The beauty of the Sainte-Chapelle is unlike that of any other church in Europe. Commissioned during the reign of Louis IX, this monument took approximately six years to build with construction estimated to have finished around April 26, 1248. The chapel was originally built to house various artifacts from the Passion of Christ which included the Crown of Thorns. These artifacts were bought by Louis IX from Emperor Baudouin II of Constantinople, though not without paying a substantial amount of money. The relics were moved to Notre-Dame de Paris after the French Revolution, and were kept there until April 26, 2019 when a fire destroyed parts of the cathedral.
When looking at the exterior, the Sainte-Chapelle resembles any other chapel built in the gothic style. It is the interior that captures the attention of all its visitors. The Sainte-Chapelle is divided into two floors: the lower chapel and the upper chapel. The lower chapel was meant as a place of worship for the palace domestic staff and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The blue ceiling with gold accents immediately catches the attention of any onlookers. Though certainly beautiful in its own right, it pales in comparison to the upper chapel.
The upper chapel is best described as breathtaking. Light pours in through the stained glass windows from all directions. Pink hues dominate the upper chapel and blend with the light to create an even more aesthetically pleasing look. Visitors first notice the blend of colors, but closer examination reveals the details put into making the stained glass. Each panel on these massive stained glass windows represents a scene from the Bible. The colors and light make it so that there is a sense of cohesiveness within the details of the upper chapel, which is what makes this church so unique. Though the upper chapel was reserved only for the royal family and their court, it is now open to all visitors. The Centre des Monuments Nationaux has created an app that even allows visitors to discover the secrets of the stained glass windows. Simply by taking a picture of a particular panel, visitors can enrich their understanding of the Sainte-Chapelle.
References
“26 Avril 1248 Consécration De La Sainte-Chapelle.” 26 Avril 1248 – Conscration De La Sainte-Chapelle – Herodote.net, 16 Apr. 2019, www.herodote.net/26_avril_1248-evenement-12480426.php.
“Application : Percez Les Secrets Des Vitraux.” Centre Des Monuments Nationaux, Centre Des Monuments Nationaux , www.sainte-chapelle.fr/Actualites/Application-Percez-les-secrets-des-vitraux.
Croire. “La Sainte Chapelle.” Croire, La Croix Croire, 15 Apr. 2014, croire.la-croix.com/Definitions/Figures-spirituelles/Saint-Louis/La-Sainte-Chapelle.
“Sainte Chapelle De Paris : Gothique Rayonnant, Apogée De L’Art Médiéval.” Le Blog De Paris, 16 May 2011, parisii.fr/2011/05/sainte-chapelle/.
Image
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle#/media/File:La-Sainte-Chapelle-interior.jpg
In the 12th arrondissement of Paris exists a colorful and refreshing line of English styled cottages. This line of 35 residential and private houses is located on the famous Rue Crémieux; named after Jewish lawyer and advocate for human rights, Adolphe Crémieux. Avid users of social media are very familiar with this pastel painted street as it is known as, “Instagram’s most favorite street”. With one search, #RueCremieux will locate 31,000 images that have this hashtag. Proof, this enchanting stretch of houses has captured the attention of many and has served as the perfect backdrop for an Instagram post.
Nearly every tourist in Paris plans to visit the Louvre. The Louvre is seen as one of the quintessential French experiences, even though most of the art pieces it contains hail from other nations. Yet, when approaching the Louvre, tourists seem to be focused solely on the looming glass pyramid over the neatly cut treetops of the Jardin des Tuileries, completely missing the structure to their left. This imposing yet unassuming wing of the Louvre Palace houses le Musée des Arts Décoratifs, or MAD, one of the premier museums of Paris. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is itself historical. Opening on May 29th, 1905, MAD has seen two World Wars, the end of the Cold War, and the establishment of the European Union by the time it was renovated between 1996 to 2006.
Tucked between white marble works of centuries past in the Louvre’s Cour Puget resides Jean Michel Othoniel’s La Rose du Louvre, a painting series that only just recently made its way into the historic halls of the Louvre’s permanent collection, in October 2019. Othoniel’s work was commissioned to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei’s Pyramid that stands at the entrance to the museum.
