Eglise de la Madeleine 20100508 Aix-en-Provence 1

The Église de la Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

Location

It is located on the

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

of ''Place des Prêcheurs'' in Aix-en-Provence.Dominique Auzias,

Le Petit Futé Petit Futé (founded 1976) is a series of French travel guides broadly equivalent to the Lonely Planet series in English or the competing French 'Guides du routard' series.''Encyclopedia of contemporary French culture'' Page 467 Alex Hughes, Keith ...

, 2008 p. 14

/ref>Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, ''Aix-en-Provence 2012'', Le Petit Futé, 2012, p. 29

/ref> It is next door to the Collège des Prêcheurs, Couvent des Prêcheurs, now a secondary school, also listed.

History

A convent of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

and a Gothic church was built in the 13th century on the Place des Prêcheurs.Aix-en-Provence: Monuments à Aix en Provence
/ref> However, it was burned down in 1383. It was rebuilt, but came down in 1465. The current church building was constructed in its place in the seventeenth century. It was designed by architect Laurent Vallon (1652-1724), and it was built from 1691 to 1703. The facade was designed by architect

Henri Révoil Henri Révoil (1822–1900) was a 19th-century French architect. Biography Early life Henri Révoil was born in 1822 in Aix-en-Provence. His father was the painter Pierre Révoil. Career From 1855 to 1860, he designed the facade of the Égli ...

(1822-1900) from 1855 to 1860, and it serves as an example of

Second Empire architecture Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

. It was renamed in honour of

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

in 1822. Over the centuries, a number of renowned figures have been baptised in this church. On July 21, 1535, the son of

François de Malherbe François de Malherbe (, 1555 – 16 October 1628) was a French poet, critic, and translator. Life He was born in Le Locheur (near Caen, Normandie), to a family of standing, although the family's pedigree did not satisfy the heralds in terms of ...

(1555–1628), also named François de Malherbe, was baptised in the church. A century later,

André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tra ...

(1660–1744) was baptised here on December 3, 1660. Eighteen years later,

Gaspard de Gueidan Gaspard de Gueidan (de Valabre) (1688–1767) was a French aristocrat and lawyer. He served as the Président à mortier of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence. Biography Early life Gaspard de Gueidan was born on 10 April 1688 in Aix-en-Provence.M ...

(1688-1767) was also baptised in the church. Additionally, a century later, Louis-Charles-Jean-Baptiste Michel, who served as Bishop of

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...

and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

from 1829 to 1845, was baptised in the church on July 12, 1761. More recently, the painter

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

(1839-1906) was also baptised in this church. Emmanuel de Fonscolombe (1810-1875) served as a chapel master. The church has a fair amount of art pieces. For example, paintings inside the church include: ''La mort de St.Joseph'' by

Jean-Baptiste van Loo Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December 1745) was a French subject and portrait painter. Life and career He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo. Hav ...

(1684–1745), ''Madeleine chez Simon'' by

Michel Serre Michel Serre (1658–1733) was a Catalonia, Catalan-born France, French painter. Biography Early life Michel Serre was born on January 10, 1658 in Tarragona, Spain.''L'Artiste: journal de la littérature et des beaux-arts'', L'Artiste, 1849, pp. ...

(1658-1733), ''La nativité de Jésus'' by

Pierre Mignard Pierre Mignard or Pierre Mignard I (17 November 1612 – 30 May 1695), called "Mignard le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter known for his religious and mythological scenes and portraits. He was a ...

(1612-1695), '' Annunciation Tryptych'' by

Barthélemy d'Eyck Barthélemy d'Eyck, van Eyck or d' Eyck ( 1420 – after 1470), was an Early Netherlandish artist who worked in France and probably in Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy as a painter and manuscript illuminator. He was active between about 1440 to about ...

(c. 1420–after 1470), and ''Le Martyre de Saint-Paul'' by Théodore Beyermann. There are also paintings by

Joseph-Marie Vien Joseph-Marie Vien (sometimes anglicised as Joseph-Mary Wien; 18 June 1716 – 27 March 1809) was a French painter. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791. Biography He was born in Montpellier ...

(1716-1809) and Jean Daret (1613–1668). The

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

, designed by

Jean-Esprit Isnard Jean-Esprit Isnard (1707–1781) was a French pipe organ builder. Biography Early life Jean-Esprit Isnard was born in 1707. He was baptised in the Église Saint-Laurent in Bédarrides. He learned how to build pipe organs in Toulouse. His b ...

(1707-1781), dates back to 1743. Additionally, it is listed. The church building was damaged by the 1909 Provence earthquake on June 11, 1909.

At present

It has been closed for refurbishment since 2006.Le béton au secours de l’église de La Madeleine
Aix-en-Provence, May 10, 2013 It will reopen in 2014. The paintings inside are temporarily housed in an air-conditioned warehouse in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

for the duration of the refurbishment of the church.Sébastien Cyffers, 'L’église de la Madeleine soumise à un titanesque inventaire', ''

La Provence ''La Provence'' is a French language daily newspaper published in Marseille, France. History and profile In 1997 ''La Provence'' was created in Marseille from the merger of two daily newspapers, '' Le Provençal'' of former Interior Minister Ga ...

'', Aix-en-Provence, October 10, 2010, p. 6.

Heritage significance

It has been listed as a

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

since October 24, 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madeleine 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Roman Catholic churches in Aix-en-Provence Monuments historiques of Aix-en-Provence Mary Magdalene