A Study to Ronchamp by Le Corbusier

8/10/2019 A Study to Ronchamp by Le Corbusier

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ASTUDY OF LE CORBUSIER'S

NOTRE-DAME-DU-HAUT,RONCHAMPAS

ATWENTIETH-CENTURY PILGRIMAGE CHAPEL

by

FRANCES SHERRYMCKAY

A., TheUniversity ofB r i t i s h Columbia,1974

ATHESISSUBMITTED INPARTIALFULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

In

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(Fine Arts Department)

We accept t h i s thesisas conforming

to therequired standard

THE UNIVERSITYOFBRITISHCOLUMBIA

October 1979


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In presenting thi s thesi s i n pa r ti al ful fi lm en t of the requirements for

an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that

the Libr ary sha ll make i t fr ee ly av ai la bl e fo r reference and study.

I fu rthe r agree that permission fo r extensive copying of th is thes is

for scholar ly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or

by his represen ta ti ve s. It is understood that copying or pu bl ic at io n

of thi s the si s f or fi nanc ia l gain sh al l not be allowed without my

written permission.

Department

The University of British Columbia2075 Wesbrook PlaceVancouver, CanadaV6T 1W5

6 BP 75-51 1E


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ABSTRACT

The completion of Notre-Dame-du-Haut,Ronchamp, by Le Corbusier i n

1955 provokedmuchcomment and conjecture as to i t s si gn if ic an ce to the

post-World War II er a. It i s a French Catholic chapel of decep tivel y

p r i m it i v e appearance b u i l t by a Swiss Ca lv in i st ar ch it ec t who was oft en

repo rted as an agn ost ic and po pu la rl y ass oc iat ed with visi onar y and i n

d u s t r i a l b u i l d i n g schemes. Although various subjective inte rpre tati ons

of the chapel ex is t i n secular and r el ig io us jour nals , no si ngl e account

of the chapel records the complex in tera ctio n of personality, institution,

history, and contemporary aimswhich are suggested i n the chapel's forms.

This prompted an inve sti gat ion ofNotre-Dame-du-Haut as a twentieth-cen

tury pilgrimage chapel. Consequently, t h i s study set out to explore the

r e l a t i o n s h i p between French Catholicism and the ar ch it ec tu ra l theory of

Le Corbusier as i t i s expressed in this small country pilgrimage chapel.

The format of a traditionalmonograph was adopted to f a c i l i t a t e a

comparisonbetween tr ad it io na l arc hit ect ura l solutions and those discovered

at Notre-Dame-du-Haut. The study i s divid ed i nto seven chapters - back

ground, commission, plan, const ructi on, acou stics , ornamentation, and

l i g h t - elements which are shown to be e spe cia lly cogent i n the hi st or y

of the design of this church. Each chapter i s an an al ys is of the r e l a

tionship between c l i e n t and a rc hi te ct , and between t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c es

and twentieth-century arc hit ect ura l innovations. Each chapter reaches i t s

own con clu sio n as to the co nt ri bu ti onmade to the pilgrimage tr ad it io n at

Notre-Dame-du-Haut, and the pos sib le sig ni fi ca nc e of that con tri but ion

to the patron and to the ar ch it ec t.


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i v

TABLEOFCONTENTS

LISTOF ILLUSTRATIONS v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v i

INTRODUCTION 1

Chapter

I THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THECOMMISSIONOF LE CORBUSIER'S

DESIGN 4

II THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICALBACKGROUNDTO THE

COMMISSIONOFNOTRE-DAME-DU-HAUT 10

III THE PILGRIMAGECHURCHPLAN ANDNOTRE-DAME-DU-HAUT . . 35

IV CONSTRUCTION, MATERIALS, AND THE CREATION OFFORM. . 52

V ACOUSTICS 67

VI ORNAMENTATION 73

VII LIGHT 100

VIII SUMMARYAND CONCLUSION 114

FOOTNOTES 119

BIBLIOGRAPHY 151

ILLUSTRATIONS 163


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V

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure

1 Medieval Pilgr image Church, plans 163

2 Sainte Odi le, plan 163

3 Lourdes, s i t e 164

4 NStre-Dame-du-Haut, c. 1854, general view 164

5 Notre-Dame-du-Haut, c. 1936, general view 165

6 Sainte-Thlrese de 1'Enfant, plan 165

7 Sainte-Baume, plan 166

8 Santa-Anna.., plan 166

9 Notre-Dame-du-Haut, 1955 plan 167

10 Notre-Dame-du-Haut, general approach 168

11 Le Corbusier, sketches 1950 " ? ' V 169

12 Notre-Dame-du-Haut, south wall 17013 Notre-Dame-du-Haut, e x t e r i o r , east 170

14 N


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S

I wishtoexpressaprofound gratitudeto AbeRogatnick f orh is

astutecommentsandi n s i g h t f u l guidance throughout this project and to

Ann Rosenberg f orherunfailing support. Iwould also l i k etothank Marc

Pessin, Avis Rosenberg andFrances Pohl fo r their professional s k i l l sand

time thatweremuch called uponi n thecrafting ofthis study. I am also

grateful to thestaffof the LeCorb usie r Foundation f or their assistance

and congeniality. Andf i n a l l y , avery special thankyou to mymotherfo r

a l lher patience.


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1

INTRODUCTION

Notre-Dame-du-Haut i s an i s o l a t e d country chapel thathascaused

muchdebateandi n t e r e s t during thel a s t quarter of acentury. I t i s

included i nevery major a r c h i t e c t u r a l survey booko f thepe ri od; indeed,

i t emblazonsmany oft h e i r covers.''' I t hasgenerated anenormousamount

of c r i t i c i s mand comment,most ofi tfavour able. Thismass of c r i t i c a l

l i t e r a t u r e , both p o s i t i v e andnegat ive, serves t oconvince usthatth e

importance of thechapelas ana r c h i t e c t u r a l accomplishment represen

t a t i v e of thetwen tiet h century - th ecentury oftechnology, machine

a r t , massdomestic housing, enormous secular struct ures,and of r e l i -

gious scepticism-remainsan indisputable f a c t .

In i t sh i s t o r y , thechapel has e l i c i t e d only twoc r i t i q u e s of con-

2sequence from withintheChurchbody i t s e l f . This c r i t i c i s m i scentered

A

upon i t st h e o r e t i c a l basis. Notre-Dame-du-Haut was thought p a r t i c u l a r l y

praiseworthy by th espokesmenof theFrench Ca tho li cChurch,thepatrons

most d i r e c t l y concerned w ith i t sb u i l d i n g andthosewhowere besta c-

3quainted w it h i t s purposes. I nr e l a t i o n to theterms l a i d down by the

4

c l i e n t , thechurch hasbeenjudged f u n c t i o n a l l y perfect. I t was

accepted notonlyby th eparishionersf o rwhomi twas ostensibly b u i l t ,

but by o f f i c i a l p o l i c y ofRomeasw e l l . Evenbefore i twas completed,

members of thea r c h i t e c t u r a l community were g l o r i f y i n g i t , " *andpr aise

by ther e l i g i o u s community soonfollowed. However, withinayear of i t s

completion others werebeginning to damn i t . I t i si n t e r e s t i n g t onote

that while thechapel was c r i t i c i z e d f o ri t s" f u n c t i o n a l " shortcomings

by some a r c h i t e c t s , i twas simultaneously praisedf o ri t s" f u n c t i o n a l "

s u p e r i o r i t y by members of theChurch. Arecent layman c r i t i c made the


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curious observationthatNotre-Dame-du-Haut (seen from a 1977 persp ec

tive) could be thought to be "toomuchof i t s time"^, hence not, to his

mind, s u f f i c i e n t l y avant-garde.

Less tangible points fordiscussion, such as:Notre-Dame-du-Haut's

sacred ch ar ac te r and the sense of mystery which i t provokes; Notre-Dame-

du-Haut as a temple of joy and optimism; Notre-Dame-du-Haut as an expres

sion of l i b e r a t i o n and a statement ofhope, appear i n both secular and

gr e l i g i o u s writing s. Invariably the l o c a l and h i s t o r i c a l importance of

the s i t e i s emphasised. Inmost cases the purely formal and aesthetic

9

aspects of the chapel are stressed. There i s l i t t l e que stio ning of

the appropriateness of the structural components and of the f i n a l

appearance of the chapel - de sp it e the fact that photos of the chapel

during construction and after, shownin thesame a r t i c l e , suggest a con

tradiction between the two. Le Corbusier hi ms el f flaunted this apparent

contradiction, to both "explain and amaze".^

The issues towhich the Church addresses i t s e l f most d i r e c t l y i n

the f i r s t years of the chapel's completion are thosewhich concern the

12a r t i s t and the d e f i n i t i o n to be given to the term "sacr ed". Inmost,

A

i f not a l l of the writing of this early period,Notre-Dame-du-Haut i s

>seen asmany things: wit ness to the courage of those re sp on si bl e f o r

the hiring of Le Cor busier; as a brave step into new realms of a r c h i t e c

tural theory; as the r e v i v i f i e d church; and as evid ence, in themodern

world, of a divine presence expressed inhuman creativity and genius.

Incommenting upon the architect, the re pre sen ta tiv es of the religious

community take pains to point out the a f f i n i t y between Le Corbusier's

sense of mo ra li ty and social responsibil ity and their own. Le Co rb us ie r

sense of s p i r i t u a l i t y i salso emphasised; h ispronouncements of a 'new


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s e n s i b i l i t y ' found i nVersune architecture (1923),areoften quoted,

thereby implyingan e s s e n t i a l s i m i l a r i t y betweenthes p i r i t u a l i t yi n -

13tendedby LeCorbusierandthat intendedi ntheological doctrine.

These comments and thereaction to thebuilding suggest thatan

A

excitingnexus betweenLeCorbusierand theChurch exists xnNotre-

Dame-du-Haut perhaps comparable tothat created at St.DenisbyAbbot

Suger or at St.Peter'sbyMichela ngelo.


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4

CHAPTER 1

THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COMMISSION OF LE CORBUSIER'S DESIGN

Immediately following World War I I , the Ca th ol ic Church i n France

embarked upon a path of ar ch it ec tu ra l rejuv enatio n equal to that which

i t had already attempted i n e c c l e s i a s t i c a l pai nti ng and sculpt urebetween

the two WorldWars.''' The new focus on ar ch it ec tu re re su lt ed i n part

from the necessity to replace or repairbomb and f i r e damaged churches

and i n pa rt from the need to con str uct new pa ri sh churches i n response

2to changed urban patterns. Such a buildingprogram was env isi one d al so

3as ameans to re-emphasise the Church's relevancy i n the modern world.

