Tuesday 3 March 2009

Scratching the Surface

It is an unwritten rule of architecture that things are not always what they seem to be. The Saint Eugène church in the 9th arrondissement of Paris is a perfact example of this maxim, being at once thouroughly modern yet ancient in appearance, impeccably presented yet incredibly run down. Indeed, viewed from the outside on the Rue du Conservatoire you may barely notice that it is a church at all.

The external wall that runs along this quiet street is a large map of cracking and crumbling stone. Benches were cut into this wall, but it seems that they are used only by the city down and outs who stick wine labels onto the descending drainpipes. The pointed window arches and gothic forms of the structure offer clues to the purpose of this building, but the stained glass is barely visible on this side. With a side door sporting a broken window and patches of peeling paint, this does not look like a building that was renovated only 20 years ago.

Turn the corner onto the rather quaint parvis on the Rue Saint CĂ©cile then look face-on at the structure and the purpose on the building will be revealed. There is no spire and little decoration, but from this perspective, it now appears to be a modest parish church. It seems functional, a structure that was designed to fit a particular corner of the city, with decoration that was limited to simple gothic forms in order to not stand out too distinctly from its neighbours.

None of this prepares you for the astonishing interior of the building. Push open the door and you are transported back to the thirteenth century, to a brightly painted medieval edifice. Almost every inch of the interior is decorated in reds, greens and golds, with magnificent stained glass windows adding to the overwhelming sensation of warm colour. On a midweek lunchtime you are likely to be alone, the silence broken only by the squeak of your shoes on the harringbone parquet flooring or the curious mechnanical chiming at each hour. You are free to wander down the aisles where Jules Verne was married in 1857, around the naves lit by second empire suspended chandeliers, or to listen to the echos of the confession boxes.

Sit down and observe more carefully though and you will see that this is a 19th century creation, a curious facsimile of a medieval church interior. What is even more surprising is the fact that the structure was revolutionary at the time, being built around a cast-iron framework that would later be used by Baltard to construct covered food markets. It was the work of Louis Auguste Boileau, an architect who would later also put iron to work when creating the Bon Marché department store. By stripping away all the traditional obstructions, the large stone columns and vaulted ceilings, Boileau was able to produce a structure that would be filled with light and seem larger inside than outside. From almost any point in the church you have a clear and unrestricted view of the rest of the structure.


Returning outside, the relative ordinariness of the church is even more striking. It shares the parvis with the Conservatoire de Musique, an institution where both Berlioz and Bizet studied, but both seem to have been ousted by less spiritual and intellectual pursuits today. On the facade of the church local children have managed to kick a football on to a plinth where previously a statue of a saint would have stood. It somehow seems to be an appropriate symbol today in a largely secular society where sports have become religion replacements.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good football that!. How are they going to get it back?...

Adam said...

I think they'd better get praying...

Gina V said...

Love the abstract deterioration of the wall - I can see a faint Grace Jones-like portrait outlined by the cracks and the light and dark patches! Too bad it is not more Christ or Madonna-like or you could sell tickets to the miraculous viewing!!

PeterParis said...

Yes, this is really a surprising and amazing church. (I acutally posted about it a long time ago, on my previous blog: http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/07/another-church.html) Bravo for finding it!

A Polish author and researcher found my photos and asked me for the originals to be published in a book he was writing on some specific church architecture. I have now got the book (but it's all in Polish)!

Cergie said...

Cela me fait penser à l'église Ste Trinité montrée par Peter dans son dernier post : structure métallique dedans et habillage pierre dehors.
A San Francisco, on retrouve beaucoup de banques dans le quartier d'affaire déguisées en églises européennes, avec statues de saints, etc.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Now Adam you're a master at deceit. Your first couple of photos certainly got us down the wrong track - the third came as an absolute shock! Well done and thanks for the fun!

Nathalie H.D. said...

Interesting that you and Peter posted about similar topics (churches built with a metallic structure) at such a short interval. For a second I wondered whether you and Peter had visited the same church together and decided to post about it each in your own way. Then I remembered his was la Trinité.

(PS - je suis ravie que mes amandiers te donnent la pĂŞche !)

Anonymous said...

Spooky, I can just about make out the Grace Jones thing as well (or maybe my coffee was a bit strong this morning). I wonder whether this is an isolated phenomenon or whether other church-walls around the world also feature portraits of Grace Jones...

Saretta said...

Amazing place! Thanks for all the info.

Starman said...

I Googled this with Google Maps street view. It looks a lot better than I was expecting.

Adam said...

Hi Starman - I was thinking of putting the Google Street View into the post, but although it may sound a little ridiculous, it doesn't show the building the way I see it. Firstly, there is a large white van in the way, and secondly you need to get closer to the building to see what state it is in. Finally, I think even the architect would agree that this building is far more about the inside than the outside.

Squirrel said...

amazing photos!

Avid Reader said...

I agree with Natalie on the shock factor. Well done!

Adam said...

The shock was mine too. If you ever find yourself in the area, take time to go inside - it really is unusual and in the middle of the day you're likely to be pretty much alone.

ArtSparker said...

So unmodern, the magnificence being private.

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