Notre Dame de France Art

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ART

Architects & Sculptors

Boris Anrep

Jean Cocteau

Robert de Chaunac

Charlotte Cochrane

Exhibitions & Concerts

The Organ

ARCHITECTS & SCULPTORS
After the bombardment of November 1940 which destroyed the original building of Notre Dame de France, the architect Hector O. Corfiato, of the school of the " Beaux Arts " of Paris, was asked to proceed with the construction of a new building on the same site.

The first stone, which came from the cathedral of Chartres, was laid by Maurice Schumann on the 31st. of May, 1953.

The Virgin of Mercy which is above the entrance of the church is the work of the sculptor George Saupique who is the author of the sculptures of the 'Palais du Trocadéro' in Paris.

The pillars of the entrance, as well as the ambos which are nowadays

at the back of the sanctuary and the wooden statue of Saint Joseph, were the work of the students from the ' Beaux-Arts' of Paris.

The baptismal fonts were cut out from the stones of Vosges by artisans of the workshops of the 'Oeuvre de Notre Dame de Strasbourg' under the direction of the Alsatian sculptor E.Stoll.

The statue of Our Lady of Victories in the gallery is an exact copy of

the one in Paris. Destroyed during the same bombardments of 1940,

the head was parachuted in France in March 1942 with the help of Colonel Rémy so that it might be restored. The sculptor Henri Vallette resculpted the whole statue according to the dimensions of the head. The finished statue was the first French export towards Britain in

January 1945.

The work of restoration of the sanctuary, which took place during the summer of 2003 was supervised by the architect Gerald Murphy in collaboration with English Heritage. The stone work was carried out by Putney and Wood Ltd and the ironwork by Georgian Gates. The paintwork was carried out by Church Cleaning and Restoration.

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BORIS ANREP
Rearrangement work carried out in the church of Notre Dame de

France during the summer of 2003 led to the rediscovery of a mosaic carried out by an artist of Russian origin:Boris Anrep (or Boris Van Anrep). Born in 1883 in St Petersburg, he died in 1959. During his youth he travelled through Italy and France and on this occasion met British artists and intellectuals with whom he became friendly. He met Roger Fry, Virginia Woolf and her husband, Maynard Keynes who belonged to the Bloomsbury Group which he frequented. He was in Britain when war broke out and he went back to his country where he fought at the head of a battalion of Cossacks in the Carpats.

After the revolution of 1917 in Russia, Boris Anrep chose to remain in England and never went back to his country. He lived out of his art in England where he was very successful.

One of this first orders led him to work at the Tate Gallery

(Blake Room) and then at the National Gallery. When you step into

the hall you walk on one of his works named the Awakening of the Muses where Clio, Muse of history, is depicted under the features of Virginia Woolf and Melpomene, the muse of Tragedy, under those of Greta Garbo!This work forms part of a group of four subjects: to the west of the Entrance Hall, The Labours of Life, to the East, the Pleasures of Life and to the North the Modern Virtues. Other works

are to be found in private houses, in Westminster Cathedral and at Notre Dame de France.

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JEAN COCTEAU
Murals by Jean Cocteau can be admired in one of the chapels of Notre Dame de France. Cocteau carried this work out in 1960. He was a prolific artist: although above all a writer and poet, he had a natural gift for drawing.

The themes of the murals are the Annunciation and the Crucifixion,

two scenes taken from the gospels and also the Assumption which correspond to a dogma of the Catholic church promulgated by Pope

Pie XII in 1950: Marie, who was conceived without sin, is raised up,

body and soul, to the glory of God, and does not need to await the general Resurrection of the last times. The Eastern churches refer to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

It was Monsieur René Varin, the French cultural advisor in London who conceived the idea of asking Cocteau to take part in the decoration

work of the new church of Notre Dame de France which was then being rebuilt. Cocteau spent slightly more than a week on this work between 3rd and 11th November 1959.

His films were enjoying a huge success in London at that time and the artist had to be protected from the invasion of reporters by a high wooden scaffolding all around the chapel!

According to eye witness, he arrived each morning at about ten and always began by lighting a candle before the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was quite surprising to hear him talk to his characters while he worked on the drawings, colours and nuances. He engaged in a real dialogue with the wall of the chapel. His joy was manifest when he was painting the virgin of the Annunciation. He told her for instance: “O you, most beautiful of women, loveliest of God’s creatures, you were the best loved. So I want you to be my best piece of work too… I am drawing you with light strokes… You are the yet unfinished work of Grace”.

Once he had finished his task, Jean Cocteau was sad to leave:
“ I am sorry to go, as if the wall of the chapel had drawn me into another world…” He went on to comment: “I shall never forget that wide open
heart of Notre Dame de France, and the place you allowed me to take within it.”

Jean Cocteau wished to be buried in a chapel: the chapel of St Blaise
of the Simple Ones, at Milly la Forêt, near Fontainebleau. He died on 11th October 1963.

