Two more Bouguereau paintings restored at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul

24/9/24 - Restoration - Paris, église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul - It’s hard not to notice the church that stands on Place Franz-Liszt in Paris’s tenth arrondissement, but few passers-by stop to admire the masterpieces it contains. Built in 1844 by Hittorff, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s façade is decorated with enameled lava slabs created by Jules Jollivet (see news item of 06/17/11). Inside, a procession of one hundred and sixty Saints, painted by Hippolyte Flandrin between 1848 and 1853, moves through the nave towards the Christ in Majesty enthroned on the apse vault, the work of François Edouard Picot. The murals are in dire need of restoration. The high altar features a calvary by François Rude.
The axial chapel dedicated to the Virgin is home to a sculpture by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, while the walls feature episodes from the life of Mary, painted on canvas by William Bouguereau between 1881 and 1889: The Marriage of the Virgin, The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Adoration of the Shepherds, The Adoration of the Magi, The Flight into Egypt, Christ Meets His Mother, The Virgin at the Foot of the Cross.
These paintings have suffered from humidity, but also from the smoke and heat given off by the candles. Dirty and blackened, they had become almost invisible. A first restoration in 2023 restored the colors of The Visitation and The Nativity (see news item of 11/7/23). Two other compositions were restored to legibility in July: The Adoration of the Magi and The Flight into Egypt. The contrast between these two compositions can now be admired: one features a large number of richly-dressed figures, with an urban landscape in the background; the other, much more refined, is reduced to three figures in an arid landscape. For both the donkey and the lamb in L’Adoration des Bergers, Bouguereau worked from life, thanks to Rosa Bonheur. She owned a menagerie that included a wide variety of animals (see the article on the Orsay exhibition).

1. William…