The old master Peter Paul Rubens served as Othoniel’s inspiration for the flower that he hoped would become a symbol of the heart of French artistic tradition. Rubens’ work Wedding of Marie de’ Medici to Henri IV provided the very floral motifs on which La Rose du Louvre is based. The abstract representation of a rose seen in each panel carries a dual symbolism for Othoniel. Floral imagery is often packed with symbolic potential, and Othoniel’s project taps into this meaning in an effort to illuminate the subtleties that flowers have to offer. The choice of the rose shows intentionality, as Othoniel associates “la reine des fleurs” with “le roi des musées.” Symbolic of the Louvre’s position of cultural power and explanatory of some of the stories held within the museum’s vast corners, La Rose du Louvre took very little time to transition between its first presentation on May 25, 2019 and its permanent induction some five months later. Visually, the work is also at home, as its black ink on gold leaf creates a pleasing aesthetic as the work is flanked by its sculptural neighbors. Othoniel expounded on the symbolism of flowers inherent in La Rose du Louvre with his accompanying text Herbier Merveilleux, or The Secret Language of Flowers. Owing to Othoniel’s artistic dedication to floral forms as well as the familiarity he gained with the Louvre while working as warden, the text is a guide to the intricate meanings found within the flowers of the Louvre.
Today, Nicolas Flamel may be best known as the supposedly immortal philosopher who plays a key role in the Harry Potter franchise. In real life, his house at 51 rue de Montmorency – la maison de Nicolas Flamel – has gained an immortality of its own as the oldest still-standing house in Paris.
Taking its name from the powerful Medici family of Florence, Italy, la fontaine Médicis is a hidden gem nestled in the popular Luxembourg gardens in Paris. Marie de Medici (1575 – 1642), who was the widow of King Henri IV of France, found herself weary of living in the Louvre after her husband’s death. She decided to have her own palace, Palais des Médicis, constructed (~1623 – 30) on the left bank of the Seine. Feeling nostalgic for the style of the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens in her hometown of Florence, she commissioned both her palace and its surrounding gardens to be modeled on this same Italian Renaissance style.
However, much of the original design has been changed or replaced in a number of reconstructions over the years. These include the change in form from grotto to fountain along with other modifications in 1799 by the celebrated Jean Chalgrin (1739 – 1811), architect of the Arc de Triomphe. The most notable changes took place later, between 1864 – 66, when the fountain was moved about 30 meters to its current location in the Luxembourg gardens due to the construction of la rue Médicis. There, the fountain was extensively rebuilt into the version we see today. This final construction was based on the designs of Alphonse de Gisors (1796 – 1861), with sculptures by Auguste Ottin (1811 – 90), and contains a number of decorative elements.
include a central niche featuring Ottin’s statue of Acis holding Galatea, the two lying together under a rock on top of which is perched Polyphemus, ready to launch the stone fated to kill his rival*. The side niches are decorated with a statue of a faun (probably Pan) and a huntress (probably Diana). Because the fountain no longer had a “back” once it was moved to its current location, a large bas-relief by Achille Valois (1785 – 1862), featuring Leda with Jupiter transformed into a swan**, was moved from another salvaged fountain (originally at the intersection of the rue du Regard and the rue de Vaugirard) and placed on the new back wall for the Medici fountain.
You’re strolling on a Sunday afternoon through the 14th arrondissement. As you pass by Pharmacie Didot-Pernety, you make a turn and enter another world. This stretch of plant-adorned, pastel-painted, bicycle-embellished cobblestone is so far from the grime-covered, metro-lined, Seine-smelling city you left behind. You have discovered the paysan within Paris. Welcome to the Rue des Thermopyles.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, a new art movement took the world by storm and situated itself within the prominent visual identity and culture of Europe and the United States. Although the movement originated in England, with artists like William Morris and Walter Crane, the most prominent and utilized title for the artistic era was the French phrase, l’Art Nouveau, literally translating to, “the new style.” Artists and craftsmen came together with the intentions of breaking away from the traditional and academic study of fine art in an attempt to redefine and redistribute art by imbuing everyday objects with beauty. Rather than referencing the classical and mythological subjects and styles of the past, artists looked to the forms found in nature as well as the various subjects and styles of Japanese woodblock prints. Works manifested as fine art with painting and sculpture, graphic art with drawings and prints, and in more uncommon mediums, such as jewelry, glasswork, and ceramics.
In spring 2020, my students and I embarked on an exploration of the City of Lights in our Unlocking Paris class. Each student investigated an aspect of Paris that might not be known to the typical tourist–artistic movements, architecture, and monuments. They then composed blog posts dedicated to their subject, went through peer editing, and finally revisions. Over the next month, I will feature their insightful, lively work on Creative Sanctuary. Our hope is to share beautiful Paris with our readers. I launch the series with my post on Paris’ Covered Passages. 
The joy of the creative process, minute by minute, hour after hour, day by day, is the sublime path to true happiness. –George Lois