#st. sulpice

[charlesreeza]

Saint-Sulpice in the Latin Quarter is the second largest church in Paris. (It is only slightly smaller than Notre Dame.)  Construction began in 1646 and continued, with several interruptions, into the late 18th century when the facade was finally completed.  The architecture is primarily Neoclassical with elements of Baroque design.

The holy water fonts are made from the two halves of an enormous shell given to King Francis I by the Venetian Republic.

The church contains a gnomon, an astronomical measurement device commissioned in the 18th century by a parish priest who wanted to determine the right time of day to ring the church’s bells. It also helped establish the correct date to celebrate Easter.  The meridian line at the center of this gnomon does not correspond to the Paris Meridian that was used as a reference for maps.

The Saint-Sulpice gnomon was wildly mischaracterized in Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code. A note posted in the church lists the inaccuracies for the many tourists who flocked to the site after the book became a best-seller.

Photos by Charles Reeza

[finn-wilkie]

Lacroix Chessex, Immeuble de Logement, St. Sulpice, 2016

www.lacroixchessex.ch/

[charlesreeza]

The Chapel of Holy Angels at Saint-Sulpice in Paris contains paintings by the French Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix depicting three stories of angel combat taken from the Bible: Jacob’s Fight with the Angel, Heliodorus Driven Out of the Temple, and Saint Michael Slaying the Dragon. These were completed between 1855 and 1861 and were restored from 2015 to 2016.

[virtualdailybread]

[artmutt]

A little thigh-on-thigh action between Jacob and the Angel, painted by Delacroix, at the church of St. Sulpice, Paris. (Paris Journal, Part B)

[thisistheurl-blog1]

[edgeofparis]

She awoke the next morning to a sunny sky in Paris. A short walk to the square near St. Sulpice was where she stopped and looked up. His paintings were inside the church but she was not ready yet to see them. They had taken everything out of him. It was the part of the story she was not ready to look at, it was too sad.

[amelancholycharm]

St. Sulpice Part 2 - La Chapelle de la Vierge

(part 1 is here)

Marius had preserved the religious habits of his childhood. One Sunday, when he went to hear mass at Saint-Sulpice, at that same chapel of the Virgin whither his aunt had led him when a small lad, he placed himself behind a pillar, being more absent-minded and thoughtful than usual on that occasion, and knelt down, without paying any special heed, upon a chair of Utrecht velvet, on the back of which was inscribed this name: Monsieur Mabeuf, warden.

3.3.5, The Utility of Going to Mass, In Order to Become a Revolutionist

I returned to St. Sulpice the other day (seriously, everyone I know is starting to look at me a bit funny at this point) so I could check out the small chapel area  that is referenced here and maybe picture a bit better what’s going on in 3.3.2 and here.  

This is a lovely little chapel, tiny in relation to the church as a whole and a nice space for prayer/meditation, I would imagine. Also, contrary to my original impression, when I was picturing Marius and Aunt Gillenormand sitting in one of the larger spaces, it actually would be quite difficult to conceal oneself in order to observe someone here.  (I...tried this? I was quiet about it. Got some odd looks though :) So Georges, although he is afraid of being seen, is taking quite a risk here, propelled by his love for his little boy.

The small chapel setting also makes 3.3.5 seem less like an annoying narrative contrivance - like, there aren’t actually that many places to sit in this area, so it’s quite conceivable that Marius could run into Mabeuf this way.  The revelation about Marius’ father thus seem to spring much more naturally out of what comes before.