Sorbonne Chapel
The Chapel of Sainte Ursule de la Sorbonne, also known as the Sorbonne Chapel, is a Roman Catholic chapel located on the Sorbonne historical site, in the Latin quarter of Paris, France. It was rebuilt in the 17th century by order of Cardinal Richelieu.
![The Sorbonne Chapel facing the Sorbonne square.](../I/P1300734_Paris_V_place_de_la_Sorbonne_rwk.jpg.webp)
![The Sorbonne Chapel facing the Cour d'honneur.](../I/Chapelle_Sainte-Ursule_de_la_Sorbonne%252C_Paris_001.jpg.webp)
Background
The chapel was built as part of Cardinal Richelieu's reconstruction project in the 17th century, and is the only structure from the project that survives.
The project started in 1627, with work on the chapel beginning in 1635 and completed in 1642, the year of Richelieu's death.[1]
The previous chapel was demolished (shown today as an outline on the floor of the cour d'honneur of the Sorbonne), and the new chapel was established on the site of the former collège de Calvy.
The architect was Jacques Lemercier[2][3] and the dome was painted by Philippe de Champaigne,[4][5] while François Girardon sculpted Richelieu's tomb which originally stood in the church.[6][7][8]
The chapel's northern side faces the cour d'honneur inside the Sorbonne building, and its western side faces the Sorbonne square and Victor Cousin street.
In 1887 it was registered as a national historical monument, joined in 1975 by other structures of the Sorbonne complex.[2]
References
- "Le collège de la Sorbonne sous Richelieu - Histoires de Paris". Histoires de Paris (in French). 2018-05-10. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- Base Mérimée: Sorbonne (La), Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- "Jacques Lemercier | French architect". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- "Philippe de Champaigne: Politics and Spirituality". 2007-04-25. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- "Philippe de Champaigne Retrospective at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille | Art Knowledge News". artknowledgenews.com. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- "GIRARDON, François". web Gallery of Art. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- Proust, Abbé Henri (2007-10-26). "Éminence Rouge: François Girardon and the tomb of Richelieu in the Sorbonne Chapel". Éminence Rouge. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- "FRANÇOIS GIRARDON". Encyclopædia Universalis (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.