Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Inside La Madeleine


I spent the whole day in Lille (a large city in the North of France) today, therefore I did not have the time to take my photo of the day. So, here is one I took a few days ago... It shows the inside of La Madeleine, a Catholic church that took 85 years to build and was almost turned into... a train station at some stage-  in 1837)! It's a beautiful church (the statues in this photo were made by Carlo Marocchetti) often used for concerts (even though the acoustics are awful!) or for important services, like, for instance, for the funerals of famous French people. 

17 comments:

  1. What was that game we used to play? The Golden Finger? (That doesn't sound right.) Anyway, it's nice to be first!

    I've never been inside La Madeleine. I love how European churches use chairs instead of bolted benches, so the floor can be cleared. This is a gorgeous place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It seems fitting for funerals - with such somber colors at eye level and majesty in the dome above. This image echoes the colors in the photo of the door to the church.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The golden finger?
    Looks like a beautiful place Eric, even if the acoustics are awful :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. J'aime La Madeleine. Maybe I'll try the restaurant in back (described on the Wikipedia site). Is it still there?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Debs, there was a time when some of the more rabid PDP fans would compete to make the first comment of the day. I think it was the GF award, for "golden finger." Carrie and Jeff should remember, right?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Compared to Italian baroque churches , this is subdued and serene.
    Never thought about chairs vs bolted benches. You are right Petrea! And you are the golden finger of the day!.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ahh The golden finger! Those were the days... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. hhhmmmmm. I thought it was "going first". Or did it devolve from that as the resentment grew among the "not going firsts" !?
    Anyway, Eric, I don't know if you asked that guy to stand exactly where he is, but I think that element adds a lot to your photo (as often people are just in the way). And that angle. To get both the ceiling and the floor is very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A great place, it is true. Your picture, from the ground, gives us the sense of space.

    Once, after wandering the whole day around town like mad tourists ( that we indeed were ), having enough of caughing on rush hour traffic emanations, we decided to enter La Madeleine for a bit of respise. Inside, they were burning incence as in a gypsy palm reading room, so much that we rushed right back out on the street for fresh air.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a beautiful and magnificent domed ceiling! These chairs look more comfortable than the hard benches I used to have to sit on in church.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Stuart "Eric, I don't know if you asked that guy to stand exactly where he is, but I think that element adds a lot to your photo (as often people are just in the way)." Busted! Yes it was all planted, you know me ;-))

    @Arr Day "Inside, they were burning incence as in a gypsy palm reading room, so much that we rushed right back out on the street for fresh air" LOOOOOOOL!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those chandeliers seem almost as formidable as the magnificent statues from your perspective. Kudos on capturing the figure at the front (or is that a familiar figure? :-) ).
    -Kim

    ReplyDelete
  13. There's that famous perspective that I love. Last time I was in there, there was a choral concert going on—and I'm afraid you're right about the acoustics. Still, so beautiful! (PHX -- remember when I was GF of the year?)

    ReplyDelete
  14. GF was so fun! I miss those days. I am now giving some of you the GF as I write this. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful! And the lone person standing in the center invites us to wonder about his/her story.

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Kim. No seriously the little man in the middle was just there by coincidence (but I remember being glad he was and rushing to take the photo before he moves!).

    ReplyDelete