Saint-Jean de Montmartre is a Roman Catholic parish church located at 19 Rue des Abbesses in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Situated at the foot of Montmartre, it was built from 1894 to 1904. It is notable as the first religious building in France built of reinforced concrete The brick and ceramic tile-faced structure exhibits features of Art Nouveau design while exploiting the superior structural qualities of concrete. The interior features a remarkable collection of Art Nouveau stained glass windows. The totality of the church was classified as an historic monument on 9 September 2014.

History

The Church of Saint-Jean-Montmartre was the project of Montmartre priest Father Sobbeaux. The population of the neighborhood was growing and the only other church, Saint-Pierre de Montmartre was too small. Saint-Pierre de Montmartre was located at the top of the hill of Montmartre, and was too far for the less wealthy Residents who lived at the bottom. The new church was part of Fr. Sobbeaux's personal mission to evangelize the population of the lower part of the hill, and he was responsible for raising all the funds for construction.

Construction

The new church was designed by architect Anatole de Baudot (1834-1915), a student of Viollet-le-Duc and Henri Labrouste. The reinforced cement structure followed a system patented by the engineer Paul Cottancin in 1892. The church was first religious building in France to be built from reinforced concrete. The use of this material greatly increased the strength and reduced the cost of the building, and allowed Baudot to win the competition. This method used wire-reninforced, perforated brickwork as the permanent framework of a cement armature, together with thin, lightweight cement shells. The strength provided by the reinforced concrete allowed the church to have thinner walls supporting vaulted ceilings. Previously, the heavy stone vaults had to be accompanied by thick walls that could handle the weight and thrust of the vault. Using reinforced concrete on Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre was ahead of its time and building codes had not caught up with the new technology. The building inspectors objected to a plan for twenty-five meter high columns that were only 50 centimeters in diameter, and outer walls only seven centimeters thick. Even some other architects opposed the plan, believing it would collapse. Construction was stopped as a result of a lawsuit filed in 1898 for " non-conformity of town planning". The construction halt was followed by an order for the demolition of completed portions of the building. To save the church, Baudot and Sobbeaux set up technical demonstrations, and made full-scale models of the columns in the garden of the church to demonstrate its strength and stability.This demonstration reassured the skeptics, the demolition order was lifted, and construction resumed. The church was finally consecrated in 1904.

Exterior

The facade of the church is covered with red brick, which also provided additional support and helped insulate the interior. This gave the church the nickname "Saint-Jean-of-the Bricks". The portal is also decorated with elaborate ceramic designs and sculpture by Alexandre Bigot, and, over the central portal, images of angels and saints by Pierre Roche (1855-1892. Roche's work is also found in the Luxembourg Gardens. The theme of the exterior and interior design is based on the writings of St. John- The fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse.

Interior

The interior of the church, along the outer aisles, displays four mural paintings, the work of Eugene Thierry (1875-1961). These include "Christ dying on the Cross" and "Mary, Colsolatrice of the Afflicted".

Stained Glass

In addition to the larger and more elaborate windows, the sides of the nave are decorated with forty-eight colorful smaller triangular windows, illustrating the Litanies of the Virgin, and virtues associated with her.

Organ

The organ of Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre was originally built by Cavaillé-Coll in 1852 for a school, the École Sacré-Cœur de la Ferrandière in Lyon. It was moved and rebuilt in its new home in 1910 and enlarged in 1921, 1931 and 1934 by Gutschenritter. It was renovated in 1979 by Jacques Barbéris. The organ's condition started to deteriorate in 1986 and became practically unplayable by 2009. The City of Paris appointed the organbuilder Yves Fossaert to restore the instrument. This project, entirely financed by the City of Paris, began in 2009 and lasted fourteen months.