St-Etienne (Beauvais)

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The St. Stephen , the former collegiate church and today's parish church of Saint-Étienne in the northern French city of Beauvais is one of the most interesting and impressive religious buildings in France . As early as 1846, church construction was recognized as a monument historique .

Saint-Etienne church

location

The church of Saint-Etienne is located about 400 meters south of the Cathedral near the present center of Beauvais in the region Hauts-de-France and the historic cultural landscape of Picardy , whose capital Amiens was.

Building history

Layout

As early as the 11th century there was a St. Stephen's Church in Beauvais, which in 1072 Pope Urban II referred to it as the “mother and head of all churches in Beauvais”. At that time it was outside the city walls, which were expanded around 1200 on the orders of the French King Philip August . A few years earlier (1180) the church fell victim to a fire and was completely renovated in the late 12th and early 13th centuries in late Romanesque styles. During this time the collegiate church also became the main parish church of the city and in 1390 the town hall bell was installed in the former crossing tower of the church. At the beginning of the 16th century it was decided to build a new Gothic church - the altar of the church was placed in the crossing ; this and the entire transept were then closed on the east side. The Romanesque choir was then torn down and replaced by a three-aisled late Gothic choir with side chapels by around 1520 ; this was a little longer than the Romanesque nave , almost twice as wide and about five meters higher. After completion of the choir, the construction work halted until on April 30, 1573 the crossing tower of the neighboring cathedral collapsed due to static problems and it was decided to stabilize the northwest side of Saint-Étienne, which was done at the end of the 16th century with a massive new tower . On the night of February 14th to 15th, 1702, a heavy storm raged over the city, which destroyed many of the wonderful and large windows in the upper area of ​​the choir. The church's coffers were empty and the canons refused to finance the necessary repairs out of their own pockets; all this led to the abolition of the church chapters in 1742. From then on, Saint-Étienne only played the role of a parish church. In the early years of the French Revolution , the tympanum and parts of the furnishings fell victim to the anger and vandalism of the mob; the church was converted into a storage room and only reopened to the cult in 1796. In June 1940, German aerial bombs destroyed parts of the choir and the vaults of the nave collapsed - the restoration work lasted until 1959.

architecture

Romanesque components

Transept facade

The north transept facade is unusual in many ways. The gable field covered with a potentially infinite diamond pattern ( sebka ) gave rise to speculations about possible influences from Moorish art . The outer edge of the large twelve-spoke and richly profiled late Romanesque wheel window is formed by the figures of the wheel of fortune of the goddess Fortuna , who is enthroned at the top and directs the fate of the people (ascent on the right and descent on the left). Above it, a small but extremely richly decorated window is inserted into the surrounding diamond pattern; under the wheel window there are two arched windows and a frieze with plant motifs, which is cranked around the window arches .

  • North transept facade

  • North transept facade (detail)

  • Wheel window and wheel of fortune of Fortuna

  • Gable window and Fortuna

Longhouse

On the north and south side of the nave which is basilica plant of the church building clearly visible - two low aisles frame a significantly higher nave, whose vault thrust is absorbed through the aisles, which in turn depend buttresses are stabilized. Arched friezes run below the eaves . On the north side there is also an imposing portal with three set columns on each side and figurative archivolts , whereby the double-headed bird creatures in the first arch and the mythical creatures in the second arch, drinking from raised basins, are particularly noteworthy. The tympanum field shows a central figure with side mythical creatures ( lindworms ) within tendrils. The upper side gussets as well as the window on both sides of the central window above are again decorated with an infinite pattern, which is rather unusual for Romanesque art, which consists of square and diamond-shaped incrustations of red or dark stones. The delicate double columns, interrupted by shaft rings , above the buttresses are continued on the wall of the tall nave in individual columns. The long walls are divided into rectangular fields, which in other Romanesque churches is more often achieved with flat pilaster strips than with round bars.

