La Madeleine

The Madeleine Church in Paris has been a favorite since Kelly and I first met on Paris Study Abroad in 1980.

La Madeleine

The church is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, or Madeleine in French. The scene in the pediment above the columns is of the Last Judgment. The church was planned by Louis XV as the focal point of a new street, the rue Royal, which led down to Place Louis XV, the current Place de la Concorde. 

View from the steps of La Madeleine towards
the Obelisk at Place de la Concorde and the 
National Assembly building

Work started on the church in the 1760s but stopped during the French Revolution in 1789 with only the foundations and the grand classical portico finished. Napoleon Bonaparte had the building redesigned in the Neoclassical style in 1806 to be "A Temple to the Glory of the Grand Army." But after his exile in 1814, construction resumed on it as a church and it wasn't finished until 1845 under King Louis-Philippe. At one point, in 1837, it was proposed to convert the building into the first railroad station in Paris, but this was deemed too impractical and expensive.

Interior of La Madeleine

The new church became popular with musicians. Evening concerts are still often held in this church for the public. Chopin's funeral at the Madeleine was delayed almost two weeks until October 30, 1849. Chopin had requested that Mozart's Requiem be sung at his funeral. The Church of the Madeleine had never permitted female singers in its choir, and the Requiem had major parts for female voices. The church finally relented, but the female singers were required to remain behind a black velvet curtain.

View toward the Back of the
Church and the Organ

Sande Krieger in La Madeleine

The church felt so open because there is no transept-it is not designed in the shape of a cross as most churchs are. It had a couple of interesting statues in the vestibules near the entrance. On the right was the Marriage of the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph and on the left above the baptismal font was the Baptism of Christ by the famous French sculptor, François Rude. 

Marriage of the Blessed Virgin
and Saint Joseph

Detail of the Marriage statue

Baptism of Christ and Baptismal Font below

The church houses the relic of Saint Mary Magdalene-a rather large bone. It had various seals of authenticity attached to it.

Reliquary holding the bone of Saint Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene
"I saw the
tomb open and Christ lives!"

Close up of Saint Mary
Magdalene's Bone

Mary Magdalene was with Mary, Christ's mother, when Christ was crucified and at the tomb when he was buried. On the third day, Easter morning, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw the stone rolled away. The angel told her not to be afraid, but that Christ was not there and he had risen!

We were inspired by the feeling in this church as we walked out of the church to a beautiful crisp Spring day.

Steps of La Madeleine

Kelly and Mike Krieger

Kelly, Sande and Mike at La Madeleine

Louvre Couture: Objets d'Art, Objets des Modes

I recently returned to the Louvre to see the current special exhibit pairing objets d'art with fashion couture. The fashion was carefully placed throughout the decorative arts rooms of the Louvre pairing the fashion with its inspiration. I had seen a bit of the exhibit with Kate when it opened in January and returned with Sande Krieger in February. I wanted to revisit some of my favorite fashions from the exhibit and the inspiration behind them.

Christian Dior 1949

The Christian Dior dress at the entrance to the exhibit is a reproduction of the 1949 two-piece dress made for Gala Dali, the wife of the surrealist artist Salvador Dali. When Christian Dior ran an art gallery in the early 1930s, Salvador Dali, who was trying to get his start in Paris, exhibited there. When Dior opened his fashion house and gained prominence after World War II with his "New Look," Gala was dazzled by his style and immediately saw herself as a Dior ambassador. Dior crafted her public image as she became the embodiment of modern style.

This elegant 1997 Yves Saint Laurent gown took inspiration from a crown reliquary from Liège Belgium dated about 1260.

Yves Saint Laurent 1997

Crown Reliquary 1260

Several gowns and outfits were inspired by tapestries, such as this lovely 2018 Dior millefleurs gown.

Dior 2018

We had seen the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries with their millefleurs backgrounds at the renovated Cluny museum in January. This dress is inspired by those tapestries. 

