Please don’t paint the Monuments…

I never paint the Monuments.  There is something about a place, especially Paris, that I prefer to capture by painting the stones, the streets, the waterways, and the light.  I’ve painted many pictures of Paris, which you can see here, but this is one exception.  This is La Madeleine (Church of Saint Mary Magdalene).

La Madeleine was completed in 1828, as a temple to glorify Napoleon’s Army.  It doesn’t look like a church to me, as there’s no steeple. As a matter of fact is was modeled after the Roman temple at Nîmes, called Maison Carrée. The funeral of Frédéric Chopin was held at La Madeleine, on October 30, 1849.  Its history is complicated, as you can imagine, and you can read more here.

La Madeleine is located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, just north of Place de la Concorde, and just south of the shop where I buy my coffee.  I was on the way there about a month ago, having exited the metro station without looking back toward the church.  Something made me turn around and I saw this temple peaking from between the trees.  I made an exception to my rule and made this painting.