The Mays were a series of paintings in 17th and early 18th century Paris. They were commissioned by the goldsmiths' guild of Paris to offer to the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the early days of the month of May. The tradition began in 1630 and one painting was offered each year between then and 1707, with the exception of 1683 and 1694.
History The tradition of the Mays de Notre-Dame originated in 1449, when the Parisian godsmiths’ guild (the Confrérie des Orfèvres) began offering devotional gifts to Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on May 1st, as an annual tribute to the Virgin Mary urn:lcp:gazette-des-beaux-arts_october-december-1949_36_992-994:epub:35ec1cf9-4842-4165-896a-03a6cd36acc9 . These early offerings were relatively modest, consisting of decorated trees, poetic tributes, and small tabernacles. Over the course of the 16th century, the Mays became increasingly elaborate, culminating in 1630 with the establishment of the so-called “grand Mays,” large-scale history paintings typically measuring 3 meters in size. These works were presented annually from 1630 until 1707 (excluding 1683 and 1694) and formed a coherent pictorial cycle, largely illustrating scenes from the Acts of the Apostles. Beyond their decorative function, the Mays served a didactic purpose: in a largely illiterate society, they conveyed biblical narratives visually. These images were often accompanied by an explanatory text, poems, and prayers continuing earlier traditions of literary offerings and guiding their interpretationExplication du tableau présenté à la sainte Vierge par MM. les orfévres, le 1er mai 1699. 1699. Printed by Jeremie Bouillerot
The commissioning of each May followed a structured and competitive process that reflected the organisation of the goldsmiths guild. Each year, two masters from the guild (there were 4 of them, each of whom served a 2 year term) selected an artist approximately one year in advance to complete a painting. Artists were required to submit a preparatory sketch, or modello, for approval before executing the final work. The specific subject was ultimately approved by the canons of Notre-Dame to ensure theological appropriateness. The commission generally included the monumental painting itself as well as two smaller reductions (or esquisses) of the work to be presented to the commissioning goldsmiths . These smaller reductions serve as a valuable record for some of the Mays that have otherwise been lost or destroyed.
The presentation of each May was both a civic and religious event. The paintings were formally unveiled on May 1st. Initially displayed in prominent locations near the altar, they were later installed along the pillars of the nave, where they remained accessible to the public. Over time, the accumulation of these works filled much of the cathedral’s interior space and allowed for public viewing of devotional artwork in a time preceding widespread public museums - the Louvre, for instance didn’t open until 1793.
Given their prestigious nature, the Mays attracted many of the leading painters of 17th-century France, including Charles Le Brun, Jean Jouvenet, Eustache Le Sueur, Sébastien Bourdon, Laurent de La Hyre, and Noël Coypel. These artists were central to the development of French classical Baroque painting and were closely connected to royal patronage of Louis XIV and the Royal Academy of Painters and Sculptors (Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture).
The tradition came to an end in 1707, largely due to financial pressures and changing artistic tastes. Unfortunately during the French Revolution in 1793, many of the paintings were seized and dispersed, with some entering museum collections such as the Louvre while others were lost or destroyed. Subsequent restorations of Notre-Dame by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century further scattered the surviving works across France. Today, fifty-three of the original seventy-six paintings remain. Several are known to exist in their reduced formats and by engravings (1653, 1660, 1676, 1677, 1679, 1681, 1685, 1686, 1688, 1690, 1692, 1693, 1696, 1697, 1699, 1700 and 1701) urn:lcp:gazette-des-beaux-arts_october-december-1949_36_992-994:epub:35ec1cf9-4842-4165-896a-03a6cd36acc9 predominantly by Nicolas-Henri Tardieu. Figures de la vie de Jesus Christ et des apostres, Tardieu, Nicolas-Henri et Lambert, Jacques-Antoine. 1736. http://numelyo.bm-lyon.fr/BML:BML_00GOO0100137001101539299
List of the Mays
Image Year Painter Title Notes Current location / status 1630 Georges Lallemant Saints Peter and Paul Climbing Up To The Temple Saint-Chéron, parish church 1631 Pierre-Antoine Lemoine The Miracle of the Madonna Lost 1632 Aubin Vouet The Deaths of Ananias and Sapphira Rouen, musée des Beaux-Arts 1633 Georges Lallemant Saint Stephen Praying Before His Martyrdom Lost 1634 Jacques Blanchard The Descent of the Holy Spirit Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1635 Laurent de La Hyre Saint Peter Curing the Sick By His Shadow Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1636 Jacques de Létin Saint Paul Preaching on the Areopagus Destroyed in 1870; previously Strasbourg, musée des Beaux-Arts 1637 Laurent de La Hyre The Conversion of saint Paul Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1638 Claude Vignon The Baptism of Queen Candace's Eunuch Lost 1639 Aubin Vouet The Centurion Cornelius at Saint Peter's Feet Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1640 Aubin Vouet The Freeing of Saint Peter Toulouse, musée des Augustins 1641 Nicolas Prévost The Beheading of Saint James Lost 1642 Charles Poerson Saint Peter Preaching in Jerusalem Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1643 Sébastien Bourdon The Crucifixion of Saint Peter Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1644 Michel Corneille l'Ancien Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas at Lystra Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1645 