France - Paris - St Gervais et St Protais

Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais

Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais is a Roman Catholic parish church found in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, on Position Saint-Gervais in the Marais district, east of Metropolis Corridor (Hôtel de Ville). The existing church was built amongst 1494 and 1657, on the site of two earlier church buildings the facade, accomplished past, was the initially example of the French baroque design in Paris. The organists of the church incorporated Louis Couperin and his nephew François Couperin, two of the most celebrated composers and musicians of the Baroque time period the organ they made use of can nonetheless be witnessed these days. The church includes remarkable examples of medieval carved choir stalls, stained glass from the 16th century, 17th century sculpture, and present day stained glass by Sylvie Gaudin and Claude Courageux. Saint-Gervais was a parish church until 1975, when it grew to become the headquarters of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem.

Historical past

A church committed to Saints Gervasius and Protasius, two Christian martyrs from Milan, is recorded as present on the web-site in the 7th century, making it a single of the very first parish churches on the correct bank in Paris. It was attended mostly by boatmen and fishermen, for the reason that it was near to the river port at the Location de Grève. It was designed on a slight hill, the Monceau Saint-Gervais, to be protected from the floods of the Seine. After the completion of the wall of Philippe-Auguste, developed in between 1190 and 1209, the community was protected towards assault and the population commenced to grow. The church had arrive beneath the sponsorship of numerous of the vital confreries or guilds of Paris, which include the wine-merchants. With their economic enable, a bigger church was constructed on the web site in the early 13th century. .[1]

Building of the existing church began in 1494, but was delayed by the Wars of religion and by a scarcity of funds. It was begun in the Gothic type the chapels of the apse have been finished in 1530 and the transept in 1578.[2] Even though the inside of the church was largely Gothic, the facade was created in an initial new model, the French Baroque, on a prepare by architect Salomon de Brosse (1571–1626). The to start with stone of the facade was put by the younger King Louis XIII in 1616. Concerning 1600 and 1628, a next row of chapels was created on the north aspect such as the golden chapel ornamented with painted woodwork.[3]

For the duration of the 17th and 18th century the church was attended by a lot of customers of the aristocratic households who lived in the Marais, like Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, and the Chancellor of Louis XIV, Michel Le Tellier, whose funeral monument is discovered in the church.

Beginning in 1653, the church used and sheltered the Couperin household, 1 of the most famed dynasties of French musicians, for more than two generations. On a single aspect of the church, the dwelling of the celebrated harpsichordists, organists, and composers even now stands, with a plaque commemorating the Couperins’ tenure. The organ applied by Louis and François Couperin continue to exists today inside of the church it was crafted by the most popular organ builders of the time, François-Henri Clicquot, Louis-Alexandre Clicquot, and Robert Clicquot.

In the 18th century, the facade of the church was significantly admired, although it was approximately blocked from look at by a row of homes. Voltaire wrote, “It is a masterpiece which is lacking practically nothing besides a area from which to see it.” The houses blocking the look at had been finally demolished in 1854, opening up the watch of the facade. .[4]

All through the French Revolution, the church was emptied of many of its treasures and turned into a Temple of Explanation and Youth, right before getting returned to the Church in 1802.

On 29 March 1918, a German shell, fired by the prolonged-assortment “Paris Gun”, fell on the church, killing 91 people and wounding 68 other individuals the explosion collapsed the roof when a Great Friday support was in development. This was the worst single incident involving a decline of civilian lives in the course of the German bombardment of Paris in 1918.[5] Among individuals killed was Rose-Marie Ormond Andre-Michel, the niece and a favorite model of John Singer Sargent.[6]

In 1975 the church grew to become the headquarters of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, launched in that identical 12 months by Père Pierre-Marie Delfieu with the authorisation of the then Archbishop of Paris, François Marty. The buy is devoted to carrying on monastic lifestyle in an urban context most of its members get the job done portion-time in civil occupations. The church is identified for its unique and ecumenical liturgy for example, adopting Lutheran hymn songs and Orthodox troparia. The purchase has founded many other communities in France, at Mont St. Michel, Vezelay, and Magdala Sologne and elsewhere in Europe, in Florence, Brussels, Cologne, Warsaw, and Montreal.

Five new stained glass home windows by Sylvie Gaudin were being additional to the southwest chevet of the church in 1993–95. Yet another collection of six home windows by Claude Courageux was included in the early 2000s in the higher degree of the church, in the south nave, the transept and the choir, replacing those destroyed in excess of the generations.[7]

Facade

The facade of the church was started in 1616, well soon after the nave of the church, with the cornerstone laid by Louis XIII. The structure was by Salomon de Brosse (1571–1626), whose other major Paris operate was the Luxembourg Palace. While the nave of the church was late or flamboyant gothic, the facade introduced an totally new classical style, which opened the way for the French Baroque. The facade positioned the 3 classical orders of architecture a single atop the other. The floor flooring showcased three bays with pairs of columns with capitals of the easiest Doric buy, with a classical pediment. Above this is a stage of 3 bays with columns of the ionic buy, and previously mentioned that is a solitary bay with paired columns of the Corinthian order, keeping up a curved pediment. In purchase to connect the new facade to the gothic portion of the church, de Brosse created a traverse and two semicircular chapels on both facet of the facade. The facade served as design for other churches in France and Europe, most notably the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, the church of the Jesuits, not significantly away in the Marais, which was the first church in Paris built entirely in the new type. [8]

Since the Center Ages, an elm tree has been planted in front of the church it served as a assembly area, and a put wherever disputes were sometimes settled by judges. The trees were replanted often about the hundreds of years. Carvings of the trees from earlier generations are observed on the partitions of some of the neighboring buildings.