A s i m i l a rdual-purposeprogram had been developed s ucc ess ful ly in Ger-

4

many and Swi tze rla nd i n the late 1920s and 1930s. Past achievements i n

e c c l e s i a s t i c a l ar chite cture, inwhich the ent ire Ch ris tia nt r a d i t i o n was

represented, weremuchw r i t t e n about i nmany Catholic per iodi cal s begin

ning afterWorld War I."* Such wr it in gs presented proof of both the

Church's univers alism and i t sa b i l i t y to evolv e i nresponse to changing

s o c i a l , h i s t o r i c a l , and e c c l e s i a s t i c a l pressures. Forms representing

the various h i s t o r i c a l s t y l e swere interpreted interms of their contex

tual pertinence. In re- est abl ish ing the s o c i a l , r e l i g i o u s , and ae st he ti c

milieux of the respective s t y l e s the relevancy of each was st re ss ed and

a s o l i d social int erp ret ive basis for contemporary s t y l i s t i c concerns

was assured. Suchexampleswere intende d as i n s p i r a t i o n and j u s t i f i c a

tion for simi larconcerns and undertakings during the period of Notre-

Dame-du-Haut's con str uct ion .

Notwithstanding the traditional and cons erva tive tendencies which


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such h i s t o r i c a l concerns cou ld and di d provoke,^ i talso allowed a

French Catholic avant-garde to emphasise the connectionbetween style

and society and to asse rt that achange i nsociety should signal a change

i n style. Th is supported their claims fo r a contemporary style.^

This avant-garde, consisting of a small group of enlightened clergy and

anumber ofDominican priests, disseminated their ideas through publica

tions such as L'Art Sacre, and d i r e c t l y encouraged unconventional a r c h i -

gtectural underta kings. In addition,many f e l t that clergymen should

possess not only l i t u r g i c a l knowledge but a r c h i t e c t u r a l understanding as

9

well. It was f e l t that an a e s t h e t i c a l l y enlightened clergy would be

i n the best p o s i t i o n to oversee e c c l e s i a s t i c a l a r t i s t i c projects.

Clearly, knowledge of church r i t u a l was not s u f f i c i e n t . For this pur

pose special commissionswere established i nmany dioceses, an action

that was acknowledged by thePope as a necessary and b e n e f i c i a l proce

d u r e . ^ One such commission, the BesanconCommission for Sacred Art,

directed the proceedings bymeans of which Le Corbus ier's desi gn was i n -

A 11vited and l a t e r approved forNotre-Dame-du-Haut. Moreover, important

members of the commission clearly distinguished themselves from e c c l e s i -

12

astics of the Right and i d e n t i f i e d themselves wit h an avant-garde.

The BesanconCommission for Sacred Art was composed of an a r t i s t i

c a l l y well-informed e c c l e s i a s t i c a l and s o c i a l e l i t e : Archbishop Dubourg,

Archbishop of Besancon (and l a t e r replacing him Archbishop Dubois),

Archbishop Belot, M arcel Ferry,CanonLedeur, who act ed as sec re ta ry f or

theCommission, and Mr. Mathey,who was then Director of Art s and Decora-

13

tion i nParis. The par ish ion ers ofRonchampwere repr esented by a com-

mi tte eU headed by Mr. Alfred Canet, an i n d u s t r i a l i s t and t re as ur er of

theCommission, and had among i t smembersAbbe Bourdin, Cure of the


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14v i l l a g e , and a lawyer from Vesoulnamed Mr. Carraud.

It was t h i s committee that would vote f i n a n c i a l approval for the

chapel and endorse the necessary loans and mortgages.^ However, i n

t o t a l the Pari sh contributed three m i l li o n f r a n c s ^ and the proje ct

r e l i e d heavily on the war indemnity assessed by an independent a r c h i

tect employed by the government and the pers onal e f f o r t s of the Mi ni st er

of Re co ns tr uc ti on .^ The war indemnity was assessed at 13.8 m i l l i o n

18

fr an cs i n 1951. Although the indemnity decision did not have any

direct bearing on the choice of ar ch it ec t or design, i t di d plac e re

straints i nterms of ca p i t a l and the reuse of salvageable mat eri al,

and bureaucr atic int er ve nti on and delays cre ate d an atmosphere of uncer-

19

tainty and su spi cio n about the pr oj ec t. The dependence on the indem

nity also accounted for the active involvement of Claudius Petit, then

Minister of Reconstruction, who sought s t r i k i n g secular arch itec tur al

projects and reknowned arc hit ec ts in an effort to convince the pub li c

20

of France's post-war recovery and to stimul ate pri va te en ter pri se.

The Unite d'Habita tion, M ar se il le s, which pre vio usl y united the ef fo rt s

of Le Corbusier and Petit, i s an example of his efforts. Thus, in an

indirect way, the French government and the people i trepresented were

also patrons of the cha pel .

The BesanconCommission for Sacred Art, with Canon Ledeur's

leadership, had previously been active in the promotion ofmodern art

21and i t s use i n ex is ti ng e c c l e s i a s t i c a l structures. However, u n t i lthe Ronchamp Commission, i t s ef fo rt s had concentrated upon painting,

22

stain ed gla ss, and sculp ture , rathe r than architecture.

Up to the time of the Commission'swork for the chapel atRonchamp

(1947-1950) church b u i l d i n g committees had c usto mari ly employed l o c a l


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23 Aa r c h i t e c t s . This customwas followedatNotre-Dame-du-Hautand a

24

l o c a l a r c h i t e c tdidcompleteadesign f orthes i t e . Hisdesignwas

for arectangular stru cture with agabled ro of,asquare eastend, and

a central toweri n thewest facade surmountedby a bell-tower witha

bulbous-shaped roof;achurch whichi nshape, size, andgeneral massing

resembledthevernacular styleofparishchurchesi n theFrench-Swiss

25

border area. Although nodimensionswere given, i tappears smaller

and less complexi nmassing than theprevio us church at thes i t e ,and

lacked thelatter's lar ge easte rn porch. It was rejectedby thepar ish

becauseofi t sinsufficient accommodationofpilgrimage needsandla ck

26

of internal f l e x i b i l i t y . It was followingther e j e c t i o nof this

scheme thattheCommission for Sacred Ar t atBesancon invitedLe Corbusier

to proposeareplacement for theWorldWar II-ravaged church s t i l l rem

nantupon i t sstrategic high place overlookingtheBallonGap and the27

French-Swiss border.

The Commission f i r s t approachedLeCorbusier i n thespringof

281950. Herefused thei n v i t a t i o ntop a r t i c i p a t e , i n s i s t i n g thathe

29"did notdesign churches". He wasalso concerned thatthes i t e would

30

notbeamenabletohis constr uctionmethods. However,due to the

prescient v i s i o nandconvictionofCanonLedeur,LeCorbusierwas

ultimately secured for theproject. A l e t t e r dated 6 May 1950reve als

that Canon Ledeur's persistence ensured theChurch's acceptanceof Le

Corbusier andhi s concern assuagedanydoubtsLeCorbusiermayhavehad

31

about suchanundertaking: LeCorbu sier consequently reco nsid ered .

On 20 May 1950 LeCorbusiermadehis f i r s t v i s i t to thes i t e .

He made many sketches of thedestr oyed church which record his response

to thes i t e with i t s ruins . Thesketches r ev ea laninterest i n the


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had to be deal t with: the arrangement of finances and the guarantee of

42

complete a r t i s t i c freedom fo r Le Corbus ier. During the pu bl ic dis

cussion that followed the BesanconCommission's acceptance i n January,

and while correspondence passedbetween Canon Ledeur and Le Corbusier,

some s t r u c t u r a l and minor compositional changesweremadeby Le Cor busier ,

but at no timewas his conception f orNotre-Dame-du-Haut seriouslyc r i -

43t i c i s e d by the pa ri sh io ne rs . By popular vote, the fin anc eswere

approved by the pa rish i n May, 1952. Co nstr ucti onbegan in the spring of

44

1953.


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10

CHAPTER II

THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICALBACKGROUNDTO THEA

COMMISSION OF NOTRE-DAME-DU-HAUT

It i s the propos al of t hi s th es is that Notre-Dame-du-Haut at

Ronchamp, f a r from being an anomaly r e s u l t i n gfrom a ca pr ic io us and

a r b i t r a r y approach to form, was ac tu al ly a di re ct r e f l e c t i o n of van

guard, yet well-considered, att itu des in e c c l e s i a s t i c a l th in ki ng and

that th is thi nki ng was ca re fu ll y int erp ret ed and expressed by Le Cor bus ier .

We can gain s i g n i f i c a n t i nsight into the twentieth century ideas of the

Roman Catholic Church fromfourmajor sources: the current " l i t u r g i c a l

movement", o f f i c i a l enc ycl ica ls and di rec ti ve s, spe cia liz ed and popular

literature, and prominent French p r i e s t s such as Pere Couturier, Pere

Regamey and CanonLedeur. From these sources the philosophical circum

stances of the commission forNotre-Dame-du-Haut may be as ce rt ai ne d and

their r ol e i n the cre at io n of the chapel suggested.

The current " l i t u r g i c a lmovement"wit hin theRoman Catholic

Church,whichbegan i n France i n the middle of the nineteenth century,

was a powerful rejuvenating force with in an organizati on which saw as

i t s aim the active, i n t e l l i g e n t , and f r u i t f u l p ar ti ci pa ti on of the

people in the liturgy of the Church.''' The growingawareness of the

richness, beauty, and communical char acte r of l i t u r g i c a l prayers and

texts which i tprompted had div erse ram if ic at io ns . It led to an emphasis

on actua l pr ac ti ce and in te re st i n the s p i r i t u a l l i f e of the f a i t h f u l

2

and hence to pa st or al and sc ho la st ic pur sui ts by the cle rgy . The move-

ment flourished f i r s t at Solesmes, France, then at St. Andre-lez-Bruges,


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11

Belgiumand f i n a l l y atMar ia Laach, Germany andKlosterneuberg,Aust ria .

