St. Innocents, Contemporary representations
Jakob Grimer, ca. 1570
The P points to the outdoor pulpit.
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Detail with la Danse Macabre. Photo by Diego Loukota Sanclemente.
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One of the very few images is attributed to Jakob Grimer and is from ca. 1570.
The painting shows the
octagonal tower
and this is seen so clearly on the detail to the right
that I have refrained from marking it with a red T.
The painting gives a rare overview: To the left are the ossuaries with the many arcades.
in the background is St. Innocents Church, and to the right of the church (behind the octagonal tower)
there is another ossuary with arcades. This house is built one floor higher to make room for all the skulls.
On the right side comes another ossuary with arcades and as the detail image shows
one can catch a glimpse of La Danse Macabre.
Pulpit
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The Croix de Gastines
cannot be seen but this might be because it's hidden behind
Tour Notre Dame des Bois, or maybe it's because the painting is from before
this tower was moved to St. Innnocents in 1571.
It can of course also be because of these images not being as precise as they seem to be.
On the other hand the painting does include another characteristic building, namely the outdoor pulpit,
which I have marked with a red P.
In the picture to the right from 1786 it seems to be bricked up,
but as the picture on the left shows, it was fully open in 1570.
Israël Silvestre
Israël Silvestre
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The picture to the right is by Israël Silvestre (1621 - 1691) and
is from before 1665.
It shows not just the church but also those three monuments that
we have seen so far as well:
The outdoor pulpit,
P,
octagonal tower,
T, and
the Croix de Gastines,
C.
Silvestre's etching has been copied a number of times:
St. Innocents
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St. Innocents
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St. Innocents
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St. Innocents, 1550
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Innocents 1445
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Etherington
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Tableau historique
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Ancienne Église
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Stefano della Bella
St. Innocents church in the background.
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The churchyard in the background.
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The images to the left and right are by Stefano della Bella (1610 - 1664).
Two of the scenes from his series "Cinq Morts" take place in St. Innocents' churchyard.
Della Bella would presumably have been familiar with the cemetery since many
publishers and printers had their shops in the arcades under the ossuaries.
The picture to the left shows St. Innocents' Church. At the right-hand side we can see both
the Croix de Gastines,
C, and
the octagonal tower,
T,
(see detail picture).
On the picture to the right we can also see
the Croix de Gastines and the Tour Notre Dame des Bois, but in the left part of the scene this time
(see detail).
The perspective is obviously not correct and I'm not sure what the building to the right is supposed to be.
A guess would be
the Chapelle de Villeroy,
which was located at the opposite end of the of the cemetery compared to the church.
Along the entire background one can see
a long row of arcades under the ossuaries.
It was precisely at this place that La danse Macabre was painted.
Della Bella
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Della Bella
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Della Bella
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Della Bella
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Della Bella
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Silvestre
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St. Innocents
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St. Innocents
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St. Innocents
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St. Innocents, 1550
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Innocents 1445
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Etherington
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Tableau historique
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Ancienne Église
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Getty Ms. 57
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Getty Ms. 57
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Jakob Grimer
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Jakob Grimer
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Grimer copy
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Grimer copy
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Further information
Dances of death
Danse macabre
St. Innocents
Contemporary
