François Villers: Church Of Saint-mathurin-sur-loire, 1837 Competition, Completed Project

VILLERS, FRANÇOIS. “Church to be built for the Commune of St Mathurin based on the competition of May 12, 1837” (Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire, Maine-et-Loire). Pen and wash. 35.5 x 35 cm visible, in a 50.2 x 49.9 cm frame. Paper worn and scratched in several places. Signed lower left: “Fçois Villers, arche inv. del.”. The title is given in a cartouche below the drawing. Perspective view of the Saint-Mathurin church in Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire: this is the project that won the competition organized in 1837. The church was built following this competition by François Villers, starting in 1840. François Villers (Jacques Louis François, known as Villers, 1791-1870) was the son of the architect Louis François (whom he succeeded in 1831) and the brother of the architect Louis François François known as Dainville. He was architect of the department of Maine-et-Loire and worked on the churches of Saint-Joseph and Notre-Dame d'Angers, the commercial court of Cholet, the courthouse of Saumur, the hospital of Chalonnes-sur-Loire, etc. The Museum of Fine Arts in Angers holds a drawing by Édouard Dainville, which was likely a proposal for the competition to build the Saint-Mathurin church. Édouard Dainville was the nephew of François Villers; he succeeded him in 1847. Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire (Maine-et-Loire) is located east of Angers, on the north bank of the Loire, and has been part of the new commune of Loire-Authion since 2016. Ref. 9-86 / 11-23