Postcards of the murals are on sale at the reception of Notre Dame de France or by correspondence.

ROBERT DE CHAUNAC
Guy de Chaunac was born in 1907 at Nieul l’Espoir in the region of Vienne (France). He entered the School of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925 and frequented the group of young people who gathered around the poet Jean Cocteau. After his military service with the Spahis, he became a fabric designer at the Maison Ducharne in Lyon.In Paris, he met many artists and it was Jean Cocteau who introduced him to the philosopher Jacques Maritain and the musician Maxime Jacob. He emulated the latter and entered the Benedictine Abbey of En Calcat under the name of brother Robert and then of Dom Robert.

He took part in his first group exhibition in Toulouse in 1943. He spent a good 10 years in Britain at Buckfast Abbey, Devon. He came back to En Calcat in 1958 and it is the beginning of 30 years of a monumental work: more than 50 cartons, most then large were created and then woven at Aubusson.

Dom Robert died in 1997 at the age of 90. Mrs Goubely, owner of the tapestry factory of Aubusson also died during the same year. The theme

of the tapestry of Notre Dame de France is Wisdom and by association

The New Eve, title given to Mary by the church. Indeed, if woman

originated in man (Adam, the “old” man), in the Genesis text, true man (Jesus) was, in turn, born of a woman, Mary. This new covenant, the restoration of God’s plan for humanity concerns the whole creation, as

the tapestry suggests.

The quotation at the bottom of the tapestry is drawn from the book of Proverbs and refers to Wisdom, present at the side of God when the

world was created: “Cum eo eram cuncta componens ludens coram

eo omni tempore” (“I was by his side, like a master craftsman, ever

at play in his presence”).

The Fathers of the Church did not dissociate Wisdom from the Love of God. Wisdom is not philosophical nor dogmatic but close to the heart of God, who is Love.

A brochure on the tapestry (with colour photographs and illustrations) has been published on the occasion of the centenary of Dom Robert de Chaunac's birthday in 2007. To know more , click on the following link: dom robert poster.pdf .The brochure can be bought at the reception of the church or on Amazon.co.uk (all sales are in aid of the church).

CHARLOTTE COCHRANE
Charlotte Cochrane offered a picture of Joan of Arc to Notre Dame de France on the 30th May 2003, the Saint's feast day. It is through her son and his work at his primary school that she got interested in her story. This is what she writes about her work:

"When I started the painting of St Joan, I was certain about a number of points.

She must be wearing her armour which shows what a dangerous position she

had placed herself in. The armour usually reserved for men puts her on an equal

footing, visually at least, and it was apparent that St Joan was superior to her male colleagues spiritually and in the strategy of war, with the guidance of God. The armour is important for another reason. In medieval times, only wealthy men
bought armour. They were usually knights, and certainly no poor girl without any fighting experience would have any. At huge expense Joan had her suit specially made to suit her body. This was a gift from the Dauphin made by his own armourer.

It was important to me to show the thoughtful, determined side of St Joan of Arc.

My painting shows a great fire in the background, the aftermath of battle. She is reflecting on what has just taken place. She has been injured, but is sstill strong
and determined. Her eyes are red from lack of sleep and smoke from the fires.

She is deep in thought, asking God if she has done the right thing. She does not doubt God's wishes, but doubts her self when faced with the inevitability of the loss of lives on both the French and English side. For a split second she has stepped

away from the battle and the men she was leading, to ask herself and God this vital question.

I wanted to show how young Joan was, which makes what she achieved even

more extraordinary. The painting is a tribute to her courage as well as a perfect faith in God's love and protection right up until the bitter end when she was burnt alive at

the stake. The vicious flames in the background of the painting remind us all how she died, this young girl who saved France. Perhaps the expression in her eyes is also similar to the one she might have had on that dreadful day May 30th 1431."

(The photo above is a black and white reproduction of the original painting)

One of our parishioners, Jim Monck, has written a poem inspired by Jeanne d'Arc: "Rivers of Jeanne d'Arc". Click on : Fleuves.doc

EXHIBITIONS & CONCERTS
Regular exhibitions and concerts are held in the church. Elisabeth Wang has already had 5 exhibitions of her paintings in our church since 2003. For further information: www.radiantlight.org.uk

Organ concerts are organised by our our resident organist Duncan Middleton. You will find further information on the following website:www.londonorgan.co.uk/notredamedefrance.htm

THE ORGAN
The organ was built in 1868 by August Gern and was Gern's first commission after he left the employ of Cavaillé-Coll. It was refurbished in 1938 by J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd.

During the 1940 blitz of London, the organ was dismantled and safely sheltered. However, some of the original pipes disappeared without trace.

In 1955, J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd built an organ which incorporated what was left of the original organ and other reclaimed period pipes (some from Cavaillé-Coll). The organ
was completely renovated and cleaned in 1986/87 by B.C. Shepherd & Son with the help of Keith S. Bance.

Our organist is Duncan Middleton
Tel: 020 8949 4405