Gold, marble and jasper: Jacques Le Mercier and the renovation of the Sainte-Genevieve-du-Mont Church, 1625

Francois de La Rochefoucault became the commendatory abbot of Ste Genevieve -du-Mont abbey in 1619 and the same year decided to renovate the church com pletely. To organise the interior, renovate the crypt and construct a niche for St. Genevieve's relics, the cardinal called in Jacques Le Mercier. Thi s article will make an exhaustive study of the refurbishment work undertake n by the architect. The author first discusses the choices which Le Mercier adopted, and then looks at three architectural drawings in the Bibliothequ e Saint-Genevieve, identified as three projects for the renovation of the c hurch facade submitted to La Rochefoucauld in 1625. One of these drawings m ight be by Jacques Le Mercier.