Nave

The nave of the church (1600–1620) is noteworthy for its dramatic peak and the simplicity and purity of its traces. Though the lower level of the nave is late gothic, the higher stage of the nave displays the impact of the Renaissance, with massive semi-round arches containing a series of big stained glass windows, filling the church with light. The upper windows are 21st-century, by Claude Courageux, illustrating the tale of Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, and the patriarchs and their spouses. The ceiling of the nave, where by the arches of the walls occur jointly in an elaborate embroidery, symbolizes the vaults of heaven.

Choir stalls

The wooden choir stalls (16th–17th century), from the reigns of François I and Henri II, are richly carved with scenes of each day life, the diverse professions, and grotesque animals. Out of sight from all those attending mass, they ended up intended as a place where by the Canons of the church could take it easy all through the services. Some of the figures were being as well intimate for a lot more puritanical later hundreds of years, and had to be censored, including a carved image of a person and lady bathing together.[8]

Chapel of the Virgin

The chapel of the Virgin, at the again of the church, has a spectacular late gothic vaulted ceiling, showcasing a hanging crown of stone 2.5 meters in diameter, and abstract designs resembling flames. The space is typically utilised for silent meditation by church site visitors. The chapel has some of the oldest stained glass windows in the flamboyant gothic design, designed by Jean Chastellain in 1517, illustrating the daily life of the Virgin Mary. [8] Yet another impressive window by Chastellain, “The Judgement of Solomon”, built in 1533 in the colourful Renaissance fashion, is uncovered in a aspect chapel.

Portray and sculpture

The church has a selection of notable functions of art.

– A painting by the Venetian artist Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734), Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Critical intercede for the souls in Pugatory, positioned in the Chapel of Saint Philomene. This was brought from Venice to Paris by Napoleon following his Italian campaign.

– The paintings The Beheading of John the Baptist and The Adoration of the Magi by Claude Vignon (1593–1670), located in the Chapel of the Virgin.

– A statue of Christ carved in oak by Antoine-Augustin Préault (1809-1879) in the Chapel of the Virgin.

– Statues from the funeral monument of Michel Tellier (1603–1685) the Chancellor of Louis XIV, by Pierre Mazeline (1632–1685) and Simon Hurtelle (1648–1724). The figures consist of the Chancellor, in prayer a weeping ‘genie’ praying at his toes and two draped figures symbolizing Religion and Faith. Two other figures from the group, Justice and Prudence, are found in the Louvre.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Gervais-et-St-Protais

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St Gervais et St Protais has 21 mid 16th century misericords and 21 early 17th century misericords.

Much more information can be discovered listed here:-

www.misericords.co.united kingdom/stgervaisandstprotais.html

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Saint Gervais Saint Protais Church – Paris

A church devoted to the twin martyrs Gervais and Protais

Saint Gervais Saint Protais Church is positioned on the japanese aspect of the Hôtel-de-Ville.

It stands on a hillock identified as Monceau Saint-Gervais and replaced the Chapelle Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais.

This chapel served the fishing village that formulated on the small mound during the 5th century. This community was one of the few on the Rive Droite, which then was a wide marsh these days known as Marais.

The chapel was devoted to the twin Roman officers who had been martyred under the reign of Nero (1st century Advert).

Location Saint-Gervais, the church square was originally identified as Carrefour de l’Orme. It was named immediately after the large elm that marked its centre and was felled at the French Revolution.

It was enlarged and renamed for the duration of Haussmann’s renovation of Paris of the mid 19th century.

The cemetery was decommissioned in 1765 to give way to Put Baudoyer, the square that serves the town corridor of the 4th district.

Sarcophagi and burial artifacts courting back again to the 1st century Advertisement were being learned through design will work.

Saint Gervais Saint Protais Church ,is a great illustration of French architecture.

The Hôtel-de-Ville district made in the 13th century and gave increase to a thriving group. The minimal Saint Gervais Saint Protais Chapel turned obsolete, a greater church was a lot required!

Even so, the building of the new church dragged on from 1494 to 1660 thanks to the absence of money.

Astonishingly, this slow development turned Saint Gervais Saint Protais Church into a excellent illustration of the evolution of French architecture.

Salomon de Brosse built the French Baroque (Jesuit Type) facade with the a few classical orders, the very first of its design and style in Paris.

The 25m large Gothic Flamboyant nave and the 16th and 17th century stained glass windows are equally impressive.

Francois-Henri Clicquot constructed the organ in 1601. The wind-chests, reeds and two-thirds of its stops are unique and change the instrument into one of the oldest organs in Paris.

The composer François Couperin is among the the prestigious organists who performed in Saint Gervais Saint Protais Church, which is to this working day a big centre of Sacred Tunes.

The church has two other, but scaled-down, organs which are located in the side chapels

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