History
The church was built in the neighborhood of Javel in the 15th arrondissement, an area which, beginning in the 1860, had seen the construction of many chemical and metallurgical factories, including factories which produced Eau de Javel, a variety of bleach, which gave its name to the neighborhood. After the First World War, the dominant industry became construction of transport, including locomotives, wagons and especially automobiles, including a large new factory for Citroen. The local church could not accommodate the rapid growth of the population. A project for a much larger church was launched, It was named for Saint Christopher the patron saint of automobilists and other voyagers. [2]
The design was inspired by the Gothic architecture of the 13th century. The architect, Charles-Henri Besnard (1881-1946) was an admirer of Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who had carried out the creative restroration of a series of Gothic cathedrals from that period. Besmard went one step further than Viollet-le-Duc. Rather than using masonry with an iron framework for the church, he went one step further, building with reinforced concrete. His ambition, he declared, was to create the kind of church that the 13th century architects would have built if they had possessed reinforced concrete. [3]
Following Besnard's method, the elaborate columns and grills and other architectural elements of the church were prefabricated, molded of cement,then delivered to the construction site. This way, making the prefabricated architectural elements of the church could continue through the winter, when traditional construction sites closed down. However, in the end, this method of construction proved not to be economical. The additional cost of hoisting and installing all the delicate prefabricated pieces turned out to be greater than traditional construction on the site. [4]
In 1975 The church was protected as an historic monument, as part of a nationwide effort to preserve notable Parisian architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Art and decoration
Painting
Art and decoration cover all of the walls and ceiling of the interior. The walls of the nave have paintings depicting scenes from the life of Saint Christopher. These a made with encaustic painting, using a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. over wax. The arched vaults of the ceiling filled with panels made of staff, a kind of reinfoced plaster covered with fabric, which serve as a surface for more painted decoration.
The most prominent painting in the interior is in the Art Deco style, and is found in the vault over the choir, It is by Henri-Marcel Magne (1877-1944). In the center, Saint Christopher is carrying the infant Christ on his shoulders. To his left and right are kneeling figures representing the citizens of the parish, and paintings of the various means of transport, from bicycles to automobiles and locomotives, manufactured there. [5] in the parish.
Several paintings along the collateral aisle of the nave are by Jac Martin-Ferrières (1893-1974) and depict scenes from the life of Saint Christopher. "The Execution of Saint Christopher" on the lower left collateral aisle, illustrates his martyrdom; according to the legend, an army of archers fired arrows at the Saint, but the arrows remained suspended in the air, and could not touch him. He was finally behaded, shown in another painting in the same aisle. Another painting in the same aisle illustrates Saint Christopher refusing to make sacrifices to the false gods. [6]
Painting over the Choir depicting St. Christopher with workers of the parish by Henri-Marcel Magne
"Saint Christopher confronts the Devil" by Jac Martin-Ferrières (1893-1974)
Nave painting of St. Christopher ascended to heaven
Stained Glass
Many of the stained-glass windows of the church are the work of Henri-Marcel Magne (1877-1944) in the modernist style of the first half of the 20th century, and by Jacques Gruber of the École de Nancy
Stained glass windows in sunburst design over the side aisles of nave
Detail of a medallion near the main portal
Detail of Crucifixion window near church entrance
Abstract windows in the Chapel of the Virgin
Glass in ceiling vault over the collateral aisle
Sculpture
Many of the works of sculpture, are made of molded concrete rather than stone. One example is the Statue of Saint Christopher and the Christ Child, by Pierre Vigoureaux (1884-1965)
Abundant sculptural decoration of molded concrete is also found in the pulpit, doorways, columns,and other archictural details,
Saint Francoise holding the Infant Christ, by Pierre Vioureaux
The Baptitry and Baptismal Font
Saint Christopher and the Christ Child, by Pierre Vigoureaux
The Church of St. Eustache, Paris, is a church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The present building was built between 1532 and 1632.
The Église de la Sainte-Trinité is a Roman Catholic church located on the place d'Estienne d'Orves, at 3 rue de la Trinité, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It was built between 1861 and 1867 during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III, in the residential neighborhood of the Chaussée d'Antin. It is in the ornate Neo-Renaissance or Second Empire Style, with a highly visible 65-meter-tall belfry.
The Basilica of Saint Clotilde is a basilica church located on the Rue Las Cases, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It was constructed between 1846 and 1856, and is the first example of a church in Paris in the neo-Gothic style.
Saint-Louis en l'Île is a Roman Catholic parish church located at 19 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île on Île Saint-Louis in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was constructed between 1664 and 1725, and is dedicated to King Louis IX of France, or Saint Louis. The church was originally built in the French Baroque style of the 17th century, but much of the interior decoration was taken or destroyed in the French Revolution. The church was extensively restored and redecorated in the 19th century.
Le Puy Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne, France. The cathedral is a national monument. It has been a centre of pilgrimage in its own right since before the time of Charlemagne, as well as being a stopover on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Since 1998 it has been part of a multi-location UNESCO World Heritage Site along France's Santiago pilgrimage routes. It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Puy.
