Paris has more than its share of beautiful and historically significant churches, Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, and more. It also has a few oddities, imitative or derivative religious structures that are huge and famous, at least among tourists, if not very French. One is the Church of the Madeleine, that is, of Mary Magdalene, Jesus' special lady friend who was popular among the Medieval French, since she was believed to have ended her days in Provence. (Somewhere in the previous posts...2019, maybe...I recounted visiting her shrine and viewing her mountain-top burial place).
Anyhow, the Madeline, the church, as it is called, dates to the founding of the Place de la Concorde (then called the Place Louis XV), on the just-completed Rue Royale. The church was to serve as thanksgiving for the king's recovery from a serious illness, and its Greek temple exterior originated with his architects. The columns would complement those of the nearby Louvre. The Revolution and Napoleon had other ideas about what such a building could be used for (also the Place de la Concorde), but eventually it returned to being a ridiculously grandiose and out of place Greek temple/parish church. It was also considered to become Paris' first train station, but that's a different story...as well as its being considered an Expiatory for the Sin of the Revolution...that honor went to Paris' ugliest monstrosity, Montmartre.
Interestingly, to me, the Madeleine has been a favorite among composers, musicians, and artists for their funerals—Chopin, Josephine Baker, Coco Chanel, to name a few. I'm still trying to imagine "La Conga Blicoti" performed in the cella of a wannabe Corinthian temple. Anyhow, the Wikipedia has its usual fine article detailing all this and ever more, and I recommend it for those seeking further information. The Christian church part, in the cella, contains much fine monumental sculpture as well as mosaics and other such, all 19th century, mostly glorifying French Christianity. BTW, the Madeleine was under wraps the last several years, and opened again just recently. For several years, we eyed it with curiosity during our visits to the wonderful Madeleine Decathlon.
[Jenny Lake campground, Grand Teton National Park, July 24th...]
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| View from the Place de la Concorde |
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| If it's Tuesday we must be in Athens... |
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| Humongous exterior sculpture program...dozens of fluted Corinthian columns, as large as anything you'd see in the classical world, over-sized statues of assorted saints, demi-gods, etc. |
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| Interesting contemporary sculpture in the forecourt |
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| Column hugger...Vicki poses for scale |
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Among the saints among the columns; four had their heads blown off in an artillery bombardment by the Germans in 1918 or so, but not including, inappropriately, St. Denis |
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| Nave, I mean cella, view |
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| Baptism by the baptismal font |
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| Altar, something about Mary Magdalen, half-dome about Christianity in France |
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| Abaft from the beam, looking at yet another famous French symphonic organ; there's no crossing here, since it is, thankfully, not a cruciform Greek temple |
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| The usual perch pose |
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| The great organ; Saint-Saens played here, among others |
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| Bronze door; okay, it's not the Pantheon nor the Baptistry at Florence |
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Impressive, despite its youth and imitative nature, not to mention its, um, interesting history |
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