I t was f i r s t given o f f i c i a l recognition w i t h thed i r e c t i v e sof Pope

PiusX who s i m p l i f i e d and began p a r t i a l reforms of the l i t u r g y . Essen

t i a l l y , th e aim was togivet hel i t u r g y relevancetocontemporary s e n s i

b i l i t y , and tocreatesincere e x t e r i o r and i n t e r i o r l i t u r g i c a l p a r t i c i

pation. Thesense of community to beappreciatedi n th e Mass was also

stressed. Most importantwas theb e l i e f that a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o ni n

th e sacre d mystery and i n thesolemn pra yerof theChurch was the f i r s t

3

and indispensable sourceof thetrue C h r i s t i a n s p i r i t .

The l i t u r g i c a l movement causeda number ofvery tangible changes.

I t emphasised complete consciousnessof thei m p l i c a t i o n s of r i t u a l and

hence i n t e l l e c t u a l involvement and educational f a c i l i t i e s . I tprompted

t h e f i r s t p u b l i c a t i o n ofmissalsi n thevernacularand th e s i m p l i f i c a -

4

t i o n of r i t e s . Numerous conferencesandpubl icat ions also occurred:

Dom Beauduin's " I If a u d r o i t democratiserl al i t u r g i e " (1909),Herwegen's

Des Kunstprinzip derL i t u r g i e (1920),PopePiusX's Tr a l e s o l l e c i t u d i n i

(1903),and Germany's R i c h t l i n i e n fu r di eGetaltungdes Gotteshauses

aus dem Geistede rromischen L i t u r g i e (1944). In 1943France established

i t s Centrede Pastorale l i t u r i q u e . ^ F i n a l l y , s i g n i f i c a n t recognition

was givent o thee f f o r t s of thel i t u r g i c a l movement by PopePiusXI I i n

h i s MediatorDei of 1947.

The l i t u r g i c a l movement supportedaphi loso phy motivatedby a

l i b e r a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ofRoman Catholicdogmaw i t h anemphasis oni t s

more human, communal, andcommunicative aspe cts . Altho ugh l i t u r g i c a l

r e v i t a l i z a t i o n was i n i t i a t e d atSolesmes, France's r o l e was to remain

marginal u n t i l a f t e r World War I I a twhich time i t became associated

w i t hGermany as theavant-garde of the movement.^ Furthermore, France


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was then recognised f or i t s unprecedented experimentation i n various

means of f o s t e r i n g communal p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the liturgy, and the num-

g

ber of episcopates i n favour of themovement. Anumber of these develop

mentsbased upon l i t u r g i c a l reform had direct reper cussi ons i n church

construction durin g the twen tiet h century. The f i r s t evidence of the

effect of l i t u r g i c a l reappraisal on architecture occurred in 1913 at

9

Maria Laach, Germany. Here churchmembers proposing a revised liturgy

met othermembers pro pos ing a new approach to church desig n and rec og

nized theircommon concerns. From that date church desi gn had as i t s

goal a new form that would respond to the va ry in g and new conception s

given to the liturgy. InGermany e s p e c i a l l y , prior toWorld War I I , new

s p a t i a l arrangements having l i t u r g i c a l symbolic s i g n i f i c a n c e i n plan

configuration de ve lo pe d. ^ Rudolf Schwartz, who codified h i s new space

symbolism i n The Church Incarnate (1938)was themajor figure i n this

development.^

In France the l i t u r g i c a lmovement was expressed i n artforms such

as painting, scul ptur e, and d ecorat ionmore d i r e c t l y than in a r c h i t e c

t u r a l planning. Many :,iri> the French Church agitated fo r amorecontem

porary e c c l e s i a s t i c a l aesthetic. Following Cingria's LaDecadence de

l ' a r t sac re (1913), Maurice Denis, with

D e s v a i l l i e r s , opened a studio

of sacred ar twhich sought to invest ar t wit h vig our and to inspire

a r t i s t s with a contemporary sense of brotherhood and piety comparable to

13

that of the Middle Ages. Th is was supplemented by Denis' Nouvelles

theories sur l ' a r t moderne, sur l ' a r t sacre (1914-1921)which was f o l

lowed by M. B r i l l a n t ' s L'Art chretien en France du XXe S i e c l e (1927),

Munier's Une E g l i s e Nouvelle au XXe S i e c l e (1932), and Pere Co ut ur ie r' s

Art et cathoLtcism e (1948). A l l themajor r e l i g i o u s commentators


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concurred that contemporary sacre d ar t inad equa tely repr esen tedcontem

porary t h e o l o g i c a l and philosophical ideals. With the ex cept ion of

Munier, who documented churches rather than critiqued them, architecture

was given l i t t l e attention i n the quest formodern, l i t u r g i c a l l y respon

sive ar t forms. AlthoughGermany had a very directed program fo r finding

a r c h i t e c t u r a lways of expressing the new l i t u r g i c a l concepts, France did

not. Althoughmuchpost-EWorld War I rebuilding was carried out and the

14

o f f i c i a l l y super vised Chant iers du Cardinal b u i l t much, no directives,

o f f i c i a l statements, or exp erimen tat ion with new forms appeared u n t i l

1952. 1 5

With increasing frequency one begins to see open spaces, an em

phasis on a c e n t r a l space, the elimination of i n t e r i o r encumbrances, and

a growing popularity i n neo-Byzantine churches c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y possess

ing these a t t r i b u t e s . ^ Also noticeable was the willingness of the French

church builders to accept new materials,modern art forms, and construc

t i o n a l systems that began to associate modernity with theRoman Catholic

Church. However, these aspects of church architecture do not appear to

havebeen d i r e c t l y instigated by a conscious c o r r e l a t i o n with the new

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n developi ng fo r the liturgy at that time. For in st an ce ,

there i s no reason t o suggest that Notre-Dame-du-Raincy (Perret, 1923),

most often cited as the tw en ti et h cen tury accomplishment i n French Church

architecture p r i o r to World War I I , was i n any way designed as a cons ci ous

a p p l i c a t i o n of l i t u r g i c a l reform.^

In otherways France co nti nued to encourage the new community-

conscious and l i b e r a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the liturgy. At thesame time,

themood i n France allowed f orregiona l varia tions and advocated respect

18for ver nacu lar and national b u i l d i n g styles. Increasingly, economic


21/197

restraints placed upon projects hadcontributed to agreater use of ex

posed concrete,a reduction ofornamentation,andless frequent use of

preciousandcostly tr ad it io na l materials. TheFrenchRoman Catholic

Church r a t i o n a l i z e d t h i s tendencyby associating such economically moti

vatedmeasures with thes p i r i t u a l q u a l i t i e sofpoverty, s i m p l i c i t y ,and

honesty.(makingj-virtue of.ne cessi ty).. Similar s p i r i t u a l q u a l i t i e s i n

formedtheWorker P r i e s tmovement, aFrench experiment which sent Domini

can monks toworkascommon facto ry labourers i n anattempt todestr oy

19the barriersbetweentheclergy and the f a i t h f u l .

In 1947Pope PiusXIIissued Mediator Dei, animportant e n c y c l i -

20

cal of thepost-WorldWar IIera. Itgave o f f i c i a l sanction to the

aimsand some of ther e s u l t sof thel i t u r g i c a lmovement, includinga

numberofi t s aesthetic idea ls. Thus,i n thevery year that thepari shA

ofNotre-Dame-du-Hautbecameconcerned with b u i l d i n gachurch,Pope Pius

XI I encouraged such undertakings with o f f i c i a lsanctions fo r church

b u i l d in g . Notonly di d thePopeendorsetheencouragementofgoodar t

and architecture i nchurch b u i l d i n g ,but healso approved the useof some

21

modern s t y l e sofar t.

MediatorDei of 1947supporteda f u n c t i o n a l i s tapproachtospace

where each function found expressioni n thestructure. Ahierarchy of

spatial arrangementwas also recommendedbut by thesp ati al integration

of well defined areas eschewing absolute separation. Certain qu al it ie s

of spaceandbuildin g fa bricwere also suggested and thev a r i e t i e sof

22

human responses needing architectural consideration were indicated. Med

i t a t i v e spaceas ap h i l o s o p h i c al needandtherefore as ana r c h i t e c t u r a l

consideration was given great emphasis.

Notwithstanding t h i s r a t i o n a lapproach,thePope also acknowledged


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15

the importance of the sensual aspects of religiousexperience, "for

23every impulse of the humanheart expresses i t s e l f through the senses".

Moreover,Pope Pius XII att rib ute dmany aspects of the liturgy to develop-

24

ments i n the fi ne ar ts . Mediator Dei emphasised the necessary communi

cati ve and in te gr al ro lewhich the f in e ar ts played i n the s p i r i t u a l

l i f e of the f a i t h f u l . Cl ea rl y, i n 1947 the highest a ut ho ri ty i n the

Catholic Church was inte reste d i n aest heti cs, funct ion, modernity, and

the humanist t r a d i t i o nwith regar d toman's contributi on to church r i t u a l .

Many of the arch it ect ur alsuggestionsmade i nMediator Dei cou ld be

f u l f i l l e d by Le Corbu sier' s usu al pr ac ti ce s. The concept of fun cti ona lly

25

conceived space was pa rt of Le Corb usier's theory of arc hit ect ure .

Le Corbusie r a ls o advocated a hi er ar ch ia l organization of space which

was integrated within a si ng levolume rather than a series of spaces well

defined with enclo sing wal ls. The need for meditative space was of such

importance to Le Cor busi er tha t he inclu ded such areas within his domes-

2 6

t i c buildings./ Although Le Corbusie r emphasised i n t e l l e c t u a l involve

ment as cen tr al to ar ch it ect ur e, he did not deny i t s sensual aspects.

His consciousness of "psychophysiological" responses (kinesthetic and

27

psychological response

to stimuli) and for p l a s t i c i t y indicate this.

Le Corb usie r was al so reco gniz ed fo r hi s social concerns. Schemes

for worker's houses, apartments providing daycare centres, plans for

assuring communal ben efi t of urban and r ur a l land, a i r , and greenery, and

his proj ect s for a "Radiant C i t y "were wellknown i n 1950. Le Corb usier's

work thus coincided with a pronounced int ere st by church authorities

and par is hi on ers i n the social role of the church as ref le ct ed i n the

expanded view of the par is h church building as one which should include a

complex of functions : meetingrooms, sports areas, daycare f a c i l i t i e s ,


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16

28classrooms, and s i t e planning responsivetosuburban contexts. More

over,somer e l i g i o u s l i t e r a t u r e presenting this viewpoint cited Le

29

Corbusier fort h e o r e t i c a l support.

