Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Jean de Montmartre church, built between 1894 and 1904 by the architect Anatole de Baudot, responded to the population growth of Montmartre, where the Saint-Pierre church was no longer enough. Innovative, it uses reinforced cement, a pioneering process developed with engineer Paul Cottancin, allowing ultra-thin walls and pillars. This technical choice, contested for its non-compliance with urban planning rules, almost led to its demolition. Baudot and the parish priest Sobeaux demonstrated his strength by rebuilding structural elements in the church garden, thus avoiding its destruction. Work resumed in 1902 and was completed in 1904.

The church combines modernity and tradition: its reinforced concrete structure (precursor of reinforced concrete) is dressed in bricks and ceramics (flamed sandstones, pastillated) in an art nouveau style. Inside, the vaults are reminiscent of Gothic veins, while frescoes, stained glass windows (48 of which illustrate the Litanias of the Virgin), and sculptures (like Pierre Roche's tympanum) adorn space. The stained glass windows, signed by Jac Galland after drawings by Ernest-Pascal Blanchard, and the Cavaillé-Coll organ (transferred in 1910) highlight his artistic heritage. Ranked a historical monument in 2014, it embodies an architectural transition between the 19th and 20th centuries.

The organ, built by Cavaillé-Coll in 1875 for Lyon, was installed here in 1910 and expanded several times (1921, 1931, 1934). Becoming unplayable in 2009, it was restored between 2009 and 2010 by Yves Fossaert, financed by the City of Paris. The church also houses a baptismal tank created in 2007 by the sculptor Gudji, mixing stone, wrought iron and silver. Its history reflects the technical and artistic challenges of its time, between material innovation and religious heritage.

The façade, decorated with ceramics by Alexander Bigot, and the frescoes restored in 1964 by Jordi Bonàs, complete this heritage. The building, accessible by the subway station Abbesses, remains a unique testimony of the Art Nouveau religious and the constructive audacity of the early twentieth century. Its ranking in 2014 devotes its historical and architectural importance, between revisited medieval heritage and technical avant-garde.

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