Convent of the Visitandines, Chaillot
| Convent of the Visitandines de Chaillot | |
|---|---|
 Engraving of the Chaillot convent, circa 1774. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Location | |
| Location | Paris |
| Country | France |
| Geographic coordinates | 48°51′19″N 02°17′13″W / 48.85528°N 2.28694°W |
| Architecture | |
| Demolished | 1794 |
The convent of the Visitandines de Chaillot was a convent of the Visitation order located west of Paris, in Chaillot, in what is now the 16th arrondissement. Consecrated in 1651, the convent was destroyed in 1794.[1][2]
Historical background
[edit]In 1583, Queen Catherine de Médicis bought and converted a hermitage on the hill of Chaillot, renamed "Catherinemont"; the architect Étienne Dupérac was commissioned to design a "U-shaped" villa with terraced gardens and a courtyard in the shape of a racecourse. However, the sovereign did not enjoy it for long: construction began in 1588 and she died the following year.[3]
In 1613, this château overlooking the right bank of the Seine was purchased by Pierre Jeannin, First President of the Paris Parliament, and then, in 1630, by the Marquis de Bassompierre. On July 1, 1651, the property was purchased by the Visitandines at the initiative of Henriette-Marie de France, daughter of Henri IV and widow of Charles I of England, who established a community there. This was the order's third community, after those of rue Saint-Jacques founded in 1626 and rue Saint-Antoine founded in 1632, which was its mother house.
After fleeing rebellious England, Henriette-Marie[5] commissioned the architect François Mansart to build a chapel here and invited some of her exiled court members. Mademoiselle de La Fayette (Mother Angelica in religion), Louis XIII's confidante, welcomed Sister Anne de Sainte-Eugénie (Madame de Saint-Ange), one of the twelve nuns exiled from Port-Royal Abbey by the archbishop in August 1664.[6] Marie Mancini,[7][8] Mazarin's niece, retreated for a time to the Convent of the Visitandines, while Mademoiselle de La Vallière, fleeing the court, took refuge there twice before entering Carmel. In 1669, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet delivered his famous funeral oration for Henriette-Marie,[9] Queen of England, in Mansart's chapel. The convent later hosted several Stuarts: Henriette of England, the future Duchess of Orleans, was raised here, as was King James II, while the body of Queen Mary of Modena,[10] widow of James II, was buried here in 1718.[11]
In 1686, the Visitation Order purchased the entire seigneury of Chaillot.
The monastery was located between barrière Sainte-Marie, opposite rue Vineuse and rue des Minimes, quai des Bonshommes and rue des Batailles. The latter joined the quay via the ruelle d'Hérivault[12] and the convent via the ruelle Sainte-Marie.[13]
In 1790, the convent housed 22 choir nuns, 9 converses, 2 tourières, a demoiselle agrégée, two sacristans, ten service girls and two carters.
The convent was closed in 1792, and its disused premises were partly destroyed on August 31, 1794, by an explosion at the Grenelle powder plant on the opposite bank of the Seine. The public authorities subsequently cleared the site. In 1813, the site became the subject of the Palace of the King of Rome[14] project.
Convent superiors
[edit]- Hélène Angélique Lhuillier, died in 1655, first superior[17]
- Mademoiselle de La Fayette (in religion Mother Angélique), 1655 to 1665;
- Madame Croiset, 1689–1690;
- Anne Charlotte Bochard de Saron, May 1715 to March 31, 1721;
- Jeanne Françoise Le Vayer, April 1, 1721, to December 31, 1724;
- Louise de Lorge, May 17, 1749, to May 9, 1755; April 1758 to December 23, 1763;
- Marie Damiette, May 10, 1755, to April 1758; December 1763 to May 25, 1770;
- Anne Madeleine Chalmette, May 26, 1770, to May 17, 1776;
- Marie Gabrielle Roslin, May 18, 1776, to May 1782; in 1790;
- Jeanne Adélaïde Pichon, in 1787.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "COUVENT DES FILLES DE LA VISITATION SAINTE-MARIE de la rue Saint-Antoine - Tombes Sépultures dans les cimetières et autres lieux". www.tombes-sepultures.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ Mazel, Claire (2009), "Chapitre 7. Les monuments funéraires royaux", La mort et l'éclat : Monuments funéraires parisiens du Grand Siècle, Histoire (in French), Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, pp. 191–215, ISBN 978-2-7535-6659-0, retrieved 2024-04-04
- ^ Cruysse, Dirk van der; Peeters, Kris (2005). De Branche en Branche: Études Sur Le XVIIe Et XVIIIe Siècles Français (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-1690-6.
- ^ Crawford, Mary MacDermot (1908). The Wife of Lafayette. E. Nash.
- ^ Mansel, Philip (2023-01-02). "Versailles in England: Culture, Commerce and Diplomacy, from Charles II to Louis XVI". Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles. Sociétés de cour en Europe, XVIe-XIXe siècle - European Court Societies, 16th to 19th Centuries (23). doi:10.4000/crcv.27090. ISSN 1958-9271.
- ^ Memoire touchant ma Soeur Anne-Eugenie religieuse de Port-Royal, dite dans le monde Madame de Saint Ange ; avec la relation de sa captivité (in French). 1710.
- ^ Mackenzie, Faith Compton (1935). The Cardinal's Niece: The Story of Marie Mancini. M. Secker.
- ^ Goldsmith, Elizabeth C. (2012-04-03). The Kings' Mistresses: The Liberated Lives of Marie Mancini, Princess Colonna, and Her Sister Hortense, Duchess Mazarin. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-890-1.
- ^ Orleans, Henriette-Anne (2018-04-25). Henrietta, Princess Royal of England, Daughter of King Charles I. An Historical Novel, by the Comtesse de La Fayette. Translated From the French. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 978-1-385-74494-9.
- ^ Haile, Martin (1905). Queen Mary of Modena: Her Life and Letters. J.M. Dent & Company.
- ^ Bernot, Jacques (2000). Les Palatins, princes d'Europe (in French). Nouvelles Editions Latines. ISBN 978-2-7233-2019-1.
- ^ Vidler, Anthony (2021-08-02). Claude-Nicolas Ledoux: Architecture and Utopia in the Era of the French Revolution. Second and expanded edition. Birkhäuser. ISBN 978-3-0356-2083-2.
- ^ "Paris : histoire rue des Batailles. Rues autrefois". www.paris-pittoresque.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ Mansel, Philip (2015-05-30). The Eagle in Splendour: Inside the Court of Napoleon. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85773-895-0.
- ^ Dumolin, Maurice (1929). Etudes de topographie parisienne: Tome Ier (in French). S. l.
- ^ Dumolin, Maurice (1929). Études de topographie parisienne (in French). imprimerie Daupeley-Gouverneur.
- ^ Bougaud, Emile (1895). St. Chantal and the Foundation of the Visitation. Benziger.
Bibliography
[edit]- Duvignac-Glessgen, Marie-Ange (2017). "La Visitation de Chaillot au xviie siècle : splendeurs et tribulations d'un monastère dans le siècle". VIIe siècle: Bulletin de la Société d'étude du xviie siècle. ISSN 0012-4273. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17.
- Deswarte-Rosa, Sylvie; Grodecki, Catherine (2005). "Le dernier caprice architectural de Catherine de Médicis: une villa à l'hippodrome sur la colline de Chaillot par Étienne Duperas". Revue de l'Art (153). ISSN 0035-1326.
- Ory, Pascal (2006). Le Palais de Chaillot, Arles, Aristeas / Actes Sud. Les grands témoins de l'architecture. ISBN 2-7427-6392-9.