The very pressing theological problem of accommodating the i n d i v i

dualas "astone of thechurch" wi thi nthelarger identity of the church

" e d i f i c e "was implicit i nmanyof thecommentsmadewith r egardto space

30

i n Mediator Dei. The relationship of thei n d i v i d u a l to the community

was also a central philosophi calanddesign problem expressedby Le

Corbusier whichcan be seen as as ecul ar counterpartto theChurch's

problem ofassuringthe l a i t y ' s r o l e i n the liturgy.

No direct relationshipbetween thed i r e c t i v e s i nMediator Dei and

the philosophyof LeCorbusiercan be e x p l i c i t l y stated. However, s t r i k -.

ing accords i ngen eral out look suggest that acommonmeeting ground

existedwhere both LeCorbusierand theCatholic Church could pr od uc ti ve ly

cooperate. It i sl i k e l y that a r e a l i z a t i o n ofthese concurrences were

31

important i n LeCorbusier's consid eratio nof the commission.

Specialized and general publi catio ns also impressed upon the f a i t h

f u l theimportance of architecture and art i nf u l f i l l i n g their commit

ments to the f a i t h . In 1946 three s p e c i a l issuesofL'Ar t Sacre foc ussed

32

on theproblem andmeritsofdesigningand rebuilding parish churches.

In 1947 Germany published itsDirectives forchurch building whichwere

to remain relevantas late as 1954 when theywere adopted i nNorth America

33

by a conference heldinWisconsin. Various iss ues surrounding the con

s t r u c t i o n ofchurches - s o c i a l , t h e o l o g i c a l , and l i t u r g i c a l - were increas

ingly prominent fea tur esi nr e l i g i o u s periodicals and were ofte n discussed

i n Frenchnewspapers. The newspaper LeMondefrequentlyand prominently

featured re orts on the latest a r c h i t e c t u r a l u nd er ta kin s of the French


24/197

Catholic Church, thus underlining the Church's endeavours as bei ng

34

both t o p i c a l and importan t.

Pere Couturier, PereRegamey, and CanonLedeur dissemi nated aesthe

t i c a l l y and r e l i g i o u s l y relevant viewpoints about a rtwhichwere to have

consequences on Notre-Dame-du-Haut. Pere Co ut ur ie r was aDominicanmonk

who endeavoured to rejuv enate the FrenchRoman Catholic Church by the

35

incorporation ofmodern art in r e l i g i o u s est abl ish men ts. To tha t end

he wrote three books: Chroniques (1946), Art et catholici sme (1948), Se

Garder L i b r e (1962), as well as amonograph on a Montreal architect

M. Perizeau (1945), and anumber of a r t i c l e s whichwere publis hed i n

36France, the Uni ted S ta te s, and Canada. Most significant was h i s co-

/ 37editorship of L'Art Sacrewhichbegan i n 1937. Th is and othe r jo ur na ls

became convenient media through which he proclaimed hi s far -re ach ing

38

po lic y of "aux grandshomines l e s grandes choses".

Pere Couturie r was per son all y invol ved i n the fine arts. He began

as a painter, studying at the school of Denis and D e s v a i l l i e r e s before

39

ta ki ng order s i n 1925. He later specialized i n stain ed gla ss, a pur

suit which i nvolv ed him i n hi s f i r s t c o n t r o v e r s i a la r t i s t i c endeavour

40

in 1938. He wrote h i s f i r s t and only a r t i c l e that was o st en si bl yA 41

focussed on architecturep r i o r toNotre-Dame-du-Haut i n 1938. Th iswas concerned almost entirely with deco ratio n. In hi s later wr it in gs on

the con tro ver sial projects at Assy (1938-1950), Audincourt (1950-1952),

42

and Vence (1948-1950)he di d not concern himself with architecture.

However, h i semployment ofnon-Roman Catholic a r t i s t s , such as the agnos

t i c Bonnard and the communists Lurcat and Leger at Audinco urt, estab

lished a precedent fo r Le Corbusier, li kew is e a non- cat hol ic, at Notre-

43

Dame-du-Haut.


25/197

18

The f i r s t documented encounterbetweenP^reCouturier and Le

Corbusier occurred i n 1925 when bothwere involvedi n theUniondes

A r t i s t e sModernes. Intermittent meetingsbetweenthe two followedand

\ . 44were recorded i nPere Couturier's diaryof 1947-1954. Also, bothwere

45involved i n anextraordinary church projectatSainte-Baumei n 1947.

Later Pe*re Couturierwas torefer to LeCorbusier's opt im ist ic social

46

goals whichwere often repeated i n thepagesofL'Art Sacr. During

the constructionofNotre-Dame-du-Hauti n 1953 thepriest was intimately

involved with LeCorbusier i n thedesigning of themonasteryof Sainte-

47Marie-de-la-Tourette. At this timethepriest apparently instructed

48 x

Le Corbusier i n much Roman C ath oli c philosophy. In 1953 Pere Couturier

wroteana r t i c l e onNotre-Dame-du-HautforL'Art Sacre thatwas to be

come thebasisfor much of thetextof theForces Vivres pu bli cat ion

Le Livrede Ronchamp (1961)whichwas later published underthedirec tion

49

ofLe Corbusier.

The 1953 a r t i c l e i s thef i r s t known direct contact that Pere

Couturierhadwith thechapel. However, therewas pr iv ate correspon

dencebetweenLeCorbusier andPere Couturier thoughout theprojectand

i t was LeCorbusier's fearofunwanted p u b l i c i t y with i t s p o s s i b i l i t y

of jeopardizingthecommission w hich deterred thepriest from active

public p a r t i c i p a t i o n . " ^ It i sl i k e l y that i n anindirectway, through

h i s use ofmodernandoften non-cat holic a r t i s t s , andd i r e c t l y by comments

made p r i v a t e l y to LeCorbusier, he influencedtheeventsasthey dev el

opedatNotre-Dame-du-Haut.

Pere Couturier's actionsand hisp o l i c y ofusing non-ca tholic

a r t i s t s r a i s e d fundamental questions aboutthec r e a t i v eact and the

nature ofdivine i n s p i r a t i o n forwhichhe was tos u f f e rheavy c r i t i c i s m


26/197

fromRome andfrom prominent Church figures."'''' Healso endured thecen

sure brought against theDominican Order fortheir socia l aims, p a r t i c u -

52

l a r l y theWorker's Priest Movement.

The importanceofhisinvolvementi nmoderna rtto thecommissionof

Notre-Dame-du-Hauti stwofold. F i r s t , Pere Couturier presentedanaccep

table precedentforthesuccessful p a r t i c i p a t i o n betweentheChurchand

53

modern a r t i s t s . Secondly,he was apersonality, "unbrave type" ,

withwhom LeCorbus ier sharedmany objectives-s o c i a l , a r t i s t i c ,and

personal. Indeed, thearchitecthadreceived Papal disapproval with Pere

Couturierand theDominicans becauseofhisinvolvementatSainte-Baume

54

and could therefore easily ident ify withthemuch-berated Dominicans.

The commission thus allowedLeCorbusiertoa l i g n himself witha c u l t u r a l

l yanda r t i s t i c a l l y relevant avant-garde. Char les Jencks,i n LeCo rbusier:

A TragicViewofArchitecture, pointsoutthat suchacrus adi ng stance

wasanimportant partof LeCorbusier's c h a r a c t e r . T h a tLeCorbus ier

interpreted theNotre-Dame-du-Haut commission i nsuch terms i sevidenti n

56

several l e t t e r s w r i t t e ntoothersinvolved i n the project. Therefore,

the c o n t r o v e r s i a landurgent prop osalentailed i n thecommission, partly

resulting from Pere Couturier's past actions,mayhave influencedLe

Corbusier's enthusiasm fortheproje ct.

The importanceofPereRegameyto thecommission ofNotre-Dame-du-

Hauti sintimatedi n thef i n a l pagesofTheChapelat Ronchamp (1957),

a publication directedby LeCorbusier. He wasamong thosemen t o whom

Le Corbusierpaid special tribute for thepart they playedi n ther e a l i z a

tionof thechapel."^ Many r e f e r e n t i a l statementstoPereRegamey exist

58i nLeCor bus ier 's correspondence throughout theundertak ing.

PereRegameybeganhisinvolvementi n thearts withh iseduc ation


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20

/ 59at LEcoleduLouvrei n1900. Hisa r t i s t i c in ter est s continued i n the

secular realm: from1926 to 1928 he was theattache to thedepartment

of paintingat theLouvre,whereheworkedi ncol lab ora tio n with Paul Jamot.

He becameaprominent advocateofreligiousandaest heti c reform i n 1937

whenhebecameco-editorofL'Art Sacre with Pere Couturier. Theywere

60

former students of thesame seminary. Hisf i r s t known combative a r t i c l e ,

La QuerrelledesVitraux, dated from 1937.*^ It was adefenseof the

modern styleofPere Couturier,'s stained glass additionstoNotre-Dame-de-

Paris i nwhichheintroduced contemporary a r t i s t i c issuesandanswered

criticisms with theo logi calj u s t i f i c a t i o n sandaes the tic explanations .

His statedaimfo r L'Art Sacrewas tomake i ta stride nt voice

62against mediocrity, "ki tsc h", his tor ici sm,arid convention. He wasal soc r i t i c a l ofpious obeisance, characterizing i tassentim ental , unexalted,

63and t o t a l l y unrelated to ther e a l i t i e sofmodern s e n s i b i l i t i es . He

declared f a i t hapoor excuse fo r 'bad' artandwrote disparaginglyof con-

64

temporary r e l i g i o u s a r t i s t sanda r c h i t e c t s . Throughoutthe1940sand

1950sher e i t e r a t e d theseunorthodox viewsi n thepagesofL'Art Sacras

w e l las LaVie Intellectuelle, PartisanReview,LaCroix,andRecherches

et debats. Inaddition,hegained some i n t e r n a t i o n a lreknown with a r t i c l e s

that appearedi nL i t u r g i c a l Artsand theJournalofArtsandL e t t e r s . ^

In1945PereRegamey was amemberof theConseil Art isti quedes

MuseesdeFranceandfrom this time h is effortstobring aboutarenais

sancei n thesacred ar ts intensified. In 1946three issue sofL'Art Sacre

were dedicated to thequestion ofcontemporary church arc hit ect ure . This

markedanimportant departure fo r PereRegamey andPere Couturier: a r c h i

tecturebecameapartoftheir apost olic aspirat ions forarenewed religious

a r t . It was atthis time that PereRegamey f i r s t included arc hite ctsi n


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21

Pere Couturier's proposal "aux grandshomes, l e sgrandes choses".

