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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-Jérusalem Chapel, also known as Chapelle Cocteau, is a Catholic religious monument located in Fréjus, in the Tour de Mare district. Designed in 1963 on an octagonal basis, it was the result of a project initiated by the Nice banker Louis Martinon, who wanted to create an "ideal city" for artists. The latter entrusts Jean Cocteau, already weakened, with the design of plans and interior decoration, assisted by architect Jean Triquenot and artists Raymond Moretti and Roger Pelissier. The laying of the first stone took place on 24 February 1963, but Cocteau's death in October of the same year interrupted the work, leaving almost 150 uncompleted sketches.

The interior decoration was finally made in 1964 by Édouard Dermit, the adopted son of Cocteau, who relied on the poet's sketches to perform the charcoal murals and oil-coloured pencils. The themes represented include the Passion of Christ, with contemporary figures such as Coco Chanel or Jean Marais integrated into the Supper, as well as references to the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. The chapel, built in local green sandstone and covered with Provencal tiles, is surmounted by a crown and a pottery cross symbolizing the five wounds of Christ. After years of abandonment, it was acquired by the city of Fréjus in 1989 via a dation and classified as an additional inventory of historical monuments in the same year.

The stained glass windows are the work of Osanne, while the six mosaics of the exterior gallery, inspired by Cocteau's sketches, were made in 1992 by Lætitia Léotard and Henry Virmouneix, using glass paste tessels from Murano for a brilliant effect. The floor, covered with ceramic tiles created by Roger Pelissier, bears the motto of the crusaders "God wants it", also inscribed at the entrance. Originally intended for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood imagined by Martinon, the chapel is today a major tourist site, celebrating the ultimate work of Jean Cocteau, completed on the very day of his death on October 11, 1963, coinciding with that of Edith Piaf.

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