with its characteristic French _chevet_, comes in view before you. At
the Pointe St. Eustache, as you cross the roadway, look up the vistas of
un-Haussmannized Paris, again contrasting vividly with the broad Rue de
Turbigo, which runs hence to the Place de la République. Do not enter at
the first door at which you arrive—the one in the _chevet_—a rather
good one—but continue along the South side of the church, observing as
you pass the beautiful transept, with fine rose window, noble
Renaissance portal, and a stag’s head with the crucifix (emblem of St.
Eustace) surmounting the gable. Go on round the corner to the gaunt,
bare, lumbering, and unimposing late Renaissance or classical _façade_.
In this you see the worst aspect of the decadent Renaissance
architecture of Louis XIV—no saints, no archways. The door to the R
gives access to the =interior=. In any other town but Paris, so splendid
a building, rivalling many cathedrals, would attract numerous visitors.
Here, it is hardly noticed. This is the church of the “Dames de la
Halle” or market-women, who may often be observed in it.
We have already seen in brief at Cluny the main elements of the story of
=St. Eustace=, the saint who was converted by the apparition of the
Christ between the horns of the stag he was pursuing. Though not a local
martyr, St. Eustace early obtained great consideration in Paris. But the
first church here was one to St. Agnes: look out for memorials of her
throughout the building. St. Eustace had practically supplanted her as
early as 1223: his church, after many enlargements, was finally pulled
down under François I^{er}, and the present splendid Renaissance edifice
erected in its place in 1532; completed in 1640. It is a strangely
picturesque and unique building. St. Eustache, indeed, displays
Renaissance architecture in =a transitional state=, endeavouring vainly
to free itself from the traditions of the Gothic. In general plan, and
in the combination of all its parts, it is in essence a Gothic
cathedral; but its arches are round, and its detail and decorative work
are all conceived in the classical spirit of the Renaissance. If you
wish to see the difference between such a church and one in which
developed Renaissance methods have finally triumphed, you must visit St.
Sulpice.
Note three things about St. Eustache: (1) it replaces a church to St.
Agnes, who is still one of its two patronesses; (2) it is the great
=musical= church of Paris; (3) it is the church of the markets.
Immediately on entering, stand in the centre of the nave, and look up
the church towards the choir and _chevet_. The enormous size of the
building will at once strike you. Notice, too, the tall, round arches of
the nave and aisles, the triforium above them (best seen from the
aisles), and, higher still, the clerestory rising above the
aisle-vaulting. The proportions are admirable. Observe also the roof,
essentially Gothic in plan, though with an incongruous substitution of
round for pointed arches. But note that all these quasi-Gothic
constructive features are combined with =classical columns= and
pilasters of the three great orders—Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian—superimposed, and with such Renaissance detail as masks,
cherubs, and other later decorative features.
Now walk up the =R aisle=. Everything in this church is, of course,
comparatively modern, but still rich in symbolism. Most of the chapels
have their names inscribed upon them—an excellent feature. The first,
containing Franciscan Saints, has a good modern stained-glass window,
representing the Saints and Patrons of the Order—St. Francis, St.
Louis, etc. Observe the frescoes in the various chapels, and note their
applicability to the saints to whom they are dedicated. I need not now
enlarge upon this point. For example, the chapel of the Souls in
Purgatory has a relief of Christ bound to the pillar—_His_
purgatory—(a portion of it is preserved here) and a fresco representing
mourning souls below, with triumphant ones in heaven. Observe from this
point the beautiful Renaissance detail of the aisles and of the vaulting
in the ambulatory, or passage behind the choir. Do not overlook the
chapels of St. Agnes (co-patroness) and St. Cecilia, the inventress of
the organ and patroness of music. The =transepts= are very short, but
are decorated with good rose-windows and other excellent semi-Gothic
detail. Walk round the =ambulatory=, noticing as you go the various
chapels with their polychromatic decoration and their appropriate
frescoes. Thus, that of St. Anne contains a representation of the Saint
educating her daughter the Virgin. Note also on your L as you go the
delicate work of the choir-screen, and the excellent vaulting and
decoration of the lofty =choir=. The Lady Chapel behind the choir is not
wholly pleasing. It contains a good 18th century statue of the Virgin
and Child by Pigalle. Observe particularly in the North part of the
ambulatory the chapel of Ste. Geneviève, with scenes from her legend.
