Memory of Stones
Chapel of the Carmelites in Toulouse
The Chapel of the Carmelites, is a former Catholic religious building, rue de Périgord, in Toulouse. Built in the 17th century and decorated in the 18th century as a place of prayer for the Carmelite convent, it contains a remarkable collection of wall paintings. It is the only building of the convent that was not destroyed during the French Revolution.
It is classified as historical monuments by decree on February 10, 1909
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The architecture and the painted decoration of great architectural simplicity, the Chapel is part of the tradition of southern Gothic: a single nave 30 meters long, 10.80 meters wide and 11 meters high divided into four bays is a three-sided apse.
The great originality of this monument lies in its vaulting, made up of a paneling of thick oak planks, underlined with ribs and admirable hanging keys in gilded wood which guarantees excellent acoustics.
The painted decoration holds a quite remarkable place there. In addition to the paintings, these are paintings executed in oil, covering the whole of the vault and the walls, creating in the nave baroque trompe-l'oeil of an exceptional character.
For its realization, the Carmelites first approached at the end of the 17th century the Toulouse painter Jean-Pierre Rivals, inspired by the Sistine Chapel, he began to decorate the upper parts between the windows with allegorical figures of Virtues, in the the same order in which it decorates the Roman monument.
This work was resumed between 1747 and 1751 by his successor Jean-Baptiste Despax to whom we owe the entire decor.
This work was rightly regarded as the masterpiece of 18th century Toulouse painting.
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Tables in the nave:
They trace the prodigies of the prophet Elijah and his discipline Elisha
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Allegorical figures between the windows
At the top of the walls, on either side of the windows, successive figures of women symbolize the procession of the Virtues recommended by the authority of the order.
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The north vault:
Prophets and righteous of the old law.
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The southern vault:
The Apotheosis of Saint Thérèse
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Tables in the nave
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