Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes
Église Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes is a Roman Catholic church located at 70 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris in the heart of the :fr:Séminaire des Carmes|Séminaire des Carmes.History
In 1612, Pope Paul V requested Queen Marie de Médicis to accommodate the Order of Discalced Carmelites in Paris. The queen provided lodging for them in the Hôtel de Valles and then built a church on the side of the rue de Vaugirard, then at the southern limits of the city. Construction began in July 1613 and was completed in 1620; the church was consecrated in 1625. It was the first church dedicated to St Joseph.Architecture
The high altar was ordered by Chancellor Pierre Séguier in 1633. The carvings were the work of Simon Guillain and François Anguier. The altarpiece was given to the convent of the Discalced Carmelites by Queen Anne of Austria in 1624; it was painted by Quentin Varin and depicts the Presentation in the Temple.
The cupola is embellished with a painting of Elijah on the chariot of fire painted in 1644 by Walthère Damery, a painter of Liège. This was the first painting on a cupola in Paris in the 17th century.
