Paris - Eglise de la Madeleine - 8me

Plate LXXVI – Eglise de la Madeleine … 

I could not at the time of my visit hear the name Madeleine without hearing also the Jacques Brel song of that title. 
Today, I still think of the tragic disappearance of the McCann’s daughter, for whom the search continues (can you help?) 
But in Paris, La Madeleine refers most often to the more fully titled Eglise de la Sainte Marie-Madeleine.

Providing Neo-Classical symmetry to the fairly distant opposite southern Napoleonic façade of the Palais Bourbon (see previous post) this Roman Catholic church was erected by Napoleon in honour of his Grand Armée. The design commissioned from the architect Vignon in 1806, it was dedicated to St Mary Magdalene in 1814 – with the building standing today being the third attempt to erect a church on the site. Said to be inspired by the Greco-Roman temple like lines of the Maison Carrée at Nîmes, its purpose of glorifying the Armée was somewhat usurped by the completion in 1808 of the Arc de Triomphe, and following Napoleon’s defeat, it was Louis XVIII who determined it would be dedicated as a church. The pediment sculptures designed by Charles Lemaire depict Mary Magdalene’s holy intercession for the Damned. The knave dates from 1831, and despite brief consideration of converting the structure into a railway station in 1837, its final consecration came in 1842. The magnificent bronze doors to the church are bas-relief panels of the Ten Commandments. 
The area of the Faubourg surrounding La Madeleine was earlier known as Ville l’Evêque, having been seized from the Jewish community in 1182 and placed under the care of the bishops of Paris. The short stretch of street known as the Rue Royal and the intersecting Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré are arguably the most fashionable parts of the city, populated with retail houses named after the likes of St Laurent, Cardin, Lanvin and Hermes. Undoubtedly due to this fashion link the church is the popular choice for many Parisian society weddings to this day, the celebrated pipe organ built by Cavaillé-Coll heralding many a  bride’s arrival in Wagnerian triumph.