Restoration of the chapels of Saint-Joseph of Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Eustache

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2/3/23 - Restorations - Paris, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Eustache churches - The restoration of Parisian churches continues, led by the Conservation des œuvres d’art religieuses et civiles (COARC) [1] and by the Direction des affaires culturelles de la Ville de Paris (DAC). Two chapels dedicated to Saint Joseph should thus be restored to their former glory, one in Saint-Sulpice, the other in Saint-Eustache.


1. Charles Landelle (1821-1908)
The Dream of Joseph (detail), 1860-1875
Saint-Joseph chapel
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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2. Charles Landelle (1821-1908)
The Dream of Joseph (detail), 1860-1875
Saint-Joseph chapel
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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3. Charles Landelle (1821-1908)
The Dream of Joseph (detail), 1860-1875
Saint-Joseph chapel under restoration
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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4. Charles Landelle (1821-1908)
The Dream of Joseph (detail), 1860-1875
Saint-Joseph chapel
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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At Saint-Sulpice, the stained glass window in the chapel was first entrusted to the Anne Pinto workshop in 2020; then in 2022, it was the statue of St. Joseph by the 18th-century Italian sculptor Giovanni Marchiori that was restored by the Sabine Cherki group, thanks to the patronage of the Frédéric de Saint Opportune Foundation for an amount of 8,500 euros.
Today, it is the turn of the mural decoration to regain its legibility. The work is being carried out by the Méliné Miguirditchian group at a cost of 435,000 euros. Begun in September 2022, it should be completed next April.

The two large compositions illustrating the dream and death of Saint Joseph were painted by Charles Landelle between 1860 and 1875 (ill. 1 to 6). Huysmans commented on them in 1876, concluding his chronicle with these words: "We recognize in Landelle a pupil of Delaroche, and [...] if the paintings of the chapel of St. Joseph do not show a very frank originality, they are nevertheless the work of an excellent artist, and we urge all those who are still interested in a beautiful decorative page to go and see them as soon as the chapel is finished and delivered to the public [2]." Landelle drew several preparatory studies, but also reductions of the two completed paintings, which he presented notably at the Exposition Universelle of 1878; one of them is in the church of Foissy-sur-Vanne in the Yonne, another in the church of Changé in Mayenne.


5. Charles Landelle (1821-1908)
The Dream of Joseph (detail), 1860-1875
Saint-Joseph chapel before restoration
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
Photo: Coarc
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6. Charles Landelle (1821-1908)
The Death of Joseph (detail), 1860-1875
Saint-Joseph chapel before restoration
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
Photo: Coarc
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Very dirty, this decoration was cleaned. It was also necessary to stabilize and consolidate the pictorial layer, and then to fill in the gaps that did not affect the figures, fortunately, but the upper parts of the two compositions. The restorers Louise Froidevaux and Pauline Voirin point out that the decoration of the vault, on the other hand, was very degraded and required partial reconstruction (ill. 7 to 10). This is an ornamental decoration that can easily be found by deduction, thanks to the elements preserved in the less damaged side parts, but also thanks to similar decorations in the neighboring chapels of Sainte-Geneviève and Saint-Martin.


7. Vault of the Saint Joseph chapel
before restoration
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
Photo: Coarc
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8. Decoration of the vault of the Saint Joseph chapel under restoration.
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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9. Vault of the Saint Joseph chapel
under restoration.
Remaining elements of the decoration
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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10. Vault of the chapel of Saint Joseph
under restoration.
Décor reconstituted from the remaining elements
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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Other chapels of Saint-Sulpice have been saved in recent years. In addition to the chapel of the Angels painted by Delacroix, whose restoration was not a priority (see the news item of 11/23/16), the chapel of Saint Anne decorated by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu and the chapel of the Souls in Purgatory entrusted to François-Joseph Heim can once again be admired (see the news item of 4/24/22).


11. François Lemoyne, Le Christ et Melchisédech
Claude-Guy Hallé, Saint Pierre et Saint Jean-Baptiste
Les quatre médaillons de la voûte
de l’église Saint-Sulpice
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Several other nineteenth-century chapels remain to be saved in the church. In particular, the chapel of Saint-Maurice-Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc painted by Auguste Vinchon needs urgent attention, and it is about time that the fate of the four medallions in the dome, which show Christ and Melchisedec by François Lemoyne, Saint Peter and Saint John the Baptist, by Claude-Guy Hallé (ill. 11), be addressed. Fortunately, the chapel of the Virgin, decorated by François Lemoyne, is currently being restored.


12. Sébastien-Antoine Slodtz
(c. 1693/94 -1759)
and Paul-Ambroise Slodtz (1702-1758)
Angelots sculpted on the back of the
of the right transept, after the fire
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
Photo: Didier Rykner
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13. Reconstruction of the cherubs made by Sébastien-Antoine Slodtz
(around 1693/94 -1759)
and Paul-Ambroise Slodtz (1702-1758) on the reverse of the
façade of the right transept
Paris, église Saint-Sulpice
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The stucco cherubs by Sébastien-Antoine and Paul-Ambroise Slodtz in the south transept, almost completely destroyed in the 2019 fire (see news item 17/3/19), meanwhile, have been reconstructed (ill. 12 and 13). This restoration was based on the study of old photos and the analysis of the north transept, whose decoration was designed during the same period. The stone-imitating set would have been made of cartapesta (pasteboard), a point that remains to be confirmed [3].


