Guests of honour

St-Chistophe-en-Bresse - Eglise St-Christophe

Somewhere in March 2016, when we returned from a short holiday in Paris, we found a message on the answering machine of a lady, a certain Mme Bouthier from Saint-Christophe-en-Bresse with a question whether we could provide her with some photographs. We phoned her back to find out what exactly she wanted, and she came up with the following story: on the internet site of Bourgogne Romane she had found some pictures of the church in St-Christophe, showing an oculus in the façade of the church.

façade with oculus (2013)

As I had agreed with the webmaster of this site, he gives me credit for each of my pictures he uses by providing a link to our own website. And through this link the woman had got hold of our phonenumber. We had visited the church for the first time in September 2013, and a second time in April 2014. And because the oculus had nothing spectacular, I had not been bothered to take any detailed pictures; besides, in 2014 the oculus had been broken, and there was not much more left than a hole in the glass.

Oculus (2013)

The woman was somehow connected with the restauration of the church, and her question was: could I produce some pictures in which the oculus was better visible, so that the stained glass specialist could produce a new window resembling the old one as good as possible. Fortunately I've  taken all my recent pictures in NEF or RAW format, from which I save them as JPEG files as well. In NEF it is fairly easy to make acceptable enlargements, and adjust shadows, exposure, etc.

The broken window (2014)

That was not really very difficult: I went through my collection, adjusted the blow-ups as good as I could and send those pictures to the lady in St-Christophe. She was very content with the results and she invited us over to see the renovated church once the restaurations were finished. A very kind and charming idea of course, but often these sort of promises get lost with time.

Invitation

We were pleasantly surprised when some weeks ago we received by post an invitation of the mayor of St-Christophe, M. Nicolas Bouthier for the inauguration of the church after the restauration. Who can ignore an invitation like this? We returned an email containinng an RSVP straight away.
When we arrived there at 16h00 quite a few of the 1100 inhabitants were waiting outside the church for the doors to be opened. We had spotted the mayor quite soon, as we had his wife. When we approached Mme Bouthier to introduce ourselves, she first looked a bit puzzled, until she realised that we might have had contact with her mother-in-law.

After the restauration (2018)

And that turned out to be correct; we tackled a woman with a typical "mother-in-law"-outlook, who happened to be the "old" Mme Bouthier. She remembered us well, was still grateful for our help and she was thrilled to bits that we had accepted the invitation.

Before and after

We were introduced to other people who had been involved in the restauration and from one moment to the other we were transformed from ordinary guests to guests of honour.

How many does one need to cut a ribbon?

By now we know quite well how these things work: the mayor gives a speech thanking everybody involved in the works personally and/or manually, being it the architect or local officials, followed by speeches by the architect, the priest, the delegates of various councils, etc.
When this was all over there was of course the inevitable verre d'amitié in the village hall, where we were treated as guests of honour as well. In a word, we did not regret for one second that we had contributed a tiny little bit to the restauration of one small part of this beautiful church.

Preparation of the Vin d'amitié

The church and the priory of Chenôves

Saint-Blaise - Chenôves

Quite some years ago I have been looking for the possible remains of a priory in Chenôves. The church of Chenôves I knew already, although we had never seen the interior, but where this priory might be (if it existed at all) stayed a mystery. Recently it was time for one of the regular inventories of still outstanding items with van Boxtel, who came up with the following suggestion.

The church seen from the parvis

Resting against the west façade of the church a slightly higher building could be seen, and this could possibly be a part of the priory.
The problem with the Saint-Blaise is its accessibility, from one (south) side only. The parvis, if this bit of garden deserves that name is quite small, and further the church is enclosed by private buildings and farms. If one wants to catch a glimpse of the west or north side of the church, one has to either make a walk through the vineyards, or creep underneath barbed wire and wade through the man-size grass of a meadow.

South facade of the possible priory from the parvis

And even then the distances from which the church is visible are great, whilst part of the church is obscured by trees and shrubs anyway.
One beautiful morning, coinciding with the opening hours of the mairie of Chenôves, we drove towards that village. Having learnt from experience we did not approach the mairie first, but tested the church door instead.

North facade of the possible priory from the meadow

And yes, lo and behold, the church door (the south portal) was open. Unfortunately the door on the north side was still locked, the neighbouring houses showed no sign of life and all the gates to the property were closed. The trip through the vineyards and defying the barbed wire and the high grass was not granted by the discovery of a glorious priory.

Church interior

Fortunately we found an arch inside the church with on each side of the arch a wall panel with a fishbone pattern (opus spicatum). Hence the trip to Chenôves had not been completely in vain!
For our own website click here.

Cluny, Musée Ochier

The Palais de Jean de Bourbon, not far from the abbey church, houses the Musée Ochier which is officially called the Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie.

Claire-voie "des Vendanges" - Rue du Merle / Rue Joséphine Desbois

Even though the museum is strongly affiliated with the abbey it has considerably more to offer than the remains found during the excavations of the abbey grounds.

