Discover the fresco of the restored choir and the organ of a church of the Second Empire

Name: Discover the fresco of the restored choir and the organ of a church of the Second Empire
Start: 2022-09-17T14:00:00+02:00
End: 2022-09-18T18:00:00+02:00
Location: Église de la Madeleine

Visit the church of Sainte-Madeleine d'Albi and learn more about its heritage and recent works.

17 and 18 September 2022Passed

Conditions

Free.

©Jacques Schwartzentruber

Visit the church of Sainte-Madeleine d'Albi and learn more about its heritage and recent works.

This guided tour will be an opportunity to discover the great fresco of the church choir, a masterpiece by Romain Cazes that has just been restored.
The organ stand offers a privileged point of view on this fresco, and also houses a remarkable instrument of the Puget house (1887), classified as Historical Monuments. The organ will also be the subject of a historical, technical and artistic presentation. It will even be possible to try it on keyboards!

About the location

Église de la Madeleine

Rue de la Madeleine, 81000 Albi

Tarn
Occitanie

The church of the Madeleine (19th century) in the wide forecourt with trees was built under the Second Empire to replace the old church of the Griffoul, according to the plans of the architect Rivet of Toulouse. At that time, the church of the Madeleine in Paris had just been completed (1842). The parishioners of the Madeleine d'Albi will try to make their church an «imitation» of the Madeleine of Paris whose plans date back to 1810\. This may explain the style of our church rather «First Empire», rather unexpected in the middle of the 19th century.
The facade has a double colonnade. This facade was initially blind. The current canopy locations were to be occupied by niches such as those remaining on the upper floor. The iron cross on the forecourt occupied the central niche on the upper floor. Until 1860, the interior of the church remained entirely white, without wall paintings or stained glass. The main altar, a pulpit in white marble, some paintings and statues, the large crucifix,