page_title: Saint-Louis-du-Louvre
section_title: Saint-Louis-du-Louvre
hierarchical_section_title: Saint-Louis-du-Louvre / History / Saint-Louis-du-Louvre
caption_attribution_description: English: Plan of the ground floor of the church Saint-Louis-du-Louvre in the book Architecture françoise, ou Recueil des plans, élévations, coupes et profils des églises, maisons royales, palais, hôtels &amp; édifices les plus considérables de Paris. The church was built in 1744 and destroyed at the begin of the 19th century. The architect of the church was Thomas Germain.
context_page_description: Saint-Louis-du-Louvre, formerly Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre, was a medieval church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris located just west of the original Louvre Palace. It was founded as Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre in 1187 by Robert of Dreux as a Collegiate church. It had fallen into ruin by 1739 and was rebuilt as Saint-Louis-du-Louvre in 1744. The church was suppressed in 1790 during the French Revolution and turned over the next year for use as the first building dedicated to Protestant worship in the history of Paris, a role in which it continued until its demolition in 1811 to make way for Napoleon's expansion of the Louvre. The Reformed congregation was given l'Oratoire du Louvre as a replacement and saved the choir stalls from Saint-Louis-du-Louvre which are still in place at l'Oratoire.
context_section_description: By 1739 the church had fallen into ruin and Louis XV gave 50,000 crowns for it to be rebuilt.  During the demolition process a portion of the church was left for the continuing use of the chapter.  While the canons were performing the office the remaining structure collapsed, burying them in the ruins.  This accident led to the union of the chapter with that of the neighboring Saint-Nicolas-du-Louvre, which had also been founded by Robert of Dreux and had at various times previously been united with Saint-Thomas, and the rededication of the reconstructed church to Saint Louis in 1744.  In 1749, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés was also merged with the new congregation.
  The new church was designed by Thomas Germain, known best for his work as a silversmith, and consisted of just a nave and an apse.  The entrance of the church was in a circular projection decorated with Ionic pilasters.  The apse housed the choir stalls of the canons surrounding the high altar.  The nave was decorated with Corinthian pilasters surmounted by an entablature.  In the chapel of the Virgin there was a sculpture of the Annunciation by Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne.  The church was also decorated with works by members of the families of painters, Coypel, Restout, and Van Loo.  The building enjoyed a good reputation in the middle of the 18th century for its singular plan and rich internal decoration.  However, the style of the exterior and portico came under some criticism.
  When Cardinal Fleury, the tutor and chief minister of Louis XV, died in 1743 the king decided that his mausoleum would be placed in Saint-Louis-du-Louvre.  A competition was held for the commission to create the tomb, a landmark event in the history of 18th century French sculpture due to its solicitation of public input.  Philibert Orry, then the director of the Royal Buildings, solicited proposals from sculptors who were members of the Royal Academy.  Models for the tomb were offered by Nicolas-Sébastien Adam, Edmé Bouchardon, Charles-François Ladette, Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne, and Jean-Joseph Vinache.  The wax maquettes of proposals were displayed at the Salon for public response.  Bouchardon won the competition though ultimately Lemoyne was given the commission by the family of Cardinal Fleury and the tomb remained unfinished at the time of the church's suppression.  The church was also home to the tomb of its architect, Thomas Germain.
  At the time of the French Revolution the church had a provost, a cantor, and twenty canons with the provost, cantor and fifteen canons nominated by the archbishop, four by the Duke of Penthièvre in this role as the Count of Brie, and one by Les Gallichets.  On 24 February 1790, the chapter declared to the revolutionary authorities annual revenues of 98,562 livres, a great sum for the time.  On 11 December 1790, municipal officers came to the church to announce to the canons the suppression of their chapter and abolition of their titles.  An inventory of the objects in the church was made and all the church's properties and possessions were turned over to the state.
caption: Ground floor plan for Saint-Louis-du-Louvre, from the book Architecture françoise by Jacques-François Blondel
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