Claire-voie "des Vendanges" - Musée Ochier

In the streets of Cluny there are still some mediaeval houses which possess Romanesque claire-voies. These are decorated window galleries on the first floor of mediaeval dwellings.

Claire-voie "des Vendanges" - Musée Ochier

Quite a number of these houses have been demolished (partially during town renovations); the original claire-voies have in some cases been reused in other buildings or sold and transported elsewhere (one can even find them in the USA), in other cases they ended up in the Musée Ochier.

Animation Grand portail Cluny III - Musée Ochier

One of these houses is to be found in Cluny's main street (on the corner of 1, Rue du Merle and 2, Rue Joséphine Desbois). The original claire-voie "Des Vendanges" has been painted, as far as possible on the original location around the first floor windows. The remains of the claire-voie (the frieze supporting the columns is reasonably complete) however are on display in the museum, which makes a visit to the museum definitely worthwhile.

Frieze Narthex Cluny III - Musée Ochier

Apart from the claire-voies and smaller remains of Cluny III a few other highlights of the museum are parts of the frieze from the narthex of the church and the paltry remains of the tympanum of the grand portal of the abbey church.

Remains Grand portail Cluny III - Musée Ochier

The remains of the frieze are in good shape and give an excellent impression of the decorations used in Cluny III.
The portal was blown up, and what remains are some bits and pieces which are displayed on a background showing in an ingenious way the portal as it once was. However not all pieces on display are real. Some of the more complete fragments can be found in other museums in France (the Louvre, the Parisian Hôtel de Cluny); those parts on display in Musée Ochier are replicas.

Part of a claire-voie - Musée Ochier

The entrance tickets for the abbey are also valid for the museum, which should not be missed out on during a visit to Cluny.
Click here  for a reasonably complete overview of what is on offer inside the museum.

For our own website click here.

Cluny, farinier, a bonus

Besides the aforementioned eight capitals there are more things on display in the farinier.

Detail of marble altar tabletop

The marble altar tabletop stands in relation to the eight capitals roughly where it must have been in the choir, there are e few showcases with remains of various capitals, there are a few complete capitals, and what remains of the clôture of the monk's choir is displayed as well. The farinier also boasts a nice model of part of Cluny III.

Capitals and altar tabletop

Of the things mentioned I have made an arbitrary choice; this blog is not supposed to be a complete catalogue of Cluny's farinier.
However, there is more to see in the former abbey but the granary. The only part of the immense church that is still more or less intact, the great transept, is more than worth a visit.

Clôture

And in the Palais du Pape Gélase (the entrance to the abbey) some more remains of the church are on display, and one can also view an interesting 3D-film about Cluny III. In a word: the abbey certainly justifies a detour!
By the way, it is also good to know that the ticket to the abbey is also valid fot the Musée Ochier in the Palais de Jean Bourbon (a stone throw away from the abbey entrance).

Model

But I will save this interesting Museum for another blog.
Click here for the remaining capitals in the farinier.

Cluny, farinier, part 8 of 8 (The Last Four Gregorian Modes)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

One of the last modes

Click here for the eigth and last album of a series of eight. This capital is called "The Last Four Gregorian Modes", with their description and matching musical instruments.

One of the last modes

Cluny, farinier, part 7 of 8 (The First Four Gregorian Modes)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

One of the last modes

Click here for the seventh album of a series of eight. This capital is called "The First Four Gregorian Modes", with their description and matching musical instruments.

One of the last modes

Cluny, farinier, part 6 of 8 (Trees and Rivers of Paradise)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

River

Click here for the sixth album of a series of eight. This capital is called "Trees and Rivers of Paradise".

Tree

Cluny, farinier, part 5 of 8 (The Virtues and/or The Liberal Arts)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

North side

Click here for the fIfth album of a series of eight. This capital is called "The Virtues and/or The Free Arts".
Each of the four sides show a human figure in an almond shaped mandorla.
North side : the inscription refers to Summer.

West side

West side : the inscription refers to Spring, however, the fact that the woman carries a book seems to contradict the inscription.
South side : the inscription refers to prudence, however, the person stands for Grammar chastising his pupil.

South side

East side : the painted inscription (disappeared) referred again to prudence, but the figure wears a coat of mail and used to carry a lance; this is more likely a depiction of Force or Rhetoric.

South side (left) en East side (right)

Cluny, farinier, part 4 of 8 (The Virtues and/or The Liberal Arts)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

The Virtues and/or The Liberal Arts

Click here for the fourth album of a series of eight. This capital is called "The Virtues and/or The Free Arts".
Each of the four sides show a human figure in a hexagonal mandorla.
Conant saw these as depictions of the three theological virtues (faith, hope and love), others interpreted them as depictions of four of the seven liberal arts.

