I am walking past old path and familiar monuments of my eternal Paris, The most beautiful City in the world and for good reasons ; it is awesome and exhuberating to visit, I have other posts on the church but this one the older one, needed to have updated with new text and links for you and me. Therefore, here is my take on the Church Saint Eustache of Paris, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I
I came back to the Church Saint Eustache, such a nice church in a nice vibrant area amazing to be there. It has been there before long ago ; the church is located in the 1éme arrondissement or district in the heart of the neighborhood or quartier of Halles. The Meridian, meanwhile, lies above and to the left of the south gate and measures 3 meters high. Its lines, carved in stone, show every quarter of an hour between 11h and 13h or 11am to 1pm. In the summer season, the Church Saint-Eustache is one of the most visited in Paris. Its location next to the Forum des Halles,(see posts) is not for nothing. If the exterior aspect is more classical , the interior architecture-at first glance is rather confusing.
Briefly, in the 13C there was a chapel dedicated to Saint Agnes. Became with the use, Saint-Eustache. Too small, it was replaced in the 16C by a vast church of one hundred meters long, flamboyant Gothic style. Architectural plans and principles follow those of Notre-Dame de Paris. The first stone was laid in 1532, but the church was not really finished until 1640. The Church Saint Eustache contains a large number of 19C murals and some magnificent works of art such as paintings and sculptures, like the statue of the Virgin and Child of Pigalle, one of the most beautiful of Paris.
The visitor entering the Church of St Eustache is immediately seized by the height of the vaults at 33 meters, and the imposing vertical masses that permeate the entire church. The Flamboyant Gothic finds itself at the level of the vaults of warheads, embellished with liernes, tiercerons and ubiquitous pendulous keys. The Renaissance style is expressed in the juxtaposition of the ancient orders, the pillars which are flanked by pilasters, the semicircular arches and, of course, in the abundant decoration on the capitals see the seraphs, baskets of flowers, etc.
The Church Saint-Eustache has a very large glass roof on three levels of elevation. The church is so high that the first level of the elevation is itself divided into two sub-levels, materialized by a double row of stained glass windows. Few stained glass windows are historiated or with floral motifs. Most are in white glass. If you add the large double door of the south cross, still open to illuminate the transept , Saint-Eustache is a very bright church. As the choir is in the east and there is no building in the south, the sun, in good weather, radiates all the nave of its rays during the whole day.
Colbert was the church warden of the Church Saint-Eustache. His mausoleum is considered a major work in the statuary of the 17C. The artist used bronze and white and black marble. Colbert, seized in the attitude of a praying man, is dressed in his cloak of commander of the order of the Holy Spirit. To the left of the sarcophagus, Fidelity, chiseled in ; on the right, Piety or Abundance . The organs of the Church Saint-Eustache are among the largest in France. Dated at Ducroquet in 1854, they were restored by the Dutch Van Den Heuvel in 1989. The wood carving of the buffet on a Victor Baltard carton is pure splendor. The beauty of the characters and the rose in the background create a scenic enchantment to be enjoyed with a pair of binoculars. And very popular musicals in Paris indeed.
A bit of history tell us that in the 13C there was a chapel dedicated to St. Agnes. became with use, Saint-Eustache. Too small, it is replaced in the 16C by a large, 100 meters long, flamboyant Gothic-style church. The plans and the architectural principles follow those of Notre-Dame de Paris. The first stone was laid in 1532, but the church was actually completed only in 1640. Its construction was slowed down by the lack of funding, the nature of the land and the wars of Religion. Next to the Gothic, the interior offers many aspects of the Italian Renaissance. At the French revolution, Saint-Eustache was ransacked, transformed into a temple of agriculture, then returned to worship in 1803; victim of a fire in 1844, the church was restored by Victor Baltard. Its famous Tribune organ, dates from 1854. Saint-Eustache contains a large number of 19C murals and some magnificent works of art (paintings and sculptures), such as the statue of the Virgin of the Child of Pigalle, one of the most beautiful in Paris. A historical fact, at its creation, the Chapel of the Virgin had a rich ornamentation in marble, in woodwork, in paintings. All this was ransacked or stolen from the French revolution. The chapel was restored in 1800 and, little by little, reembellished. In its center there is a magnificent sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle . The painter Thomas Couture enriched it with three great frescoes on the theme of the Virgin: “The triumphant Virgin adored by the Angels”; “The Virgin star of the sailors” and “the Virgin comforter of the afflicted”. The style is remarkable as there are no figurism or symbolism and the Angels almost like human beings well in flesh. The gallery of stained glass gives a close-up picture of the altarpiece and its unusual series of vases. The organs of Saint-Eustache Church are among the largest in France. Due to the croquet done in 1854, they were restored in 1989. The wood carving of the buffet (on a cardboard by Victor Baltard) is a pure splendor. The beauty of the characters and the rose in the background create a scenic magic that must be enjoyed with a pair of binoculars. Truly wonderful. Colbert was the churchwarden of the Church of Saint-Eustache. This mausoleum is considered to be a major work in 17C statuary. The artist used bronze and white and black marble. Colbert, seized in the attitude of a praying, is clad in his mantle of Commander of the Order of the Holy Spirit. To the left of the sarcophagus, fidelity, chiseled by Coysevox , and to the right, piety or abundance due to Jean-Baptiste Tuby. Yet some famous have a lot to do with the church. Some of them are king Louis XIV received his communion. Mozart, also chose the sanctuary as the location for his mother’s funeral. Among those baptised here as children were Richelieu, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, (future Madame de Pompadour) and Moliére, who was also married here in the 17C. The last rites for Anne of Austria, Turenne, and Mirabeau were pronounced within its walls. Marie de Gournay is buried there. A truly historical church of Paris, one of the must to visit. A bit on the architectural look from my amateur eye. The visitor entering the Church of Saint Eustache is immediately seized by the height of the vaults at 33 meters and the imposing vertical masses that permeate the entire building. The flamboyant gothic is found in the vaults of warheads, embellished with liernes, and ubiquitous pendant keys. The style Renaissances’exprime in the juxtaposition of the ancient orders, the pillars that are flanked by pilasters, the arches in full hanger and, of course, in the abundant decoration on the Capitals. The Church of Saint-Eustache has a vast canopy on three levels of elevation ; it is so high that the first level of elevation is itself divided into two sublevels, materialized by a double row of stained glass windows. Most of them are white glass. If one adds the large double door of the south brace, always open to illuminate the transept (in fact the passage is closed by a glass wall), Saint-Eustache is a very luminous church. As the choir is in the east and there is no building in the south, the sun, in good weather, radiates the entire nave of its rays throughout the day.
The official parish Saint Eustache : https://www.saint-eustache.org/
The Paris tourist office on St Eustache Church : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/eglise-saint-eustache-p3546
The City of Paris on the renovations in 2018 of the St Eustache Church: https://www.paris.fr/pages/l-eglise-saint-eustache-restauree-illumine-le-nouveau-quartier-des-halles-5810
There you go folks, another jewel in my eternal Paris, the most beautiful city in the world! And in my belle France indeed, welcome to us. This is one dandy you should not miss coming here, its one of my favorites over the years. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church Saint Eustache, part II !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 