The side aisles already have ribbed vaults , but they are each rounded in three bays, as are their arcades and windows. The two western bays, only preserved on the south side because they have been replaced by the tower on the north side, are designed in an early Gothic style, with pointed arcades, vaults and windows. The two westernmost cliff windows also have pointed arches. The windows of the crossing tower are partly ogival. Otherwise, the nave of the nave as well as the transept show a typically late Romanesque combination of round-arched Romanesque wall openings with actually Gothic, pointed arched rib vaults.

West facade

The north side of the west facade was destroyed by the basement of the late Gothic tower; on the north side of the tower itself, the protruding stones can still be seen, which indicate the dimensions of the new nave. In front of the Romanesque west facade is a high Gothic entrance portal from the middle of the 13th century, the tympanum of which shows the coronation of Mary with two angels kneeling on the sides as the central theme . The heads of the two main characters as well as the figurative decorations of the archivolts were largely destroyed by the revolutionaries. The set columns of the portal vestments have also disappeared - only their bases and capitals can still be seen. On the south side there is still the richly designed Romanesque dazzling portal with an elaborately framed round window above it; the eight-fold serrated window rosette is repeated in a much simpler form in the central gable field .

  • West facade

  • West facade (detail)

  • West facade, central portal

Late Gothic choir

The large, but not with a deal provided late Gothic choir of Saint-Etienne has three aisles and also equipped with side chapels whose windows Flamboyant - tracery show. The upper windows, which are partially covered by the slender buttresses, show a different flamboyant decor; the framework ends in round arches, as they were again common in the Renaissance . Above the eaves there is an openwork parapet filled with fish - bubble tracery , which is interrupted or bordered by small pinnacles .

  • Choir

  • Choir (excerpt)

inner space

Choir

The church interior has three aisles; the wall elevation in the central nave shows a triforium located between the arcade zone and the Lichtgaden , which, however, is only designed as a narrow walkway and does not take up the entire width of the yoke . The columns in front of the wall and the ribbed vault seem to be original and thus belong to the time of the beginning of the 13th century. The simple ribbed vaults in the south aisle belong to an early construction phase (around 1185) and are therefore at the beginning of most of the ribbed vaults in northern France. The transept shows a similar vault as the central nave; the (apparently) supporting columns on the east side were cut to short stumps when the late Gothic choir was built. The area of ​​the crossing is raised and exposed through high windows; the vault resembles the one in the choir area. The choir, which also has three aisles but is equipped with side chapels, shows a two-storey wall elevation common in the late Gothic period, consisting of an arcade zone and a large light arcade in the central area; the ribbed vaults with their extremely decorative keystones are much more playful than in the nave and rest on wall templates that have been smoothed together and without capital.

  • Central nave of the nave

  • Wall elevation in the central nave

  • Transept → south

Furnishing

St. Wilgefortis
Pietà group
Upper part of the root Jesse window
Lower part of the root Jesse window
Window with the Crucifixion of Peter

The extraordinarily rich decoration of the church comes from mostly the 16th century - this includes in particular several windows of the Renaissance - glass painter Engrand Leprince , who also worked for the Cathedral in the 1520s, and several wood and stone sculptures.

Longhouse

  • Right behind the entrance on the outer wall of the south aisle hangs the bizarre and half legendary figure of St. Wilgefortis ; the bearded saint on the cross was venerated in the late Middle Ages and later by the people.
  • A group of figures of a Pietà with the accompanying figures of the disciple John and St. Stephen, at whose feet a small donor figure kneels.

Chapelle Notre-Dame de Lorette

  • The Loreto Chapel in the north aisle of the choir opens up to the choir across its entire width. The north window shows scenes from the rather fabulous Loreto legend.
  • In the side aisle of the choir stands the stone but colorfully painted figure of the bound Christ, who is clad in a loincloth and a red cloak.