PereRegamey conti nued the a p p l i c a t i o n of L'A rt Sacre's re no va ti on

program t o a r c h i t e c t u r ewhen he spoke befor e the Congress for the Recon-

66

s t r u c t i o n of Churches at a symposiumhe ld at Rotterdam i n 1948. In

the sameyear he supported the c on tr ov er si alSainte-Baume pr oj ec t and

thereby acqu ired a re pu ta ti on as a r a d i c a l among c l e r i c s and l a i t y . I t

was a l s o i n 1948 tha t h i s prominence wit hi n the secular a r c h i t e c t u r a l

community began.

Paul Vago, ed it or of L'A rch ite cur e d'Aujourd'hui, presented and en

t h u s i a s t i c a l l y supported PereRegamey's ideas i n the October i s s u e , 1948.^

I n the fo ll ow in g year PereRegamey was fe atu re d among the new p at ro ns and

thus , by inf er en ce , shared i n the aim of the j o u r n a l , which was "to or ie nt

68

one's forc es to the fut ur e of an ar ch it ec tu re dese rvin g of modern time".

"Well knownamong the best a r c h i t e c t s , " PereRegamey was p i c t u r e d as a

confr ere shari ng i n s i m i l a r g e n e ra l a s p i r a t i o n s f o r a r c h i t e c t u r eexpounded

69

by Niemeyer,Ser t, Gie dio n, Le Corb usi er, and Aa lt o. Vago's interest

served to pr op el PereRegamey and h i s endeavours for amodern church

building into the consc iousn ess of the a r c h i t e c t s who were al so cr usad ing

f o r amodern ar ch it ec tu re. In an a r t i c l e i n L' Arc hit ect ure d'Aujourd'hui,

Vago assured h is readers th at church ar ch it ec tu re had i t s plac e among

the b u i l d i n g types worthy of the modern a r c h i t e c t ' s c o n c e r n . ^

I n 1952 PereRegamey pu bl is he d L'A rt Sacr e au XXe S i e c l e , a compen

dium of his previ ous ly published major themes.^ This i s a conveni ent

source from whi ch PereRegamey's expectations about the actualappearance

of a tw ent ie th- ce ntu ry church may be ex tr ap ol at ed .

PereRegameyemphasised t h a t t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a lchurches at Assy,

Audincourt, and Vence "just express a co nv ic ti on tha t only the best w i l l


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30/197


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24

and dogma, and a strong i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of contemporary church a r c h i t e c

ture with the aims of secular architecture and architects of the avant-

garde. Most emphatically,however, he expressed a disco ntent wit h the

contemporary m i l i e u of church architecture and the unresolved position

as towhat modern church architecture should be.

Canon Ledeur, as head of theCommission for Sacred Art at Besancon,

was the person most a c t i v e l y inv olv ed i n the choic e of architect for Notre-

84 \Dame-du-Haut. He, l i k e the theorist priest Pere Couturier, also

believed that aesthetic excellencewhould be given p r i o r i t y over the

85

necessity of choosing an architect of f a i t h . In selecting Le Corbusier,

Canon Ledeur chose an architectwhoseworks and th eor ie swere very

accessible. He would haveundoubtedly beenaware of Le Corbusier's

Sainte-Baume involvement and the Unite d' Ha bita ti on at M a r s e i l l e s - each

with i t s attendant controversies. CanonLedeurwould also have been

familiar with Le Corbu sier 's noti ons about town planning inwhich the

86optimism of a society working together inharmony and jo y was expressed,and whichwas e n t i r e l y compatible with the post-World War II outlook of

87the Catholic Church, e s p e c i a l l y the Dominicans . Indeed, by March of

1951 CanonLedeur was we ll versed i n Le Corbu sier 'sworkand quoted him

88during public lectures held atRonchamp. The selection of Le Corbusier,

therefore, gaveCanon Ledeur the opportunity for a fascinating dialogue

89

with a major architect on the l i t u r g i c a l meaning of "funct ional ism",

and augured an ideal patron-client relationship.

Canon Ledeur supported Pere Co ut ur ie r and Pere Regamey i n their

aims "to bring to an end bymeansof a direct achievement, the absurd

divorce which for the past centur y (had) separated the Church from

l i v i n g a r t " . And i n doing t h i s , "to leave no stone unturned: to appeal


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33/197

Of course this also requiresaninvolvement on thepartofthose

who commission thework. Thepromoter must thereforeknowandQA

have appreciatedhe whom he haschosen.

Furthermore Ledeur indicated that these idealswerei neffectat

Notre-Dame-du-Haut:

Thus f o rRonchamp,wewere ableto say to LeCorbusier,"Weknowvery wellto whom wehavecome. Wehavenotcometot e l lyou to

do this thingorthat thing. Wehavecometot e l lyou: Weneeda chapel that f u l f i l l s suchandsuchacondition. Asfo rtherest,weknowwho youare. Wehave chosen you; trytopropose

something f o r us" Yousee, that suggestsareal involvementon

our part.95

Ledeur's d e f i n i t i o noffunctioni ntermsofprogram,economy, social

aims, and abroad concept ionofl i t u r g i c a l rules showedhim to be a man

of broad v i s i o nandf l e x i b i l i t y . These q u a l i t i e s allowedLeCorbusi er

enormous freedom toexercise h i s aestheticandi n t e l l e c t u a l judgmenti n

the tasksofdesign . AlthoughLeCorbusierwasinformedof theconcept,

poetry,andtheologyof theV i r g i nbyLedeur,he was notr e s t r i c t e d with

96

regardtoforms, structureormaterials. Instead, Ledeur scr up ulo us ly

adhered tohi s theory that the patron should specify funct ional parameters

only.

Ledeur used his r o l easpatrontosafeguardthetheologicaland

l i t u r g i c a l requirements ofNotre-Dame-du-Hautand toe s t a b l i s hi n the

97

chapeltheapp rop ria te contemporary fea tur esofworship ands e n s i b i l i t y .

To accomplishthel a t t e rhe wasw i l l i n gtoforego h is d i c t a t o r i a l preroga

tivesaspatroni nthe b e l i e f thatthegeneralknowledge offeredbycon

temporary culture, through themediumof LeCorbusier,would operate

advantageously andsuccessfully. CommentsmadebyLedeur indicate that

Le Corbusierwasencouraged todrawupon his broad c u l t u r a l knowledge

98

andtorefer tothewhole spectrum ofr e l i g i o u s sites i n hi s design.

This showsawillingnesson thepartof theChurch toall ow popu lar


34/197

b e l i e f s and customs to supplement s t r i c t theologicald e f i n i t i o n s as would

be forthcoming from purely e c c l e s i a s t i c a l sources.

The l e t t e r s which passedbetween Le Corbusier and Ledeur between

A p r i l 1950 and May 1955 demonstrate Ledeur's chief concerns to be that the

work of Le Corbu sier should not be i nopen c o n f l i c t with the o f f i c i a l

policy ofRomeand that i t should not cont ra di ctcommonly professed

99

b e l i e f s . It i s not u n t i l 29 A p r i l 1951 that the canon suggested that

he have any direct and s p e c i f i c inf lu en ce on the des ign . It was at tha t

date that he offer ed to go to Pa ri s to di sc uss with Le Corbu sie r the

important considerations to be given church furniture. Yet i t i s i n t e r

esting to note that such furniture as exists atNotre-Dame-du-Haut shows

no marked divergence from Le Corbusier's e a r l i e r furniture desi gn. .

In ad di ti on to important facts perta ining to the buil din g fabric,

the l e t t e r s als o rev eal a striking intel lectu al empathybetween Le

Corbusier and Canon Ledeur. They shared a s i m i l a r concept of s t y l e and

thought of i t i nmoral terms, of truth rather than beauty. The fo ll ow in g

d i s t i n c t i o n between truth and beauty given by Ledeur may wellhave been

given by Le Corbusier: "...by using the term "truth" i t i s also poss ible

to avoid the ambiguity of theword " b e a u t y " . F u r t h e r m o r e , Ledeur

centered this di sc us si on on thework ofNotre-Dame-du-Haut, usin g i t as

an example of the "truth" and implying that a s i m i l a r i t y of vision

existed between himself and the architect.

It i s be tt er to use theword truth. Moreover, in doing so wereturn to the language of themost demanding a r t i s t s themselves. 01

CanonLedeur and Le Corbusier subscribed to an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of

the cre at ive act which eschewed a l ldogmaand academic th in ki ng . For Le

Corbusier:


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P l a s t i c events do not regulate themselves according toscholarly or academic formulas, they are free and innumerable.102

Likewise, forCanon Ledeur:

Norms do not e x i s t . Because the truth ofwhat we have calledthework of art - the truth th at i s creat ed and the very act

which brings i tforth -does not con sis t i n the ap pl ic at io n ofa few rules. ^ 3

To rep lac e formulas and the concept of the a r t i s t as ameresup plier

of an acquired tec hn ic al pr of ic ie nc y, both proposed the a r t i s t - c r e a t o r .

Thus Le Corbusi er's elevated conception of the a r t i s t was supported by

his patron's b e l i e f that:

The verymeaning (of this cr ea ti ve tru th) i s defin ed i n the act of

creation i t s e l f . Thus i t i s evident i t i s a truth whichmust berediscovered each time and cannot be e a s i l y expressed inwords.It mustabove a l l be experienced.104

Le Corbusier had often emphasised the strug gle invo lved in gi vi ng

form to his inner v i s i o n and the cr ea ti on of "l'e space i n d i c i b l e " ( i n

effable s p a c e ) . T h u s , the very premiseuponwhichCanon Ledeur based

his d e f i n i t i o n of "truth", and hence "art", exis ted wit hin the pr ac ti ce

and of te n- pu bl ic is ed credo of Le Corbusier. Furthermore, Le Cor busier's

v' dramat iza tio n of himself and hi s experiences as producing "a l i f e

106

which has unrolled in the b r u t a l i t i e s of existen ce" found a response

i n CanonLedeur's view of the a r t i s t as " a l l those who, a ut he nt ic al ly ,

advance themselves in a research f u l l of uncertainty to discover their

diverse p o s s i b i l i t i e s . But theneeds are pressing and theworkers of

quality are few. That i s the drama of our times.

