THE CHURCH OF VENGEANCE

MONTMARTRE'S CHURCH OF THE SACRÉ CŒUR* AND THE EIFFEL TOWER, THE TWO GREAT MONUMENTS OF THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, EXPRESS THE FRENCH DIVIDE

*The Sacred Heart of Jesus: a religious observance that stresses penitence. 

Republic, technology, optimism vs. Church, social order, reaction:

Richard Nahem

The right almost succeeds in demolishing the Tower, and the left would have torn down the church had it not been financed by private subscription. 

-- Le Sacre-Cœur de Montmartre by François Loyer, 
"Les sites de la mémoire" ed. Pierre Nora, 1992

The church, planned as atonement in December 1870 while the siege worsened and the poor vowed to fight on, proved to be next to the site where the cannons had been deposited and the generals lynched.

Adapted from a poster sold on the web / zoom

The official purpose: "To save France that has deserved God's punishment for encouraging the spirit of revolution worldwide." 

• A call for financing was launched soon after La Commune's defeat and funds  immediately flowed in. 

• By atoning for the "spirit of revolution" on the site where the upheaval began, the church affirmed the vengeance that the army's killings had already begun.  

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The church is now a major tourist site....

Jan Wenner

Courtesy of Art Luxury Experience

But visitors come upon its sinister meaning only by accident: 

"What do you expect from the sky? It brings only bombs. Neither God nor Master!"  

Street art behind the church.

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The subtext: "Obey!"

• The height makes the edifice overwhelming and the white stone adds to its impact: 

Claude Abron

The sole Parisian monument (except for the Arc of Triumph) not built with the pale beige blocks of local quarries, its stones emit a chemical that whitens them when it rains.

 

• A giant Christ awes from the summit:

Claude Abron

There is no other divinity of that size in Paris.

• Inside the church the giant image is as overpowering, and the primary colors and gold have a billboard's impact:

Christ in Glory by Luc Merson, toward 1885 

Powerful donors to the church... and no poor 

Other photos

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Seen from the wealthy west the church was distant and by underscoring the triumph over the Communards, reassured...

            Rue Solferino

Near the street that leads to Versailles, in the aristocratic 7th district.

...but in the working-class east it reminded La Commune's survivors of the depth of their defeat: 

View from the heights of Ménilmontant: Imagine the impact when houses were low.

The Sacré-Cœur backs authority in this world and implies that

revolt will be punished in the next. 

It also gives Paris its spectacular skyline,

and is another link between
dread of insurrections and the city's beauty.

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Next,

Changed threat, changed city