Paris is full of little-known artistic wonders. The chapel of the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, with its decoration by Henri Lehmann, is one of them.
A word about the institution, first of all, of public interest and whose mission, since its creation by Valentin Hauÿ, is ‘to be, for young visually impaired people, a gateway to the world of sighted people. By facilitating access to knowledge, communication and relationships, INJA aims to develop autonomy and social inclusion’.
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- 1. Jean-Baptiste Philippon (1784-1866)
Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, 1838-1843
56, bd des Invalides 75007 Paris
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
Although it was officially founded in 1791, when the Constituent Assembly nationalised it, its origins date back to 1786, when Valentin Haüy founded the Institution des Enfants Aveugles in Paris, which soon received royal funding and became the Institution Royale des Jeunes Aveugles, a title it lost during the Revolution and regained during the Restoration. After being housed in various buildings, construction of the current Institute, at 56 boulevard des Invalides in the Paris 7th arrondissement, began in 1838 and was entrusted to the architect Pierre Philippon. The building has been listed as a historic monument [1] (ill. 1) since 1984.
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- 2. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Décor de la chapelle de l’Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, 1843-1850
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
The building, with its pediment sculpted by François Jouffroy, winner of the Prix de Rome in 1832, is of great elegance, but the masterpiece is certainly the decoration of the chapel painted by Henri Lehmann between 1843 and 1850.
It covers the cul-de-four of the apse and the spandrels of the dome (ill. 2). Curiously, although the critic in the newspaper L’Assemblée nationale spoke of a ‘cupola which has not yet been painted and which, we hope, will soon be entrusted to the talent of Mr Henri Lehmann [2]’, the chapel will remain undecorated and white. Another special feature of this chapel is that it is divided in two, with an auditorium on one side where concerts are given regularly (music being an essential art form for many blind people), and the church on the other, the two being separated by a removable partition that can bring them together for events involving large audiences.
On La Tribune de l’Art, we often talk about Henri Lehmann, who, along with Théodore Chassériau, Hippolyte Flandrin and Amaury-Duval, is certainly Ingres’ most gifted pupil, in particular to point out, again and again, that it is incredible that the Louvre cannot exhibit a single painting by his hand. Fortunately, however, two Paris churches can boast works by this artist: the chapelle Saint-Jean in the église Saint-Merri, whose decoration is in urgent need of restoration, and the chapelle de la Vierge in Saint-Louis-en-l’Île, which houses three paintings by him. A decoration for the transept of the church of Saint Clotilde was abandoned by Lehmann, while those for the Hôtel de Ville and the Palais de Justice were destroyed by fire during the Commune. Finally, the two murals in the apses of the Salle du Trône in the Palais du Luxembourg, of which the models are kept at the Musée Carnavalet, can still be admired when visiting the Senate.
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- 3. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Les Âmes portées aux pieds du Christ par des anges, 1843-1850
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
Although the Chapelle des Jeunes Aveugles is not very accessible, as it is an educational establishment with controlled access for security reasons, its administration is very welcoming and is keen to make the decor better known. It will be on display on Saturday 21 September 2024 from 10am to 5pm as part of the Heritage Days.
We urge you to make the most of it, as it is certainly one of the artist’s major works.
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- 4. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Isaïe et la Sibylle de Cumes, 1843-1850
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
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- 5. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Jérémie et Persica, 1843-1850
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
The cul-de-four painting shows Souls Carried to Christ’s Feet by Angels (ill. 3). In the centre, Christ in glory in a golden nimbus is surrounded by young children who symbolise innocent souls and recall the Gospel episode (‘Let the children come to me’). To her right, the Virgin welcomes them under her protective mantle, and to her left, Saint John the Baptist, seated, points to a standing child. On either side, the apostles are standing, while the four evangelists are seated in the foreground. The three angels who carried the souls to Christ’s feet can be seen in the centre, at the bottom of the composition.
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- 6. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Delphica et Élie, 1843-1850
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
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- 7. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Lybica et Ézéchiel, 1843-1850
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
The four pendentives (ill. 4 to 7), as we wrote in the news item of this article, are each adorned with a prophet and a sibyl. This association is all the more reminiscent of the iconography of the Sistine Chapel in that the naked young adolescents accompanying them (ill. 8 and 9) are close to the figures of ignudi in the latter (ill. 10 and 11), even if Lehmann refrains from any slavish copying. Unable to compete for the Prix de Rome because he was German (he later became a naturalised French citizen), he nevertheless went to Rome in 1839 to join his master Ingres. This gave him the opportunity to study the frescoes in the Vatican.
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- 8. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Jérémie et Persica, 1843-1850 (détail)
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
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- 9. Henri Lehmann (1814-1882)
Lybica et Ézéchiel, 1843-1850 (détail)
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
Numerous preparatory studies for this décor exist. In addition to the drawing recently acquired by the Musée Bonnat, mentioned in the above-mentioned article, the museum also holds two other studies for the Chapelle des Aveugles. Other sheets are held in private collections (Saint Matthew and Saint Luke) and museums, for example a study for Saint Marc in the Morgan Library.
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- 10. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Ignudo
Vatican, chapelle Sixtine
Photo : Wikimedia (domaine public) - See the image in its page
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- 11. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Ignudo
Vatican, chapelle Sixtine
Photo : Wikimedia (domaine public) - See the image in its page
Although it is not in danger, this decoration would nevertheless benefit from cleaning and restoration. The problems can be seen in the recent application of Japanese paper, which means that it is suffering from loss of adhesion.
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- 12. France, XIXe siècle
Ange agenouillé
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
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- 13. France, XIXe siècle
Ange agenouillé
Paris, chapelle de l’Institut
National des Jeunes Aveugles
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
Finally, the high altar is decorated with several sculptures, including two kneeling angels (ill. 12 and 13). We have not been able to identify their creator, but perhaps a reader can shed some light on the subject.