With the commission ofNotre-Dame-du-Haut, CanonLedeur was ab le

to have form giv en to hi s ideas. In so doing he r e a l i z e d the patron-

architect relationship and the ideal programmatic demandswhich Le

Corbusier had alwayswanted. Le Corbusie r acknowledged this situation


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and this freedomwhen he state d " i t was agreeable tobecomeabsorbed i n

108

a disin tere sted project without any p r a c t i c a l programme". Canon

Ledeur's statements demonstrate how truly minimal the p r a c t i c a l demands

were and how un sp ec if ic their formal definition.

Le Corbusier and CanonLedeur be li eve d i n the nec es si ty of ar t and

i t s a b i l i t y t o transcend the mundane; both spoke of a s p i r i t u a l a r c h i -

109

tec tur e. Le Corbusie r did so i nVers une ar ch it ec tu re i n 1923 and

reaffirmed i t i nTexts et dessins pourRonchamp i n 1 9 5 5 . L i k e w i s e ,

CanonLedeur expressed a de si re fo r "the sor t of sup eri or fu nc ti on al is m

which has a ce rt ai nhuman qu al it y. Functionalism which in cl ud es the mys

" H I

terious.

Purity of " s p i r i t " , "t ru th ", a "fu nct ion alis m" that has a qu al it y

the "mysterious", and " tha t which is ine ff ab le " are among the a bs tr ac t

q u a l i t i e s that give Notre-Dame-du-Haut i t s pres ent st atus as one of the

supremeworks of twentieth-century ar ch it ec tu re . Perhaps i t ssuccess

i s the re su lt of the symbiotic re la ti on sh ip of id ea ls and purposes that

seems tohave existedbetweenCanonLedeur and Le Corbusier. Throughout

the concep tion and co ns tr uc ti on of the chap el Le Corb usie r was give n,

contrary to t y p i c a l church-client procedures, an extrao rdinary con tr ol

over a r t i s t i c matters. The g i f t of freedom was conceived, or at least

vigorously supported by the Canon as "a po ss ib lemeans of reconciling

Le Corbusier's point of viewwith that of the Church's" and as an a f f i r -112

mation of a ph il os op hi ca l po si ti on . Le Corbusier was ob li gi ng ly

afforded assurances from the very f i r s t that he would also have complete

control over a l l future modificat ions of the stru ctur e, "inc ludi ng

access...the i n t e r i o r and ex te rio r decorat ion, p ain tin g and scul ptur e,

113of whatever nature that might be".


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29

Notre-Dame-du-Haut appearsto be theresultof aconfluxof ideals.

Anexusofi n t e r r e l a t e d ideas suggests thatacompatible philosophical

outlook towards art,s p i r i t u a l i t y , andc r e a t i v i t y existed betweenthe

architect andpatron. Thes i m i l a r i t y ofCanonLedeur's ideals with those

of Pere CouturierandPereRegameycommend thepervasivenessofthos e

idealsandtheir refl ecti onof a certain sectoroftwent ieth- centu ry French

Catholic thought. LeCorbusier,as anarchitect,wasbelievedbythem able

to give formtothose idealsandthusto makeNotre-Dame-du-Hautanagency

through whichthemindands p i r i t ofcontemporary Fren ch Catholicism could

become apostolicandmaterially functional.

Notre-Dame-du-Hautandother e c c l e s i a s t i c a l experiments

The rapprochement betweenmodern architectureand theFrenchRoman

Catholic Church ach iev ed such prominence that i t prompted several major

survey books recordingtheaccomplishments. Alth oughthedate as sig ned

the r e a l i z a t i o nof thef i r s t 'modern' French Catholic Church changedas

succeeding achievementsmadeprecursorsofexisting ones, a l lthemajor

sourcesareagreedas to the keyworks. Alt houg h three stagesared i s

cerniblei n thel i t e r a t u r e , thesecondandthird stages post-da te Notre-

114

Dame-du-Haut.

The f i r s t stagei sexemplifiedby A.Munier'sUnProjec t d'Eg lise

auXXeSiecle (1932)which praised technical achievements, economy,inno

vationsi nconstruction,and the use of newmaterials.''''''"' By discussing

th e church building i nthese terms, Munier soughttoi l l u s t r a t e theChurch's

opennesstomodern ideasanda r c h i t e c t u r a l values. However,no d i s t i n c

tionwas madebetween suchmodernworksasPerret'sNotre-Dame-du-Raincy


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30

and others having obvious h i s t o r i c a l reminiscences and were c l e a r l y pas

tiches.

Saint-Jean - 1 'Evangelist (1894-1903)by de Baudot i smost often c i t e d

as the f i r s t modern, and l a t e r , the f i r s t forerunner to the modern church.

I t was termedmodern i n 1903 and i n 1932 because of the use of a concrete

skeleton and s i m p l i f i e d (Gothic) forms. However, i n c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g

dating from a f t e r World War I I , Saint -Jeancameto be recognized as an

e a r l y a r c h i t e c t u r a l r e f l e c t i o n of the l i t u r g i c a l i d e a l s of the unity de

s i r a b l e betweenclergy and l a i t y . This appears to be a r e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ,

influenced by current aims, of the i n i t i a l impetus for Saint-Jean.

Notre-Dame-du-Raincy (1923)by Pe rre t i sunanimously herald ed as

the next milesto ne i n the development of modern church ar ch ite ct ur e i n

118

France. I t was l a b e l l e d modern i n 1930, the f i r s t modern i n 1960, and

119 A

the most s i g n i f i c a n t precursor to themodern church i n 1968. Not re-

Dame-du-Raincy i s a long rect angu lar b u i l d i n g of exposed reinforced con

crete. I t has a s l i g h t l y bowed apse at the east end and i t s entran ce,

w i t h a centrally-placed clocktower above, at thewestend. The i n t e r i o r

i s a s i n g l e space subdivided by t h i n columnswhich support the semicircu

l a r , tra nsve rse concrete va ul ts of the nave and the l a t e r a l v au lt s of the

f l a n k i n g a i s l e s . Although the navevault i s s t r u c t u r a l l y and economical ly

p r a c t i c a l , i t i s also v i s u a l l y convenient i n sugg esting a t r a d i t i o n a l

b a r r e l v a u l t . The sanctuary i sr a i s e d , incorpor ating a s a c r i s t y beneath,

and the a l t a r i s agai nst the rear w a l l . Three quarters of the nave and

east w a l l co ns is t of great expanses of glass inserted i n de co rat iv e con- ,

crete claustraswhich are set w i th i n the t h i n supporting posts which

frame the structure. The lower quarter i s a f l a t , exposed concrete

w a l l . The nave and side a i s l e s are the ref ore flooded wit h na tu ra l l i g h t


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emphasising the lightness of the structure and the greatvolume of space.

Notwithstanding i t ss t r u c t u r a l and material innov ation s, the t r a d i

t i o n a l silhouette of the urban medieval ch urch i sr e c a l l e d by the presence

of the tower and the hall-church arrangement of the church's major volume.

The presence of pat te rn i n the glass and windows framed as claustras, crypt

as sacristy, and tower as clock tower, i l l u s t r a t e the con tin uat ion of

t r a d i t i o n a l elements within the church toaccommodate new purposes rather

than the creation of new s p a t i a l arrangements.

Although certain aspects of the design, p a r t i c u l a r l y the predominance

given to the sanctuary and the a l t a r , the slope of the floor, and the

great i n t e n s i t y of l i g h t , may be characterized as i n d i c a t i v e of amodern

s e n s i t i v i t y to emerging l i t u r g i c a l renovation,Notre-Dame-du-Raincy was

120

praised fo r other aspectswhen i t was b u i l t . It was the structure and

materials, and the c l a r i t y with which thesewere expressed which f i r s t

gave r i s e toNotre-Dame-du-Raincy's ac cl ai m by both the Church and contem-

121porary a r c h i t e c t u r a l criticism.

There i s l i t t l e to indicate that the r o l e of the pat ron was an i n

f l u e n t i a l one i n dete rmin ing the a r c h i t e c t u r al form ofNotre-Dame-du-

122

Raincy. Nor are the new pl an ni ng ide as exp lor ed i nGermany in the early123

1920s evidenc ed i n the pl an . Ins tea d, the church appears tohavederiv ed

i t s forms, materials, and architect from the patron's acquiesence to the

economical r e a l i t i e s of hi s parish; i t was a rapidly expanding but poor

124

parish needing a large but economical shelter. The pat ron di dshow an

open-mindedness i n accepting Perre t'simage of a church but i t i s impor

tant tokeep i nmind that the chur ch was accepted because o f i t seconomy,

and tosomedegree fo r i t sembodiment ofmodern a r c h i t e c t u r a l concepts,

but not especially f o r i t smodern l i t u r g i c a l propriety.


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32

/ / A

In neither Saint- Jean-1 'Evan gelist norNotre-Dame-du-Raincy was

architecture called upon to r e f l e c t changes i n l i t u r g i c a l or theological

thought i n Fra nce bymeans of changes i n plan configuration. However,i n

accepting these buildings, the Church, perhaps unintentionally, sanctioned

a new image of the suburban chur ch that possessed s o c i a l and economic

appropriateness rather than one that flaunted wealth.

The f i n a l stage i n the development ofmodern church architecture i n

France i sassociated wit h the thr ee churches which, i nt h e i r cumulated

effect, announced that a new period of church building was imminent. These125

were the churches of Assy, Audincourt, and Vence. In a l l three the ideas

of Pere Couturierwere instr umen tal i n the choice of a r t i s t , theme, and

medium. He pur pos elyemployed non-catholica r t i s t s to i l l u s t r a t e his

p r i n c i p l e of "aux grandshommes le s grandes choses " and thus " l e s mai tre s

126en dehors". At Assy, Audincourt , and Vence he concentrated his efforts

127on the arts of stained glass, painting, murals, mosaic, and sculpture.