The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry
Cluny Museum

15th Century Louvre Tapestry
Repas de Chasseurs

A 2012 Chanel ensemble was also inspired by tapestries. The skirt is made like a soldier's cassock and is paired with a white shirt. The bodice is covered with pheasant feathers. The16th century Brussels tapestry behind it is part of a series "The Hunts of Maximillian."

Chanel 2012

Chanel with The Hunts of
Maximillian Tapestry

A 2010 JC Castelbajac skirt, jacket and headpiece looked like they were straight from Disney's Bambi movie.

Bambi

The tapestry inspiration is also part of the Hunts of Maximillian tapestries. This jacket and skirt were also inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry.

Christian Dior was a very superstitious man. He often went to Madame Delahaye to have his tarot cards read. This 2017 Dior tarot card jacket is a modern tribute to Christian Dior.

2012 Dior

One of my favorite designers, Azzedine Alaïa, had a gorgeous black and gold gown on display in a room with the French crown bronzes.

2017 Alaïa Gown

French Crown Bronzes

As I've written before on my blog, Alaïa's first love was sculpture. He frequented the Louvre, including the Egyptian collection. This sculpted gown has an Egyptian influence and echos the bronzes in the room. Below are a few photos of my wanderings this month in the Egyptian rooms of the Louvre.

Sphinx

The Temple

Another room included a 2023 Balenciaga armor style gown amidst displays of knights' armor.

2023 Balenciaga

This Balenciaga gown is 3-D printed with a black gown underneath and evokes Henri II armor or a modern Joan of Arc.

In this same room, displayed high above us, was a trio of outfits.

The first dress on the left is a 1967 Paco Rabane dress titled "The metallugist" evoking chain mail. The 2023 Loewe jacket in the center is made of silver that is hand sculpted and hammered. It is folded and draped to create the impression of fabric with flow and movement. The 2011 Garth Pugh black silk dress on the right is covered with silver-plated polyurethane mirrors that give the appearance of armor but the dress is actually supple.

The 1997 Yves Saint Laurent wedding gown in a delicate early 18th century room was one of my favorites. It was perfect with the decor of this room.

1997 YSL Wedding Gown

18th Century Decor

Yves Saint Laurent took inspiration from the 1716 painting in the Louvre by Antoine Watteau called The Two Cousins.

The Two Cousins

A 2002 Versace floral brocade dress was perfectly displayed in a room from the 18th century. This room came from the mansion of Louis XVI's brother, the Comte d'Artois. The room has an Oriental influence-the decor includes camels and sphinxes.

2002 Versace

The exhibit also included men's fashions. This 2017 Gucci jacquard coat made of 18th century French upholstery fabric and plaid jogging fit perfectly into this room.

2017 Gucci

I couldn't resist this Lowew 2024 tunic dress with a pug lying on the grass. The dress is embroidered with tiny caviar beads.

2024 Loewe Tunic Dress

This Chanel suit was a part of Karl Lagerfeld's last collection in 2019, right before his death. He modeled the suit after this 18th century commode (chest of drawers) and corner cabinet. Stunning!

2019 Chanel Suit

During the 17th and 18th century, Chinese screens were exported to Europe. They were often cut to make fronts of western made furniture like chests of drawers. Coco Chanel's office had an entire wall covered with Chinese lacquer panels. Karl Lagerfeld took inspiration from the Chinese screens for this 1996 beaded Chanel jacket.

1996 Chanel

King Louis XIV, the Sun King, lived during the height of the Baroque period. This 2006 Dior gown by John Galliano has a large lion's head on the front of the dress. The voluminous baroque gown echos a portrait of Louis XIV on the back wall.

2006 Dior

Napoleon III's apartments have always been a favorite area of the Louvre for me. The rooms are over the top.

It was a beautiful setting for the gowns displayed in this area.

Dior 2005

Jacquemus 2023

Giambattista Valli 2018

Black Balenciaga Dress in the Dining Room

Napoleon III Dining Room

This is only a sampling of the couture exhibit at the Louvre. I thought the exhibit was successful in showing another way to look at the decorative arts through the prism of contemporary fashion designers.