Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Toute-Grâce, located at 1,000 meters above sea level on the plateau of Assy (Passy, Haute-Savoie), was built between 1937 and 1946 under the impulse of Canon Jean Devémy. The latter, chaplain of the local sanatoriums, wanted to offer a place of worship to the sick and nursing staff of this station known for the treatment of tuberculosis. The architect Maurice Novarina, originally from Savoie, designed a sober building in local green stone (Taveyannaz sandstone), wood and slate, inspired by alpine chalets, with a 28-metre bell tower harmoniously integrated into the mountain landscape.

The interior decoration, entrusted to the greatest modern artists of the time, transformed this humble church into an artistic manifesto. Canon Devémy, advised by Dominican father Marie-Alain Couturier, solicited major figures such as Georges Rouault (Vitrals of the Passion), Henri Matisse (Ceramic of Saint Dominique), Marc Chagall (Baptistère and Passage of the Red Sea), or Fernand Léger (Mosaic of the Litanias of the Virgin). These collaborations, often obtained by networks of friendships, aroused controversy among the traditional clergy during the consecration in 1950, because of the avant-garde style of the works.

Among the notable achievements are the tormented tapestry of Jean Lurçat in the choir, the cross Christ carved by Germaine Richier (hidden 20 years for his iconoclastic character), or the stained glass windows of Jean Bazaine, bathing the nave of a symbolic light. The church, classified as a historical monument in 2004, embodies the renewal of sacred art in the 20th century, mixing spirituality and creative audacity. Since 2000, his parvis has hosted a contemporary sculpture, Plaidoyer for Human Rights, despite Novarina's reservations.

The Assy plateau, prior to World War II, was a high medical site with about 20 sanatoriums. The church was conceived as a refuge for the sick, with an open crypt from 1941. Local materials (stone, wood) and regional enterprises underline its territorial anchor. Today, the building is visiting for free, with volunteer guides in the summer to explain its artistic and spiritual history.

Novarina's architecture, both robust and clean, dialogue with interior works. The nave, flanked by low-sides and surmounted by a walk-in, evokes Romanesque churches, while the arcades in the middle hanger rest on monolithic pillars. The bell tower, massively vertical, balances the composition. Outside, the Léger mosaic and the stained glass windows of Rouault (Bouquet de fleurs) create a colorful contrast with the green stone, reinforcing the dialogue between art and nature.

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