The chapel of St. Louis, next it, contains excellent modern frescoes
from his life, by Barrias, and a fine stained-glass window of his
education, with his mother, Blanche of Castille, looking on, beneath a
canopy marked with fleurs-de-lis and the three castles of Castille. One
fresco represents him taking the Crown of Thorns to the Sainte Chapelle.
Observe these little historical reminiscences: they add interest.
Pleasing reliefs in the =North transept= of St. Cecilia and King David,
representing music, for which this church has always been celebrated,
especially on St. Cecilia’s Day and Good Friday. They stand for Psalms
and Hymns—the Jewish and the Christian psalmody. Notice, again, the
figure of St. Agnes with her lamb, between the doorways, a tribute to
the earlier dedication of the building. Above it, good stained-glass
window of the Annunciation, with traditional details. (Do not be content
to notice merely the points to which I call attention, but observe for
yourself as you go the other figures, with their meaning and connection.
To spell it all out is half the pleasure.) Above the Holy Water vessel
in this Transept is a figure of Pope Alexander I, who first sanctioned
the use of Holy Water, accompanied by angels. Beneath it, the baffled
and disappointed demons, fleeing from the consecrated water. The next
chapel contains the =relics of St. Eustace= and his children, martyrs.
It is, perhaps, a little characteristic of modern feeling that the
half-mythical namesake saint of the church should thus be relegated to a
subordinate chapel in the edifice originally erected to his honour. The
pictures are imitated from those in the Catacombs at Rome. Notice, in
particular, the fresco of St. Eustace kneeling before the stag, which
displays between its horns the miraculous image; also, the subsequent
scenes of his legend (for which, see Mrs. Jameson). Beautiful view from
this point of the choir and ambulatory.
Do not leave this interesting building without having examined all its
details. It contains enough to occupy you for several hours, and is rich
in illustrations of modern Catholic sentiment. Even the most tawdry bits
of its modern church furniture become of interest when examined as parts
of a consistent whole, falling into their due place in a great system of
belief and the government of conduct. You have not really understood a
church till you have grasped this connection between its various
members. Ask yourself always, “Why is this here?” and though you may not
always be able to see, the longer you proceed to investigate in this
spirit, the more will the meaning of the whole come home to you. For
example, return to the S Transept and observe the figure of St. Gregory:
he is the musical Father from whom the Gregorian chants take their name,
and as such deserves commemoration in the musical church.
Quitting St. Eustache, you can continue westward a few steps, and then
turn down a short street on the left, which leads you obliquely to a
curious circular building, the Bourse de Commerce. Skirt round this till
you come to its ugly _façade_, and then continue your way into the Rue
du Louvre.
This short walk will have enabled you to take your bearings in the heart
of the old district north of the river. You can prolong it a little, if
you choose, through the town of Louis XIV, by walking northward along
the Rue du Louvre as far as the new Post Office, and then turning to the
left into the little circular =Place des Victoires= with its clumsy
rearing equestrian statue of the Grand Monarch. The Place dates from his
reign, and was designed by Mansart. Originally known as the Place Louis
XIV, it was decorated by an earlier statue of the king, destroyed in the
Revolution. The Restoration replaced it by the present ugly monument. A
few steps to the NW stands the Church of Notre-Dame des Victoires, begun
in 1656, to commemorate the taking of La Rochelle, the Huguenot
stronghold. It is instructive to compare this building of the worst
period with the Mediæval and Renaissance churches you have just been
examining. The Rue Notre-Dame des Victoires will lead you hence up to
the Bourse (adequately viewed from outside), whence the brand-new Rue du
4 Septembre takes you straight back to the Opéra and the centre of
modern Paris.
I have only walked you here through a small part of this older town; but
if you care to explore the interesting district, rich in Renaissance and
even Mediæval buildings, which lies to the east of the Hôtel de Ville,
you cannot do better than take Mr. Augustus Hare’s _Paris_ as your
guide—a valuable book, especially rich in historical reminiscences of
the Renaissance period, the epoch of Louis XIV, and the Great
Revolution. Mr. Hare will lead you to many forgotten nooks of old Paris,
which the modest dimensions of the present handbook are insufficient to
deal with. But I advise you only to explore these less-known byways
after you have examined all the objects of first-rate importance here
enumerated.
The =Musée Carnavalet=, also in this district, you had better defer
visiting till after you have seen the École des Beaux-Arts, in the St.
Germain Quarter, south of the river. It will be noticed later.