Saint Nicolas des Champs 1773 - 1843

Georges Michel sketched Saint Nicolas des Champs, likely in the early 1800s, using graphite on paper. This drawing offers us a glimpse into Parisian life following the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic era. Michel's choice of subject, a prominent church, speaks volumes about the shifting social and political landscape of France at the time. In the wake of the Revolution, institutions like the church were under intense scrutiny. Michel's sketch neither glorifies nor condemns the church, but rather presents it as an enduring presence in the urban environment. To understand this drawing fully, one can delve into archival records detailing the church's role in the community, as well as broader studies of French society, and the place of religious institutions. Art like this provides a window into the complex interplay between social structures, institutional power, and individual expression.