One of the places I went lately and hadn't seen in a long time — 10 years, maybe — is the plus beau village called Lavardin. It's near Montoire-sur-le-Loir and about 90 minutes north of Saint-Aignan by car. The Loir is a smaller river that is not too far north of the larger Loire, to which it runs roughly parallel for a good part of its course. That Loir Valley is worth exploring for its landscapes, villages, old buildings, wines, and cheeses.
I knew that there were wall paintings in the church at Lavardin (which is dedicated to Saint-Genest) but I'd never been inside before. I was lucky to be there, with CHM, on a bright sunny afternoon. I took a lot of photos with my Canon camera. I didn't use a flash, and I didn't use a tripod or even a monopod. For all these photos, the camera was hand-held.
The Saint-Genest church certainly makes Lavardin worth a stop. Other churches or chapels within a few hours of Saint-Aignan by car also have impressive wall paintings — at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, for example, or in Palluau-sur-Indre, and even in the Saint-Aignan church itself. I'm including links to some posts on these churches.
Apparently, these paintings were re-discovered by a priest about a hundred years ago. They had been painted over with whitewash sometime after the Renaissance period, at a time when medieval art was no longer appreciated or admired. France had entered its classical period, and "primitive" art was not the fashion.
These wall paintings, often called fresques in French, date back as far as the 12th century. That's when a lot of France's still-existing churches were built. Nowadays we are used to seeing churches that are very plain inside (except for their stained glass windows) but all those centuries ago most of the churches were painted inside, the way these are. But I'm no expert...
These photos are very good. Were you able to check my raw photos with the Lumix against your raw photos with the Cannon?
ReplyDeleteNo, but you told me at the time that you were using the camera's flash, which would make a big difference I think. I'll look.
ReplyDeleteKen, those paintings are really amazing...
ReplyDeleteNiall & Antoinette are the ones to ask about these frescoes, it is their speciality...
but the ones they have posted about on their blog haven't been as extensive as these!
Apart from decorating the inside of the church, a lot of these paintings were "bible for the illiterate" pictures...
and the priests would be able to refer to them in their sermons.
In the middle age all churches and cathedrals were painted. Even Notre Dame , Reims or Amiens .Each year in Amiens and Reims ( where Jeanne d'Arc met the king) they " painte" the cathedral with spotlight to see how it was in the middle age. A wonderfull idea.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amiens-cathedrale.fr/images/web-cath0037.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cathedrale-amiens.images-en-somme.fr/images/photos/son-lumiere.jpg
ReplyDeleteMerci, Jean Laine, des deux liens. J'avais entendu parler de cette colorisation des cathédrales, mais n'en avais jamais vu le résultat.
DeletePeut-être connaissez-vous ce lien intéressant:
http://www.ina.fr/video/CAB99052794/colorisation-cathedrale-amiens-video.html
La blancheur de Joigny ou de Cunault de même que l'austérité du Thoronet ou de Fontenay ont pour moi beaucoup d'attraits et me semblent prêter mieux au recueillement que le côté un peu théâtral qu'on essaye de recréer artificiellement.
Ce n'est pas de Joigny dont je voulais parler, mais bien de Pontigny!
DeleteBeautiful photos. I wish we had gone to Lavardin when we stayed in the Loir Valley for a week about 20 years ago. Before we went I didn't even realize that there was a Loir River (Le Loir), as opposed to the Loire (La Loire). Nor do I recall a Plus Beau Village by the name of Lavardin. Maybe it wasn't yet a PBV. But I do remember discovering some fascinating wines.
ReplyDeleteThey grow a lot of Pineau d'Aunis grapes up there in the Loir Valley, for both red and rosé wines. I'm looking forward to going back up there later this year. The place where CHM and I ate lunch featured wines from Jean Martellière in Montoire. Looking him up led me to this web site about Loire (and Loir) wines written by a British guy named Richard Kelley.
DeleteSometimes, I can't think of anything more to say than just, "Wow. Wow!"
ReplyDeleteAnd, great job with the photography, Ken :) Beautiful.
One of your most interesting posts ever. It's a shame that the paintings were covered up, but some of them are very strange to look at. If I were a time traveler, I'd like to go back to this period of magical thinking. Do you have any close up photos of the altar? I love seeing sheep and the Good Shepherd.
ReplyDeleteI looked back at my photos of the Lavardin church. I didn't see any more showing details of the altar. There are a lot of strange paintings in the church. I'll post a couple more in the morning.
DeleteFantastic, Ken and CHM - Merci for going to visit these exquisite churches with their paintings, then taking the beautiful photos and sharing them with us!!! Hopefully, on my next vacation I will have time to get into some of these out-of-the-ordinary beautiful places in France that you have blogged about..
ReplyDeleteMary in Oregon
My husband and I found this church by accident about ten years ago. We were the only people to be seen on a Saturday morning in the village. We were very excited by the frescos in the church. At one time I believe I read about a plan to restore them. Do you think that's been done?
ReplyDeleteLibbie
in 100 degree New Bern
Libbie, I don't envy you that weather. I just can't stand that kind of heat any more. You are lucky to have discovered Lavardin and its church. I've known about it for 12 or 15 years, but I had never managed to visit before. Now I want to go back, to go up into the château ruins and visit a winery or two around that area. Maybe in July I get a chance to do that.
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