The church at Assy was commissioned i n 1937 by PereDevemy, a friend\ 128

of Pere Co ut ur ie r, and was completed be fo re the war. It was b u i l t by

Novarina and i s of a standard b a s i l i c a n pla n with a deeply recess ed altar

i n a raised san ctu ary . On the exterior i t has str ong remin iscen ces of

l o c a l t r a d i t i o n and exe mpl ifi ed the trend of reg io na li sm favoured by the

129

Dominicans, including Pere Co ut ur ie r. The post-World War I Iwork at

Assy was an extension of this e a r l i e r project and most d i r e c t l y revealed

Pere Couturier'saesthetic intentions, as PereDevemy had sought hi s coun-130 \ /

c i l . However, Pere Co utu rie r had con sul ted wit h PereDevemy i n 1939

about the proposed church and had praised other s i m i l a rworks by Novar ina

131

at that time. The refo re, the church pla nmusthave met with his

approval as no changeswere suggested or c r i t i c i s m s of i tmade. It i s


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33

significant that , while Pere Cou tur ier saw the need to rejuvenate church

decoration by the employ of such recognized and non-ca tho lic a r t i s t s as

Leger, Rouault,and Bonnard, he ove rlo oked the use of comparablea r c h i t e c t s

i n his apostolicaims.

The same co nc lu si on s may be drawn from Pere Couturier's involvement

at Aud inc our t. Th is was t o be h i smost concerted effort to r e a l i z e his

132

ideals that united art and s p i r i t u a l s e n s i b i l i t y . Audincourt, built

by Novarinabetween 1950 and 1952, i s a s i m p l i f i e d version of his church

at Assy usi ng the voca bular y of forms current inmodern archit ecture . A

rectangular emphasis replaces the pronounced peaked roof found at Assy,

and thin columns replace themorenumerous and massive ones. The church

at Audincourt d erives i t smodern look from i t s f l a t s urf ace s, the pre

dominance of white, the thinne ss of the support ing st ru ct ur e, the c r i s p -

ness of ou tl in e, and the cl ea r d i f f e r e n t i a t io n and e xt er io r expre ssion of

the bu il di ng accor ding to the uses within. However, the pla n rev ea ls

l i t t l e change from the b a s i l i c a plan as understood by Pe rr et i n 1923.

As with Assy, i t was the de cor at ion and the use of no n- ca th ol ic a r t i s t s

133whichmade i t a c ontr over sial project.

The chapel atVence was b u i l t in 1951. The a rc h it e ct was Ra ys si gu ie r,

134

who receivedsomeassistance from Per ret . As with Assy and Aud inc our t,

Pere Cou tur ier was inv ol ved wit h the de co ra ti on of the chape l and the

a r t i s t . Although Matisse i n i t i a t e d h i s p a r t i c i p a t io n i n the pro jec thim

s e l f , Pere Coutur ier acted as hi s perso nal con fida nt, advi si ng him on

theme and the i n t r i c a c i e s of stained glass. Indeed, the ar ch ite ct re

veals that hismajor concern was toaccommodateMatisse's needs with la rge

135

unbroken areas of f l a t sur fac e. Yet the chap el i splanned wit h great

economy and ing enu it y to f a c i l i t a t e church hierarchy and r i t u a l i n a


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34

u n i f i e d space. Different functions are housed i na r t i c u l a t e d spatial

volumes freely interpenetrating and uniting at the altar. Altho ugh the

harmony and proportioning of the s p a t i a l relationshipswere understood

and ap pr ec ia te d by on ly a few, i t di d indicate that such architectural

space could be used as a mean ingf ul and exp re ss iv emedium. AtNotre-Dame-

du-Haut, designe d sim ulta neou sly, Le Corb usi er was abl e to take these i n

choate s p a t i a l s e n s i t i v i t i e s andmakethem a part of public consciousness.

The statement issued by PereDevemy and Pere Couturier i n defens e of

their program of "l e s mai tre s en dehors" at Assy and Aud inc ourt es tab

lished the p i t c h of excitement and urgency which informed the post-World

War II era of FrenchRoman Catholicism. The ferv enc y wi th which such

issueswere pursued provided a legacy forNotre-Dame-du-Haut atRonchamp:

No more in France than i n the United St at es need we expect that

thePope w i l l have r e a l competence i n questions r e l a t i n g tomodern

art; fo rthat he wouldhave to be a specialist which he i snot.136

We called onthem (modern a r t i s t s ) purely and simply because

theywere the greatest .... We believed that i t was our duty toprocure f o r God and our Faith the best art of the present...

We were t i r e d of always se ei ng i n our churches themost mediocre

examples of painting and sculpture. In the long run , we thought,

that mediocritycould only result i nseriously a l t e r i n g the r e l i

gious psychology of clergy and worshippers alike.

Under the actual conditions i twould be safer to turn to

geniuses without f a i t h than to b e l i e v e r s without talent.137

Later, Pere Couturier was to re co gn iz e Le Cor bu si er as one of thos e

geniuses:

We believe Le Co rbu sie r to be the greatest l i v i n g a r c h i t e c t and

also one i n which the spontaneous sense of the sac red i s themost

authentic and the strongest.138


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35

CHAPTERI I I

THE PILGRIMAGECHURCHPLANAND NOTRE-DAME-DU-HAUT

At thetime thatLeCorbusier designed Notre-Dame-du-HautatRonchamp,

the French C a t h o l i c Churchwassuggesting ar e t u r ntot r a d i t i o n , i nwhat

everway ar e - e v a l u a t i o nofthat t r a d i t i o nwasintended. PereRegameyhad

defined t r a d i t i o nas "aconstant, andbeneaththei n f i n i t e v a r i e t yof

forms . . . th e most obvious constant i s theperpetual renewalof thec r e

a t i v e process".''" A r c h i t e c t u r a lformsandcustomswere included i nt h i s

perception oft r a d i t i o n and, justas ther e c o l l e c t i o nofmedieval a r c h i

t e c t u r ewasintended toi n s t i l l n a t i o n a l p r i d eandreassure thepopulace

with past achievements,so tood i dtherevived int er es t i n pilgrimage seek

2

to i n s t i l l prid e i n personal endeavour.

U n l i k ethepa ri sh church, thepilgrimage churchi nFrancewas not

a noticeable concernof thel i t u r g i c a l movementi n thee a r l i e r partof

3

the century. However, i t o c c a s i o n a l l yaroseas asp ec ia l design problem

i n thel a t e nineteenth andearl y twentieth centur ies: i tappearedas a

d i f f i c u l t design problematLourdesi n1864, as adesign pr oje ct forthe

, 4

Ecole desBeaux A r t s i n1899, i n theenlargingof thepilg rima ge chapel

at Ronchampi n 1844 andagain i ni t s r e b u i l d in gi n1926, i n a design com

p e t i t i o natNancyi n1930, and i n aphenomenal p r o j e c tatSainte-Baume

i n 1948. Indeed,thep r a c t i c eofpilgrimage, es pe ci al ly that invo lvi ng

shrinesto theV i r g i n ,had had aremarkable resurgence sincethe 1848

m i r a c l eatLourdes. Andpilgrimages to OurLadyof L i s i e u x ,toSaintes-

Maries-de-la-Mer w ith i t s attendant customs,andother s continued wi th

renewed vigour. Pilgrimage of adecid edly twentieth -centu ry naturewas


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introduced into avant-garde realms of th in ki ng with Batail le's surreal ist

concerns i n the 1920s.^ The va st enlargement of pilgrimage f a c i l i t i e s

at Lourdes, Lyon,M a r s e i l l e s ,Montmarte,Ronchamp, and the plan s fo r Sai nt e-

g

Baumeresulted from this r e v i t a l i z e d tradition.

Although the scope of this paper prec lude s an attempt to trace the

f u l l hi st or y of pilgrimage churches,i t i sworthwhile tomakesome r e f e r

ence to the medieval pilgrimage t r a d i t i o n and toexaminesome pilgrimage

churches b u i l t i n France within a hundred years of Le Corbusier's Notre-

Dame-du-Haut. The more contemporary churches offer insightf ul examples

of how the pi lg ri ma ge themewas re-eval uated w it hi n i t st r a d i t i o n during

the period immediately preceeding Notre-Dame-du-Haut's conc eptio n. A

pilgrimage church b u i l t by Rudolf Schwartz, although i nGermany and po st

datingNotre-Dame-du-Haut, w i l l offer an interestingcomparison i n terms

of national and contemporary l i t u r g i c a li n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

The t r a d i t i o n a l medieval pilgrimage church i s ch ar ac te ri ze d by two

types of con str uct ion . The mostwell-known type is that assoc iat ed with

the pil gri mag e to Compostela: Tours, St. Martin; Limoges, St. Ma rt ia l;

Conques, Ste. Foy; Toulouse, St.-Sernin; and Santiago de Compostela (F ig . 1).

These churches are characterized by new s p a t i a l configurations developed

toaccommodate largenumbers of congregated p i l g r i m s , v i s i b l e acces s to

the sacred shrine or holy r e l i c , devotional r i t u a l s , and chapels s he lt er ed

within amuch enlarged b a s i l i c a plan. Chapels for the pilgrimbecamemore

numerous and eve ntual ly evolved into the pil gri m's c h o i r ^ allowing the

pilgrim'smovement through transept and ambulatory to the shr in e i n the

choir. A i s l e sweresometimesadded to the nave to f a c i l i t a t e large crowds,

aswere confessionals, a l t a r s , and space. These pilgrimage churches are

marked not only by t h e i r large size and complex yet order ed pl an s, but


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37

also by their luxuriance, which r e s u l t e d from pilgrimage g i f t s . Associated

with these pilgrimage churches of great wealth and s i z e are hostels and

often the temporary shel ters of poor p i l g r i m sencampedupon the flanking

. 11parvxs.

A second t r a d i t i o n of pilgrimage accommodation e xi st s i n the small

shrines b u i l t as an act of i n d i v i d u a l p ie ty or erected communally. They

are often the s i t e of miracles , apparit ions, a saint's presence, or have

acquired r e l i g i o u s importance fromsome long-forgotten pagan or prot ec

tive a s s o c i a t i o n . These are ofte n sit ua te d i n small and remote villages

12

or places of d i f f i c u l t access. Such pilg rima ge chapels have i ncommon

their small size, us ual la ck of os te nt at io n, and the importance given to

the s i t e i n re co gn it io n of i t as a pl ace of mir acl e, devo tio n, and act of

beneficence. Examples of these arenumerous and at least twelve exist i n

eastern France alone.

