a church in the 8th century which, in the next hundred years, was served by the Benedictine monks of Marmoutier. This
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NOTRE-DAME DE LORETTE.
NOTRE-DAME DE LORETTE.
An utterly uninteresting exterior encloses some good mural paintings by Orsel, Périn, and Roger. The church was completed in 1836 by Lebas, and were the weather always bright, the interior would not fail to impress the visitor; but it is too dark for a Northern clime, and it is therefore difficult fully to appreciate the frescoes. That over the altar is by Picot; the subjects from the life of the Virgin are by Dubois, Langlois, Vinchon, and Hesse; the choir is the work of Delorme; the Presentati
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NOTRE-DAME DES VICTOIRES.
NOTRE-DAME DES VICTOIRES.
Louis XIII. laid the first stone of this church in 1629, and dedicated it to Our Lady of Victory, in memory of the famous battle of La Rochelle. It was part of the convent of barefooted Augustins, who were nicknamed the Little Fathers, by Henri IV., on account of the diminutive stature of some of the friars, and consequently the church was as often called Notre-Dame des Petits Pères as Notre-Dame des Victoires. Pierre Lemut was its original architect; and before it was completed, in 1740, by Car
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L'ORATOIRE.
L'ORATOIRE.
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.
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SAINT-PAUL-SAINT-LOUIS.
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 t
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SAINT-PHILIPPE DU ROULE.
SAINT-PHILIPPE DU ROULE.
"This church presents you with a single insulated row of fluted Ionic pillars, on each side of the nave; very airy, yet consequential, and even imposing. It is much to my taste, and I wish such a plan were more generally adopted in the interiors of Grecian-constructed churches. The choir, the altar ... the whole is extremely simple and elegant. Nor must the roof be omitted to be particularly mentioned. It is an arch constructed of wood, upon a plan originally invented by Philibert Delorme—so wel
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SAINT-PIERRE DE CHAILLOT.
SAINT-PIERRE DE CHAILLOT.
"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.
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SAINT-PIERRE DE MONTMARTRE.
SAINT-PIERRE DE MONTMARTRE.
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
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SAINT-ROCH.
SAINT-ROCH.
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 Mich
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SAINT-SÉVERIN.
SAINT-SÉVERIN.
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 oth
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LA SORBONNE.
LA SORBONNE.
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
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SAINT-SULPICE.
SAINT-SULPICE.
"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 pi
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SAINT-THOMAS D'AQUIN.
SAINT-THOMAS D'AQUIN.
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 pou
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L'ANCIEN ABBAYE DU VAL DE GRÂCE.
L'ANCIEN ABBAYE DU VAL DE GRÂCE.
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 Peti
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LA CHAPELLE DU CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES.
LA CHAPELLE DU CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES.
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
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LA CHAPELLE DU CHÂTEAU DE VINCENNES.
LA CHAPELLE DU CHÂTEAU DE VINCENNES.
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
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SAINT-VINCENT DE PAUL.
SAINT-VINCENT DE PAUL.
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 b
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