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Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel of Bernardines originated in 1637, when the Reformed Cistercian Bernardines nuns founded a first convent in Marseilles on the domain of the "king's garden", acquired in 1459 by King René. This site, located near the Old Port, is expropriated for the construction of the arsenal of galeries, forcing the nuns to build a new convent in 1745 near the door of Noailles. The plans are entrusted to the architects Pierre-Paul Bruand and then Balthazar Dreveton, with a decoration carved by Jean-Michel Verdiguier. The altar, made by the marbrier Fossati in 1755, is now preserved in the church of Saint Cannat.

During the Revolution, the convent was closed and transformed into an administrative seat, while the church became a museum of fine arts in 1804, housing works by Coypel, Mignard, Puget or Dandré-Bardon. Despite its inadaptation (dark and poorly lit premises), the museum remained there until 1869, when it was transferred to the Longchamp Palace. The church was then returned to worship as a chapel of Thiers High School, before being decommissioned in 1937 and converted into an exhibition hall, then into a trial theatre in 1987.

Ranked a historic monument on July 31, 1952, the chapel of Bernardines embodies the cultural changes of Marseilles, from place of worship to artistic space. Its 18th-century architecture, marked by the works of Dreveton and Verdiguier, bears witness to Provencal religious heritage, while its successive uses reflect the political and social upheavals, from the Revolution to the present day.

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