Chapelle Saint-Claude

  • The east window of St. Claudius von Condat , a chapel consecrated for a long time in France very popular saint, at the end of the north aisle, conceals the window, which is excellently crafted in terms of color and craftsmanship and depicts the root of Jesse . The depiction of the family tree of Christ shows several Old Testament persons, including King David with the harp. The letters ENGR can be seen on an armband belonging to King Roboam , the son of Solomon . The resting Jesse is framed by the contemporary rulers Franz I (left) and Charles V (right). The middle branch of the tree ends in a lily blossom with the radiant mother of God and the baby Jesus.
  • The north window shows legends from the life of the saint. The depiction of a child murderer in a green robe, strangled by a green devil, is remarkable .

Choir

  • The two figures of Saint-Vaast and another bishop in the modern restored or reconstructed central west window above the organ stand are the oldest glass paintings in the church.
  • The choir stalls ( stalles ) are particularly interesting because of the misericords , which show small, mostly unreligious motifs such as grimaces etc.

Chapelle Saint-Nicolas

  • The east window comes from the workshop of Engrand Leprince and shows a representation of the Last Judgment - in the lower level to the left of the center a representation of the Archangel Michael , behind the saved ones; below right from the middle the damned seized by the devils, behind them the portrait of the founder and his wife. The other windows have often been restored and supplemented - most recently in the 20th century.
  • The carved figure of St. Angadrisma, a 7th century martyr and patron saint of the city of Beauvais.
  • A marble Pietà sculpture by Justin Chrysostome Samson from 1861 is on a pedestal at the entrance to the chapel .
  • On the wall you can see parts of the wooden choir screen, which are adorned with perspective depictions of saints and sibyls , each separated by herms .

Chapelle Sainte Marthe

Chapelle Saint-Pierre

  • The stained glass window shows scenes from the life and death of the apostle Peter , who, according to legend, was crucified upside down.

Organs

Great organ

There are two organs in Saint-Etienne : the main organ and a choir organ. The main organ goes back in part to an instrument from the 17th century. Today's instrument was built in 1954 by the organ builder Jacquot-Lavergne (Rambervillers). The historical prospectus has been preserved . The instrument has 39 registers on three manual works and a pedal .

I main work C – f 3
Bourdon 16 ′
Montre 8th'
Flûte harmonique 8th'
Bourdon 8th'
Salicional 8th'
Prestant 4 ′
Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Duplicate 2 ′
Plein-Jeu V
Trumpets 8th'
Clairon 4 ′
II positive C – c 4
Flûte de creuse 8th'
Cor de nuit 8th'
Flûte douce 4 ′
Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
Quarte de Nazard 2 ′
Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Cromorne 8th'
Voix humaine 8th'
III Récit expressif C – c 4
Quinton 8th'
diapason 8th'
Flute 8th'
Viol 8th'
Voix céleste 8th'
Flute 4 ′
Octavine 2 ′
Plein-Jeu IV
Bombard 16 ′
Trumpets 8th'
Clairon 4 ′
Basson-Hautbois 8th'
Pedal C – g 1
Soubasse 16 ′
Flute 16 ′
Bass 8th'
Flute 8th'
Flute 4 ′
Bombard 16 ′
Trumpets 8th'
Clairon 4 ′

literature

  • Philippe Bonnet-Laborderie: L'église Saint-Étienne de Beauvais - Histoire, architecture, sculpture, mobilier et vitraux. Beauvais, CDDP, 1995, ISBN 2-903729-73-5 .
  • Stephen Murray: The Choir of Saint-Étienne at Beauvais in: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 1977, p. 111ff.
  • Dominique Vermand: La voûte d'ogives dans l'Oise - les premières expériences (1100–1150). in Colloquium Groupe d'étude des monuments et œuvres d'art de l'Oise et du Beauvaisis - L'Art roman dans l'Oise et ses environs Beauvais, 1997, pp. 123-168, ISSN  0224-0475 .

Web links

Commons : St-Étienne (Beauvais)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Église Saint-Étienne, Beauvais in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ↑ Orgues de Picardie Oise , ASSECARM, p. 31; Information about the organ

Coordinates: 49 ° 25 ′ 42.6 "  N , 2 ° 4 ′ 50.5"  E