La Madeleine, Paris
The Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (French: L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine), or less formally, La Madeleine, is a Catholic parish church on Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.[2][3][4] It was planned by Louis XV as the focal point of the new Rue Royal, leading to the new Place Louis XV, the present Place de la Concorde. It was dedicated in 1764 by Louis XV, but work halted due to the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte had it redesigned in the Neoclassical 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 by columns in the Corinthian style. The interior is noted for its frescoes on the domed ceiling, and monumental sculptures by François Rude, Charles Marochetti and other prominent 19th-century French artists.[5]
History[edit]
First church[edit]
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, now Place 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 by Pierre Contant d'Ivry proposed a large dome atop a building in the form of Latin cross, similar to the Les Invalides church designed by Jules 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.
Proposed monument to Napoleon's Army and railroad station, then church again[edit]
The construction of the new church was abruptly halted in 1789 by the French Revolution, with only the foundations and grand classical portico completed. After the execution 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 1815 Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's remains were moved to a new tomb in the Basilica 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 the National Assembly, in the Palais Bourbon, at the other end of the former Rue 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]
Vignon's design for the facade
The nave and the choir, facing north toward the altar
The choir decoration, Christmas 2022
The organ and its keyboard (1855)
The grand organ in the tribune
The choir organ, behind the altar
The foyer[edit]
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.[33][34]