The Couvent des Capucines (Convent of the Capucins) is a former convent of the Order of the

Capuchin Poor Clares The Capuchin Poor Clares ( la, Ordo Sanctae Clarae Capuccinarum) is a Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women founded in Naples, Italy, in 1538, by Ven. Maria Lorenza Longo. The order still exists and it now has communities in the ...

, located in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on the site of the current

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is ...

. The convent was built by

Marie de Luxembourg Marie of Luxembourg-Saint-Pol (died 1 April 1547) was a French vassal. She was, as Marie I, the ruling Countess Regnant of Soissons and Saint-Pol in her own right by inheritance from her father between 25 October 1482 and 1 April 1547. She was ...

, Duchess of Mercœur. It was destroyed in 1806.

History

The Old Convent

The Order of the

was introduced to France by Queen

Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont Louise of Lorraine (french: Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont; 30 April 1553 – 29 January 1601) was Queen of France as the wife of King Henry III from their marriage on 15 February 1575 until his death on 2 August 1589. During the first three mon ...

, who wanted to create a convent in

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

to be buried at. Upon her death on January 29, 1601, she bequeathed to her brother,

Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count o ...

, a sum of 60,000

livre tournois The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

to build it; however, he died in February of 1602. By

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

on June 8, 1602, Henry IV authorized the widow of the Duke of Mercœur, Marie de Luxembourg, to build a Capuchin convent, but in

instead of

. In September of 1603,

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

accredited the creation in Paris of the convent, under the name of the Daughters of the Passion. Marie de Luxembourg decided to settle the nuns in the Hôtel du Perron, also known as the Hôtel de Retz, on the

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré () is a street located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Relatively narrow and nondescript, especially in comparison to the nearby Avenue des Champs-Élysées, it is cited as being one of the most luxu ...

. Marie de Luxembourg purchased the Hôtel du Perron with the help of her brother-in-law,

Henri, Duke of Joyeuse Henri, Duc de Joyeuse (Toulouse, 21 September 1563 – Rivoli, 28 September 1608) was a General in the French Wars of Religion and a member of the Catholic League, who became ordained as a Capuchin after the death of his wife, Catherine de La Va ...

. Construction work on the convent began on June 29, 1604. The chapel was inaugurated in June 1606. At the time, the Couvent des Capucines occupied half of the current

. When the Place Vendôme was built in the 1690s, the original convent was destroyed.

The New Convent

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

offered the nuns to rebuild a new convent at his own expense. The plan for the facade of the new convent was designed by the King's architect,

Jules Hardouin-Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand T ...

, and provided on April 6, 1686. The remainder of the plan was designed by

François d'Orbay François d'Orbay (1634–1697) was a French draughtsman and architect who worked closely with Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart. Early training and career D'Orbay was born in Paris and likely received his early training as an architect fr ...

. The foreground of the plan, however, was quickly changed to take into account the building's perspective within the new square, and in particular with the

portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

of the

Couvent des Feuillants The royal monastery of Saint-Bernard, better known as the Couvent des Feuillants or Les Feuillants Convent, was a Feuillant nunnery or convent in Paris, behind what is now numbers 229—235 rue Saint-Honoré, near its corner with rue de Castiglio ...

that was built on the opposite side of the square. The first stone was laid on July 9, 1686, and the nuns settled there on July 2, 1688. The new church was dedicated to Saint Louis on August 27, 1689. Jean Jouvenet (1644-1717) painted ''The Descent from the Cross'' in 1697 for the main altar of the Capuchin church. In 1756, the painting was donated to the

Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abol ...

. Seized during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

along with all other paintings held by the Académie, it was moved to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

where it is still to be found. When rebuilding the convent,

François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Louvois (18 January 1641 – 16 July 1691) was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. Together with his father, Michel le Tellier Michel Le Tellier, ...

had required that the contractor Maurice II Gabriel (1632-1693) reuse the materials of the old building. By 1720, the portal of the church was already heavily degraded, likely due to Louvois' choice to build the convent on plaster rubble. The portal was rebuilt in 1721 and 1722 on the plans of Sébastien-Antoine Slodtz (1695-1754) with sculptures by François-Antoine Vassé (1681-1736). The portal needed to be restored again in 1755. After the suppression of regular orders by the National Constituent Assembly in 1789, the sisters left the convent on June 14, 1790. By a decree on September 7, 1792, the convent became the Hôtel des Monnaies and was used to print

Assignats An assignat () was a monetary instrument, an order to pay, used during the time of the French Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars. France Assignats were paper money (fiat currency) issued by the Constituent Assembly in France from 1 ...

. Physicist and

stage magician Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

Étienne-Gaspard Robert Étienne-Gaspard Robert (15 June 1763 – 2 July 1837), often known by the stage name of "Robertson", was a prominent Liégeois (now part of Belgium) physicist, stage magician and influential developer of phantasmagoria. He was described by C ...

presented fantasized shows in the old church using a magic lantern called a fantascope. In 1800, Antonio Franconi's circus occupied the former convent. The Couvent des Capucines was destroyed under the

First Empire First Empire may refer to: *First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 *First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes use ...

in 1806 for the drilling of a new avenue named after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Under the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, it became the

Rue de la Paix The rue de la Paix (English: Peace Street) () is a fashionable shopping street in the center of Paris. Located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, running north from Place Vendôme and ending at the Opéra Garnier, it is best known for its jewe ...

People buried in the Couvent des Capucines

Charles III de Créquy Charles III de Blanchefort-Créquy, sieur de Blanchefort, prince de Poix, duc de Créquy (24 March 1624 – 13 February 1687) was a French peer and soldier, who also served Louis XIV as diplomat and advisor. Life Charles III was the eldest of t ...

(1624-1687); *

Charles de Lorraine, Count of Armagnac Charles de Lorraine (22 February 1684 – 29 December 1751) was a member of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine. Succeeding his father as the Count of Armagnac, he also succeeded as Count of Brionne as well as the Grand Sq ...

(1684-1751); * Marie Madeleine Méliand (1704-1781), widow of

René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, Marquis d'Argenson (18 October 169426 January 1757) was a politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from November 1744 to January 1747 and was a friend of Voltaire. His younger brother, Marc-Pierre, Co ...

; *

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

(1721-1764).

Bibliography

* (fr) This article is partially or entirely translated from :fr:Couvent des Capucines
see its history for attribution.
* Raoul de Sceaux, "The Capuchin Convent on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris: Topographical and Historical Study", Yearbook 1971-1972, École pratique des hautes études. 4th section, Historical and Philological Sciences, 1972, p. 787-796. * Ania Guini-Skliar, "The Capuchin Convent" in Place Vendôme. Art, power and fortune, Delegation to the artistic action of the City of Paris, Paris, 2002, p. 63-68.

References

{{coord missing, France Former buildings and structures in Paris Capuchin friaries Buildings and structures demolished in 1806