La Sainte-Chapelle de Paris

by Francoise Perrot

La Sainte Chapelle est née de la volonté de Saint-Louis, qui voulait offrir à sa collection de reliques un joyau digne de l’abriter. Elle offre au visiteur l’éblouissement de sa parure de vitrail, ce « paradis retrouvé », « ce rideau de verre, cette confession ardente faite de couleurs pulvérisées et de points lumineux » qu’évoque Paul Claudel dans L’œil écoute. Autrefois abritée au cœur du palais de la Cité, aujourd’hui égarée au milieu du Palais de justice, elle reste un objet architectural unique, monument du XIIIe siècle que Viollet-le-Duc remit en valeur six siècles plus tard.À l’heure où s’achève l’immense chantier de restauration des verrières, après plusieurs années de travaux, cet album de la collection Regards propose une redécouverte de la Sainte-Chapelle. De superbes prises de vue offrent au lecteur le privilège unique de s’approcher au plus près de verrières pour en apprécier les 1 133 scènes, les personnages, le dessin et les somptueuses couleurs.

Genres: Nonfiction

70 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2013

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5, but we’re still waiting for the half stars that’ll sadly never come.

I bought this book at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, just as a small reminder of the place (not that I can forget it after visiting a million times) and I picked it up because I was feeling nostalgic and missed Paris. My goal wasn’t to delve into a detailed analysis of the monument, otherwise I would have bought a scholarly monograph: I wanted a pretty book with a lot of pictures and a brief summary of the history of the chapel and its art and decoration, just to jog my memory.

This book is exactly what I was looking for: the pictures inside are good (but not the best out there to be honest, hence the fact I didn’t go for a higher rating), the history of the chapel is well summarised (there’s only one noticeable mishap, which I believe is a typo, because the same piece of information is given correctly right after that) and the text is clear and concise, even if sometimes the captions of the photos are the result of a simple copy-and-paste from the text itself. All explanations are well written and the writing style is very relaxed but also appropriate for the subject, with technical terms used in the right places.

I believe this is perfect for someone who knows nothing about the Sainte-Chapelle, because it offers all the basic information about it; but it’s also a great way to refresh your memory even if you have already visited it or if you know about it (because let’s face it, most people, even historians or art historians, don’t exactly remember which stained-glass window talks about what, or what year the flèche was rebuilt for the third time).

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide to Saint-Chapelle Paris, particularly the details of the stained glass windows that are difficult to see in person.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

Know how you go to a place and then are surprised because you didn't really know where you were going and didn't expect it to be quite as beautiful? Yeah, that. Once you get to Sainte-Chapelle, there's not a lot to tell you about its history, either. This book served as a wonderful guide to what I saw as well as to the history of the building. The pictures, of course, don't do the church justice but still serve as a reminder of the sense of awe I had standing in that sanctuary. If you go to Paris, this one is well worth the stop.