AtNotre-Dame-du-Haut no si ng le mira cle marked i t semergence from

parish church to pil gri mag e chapel . The de ri va ti on of the sta tue of the

V i r g i n vene rat ed th er e, and the reasons surrounding i t s i n i t i a t i o n as a

holy r e l i c areunknown. Instea d, anumber of events i n c l u d i n gpagan

precedents, Roman occu pati on, and continuo us a c c e s s i b i l i t y through periods

of p o l i t i c a l turmoil, led to a f i e r c e loyalty to the s i t e and to the

. . 14V i r g i n.

Although churches existed on or near the s i t e as ea rl y as 126 9^

and perhaps 1102,^ the l a t t e r was de di ca te d to St. Vin cen t and the former

predates by two years any unusual l o c a l event att rib ute d to the V i r g i n of

17 18the N a t i v i t y . And althoug h pi lg ri ms are record ed i n 1271, continuous

occupation of the s i t e i sv e r i f i a b l e only from 1308, th ir ty -s ev en years

19later. Thi s, aswere the ot he rs , was a p a ri s h churc h. In 1734, de sp it e


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the presenceof thevenerated stat ueof theV i r g i n (attributed to the

20

early seventeenth century ), theh i l l t o p churchwas soneglected that

21

anew, more accessible churchwas proposed. Subsequently, in 1741 the

old church relinquished i t spositionas theparish churchandbecame

Notre-Dame-du-Haut, todistinguish i tfrom the new churchbelow i n the

22

v i l l a g e . Itretained i t sdedicationto theN a t i v i t y,ofthe*Virgin, and

thecustom of theparish church tocelebrate i t sdedication on September 8

was transformed into apilgrimagefo r theentire diocese.

Notre-Dame-du-Haut1s popularity grew throughout theeight eenth,

nineteenth, andpearly twentieth centuries - primarily because of the cha

pel's a b i l i t y to evadeRepublican closuresand the later StateLaw of

24

Separation (1906) which c u r t a i l e d many r e l i g i o u s practices. The statueof theV i r g i nwas i t s e l f greatly enhanced by i t sapparent mir acu lou s

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recovery from the f i r e of 1913 whichdestroyedmost of thechapel. By

the post-World War I era, Nc?tre-Dame-du-Haut hadbecomethe chief center

of Marian devotionof thediocese, a t t r a c t i n g pilgrimson September 8 and

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at other times.

Continuing thepilgrimage church t r a d i t i o n inFrance i n the modern

era are: Saint-Odile, Paris (1848): theB a s i l i c a ofLourdes (1864 and

1908); Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Ronchamp (1843-1851 and 1923-1936); Sainte-

Theresa-de-1'Enfant-Jesus, Nancy (1930); Sainte-Baume (1949); and i n

Germany, Santa Anna, Duren (1956).

Sainte-Odile (1848) i s an urban church accommodating worship with

a t r a d i t i o n a l l y - p l a c e d altar in a raised sanctuary c i r c l e d by an ambula-

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tory ( F i g .2). It has three additional side chapels alongone nave wall.

Pilgrimage devotioni sservedby an easily and independently accessible

underground crypt placedin the lower church. The planof the crypti s


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l i t t l e determined by that of the upper church which i s limited by i t s

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narrowurban s i t e . However, the a d d i t i o n a l chapels and ambulatory

are con ven tio nal to pil gri mage pla nni ng and may serve pilgr imageneeds

here also. S i g n i f i c a n t l y , the 1940 p u b l i c a t i o n documenting the church's

existence does not reproduce the crypt pl an nor does i textol the p i l -

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grimage fu nc ti on of the ch apel.

The pilgrimage toLourdes has nece ssita tedmuch cons truc tion at

i t s s i t e . In 1858, a comprehensive

s i t e p lan was pro jec ted that includ ed

an esplanade with baths along the Cave r i v e r and the co ns tr uc ti on of a

30park-like setting. This design was inaugu rated wit h the b u i l d i n g ofa b a s i l i c a on the c l i f f s of Massabi elle,which con si st ed of a lower church

31supporting a very high,narrow neo-Gothic e d i f i c e (Fig. 3) . In 1883

the lower church of the Rosary, i n a neo-Byzantine style, and a double

32ramp connecting the two churches, werebegun. Pilgrimage host elswere

also b u i l t . In 1908 the b a s i l i c a ofNotre-Dame-du-Lourdes enlarged yet

33again the pilg rim age se rv ic es of fe re d at the s i t e . A combination of

Romanesque and Gothic elements, conventionalmasonry and rubble, and a three-

34part ele vat ion i n thenave envelop i t s re in fo rc ed concretestructure. It

has a t r a d i t i o n a l plan : anave fl anke d by two s id e a i s l e s , a pro jec tin g

35transept, and a polygonal apse. Although Munier documents this building

as a church ev in ci ng an elega nt mode rnizatio n of t r a d i t i o n a l church

architecture, he f a i l s tocommentupon i t s pilgrimage func tions or i t s

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plan. However, i tdoes provide a d d i t i o n a l s a n c t i f i e d space for p i l

grimage devotio n i n cl os e prox imit y to the venerated waters of Lourdes.

Notre-Dame-du-Haut atRonchamp (1923-1936)was a pi lgri ma ge church

b u i l t as a replacement fo r the fif te en th -c en tu ry st ruc tur e - with i t s

seventeenth-century b ell tow er and ninet eenth -centu ry, five-t owere d


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chapel addition - destroyed by f i r e i n 1913 ( Fi g. 4). The fiv e-t owe red

octagonal chapel with four a d d i t i o n a l a l t a r s was pa rt of an ambi tio us

buildi ng program instigated by the cure ofNotre-Dame-du-Hautbetween 1843

and 1857 i n response to in cr ea se d pi lg ri ma ge s. In addition to an en

larged, grander church with foursubsidiarychapels, an orphanage, a g i r l s

residence, and a pro ce ss io na l way marked bymonumental stations of the

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crosswere envi sion ed. The building program of 1923 to 1936 produced a

neo-Gothic masonry church whichaccommodated pilgrimagecrowds with a

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makeshift sanctuary created i n the exterior porch on the east facade.

This exterior sanctuary was marked a r c h i t e c t u r a l l y by four massive

masonry piers surmounted by a gable roofwhich enclosed the por ch. Two

sweeping balustradesdescended from either side of the porch toencompass

the earthen p l a i n before i t . The sanctuary was demarcated further by

sculptures of the

V i r g i n and angels which adorned the ro of . Pub lis hed

documentation of the church gives l i t t l e in fo rm at io n about the pl an .

However, i t i s the exterior arrangement which i s p a r t i c u l a r l y important

here. Photos indicate that pilgrims congregated w it hi n the encircled

p l a i n before the porchwhere the a l t a r and o f f i c i a n t s presided. Photos

also indicate that a proce ssi on preceded this (F ig . 5).

Sainte-Therese-de-l'Enfant-Jesus (1930)

was a proj ect ed pil gri mage40

church forNancy. It was the fe at ur ed church i n Munier's Un Projet

/ s

d'Eglise aux XXe Siecle and was thought to r e a l i z e the a r c h i t e c t u r a l

aspirations of the French Catholic Church at that dat e. It resembled a

conventional medieval church in i t so r i e n t a t i o n and arrangement of nave,

side aisles, and choir. Three entrances gave access to the narthex

fronting the western ext rem ity of the nave, and l a t e r a l entranceswere

situated at the meeting of tra nsep t and nave ( Fi g. 6). The choir was


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flanked by two a l t a r s , each having a s a c r i s t y behind. Pilgrims were

accommodated by sixa d d i t i o n a l a l t a r s along the nave w a l l s , two of which

created a cross-nave wi th one of the chapel s co nt ai ni ng the r e l i c of

/ N 41

Sainte-Therese. These chapels opened d i r e c t l y to a i s l e s thatwere

continuous from the a d d i t i o n a l entrances adjacent to themajor western

porch, through the tr an se pt , to the ambulatory. The ambulatory e n c i r c l e d

the major a l t a r beneath complex parabolic v a u l t s . Thus the t r a d i t i o n a l

pilgrim's choir was retained fo r the "pro ce ss io na l way of Sai nte-Therese".

Sainte-Baume (1949)was another project fo r a pil gri mag e church.

The pl an con si st ed of anave hollowed from the l i v e rock to be l i t p r i m a r i l y

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by sm al l channels cut through the rock w a l l s ( F i g . 7 ) . The nave rose i n

a steady ascent to a s i n g l e large area and then narrowed to a corridor

eventually term inat ing i n an e x t e r i o r porch ov er lo ok in g the sea. The

b a s i l i c a was prefac ed by a lo ng , h i l l y , p r e c i p i t o u s path ascending to

the cavernous entr ance i n the roc k face th at fu nc ti on ed as facade fo r the

nave. A d d i t i o n a l access to the i n t e r i o r space was pro vided by sm al l tu nn els

bored through the rock which debouched at va ri ou s conceale d spots i n the

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mountain t e r r a i n . The major determinants of the planwere the aim to

express a r c h i t e c t u r a l l y the ideas of pyl on and gr ot to th atwereass ociated

w i t h the legend ofMaryMagdalene, the r e v i t a l i z a t i o n of past customs

associated with the s i t e , and the i n c o r p o r a t i o n of the a c t u a l hallowed

ground i n the d e s i g n . ^

Santa Anna (1956)i s a pil gri mag e church b u i l t by the leading a r c h i

t e c t u r a l rep res ent ati ve of the l i t u r g i c a l movement i nGermany, Rudolf

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Schwartz (Fig. 8 ) . I t i s a church of spare cu bi cforms and f l a t surfaces

ordered by re ct an gu la r geometries. Entered from a side en trance i n the

south w a l l , the i n t e r i o r a r t i c u l a t i o n continues the geometric rhythm of


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the exte ri or along the len gth of the t r a d i t i o n a l l y oriented nave. P i l

grims are served by the clear separation of t h e i r a c t i v i t y from themore

common devotional r i t u a l s focused on the major altar. They areaccommo

dated i n a tra pez oid alspace (anarthex) immediately acc es si bl efrom the

south ent ry. This narthex serves as acommunal gathering area for the

pi lg rimwhere he may view the crypt or await entry to the smaller chapel

which abuts the narthex and sanctuary. With reduced height and less intense

illumination than the nave and sanctuary, the pi lg ri m' sspace resembles

a side a i s l e and i s mani fest ly subordinate to the major ceremonial areas

focused on the major altar. This i sp e r f e c t l y i n keeping with the hie rarc hy

interpreted by those within the l i t u r g i c a l movement a

A Study to Ronchamp by Le Corbusier

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