Arras Off The Beaten Path Tips by Mikebond Top 5 Page for this destination

Saint Jean Baptiste - inside: paintings

This is the masterpiece of Saint Jean Baptiste: a Deposition by Pieter Paul Rubens, whose mannerism is evident in Christ's body, that looks green. I particularly love the blond Madeleine, painted with a lot of curves, in contrast with the stiffness of the other characters.
Apart from Rubens's painting, worth remarking are also the painted windows of the church, like the ones you see in the second and third photos.

Saint Jean Baptiste - overview

When my parents and I saw its tower from the Grand' Place, we thought it was the belfry, since Saint John the Baptist's wasn't even mentioned in our guidebook. Indeed, this church was an interesting discovery.
It was rebuilt in 1918 in the original late Romanesque - early Gothic style. If outside it looks simple and austere (Romanesque), inside it is very bright and wide (Gothic), with coloured windows, sculpted altars and a Deposition by Rubens, which I will show to you in the next tip.

Saint Jean Baptiste - inside: architecture

The interior of Saint John the Baptist is very interesting from the architectural point of view. It consists of a nave with two aisles. Look at the two altars: the high altar with the statue of the Christ and the other altar with Mary and the Child.
There is also an organ (though not a very beautiful one). However, what may already have caught your attention is a painting, and not by an ordinary artist...

Another church

This is a church that you can see from the top of the belfry. I still haven't identified it.