The paintings in Besançon Cathedral comprise a total of 35 canvases listed as historical monuments, including masterpieces by artists such as Fra Bartolomeo, Jean-François de Troy, Charles-Joseph Natoire, and Charles André van Loo. Most works were executed during the 17th century, although some were produced in the 18th and 19th centuries. The largest canvases hang in the apse of the Holy Shroud and the chapel of the Sacred Heart, but other works are also stored in rooms not open to visitors, making them impossible to contemplate. Today, after the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie, the Cathédrale Saint-Jean in Besançon is the building with the largest number of paintings, far ahead of the Eglise Sainte-Madeleine and the city's observatory.
History of painting in the cathedral
Reconstruction of the east choir
When the bell tower collapsed in 1729, Abbé Humbert defined the new iconography for the apse, known as the "Holy Shroud", on January 17, 1748. It depicts five episodes from the last moments of Jesus' life, thus enhancing the Holy Shroud's value. In their quest for excellence and prestige, the canons turned to one of the finest French painters of the time, the artist Charles André van Loo. Canon Courchetet reported on March 17, 1749, that he was in communication with the artist, who asked for the princely sum of 12,500 livres for all five canvases, or 2,500 livres each. However, the diocese did not have sufficient financial resources to pay for Van Loo's services and decided to commission a single canvas from the painter. Thus, on June 27, 1749, Charles André van Loo agreed with Father Mignot to paint the Resurrection for the sum of 2,250 livres, with the chapter particularly insisting on the inclusion of the Holy Shroud in his canvas. Once completed, the painting was placed in the chapter house around 1750, pending completion of the work. In the same year, Canon Arvisenet commissioned the artist Jean-François de Troy to paint the Martyrdom of Saint-Etienne, a work destined to adorn the chapel dedicated to this saint to the north of the apse.
Donations enabled the main cycle to progress, and on January 13, 1751, Abbé Mignot commissioned Charles André van Loo to complete the remaining four works for the sum of 1,600 livres, on the sole condition that his wife be offered a gold cloth reproduction of the Bisontinental Holy Shroud. Although the artist gradually increased his demands, in March 1751 he agreed to execute two paintings for 3,200 livres: La descente de la croix and La Sépulture de Notre-Seigneur. At the same time as the negotiations with Van Loo were taking place, the chapter of Saint-Jean asked the painter Jean-François de Troy to produce two of the first canvases in the cycle, Christ in the Garden of Olives and Christ Carrying the Cross to Calvary (February 28, 1751). The Besançon diocese's choice of this artist is explained by Jean-François de Troy's growing recognition as a religious painter and the speed with which his works were completed. They were completed in December 1751 and shipped from Rome via Marseille in January 1752. Furious, Charles André van Loo refused to paint the two canvases he had agreed to complete, claiming that he did not want his paintings to be hung next to canvases. In truth, Van Loo tried every means possible to get out of his commitment, as he no longer had the will to complete other works during this period. It was then that the clergy of the Comtoise capital called on Charles-Joseph Natoire.
Charles-Joseph Natoire agreed to take on the paintings abandoned by Van Loo, and on April 4, 1753, wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Besançon, committing himself to painting the Saint-Ferréol and Saint-Ferjeux for 1,500 livres. On April 11, 1753, the then archbishop decided to pay for the last two paintings commissioned from Natoire, and on June 13, 1753, Natoire agreed to be paid 1,500 livres per canvas. The Preaching of Saint-Ferréol and Saint-Ferjeux was completed at the end of 1754 and arrived in Besançon in July 1755. The municipal magistrates, delighted with the quality of the painting, decided to pay for the gilded frame and had a note engraved on it, recalling their generosity. In black letters, the canvas reads: "ex dono civitatis". A letter from Natoire to the Marquis de Marigny dated August 27, 1754, states
"I have completed another painting for a chapel in Besançon (the Entombment). My predecessor and Mr. Vanloo having already worked for this cathedral, I could not refuse the eagerness of the canons to engage me as one of their brave confrères. This painting is accompanied by a very advanced Descent from the Cross. I would have wished that these pieces had been plastered in Paris rather than in the provinces".
The canvases were assembled and placed in the new apse in March 1756, and a workman named Flammand installed them and supplied the necessary materials for 330 livres. On March 4, 1756, the altars of the Holy Shroud, Saint-Étienne, and Saints Ferréol and Ferjeux were consecrated by Archbishop Antoine-Clériade de Choiseul-Beaupré.
During one of her trips to Franche-Comté in 1790, a certain Madame Gauthier recounted: "There is (in the cathedral) a modern chapel, lined with varied and polished marble, adorned with five paintings: two by Natoire, very mediocre, and two by Etroy, whose drawing is esteemed, but the coloring is so bad, that they should be preferred to the painter's sketches. What's more, they would be better if they were also overshadowed by an Ascension by Carle Vanloo, placed on the altar. The composition is beautiful: the serenity is a gentle joy spread over the main figure, making it the emblem of beatitude; we could perhaps wish for a little more nobility. In the flight Jesus takes towards heaven, he appears detached from the painting, and this must be great merit".
