Saint Sulpice Light and Mural

by Nadalyn Larsen

Title

Saint Sulpice Light and Mural

Artist

Nadalyn Larsen

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Of the many churches I visited in France, I found Saint Sulpice to be one of, if not, the most impressive. The present church of Saint Sulpice is the second building on the site, built over a Romanesque church from the 13th century. Construction began in 1646 from designs which had been created ten years earlier. Over the centuries there has been damage to the church from revolution and fires. One of the most impressive features are the numerous murals in the chapels, one after the other down both sides of the interior. some of these were done by the famous French artist Eugène Delacroix (1855–1861) during one of the restorations after a fire. The most famous of these are Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, Heliodorus Driven from the Temple, and on the ceiling, Saint Michael Vanquishing the Demon. Another outstanding feature are the arrangement of the columns. The windows were strategically placed to maximize the use of natural light. Today, lighting fixtures have been added to illuminate the building and the murals and other amazing features.
Among the notable events that have occurred at Saint Sulpice were the baptism of the Marquis de Sade in 1740, the marriage of victor Hugo to Adele Foucher in 1822, and the funeral of French President Jacques Chirac in 2019.
The name of the church may be familiar from the Ron Howard movie, The Da Vinci Code. However, no filming for the movie was allowed in the church. Also, the brass line that runs through the church is not part of the Rose Line, but is a gnomon installed in 1727 to help calculate the time of the equinoxes and the date for Easter each year. Original photo by Nadalyn Larsen.

Uploaded

May 5th, 2023

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