Saint-Jean de Montmartre is a Roman Catholic parish church located at 19 Rue des Abbesses in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
Saint-Denys de la Chapelle is a church in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The interior dates to 1204, making it one of the oldest in Paris. The facade added in the 18th century.
Notre-Dame-de-Lorette is a Roman Catholic church located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, It was built between 1823 and 1836 in the Neo-classical architectural style by architect Louis-Hippolyte Lebas, in a neighbourhood known as the New Athens, for its many artistic and scholarly residents in the 19th century, including George Sand, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alexandre Dumas. While the exterior is classical and austere, the church interior is known for its rich collection of paintings, sculpture, and polychrome decoration.
Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin is a Roman Catholic church located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, place Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin, between the rue du Bac and the boulevard Saint-Germain. The church is named for Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and priest, and influential philosopher and theologian in the 13th century. It was originally a chapel of an abbey of the Dominican order in Paris. Construction began in 1682, and the church was consecrated in 1682. The friars were expelled and the church was closed during the French Revolution, and was not returned to the Catholic church until 1802. During the 19th century, the City of Paris endowed the church with many fine examples of French religious art. The church was declared an Historic Monument in 1982.
Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix de Ménilmontant is a Roman Catholic parish church located at Place Ménilmontant, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built between 1863 and 1880. Of exceptional height and length, it is one of the largest churches in Paris.
Église Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile is a Roman Catholic church located at 6 rue Sainte-Cécile in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. In 1983 it was designated as a monument historique in its entirety. Designed in the Neo-Gothic style by Louis-Auguste Boileau and Louis-Adrien Lusson, the church was the first in France to use an entirely iron-framed construction. The first stone was laid in 1854, and the building was completed in 1855.
Notre-Dame-des-Champs is a Catholic church located at 91 Boulevard du Montparnasse, at the southern edge of the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The church is named after the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of the Fields. It was completed in 1876, built using an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel.
The Church of Saint-Jean-Bosco is a Roman Catholic church located at 79 rue Alexandre-Dumas in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Built between 1933 and 1938, it is a rare example of a Paris church in the Art Deco style. It takes its name from Saint John Bosco (1815–1880), an Italian Catholic priest who founded the order of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and devoted his career to promoting education for working-class children, both boys and girls. All of the paintings, murals, stained glass, mosaics, statues and architecture were created within a decade, giving them a harmonious Art Deco style. It was designated as a French national historic monument in 2001.
Saint-Médard, Paris, is a Roman Catholic church located at 105 Rue Mouffetard in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. It takes its name from Saint Medard, the bishop of Noyon in northern France, who was protector of Queen Radegund, and helped her found a convent at Noyon to escape her abusive husband, King Chlothar I. Medard is the patron saint of French farmers.
Notre-Dame-de-la-Compassion is a Roman Catholic Church located on Place du Général Koenig in the 17th arrondissement in Paris. It was originally built in 1842–43 as a memorial chapel to Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, the heir to King Louis-Philippe of France, who was killed in a road accident in 1842. It was built in the Neo-Byzantine style, with elements of Gothic, Baroque and other styles, and was originally called the Chapelle Royale Saint-Ferdinand. In 1970 it was moved stone by stone from its original location a short distance away to make space for the new Palais des Congrès. It became a parish church in 1993. Its notable decoration includes stained glass windows designed by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and sculpture by Henri de Triqueti. It was designated a French historic monument in 1929.
The Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule is a Roman Catholic church located at 154 Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Resembling a Roman temple. it was built in the style of Neoclassicism between 1774 and 1784 by architect Jean-François Chalgrin best known for his design of the Arc de Triomphe. It was enlarged in 1845 by the architects Étienne-Hippolyte Godde and Victor Baltard.
Saint-Louis-d'Antin is a Roman Catholic parish church located at 63 rue Caumartin in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, next to Place Georges-Berry, close to the major Paris department stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, and the Gare Saint-Lazare railway station. It was originally built in 1783 as a monastery chapel, then became a parish church in 1802. It is known for its lavish Neclassical interior and its collection of 19th century paintings and stained glass.
Sainte-Odile is a Roman Catholic church located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, at the northwest edge of the city. It is dedicated to Saint Odile, the patron saint of Alsace. It was constructed between 1935 and 1946, and is a rare example of Art Deco architecture among the churches of Paris. Its bell tower, 72 meters high, is the tallest in Paris. It is also known for its remarkable collection of Art Deco stained-glass windows. It was classified as French historic monument in 2001.
Notre-Dame de la Gare is a Roman Catholic parish church located on Place Jeanne-d'Arc in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built between 1855 and 1864 in an area of Paris which was rapidly industrializing, and was located near the major freight railway station, or "Gare", which gave the church its name. The style was inspired by Romanesque architecture.
Notre-Dame-du-Travail is a Roman Catholic church located at 59 rue Vercingetorix in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. It was built between 1897 and 1902 for the largely working-class population of the Plaisance neighborhood. It is notable particularly for its exposed steel framework in the interior, resembling a factory, in contrast to the more traditional exterior. The entire church was registered as an historic monument on July 5, 2016.
