Église de la Madeleine (Aix-en-Provence)

Église de la Madeleine
Facade of the Église de la Madeleine
Location	Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Country	France
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Tradition	Dominican Order
History
Founded	13th century
Architecture
Heritage designation	Monument historique
Architect(s)	Laurent Vallon Henri Révoil
Style	Gothic architecture Second Empire architecture
Administration
Archdeaconry	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Aix
Clergy
Archbishop	Christophe Dufour
Laity
Organist(s)	Bernard Gely Dominique Serve

The Église de la Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in Aix-en-Provence.

It is located on the town square of Place des Prêcheurs in Aix-en-Provence. It is next door to the Couvent des Prêcheurs, now a secondary school, also listed.

A convent of the Dominican Order and a Gothic church was built in the 13th century on the Place des Prêcheurs. However, it was burned down in 1383. It was rebuilt, but came down in 1465. The current church building was constructed in its place in the seventeenth century. It was designed by architect Laurent Vallon (1652-1724), and it was built from 1691 to 1703. The facade was designed by architect Henri Révoil (1822-1900) from 1855 to 1860, and it serves as an example of Second Empire architecture. It was renamed in honour of Mary Magdalene in 1822.

Over the centuries, a number of renowned figures have been baptised in this church. On July 21, 1535, the son of François de Malherbe (1555–1628), also named François de Malherbe, was baptised in the church. A century later, André Campra (1660–1744) was baptised here on December 3, 1660. Eighteen years later, Gaspard de Gueidan (1688-1767) was also baptised in the church. Additionally, a century later, Louis-Charles-Jean-Baptiste Michel, who served as Bishop of Fréjus and Toulon from 1829 to 1845, was baptised in the church on July 12, 1761. More recently, the painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was also baptised in this church.

Emmanuel de Fonscolombe (1810-1875) served as a chapel master.

The church has a fair amount of art pieces. For example, paintings inside the church include: La mort de St.Joseph by Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684–1745), Madeleine chez Simon by Michel Serre (1658-1733), La nativité de Jésus by Pierre Mignard (1612-1695), Annunciation Tryptych by Barthélemy d'Eyck (c. 1420–after 1470), and Le Martyre de Saint-Paul by Théodore Beyermann. There are also paintings by Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809) and Jean Daret (1613–1668).