History of the former monastery of Sainte-Marie-d.E2.80.99en-Haut Musée dauphinois

1 history of former monastery of sainte-marie-d’en-haut

1.1 origin of monastery
1.2 differents occupiers
1.3 building , chapel
1.4 chapel’s ceiling
1.5 cloister garden
1.6 collections , documentary center

history of former monastery of sainte-marie-d’en-haut
origin of monastery

this monastery of order of visitation of holy mary first founded in context of counter-reformation in 17th century. congregation, women, created in 1610 saint francis de sales , saint jane frances de chantal settled fourth house in grenoble , named monastery of sainte-marie-d’en-haut. building erected between 1619 , 1621 on right bank of isère river, above city, @ bottom of bastille hill’s slopes, long of chalemont sloping road. @ time, chalemont road, former roman road, no longer historical entry of city new road, dug in rocks along river. new road added new door in 1620, known porte de france (france’s gate) duke of lesdiguières.

the differents occupiers

this monastery welcomed several kinds of occupiers. during french revolution, became national belonging , transformed jail anti-revolutionary people such local important men chérubin beyle, father of writer stendhal, cabinetmaker jean-françois hache, chartreux fathers , non-juring priests. in 1804, nuns of order of holy heart led philippine duchesne settled in monastery , devoted time educating young girls. then, ursulines settled there 1851 april 1905, when expelled , furniture put auction. 1906 1920, army quartered soldiers in place. afterwards, 1920 city lacking housing used building accommodate 150 families coming italy. when settled elsewhere @ end of 1950s, former monastery welcomed few years students of grenoble school of architecture. eventually, building restored city.

the building , chapel

most of monastery parts’ have been preserved, such cloister, choir grille visitandines nuns attended masses, , finish, richly-decorated baroque chapel. chapel accessible long , vaulted corridor ending in nuns’ choir, built @ right angle chapel, in order allow nuns invisible audience in chapel. jane de chantal knelling @ bottom of grille on december 16t, 1622 when received revelation of francis de sales’ death.

chapel’s ceiling

visitation chapel

the visitation chapel great example of french baroque style, walls painted toussaint largeot , completed in 1662, during celebrations organised jesuit father named claude-françois ménestrier, beatification of francis de sales. chapel contains altarpiece in golden wood started executed in 1622 generosity of françois de bonne de créqui, grenoble’s military governor, lesdiguières’ grandson. altar realised 1 century later sculptor françois tanzi, coming tuscany, in 1747, on occasion of beatification of jane de chantal. small lateral chapel decorated pictures telling life of francis de sales.

in 1890, inhabitants of grenoble wanted have protective virgin, existed in other cities, named notre-dame-d’en-haut. architect alfred berruyer, realized basilica @ la salette, important local pilgrimage place, built against chapel 30 meters high tower (98,5 ft) surmounted statue of virgin in golden cast-iron 36 meters (118 feet) high , weighed 1,8 tons. below statue, 4 other ones located in angles, 12 meters (39 feet) high, represented 4 saints protecting city : saint bruno, saint ferjus, saint francis de sales , saint hugh. whole building inaugurated on october 25, 1891, in presence of bischop, eminence fava. few decades later, building caused dangerous cracks in chapel’s vault , close crolling. reason, demolition decided in 1935 , completed on january 18, 1936. 4 sculptures disappeared, apart 1 of saint francis de sales found again in 2007, in garden of former private clinic.

the chapel listed on historical register on june 19, 1936.

cloister garden

the cloister garden, sundial in centre, representative of 17th century gardens box hedges organised around 4 grass squares. roman sundial exposed below arcade. rock-sculpted , represents reversed celestial vault twelve hours of day, dawn dusk.

gravestones epitaphs roman period of cularo, 1 of former names of grenoble, set down cloister’s arcades , come first archaeological museum of grenoble in neighbourhood of saint-laurent, created in 1859. east of museum, there terrace gardens long of chalemont road. used cultivated vineyards , vegetable gardens , give visitors exceptional panorama, 30 meters above downtown.

these terraces , building of museum listed on historical register since november 3, 1965.

collections , documentary center

the museum owns 90000 objects 5% of them exposed. has collection of 25000 iconographical documents , 125000 photographs. digitalisation program of collections started in 2007. first set of notices available on museum internet website. musée dauphinois regularly enlarges collections donations, objects found during archaeological prospects , purchasing, such portrait of bishop philibert de bruillard, dated circa 1825, in 2011.