(NON ITALIAN RELIGIOUS) Val-de-Grâce

• Jacques Lemercier and François Mansart, Val-de-Grâce, 1645-62.1 Begun by Mansart, continued by Lemercier
• Description

  The Church of the Val-de-Grâce is a Roman Catholic Church and its dome is a well-known landmark in the Parisian skyline
• Context

  Anne of Austria, wife of King Louis XIII, vowed to God that she would build a magnificent church dedicated to the Virgin Mary if her next child was a boy – the son she bore was none other than the would-be sun god, King Louis XIV of France. When Anne’s husband died she became Queen-Regent for her six-year-old son Louis XIV, and commissioned Francois Mansart to design the great church on the grounds of the royal abbey. Mansart would eventually be sacked on account of his unforgiving temperament and the project was taken on by Jacques Lemercier
• Composition

  The plan of the church is a Latin cross crowned by a dome which rises 131 feet high.
• Analysis

  Roman architecture provides the basic inspiration. Mansart made the plans which determined the ground plan and elevation up to the entablature. The church epitomises French Classical Baroque: curving lines, elaborate ornamentation, and the harmony of different elements. The two-story façade has double stages of twin columns supporting a pediment and flanking consoles.
• Analysis

  Mansart’s design was simple and sober compared to the Mannerists. Mansart squares his façade with linked vertical lines using the columns and entablatures. The dome, with Baroque accents, contains an inner dome decorated by Pierre Mignard (1663) and a baldacchino inspired by that at Saint Peter's Basilica
• Iconography

  There is a canopy over the altar supposed to represent the rustic stable in which Jesus was born. Anne clearly saw a parallel between the miraculous birth of Jesus with her son Louis XIV – who was baptised Louis Dieudonné (‘gift of God’). Anne gave birth to Louis at the age of 37 following multiple miscarriages and this miraculous boy would reign supreme over France for 72 years.
• The marble floor of the church features fleur-de-lis (stylised lily and former royal arms of France); below right: the initials of ‘A’ and ‘L’ for Anne and Louis feature everywhere.
• Canopy designed by Gabriel Le Duc (inspired by Bernini’s Baldacchino in St. Peter’s Church, Rome) and a sculptural composition of the baby Jesus under the canopy.
• Function

  To give thanks for the birth of her son, Anne of Austria dedicated the church in honour of the Virgin Mary. The dedication on the porch pediment reads "IESU NASCENTI VIRGINIQ(UE) MATRI."
• Colour

  pale dressed stone unifies the whole structure
• Style

  French Baroque
• France had the money to invest and highly skilled craftsmen to lead architecture in the Baroque period. The royal court was the nucleus of power. Classicism was a fitting style for Absolute rulers.
• The building’s expensive materials are inextricably linked to its status as a royal commission:

  • Extensive use of finely cut stone, dressed stone and slate indicate expense – the pale colour unifies the composition and seems fitting for a church
  • Complexity of arrangement taste and wealth
  • Extent and variety of decoration shows fine craftsmanship and skill
  • Height of roofline and dome with lantern suggests grandeur and importance.
  • Classical syntax suggests education and cultural sophistication
• The plan of the church of the Val-de-Grâce is characterized by a dominant central domed space at the crossing, surrounded by three equal apses for the choir and transepts, a layout reminiscent of that adopted by Andrea Palladio for Il Redentore, Venice.