The works inaccessible to the public come from the former chapter of Saint-Étienne, destroyed in 1674. They were not stored like the other paintings for lack of space but hung in the rooms reserved for the city's clergy.
Works accessible to the public
Eastern apse
Le Christ au jardin des Oliviers
Oil painting – height: 3.20 m – length: 2.40 m – listed as a historic monument.
Le Christ au jardin des Oliviers (Christ in the Garden of Olives or Jesus in the Garden of Olives) is a work by the painter Jean-François de Troy completed in December 17515 and commissioned in March of the same year by the chapter of Besançon4 for the sum of 1500 livres, paid for by four members of the diocese: MM de la Rochelle, du Tartre, de Chargney and de Chavanne. The artist drew his inspiration for this first painting of the cycle from the Gospel according to Luke. The painting has been listed as a historic monument since 1992.
"After going out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples followed him. When he came to the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you do not fall into temptation. Then he moved away from them, about a stone's throw away, and kneeling, he prayed, saying: Father, if only you would take this cup away from me! But not my will, but yours be done. Then an angel appeared to him in heaven to strengthen him (...) When he had prayed, he got up and came to his disciples, finding them sleeping with sadness (...). As he spoke, a crowd arrived, and one of the twelve, called Judas, went before them (...)".
As can be seen in the background on the right of the painting, Judas, seen in profile, is guiding a troop of advancing soldiers with a torch in the chiaroscuro, and asking for silence with his finger. The sculptor Jean-Jacques Caffieri, who knew Jean-François de Troy during his last years, wrote:"All people of taste and lovers of painting agree that M. de Troy possessed a superior talent for rendering the truth of characters and passions in his works. I don't think it's possible to express with greater force and naturalness this moment of suffering and despondency caused by the approach of death. This piece, so well rendered, came back to my mind when I witnessed M. de Troy's last sighs. I was struck with astonishment at his perfect resemblance to his Christ in that last moment".
– Jean-Jacques Caffieri.
Le Portement de la croix
Oil painting – height: 3.20 m – length: 2.40 m – note: signed and dated on a stone lower right "DETROY ECr A ROME/1751" – classification: historical monument.
Le Portement de la croix (The Carrying of the Cross) is a work by the painter Jean-François de Troy executed in December 1751 in Rome and previously commissioned by the Besançon chapter in March of the same year. The Virgin, on the left of the painting, has her hands clasped in a sign of affliction, and Veronique, seen from behind, is clutching the veil she is about to give to Christ.
Christophe Leribault writes in his study of the artist: "As befits the subject, de Troy has here emphasized the diversity of the characters' attitudes, from indifference to hatred. While Simon the Cyrenian supports the cross, one of the executioners, on the right, carries on his head a basket filled with the instruments of passion. In contrast to the Virgin's sorrow, Jesus' pathetic expression, at once overwhelmed and resigned, is particularly emphasized in the center, despite the liveliness of the composition.
The excerpt from M. de Troy's life relates the artist's words on completing this canvas, which was his last work: "c'est ainsi que quand je serais à Paris, je n'ouvrirai point boutique". The painting has been listed as a historic monument since 1992.
La Descente de croix
Oil painting – height: 3.20 m – length: 2.40 m – classification: historic monument
La descente de coix (The Descent from the Cross) is a work from the third quarter of the 18th century by painter Charles-Joseph Natoire. The painting is strongly inspired by Rubens' Elevation of the Cross in the heart of Antwerp's Notre-Dame Cathedral. Among the men positioned on ladders on or at the foot of the cross to unhook Christ's body, we see Nicodemus in the upper left, and John, dressed in red, supporting the body of the deceased. In the foreground, we recognize Mary Magdalene by her long red hair, and the Virgin Mary, seated in the half-light at the foot of the cross, her hands clasped in sorrow. The emphasis is on the large arabesque of the shroud, along which Christ's body descends, in keeping with the apse's vocative. Simon of Cyrene holds the end of the shroud, wearing a turban. Pierre Rosenberg discovered a preparatory drawing and a painted sketch of the work at a sale, now in a private collection. The painting has been a historic monument since 1992.
La Mise au tombeau Oil painting – height: 3.20 m – length: 2.40 m – listed as a historic monument.This work by Charles-Joseph Natoire, also undated, is a scene from chapter 15 of the Gospel according to Mark: "And Joseph, having bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud, and laid him in a tomb hewn out of the rock." Men carry the shrouded body of Christ to a tomb carved out of a rock. The young man dressed in red on the left is most probably the apostle St. John and the old man in the half-light in the background is none other than Simon of Cyrene. The Virgin is supported by a holy woman, having fainted from grief and pain, and Mary Magdalene, with her hair down, can be seen at her side, wringing her hands. In the foreground, we see the crown of thorns lying on the ground, along with the pliers and nails used to crucify Christ. The crosses of Calvary are visible in the background, as is a man holding a ladder. The work has been listed as a historic monument since 1992.
La Résurrection Oil painting - height: 4.28 m - length: 2.62 m classification: historical monument.