Saint Louis Cathedral Paris
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Saint Louis Cathedral Paris
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Saint Louis des Invalides Cathedral, Paris.
At the heart of the Hôtel des Invalides, the Saint-Louis Cathedral shows how important religious faith was to Louis XIV. This history of this building enables visitors to step back in time in a splendid setting.
In 1676, the Secretary of State for War, Marquis de Louvois, entrusted the young architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart with the construction of the chapel which Libéral Bruant has been unable to complete. The architect designed a building which combined a royal chapel, the "Dôme des Invalides", and a veterans' chapel achieving consistency and harmony.
In this way, the King and his soldiers could attend mass simultaneously, while entering the place of worship though different entrances, as prescribed by etiquette. This separation was reinforced in the 19th century with the erection of the tomb of Napoleon I, the creation of the two separate altars and then with the construction of a glass wall between the two chapels.
The Veteran’s Chapel, which opens onto the main courtyard, is an example of classical architecture. The organ case was made between 1679 and 1687.
The cornice of the Veteran's Chapel is decorated with some hundred trophies taken from the enemy throughout the history of the French armies, from 1805 to the 19th century. Bearing witness to age-old traditions, these trophies were hung on the vault of Notre Dame Cathedral up until the French Revolution. Those which escaped destruction were transferred to the Hôtel des Invalides from 1793. The Hôtel des Invalides was then entrusted with the mission of keeping French emblems and trophies. Nearly 1,500 of these trophies were burnt in the courtyard in 1814 by the Governor of the Hôtel des Invalides to prevent them from failing into enemy hands.
The chapel, which was dedicated to Saint-Louis and consecrated to the Holy Trinity, fell under the administrative control of the Army Museum when it was founded in 1905. It is now the cathedral for the French armies.
As for Paris... what can one say about the City of Light that has not already been said...?
More views of Paris one copy-paste away in my Gallery at http://westonwestmoreland.com/collections/paris
Weston Westmoreland
Uploaded
October 19th, 2021
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Viewed 83 Times - Last Visitor from Navarre, Fl on 03/20/2024 at 12:47 AM
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