Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux
ChurchHidden Treasure
Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux, located in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.3100, 5.4019
- Mérimée Reference
- PA13000095
A 17th-century Baroque jewel in Marseille, the former Carthusian monastery church is astonishing for its stained glass windows by Max Ingrand and its majestic nave, the last vestige of a vast monastery that has now disappeared.
History
Standing in the district that bears its name, the church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine des Chartreux is one of the most beautiful and least well-known in Marseille. Consecrated in 1703 after several decades of building work, it was the largest church built in the city of Marseille in the 17th century, and bears exceptional testimony to the monastic ambitions and generosity of Marseille's elite under the Ancien Régime. What makes this monument truly unique is the constant tension between Cartusian austerity - a contemplative order devoted to silence and enclosure - and the architectural magnificence displayed within its walls. The long nave, the side chapels for the professed brothers, the characteristic flat chevet and the peristyle façade make up an ensemble of rare coherence, even if several elements of the initial project, including the dome and the monumental sculpture on the façade, never saw the light of day. The visitor experience is dominated by light: in 1956, an ambitious programme of sacred art transformed the interior of the building, commissioning Max Ingrand, an internationally renowned master stained glass artist, to create a complete cycle of stained glass windows. These contemporary stained glass windows bathe the nave in a colourful clarity of rare intensity, creating a striking dialogue between the classical architecture of the seventeenth century and the artistic sensibilities of the twentieth century. The urban setting adds to the interest of the site: the church and the former hostelry building - converted into a presbytery - are the last vestiges of a monastery that once extended over several hectares away from the town. Now part of a lively residential area, the complex retains an unexpectedly contemplative atmosphere, conducive to meditation as well as heritage discovery.
Architecture
The church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine des Chartreux belongs to the French Classical Baroque movement, tinged with Italian influences that 17th-century Provençal artists and patrons had largely assimilated through Mediterranean exchanges. The façade, organised around a columned peristyle, asserts a desire for monumental representation characteristic of the great religious foundations of Louis XIV's era, even if the sculpted crowning glory planned by Dom Berger was never executed. The interior layout reflects the particular requirements of the Cartusian liturgy: the six-bay nave incorporates a choir closed in on four of them, a space reserved for professed monks and separated from the laity, while the side aisles are divided into individual chapels allowing each brother to celebrate mass alone, a custom specific to the order. The flat chevet, a legacy of Cistercian-Cartusian formal sobriety, contrasts with the abundant decoration of the side chapels. The opening of the large arcades in 1860 visually unified the space, bringing it closer to the model of the great three-aisled church. Today, the interior is dominated by Max Ingrand's stained glass windows, created in 1956. Composed in a modernist figurative style with deep colours - intense blues, dark reds, warm golds - they flood the nave with a chromatic light that transforms the atmosphere of the building at every hour of the day. The building materials, light-coloured local limestone typical of Marseille architecture, give the whole a mineral coherence that is enhanced by the light from the stained glass windows.
Related Figures
Dom Jean-Baptiste Berger — prieur de la chartreuse, concepteur et maître d'œuvre du projet architectural au XVIIe siècleMax Ingrand (1908-1969) — maître verrier parisien, auteur du cycle de vitraux commandé en 1956Les fondateurs de la chartreuse de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon — commanditaires de l'établissement marseillais en 1632-1633Les notables marseillais du XVIIe siècle — mécènes et donateurs ayant financé la construction du monastèreDom Berger et les prieurs successifs — garants de la continuité du chantier jusqu'à la consécration de 1703
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux located?
Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux is located in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux built?
Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux open to visitors?
Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, dite des Chartreux is currently closed to visitors.