14. Chapel of St. Joseph, left wall
Assumption of the Virgin
under restoration
Paris, église Saint-Eustache
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15. Chapel of Saint Joseph, left wall
Assumption of the Virgin
undergoing restoration
Paris, Église Saint-Eustache
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16. Chapel of Saint Joseph, left wall
The Apostles of the Assumption
The Road to Emmaus
undergoing restoration
Paris, église Saint-Eustache
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17. Chapel of Saint Joseph, left wall
Noli Me Tangere
undergoing restoration
Paris, église Saint-Eustache
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At Saint-Eustache, several worksites have also been undertaken in recent years, notably in the Sainte-Anne chapel, decorated by the painter Hippolyte Lazerges between 1849 and 1852 (see the news item of 2/6/22). Now it is the turn of the Saint Joseph chapel to be under scaffolding. It was imperative to take care of its painted decoration, which dates in part from the seventeenth century (ill. 14 to 21), and which had been almost invisible for some thirty years; the layer of paint was stabilized by Japanese paper which prevented it from disappearing.

This work, carried out by COARC and the DAC of the City of Paris, benefits from a sponsorship from the World Monuments Fund (WMF), which has given 440,000 euros. It will begin in September 2022 and should be completed by next June. The restoration of the murals is entrusted to the Ariel Bertrand group, that of the stained glass to the Emma Groult group and the sculpture to the Sabine Cherki group and thus to the Bruno Perdu group for the Mason work.
The WMF has also participated in the social action of the church and will finance a new lighting of the nave, the choir and the transept, following the reconfiguration of the electrical system financed by the City of Paris and managed by the DECH (Department of Religious and Historical Buildings).

This chapel was not dedicated to Saint Joseph until 1878, which explains why its oil on plaster decoration does not evoke the life of the saint, but rather depicts scenes around the Resurrection such as Noli me tangere, the Angels opening the empty tomb, Christ on the road to Emmaus, the Ascension and the Assumption. As Ariel Bertrand explains, to reattach the paint layer, an adhesive is injected under each flake of paint. The ensemble underwent several restoration campaigns in the 19th century and many repaints date from this period. If they are part of the history of the place, it was nevertheless decided to remove the most recent, when possible, that is to say when the material of the seventeenth century is still present underneath. If the gaps are too numerous, it is preferable to keep the nineteenth century retouching, satisfactory on the whole, unaltered and in the spirit of the seventeenth century.


18. Chapel of St. Joseph, right wall
The Risen Christ
undergoing restoration
Paris, église Saint-Eustache
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19. Chapel of St. Joseph, right wall
Angels Opening the Empty Tomb
undergoing restoration
Paris, église Saint-Eustache
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— -

20. Chapel of St. Joseph, right wall
Draperies added in the 19th century
above the undecorated part previously occupied by an altarpiece
Paris, Église Saint-Eustache
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These paintings are not signed and were perhaps done by several hands. The figures do not all have the same morphology, some have bulging foreheads, others have straight noses. Most of the faces are preserved, and once the repaints were removed, the cold complexions reappeared, especially those of the angels of the Resurrection (ill. 19). On the same wall, the lower part of the body of the risen Christ dates from the seventeenth century, while his torso and face are entirely nineteenth century. Opposite, the figures of the Magdalene and Jesus (Noli me tangere) date from the seventeenth century, while next to them, the scene of Christ on the Road to Emmaus has been heavily repainted in the nineteenth century (ill. 17).
In the lower part of the right wall was an altarpiece that was removed in the nineteenth century, leaving a whole part of the wall without decoration (ill. 20). In order to create a transition to the compositions above, artists in the nineteenth century added rather crude draperies. Above is the empty tomb of Christ opened by angels (ill. 19), while in the foreground the guards are sleeping. This large black hole is the real subject of the composition.


21. Chapel of St. Joseph
Vault
Paris, église Saint-Eustache
Photo: bbsg
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In the upper parts of the chapel appear the Virgin of the Assumption on the left and Christ on the right (ill. 14 and 18). These figures had completely disappeared because of infiltrations and water damage related to the roof since the 18th century... As Véronique Milande points out, no ancient source allows us to know if the repaints are faithful to the original.
For the historiated scenes, the retouching of large areas will be done with the tratteggio, but the small gaps will be retouched in an illusionist way.
As for the ceiling (ill. 21), a partial reconstruction is planned, since the decoration remains in large part and has been refixed, allowing the missing decorative motifs to be reproduced accurately. This nineteenth century decoration had been completely and roughly covered in the mid-twentieth century, and the previous state could be recovered.

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