Charles Errard Saint Paul Regains His Sight Lost 1646 Louis Boullogne Saint Paul's Miracle at Ephesus Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1647 Charles Le Brun The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1648 Louis Boullogne The Martyrdom of Saint Simon Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1649 Eustache Le Sueur Saint Paul Preaching at Ephesus Paris, musée du Louvre 1650 Nicolas Loir Saint Paul Blinding the False Prophet Barjesus and Converting the Proconsul Sergius Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1651 Charles Le Brun The Stoning of Saint Stephen Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1652 Louis Testelin Saint Peter Reviving the Widow Tabitha Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1653 Charles Poerson Saint Paul Bitten by a Snake on Malta Lost 1654 Zacharie Heince The Conversion of Lydia Lost 1655 Louis Testelin The flagellation of Saint Paul and Saint Silas Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1656 Étienne Villequin Saint Paul Delivering Agrippa Lyon, église Saint-Pothin 1657 Louis Boullogne The Beheading of Saint Paul Paris, musée du Louvre 1658 Michel Corneille l'Ancien Saint Peter at Caesarea Toulouse, église Saint-Pierre 1659 René Dudot Saint Peter Reviving the Widow Tabitha Lost 1660 Antoine Paillet The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew Lyon, cathédrale Saint-Jean 1661 Noël Coypel Saint James Being Led to Torture, Curing a Paralysed Man and Embracing His Accuser Paris, musée du Louvre 1662 Daniel HalléThe Martyrdom of Saint John at the Latin Gate Clermont-Ferrand, musée d'Art Roger Quillot 1663 Thomas Blanchet The Rapture of Saint Philip Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1664 Christ Appears to Saint Peter Versailles, cathédrale Saint-Louis 1665 Zacharie Heince Saint Peter and Simon the Magician Lost 1666 Nicolas de Plattemontagne Saint Paul et Silas Paris, musée du Louvre 1667 Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne Saint Paul's Martyrdom at Lystra Marseille, musée des Beaux-Arts 1668 Claude-François Vignon Saint Bartholomew Healing the King of Armenia's Daughter Lost 1669 Louis Boullogne The Ascension Lost 1670 Gabriel Blanchard Saint André trésaille de joie à la vue de son supplice Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1671 Jean-Baptiste de Cany The Conversion of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite at Athens Lost 1672 Michel Corneille le Jeune The Calling of Saint Peter and Saint Andrew Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1673 Jean Jouvenet Jesus Healing a Paralysed Man Lost (destroyed in 1944 in the chapel of the École militaire de Saint-Cyr) 1674 Claude II Audran The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist Paris, musée du Louvre 1675 René-Antoine Houasse The Vision of Saint Stephen Paris, musée du Louvre 1676 Michel Ballin Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas Separate Lost 1677 François Verdier The Resurrection of Lazarus Paris, église Saint-Germain-des-Prés 1678 Bon Boullogne Christ Healing a Paralysed Man at the Baths of Bethseda Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1679 Jean-Baptiste Corneille The Freeing of Saint Peter Lost 1680 Antoine Coypel The Assumption of the Virgin Mirande, église Sainte-Marie 1681 Alexandre Ubelesqui The Baptism of Christ Lost 1682 Jean Cotelle The Marriage at Cana Yssingeaux, église Saint-Pierre 1683 no may no may 1684 Charles-François Poërson Christ Healing the Sick at Gennesaret Saint-Symphorien-en-Laye, église Notre-Dame 1685 Louis de Boullogne The Centurion at Christ's Feet Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1686 Claude Guy Hallé Jesus Driving the Money-Changers out of the Temple Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1687 Louis Chéron The Prophet Agabus Predicting to Saint Paul What He Would Suffer At Jerusalem Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1688 Guy-Louis Vernansal Christ Reviving Jairus' Daughter Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1689 Louis Chéron Salome Carrying the Head of John the Baptist Lost 1690 Simon Guillebault Christ Reviving the Widow of Nain's Son Larchant, église Saint-Martin 1691 Alexandre Ubelesqui Christ Healing the Sick Paris, musée du Louvre 1692 Arnould de Vuez The Incredulity of Saint Thomas Lyon, cathédrale Saint-Jean 1693Joseph Parrocel Saint John the Baptist Preaching Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1694 no may no may 1695 Christ and the Samaritan Woman Wardour Castle, Wiltshire 1696 Joseph Christophe The Miracle of the Loaves Lost 1697 François Marot Christ Appearing to the Three Marys Lost 1698 Joseph Vivien The Adoration of the Magi Lost 1699 François Tavernier The Repentance of Saint Peter Only reduced version survives Lost 1700 Guy-Louis Vernansal Christ and the Deaf-Mute Boy Possessed by an Evil Spirit Lost 1701 Étienne Regnault Christ and the Woman Caught in Adultery Lost 1702 Mathieu Elias Sceva's Children Attacked by a Demon Restorated in 2022 Paris, cathédrale Notre-Dame 1703 Louis de Silvestre Saint Peter Curing a Paralysed Man at the Temple Gate Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1704 Claude Simpol Christ in the House of Martha and Mary Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1705 Louis Galloche Saint Paul Departs for Miletus Paris, musée du Louvre 1706 Pierre-Jacques Cazes The Curing of the Woman with a Flow of Blood Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts 1707 Jacques Courtin Saint Paul preaching at Troad and Reviving the young Eutychus Toulouse, cathédrale Saint-Étienne
References
Bibliography
Delphine Bastet, Les Mays de Notre-Dame de Paris (1630-1707) : peinture, Église et monarchie au XVIIe siècle, éditions Arthena, 2021. Avant-propos de l'académicien Pierre Rosenberg, préface du conservateur du Louvre Stéphane Loire. Annick Notter, Les Mays de Notre-Dame de Paris, musée des beaux-arts d'Arras, 1999.