The Virtues and/or The Liberal Arts

Cluny, farinier, part 3 of 8 (The Four Winds)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

Figure with a pair of bellows

Click here for the third album of a series of eight. This capital is called "The Four Winds". On the four corners the winds are depicted as human figures, partially hiding between the acanthus leaves. One of the figures uses a pair of bellows.

Cluny, farinier, part 2 of 8 (The Four Seasons)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

Figure wearing gloves

Click here for the second album of a series of eight. This capital is called "The Four Seasons". On the four corners the seasons are depicted as human figures, partially hiding between the acanthus leaves. One of the figures wears gloves, another one is nude (possibly Summer), partially hidden in the acanthus.

Nude figure

Cluny, farinier, part 1 of 8 (Corinthian Capital)

The farinier (granary, or literary flower barn) on the premises of the former abbey of Cluny contains a permanent display of 8 capials from the choir of Cluny III.

Farinier - Cluny III

They are displayed as they were in the choir, however not 10 m from ground level but a bit lower. The abbey is open free of charge on the first Sunday of the month, from November till March. In this period there are hardly any tourists in Cluny, reason why one can observe these gems of Romanesque sculpture at one's leisure.

Concise explanation of the capitals - Cluny III

Besides, no one is bothered by the fact that you are walking around with a camera on a tripod in view of the longer exposures.
I have the various capitals archived in separate albums.
Click here for the first album of a series of eight. This capital is a Corinthian capital.

1. Corinthian capital

The Golden Hour

Years ago, in February 2007 to be precise, we made a picture of the Romanesque church of Ameugny, using a small Olympus point-and-shoot camera. The colours of this picture were quite superb; it seemed like the church was bathing in a golden glow.

The church of Ameugny, 15 February 2007 17h20

However, the quality of the picture was quite low (72 dpi, good enough for internet use, but too poor to make prints), and since we got a request of an acquaintance to deliver some pictures of Cormatin and surroundings to be blown up and framed, I decided to dig in my archives in search of higher quality pictures. That turned out to be not too difficult; most of the more recent pictures were taken with a Nikon D50 or D90, they were sufficiently big and had a 300 dpi value.

The church of Ameugny, 2 December 2012 15h54

Only, the golden glow was missing. Since my better half has been heavily involved in photography last year, the term "The Golden Hour" has been discussed quite frequently. Not that I really believed in the rather euphoric description of pictures taken during that magic hour, but one never knows. The picture taken in February 2007 was indeed from around 17h00, an hour the sun is really low in the sky.

The church of Ameugny, 21 January 2016 15h10

According to her the sun is very low in January anyway, hence she saw no reason why it would not be possible to reproduce that picture around 15h00. That was just as easily said as it was done. However, even though the colours were marginally less dull than those of the older pictures taken with the D50 and D90 (most of them taken in the summer, during the day), I was not really impressed with the result.

The church of Ameugny, 21 January 2016 16h44

So, on one of the few sunny days in January around 17h00 we went back to Ameugny, and took again some pictures. After comparing the photographs, it looked like the golden hour certainly exists: the picture from early February 2007 and from late January 2016 were, in terms of colour, almost identical.
For those who are like a doubting Thomas: look, compare and be convinced!

Mont-Saint-Vincent – Musée Archéologique Jean Régnier

The museum is open between April and Oktober, Saturdays and Sundays from 15h00 till 18h00, and is free as well.

The museum

The collection of this tiny museum consists of amongst others a Merovingian sarcophagus from Curtil-sous-Burnand, a number of small and larger pieces of flint stone and some old coins, whilst the first floor is dedicated to Romanesque architecture.
The first time we visited this museum was with a big group of people of the Tourist Office in Saint-Gengoux.

Open!

During this first, very brief visit we thought that the first floor had not much more but a collection of scale models, drawings and photographs of the churches of Mont-Saint-Vincent and Gourdon. Still, the maker of Bourgogne Romane thought that there might be more Romanesque stuff in this museum.

Ground floor

From a completely different blog it may be clear that we had undertaken another attempt to pay a second visit to this museum.

First floor

Finally we decided to try out luck once more, this time on our way back from a visit to a former brick factory in Ciry-le-Noble. This time we hit the jackpot. The museum was open, and the ground floor certainly had no Romanesque items, hence we decided to look upstairs. At the bottom of the stairs there were two light switches, taped off with cello tape and a notice saying "Do not touch!".

The chair

It looked as if switching on the lights might cause a short circuit somewhere. Hence we had to investigate the top floor with the light shining through the windows. The scale models, drawings and pictures were still there, but in a dark corner we found a kitchen chair with three pieces of stone and a sign telling us that these were "Rare remains of the priory". Next to it, on a wooden pedestal, there was a modillon with an Atlante.

75 % of the collection

According to Wikipedia: In classical European architecture, an atlas (also known as an atlant, or atlante or atlantid; plural atlantes) is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster. The term atlantes is the Greek plural of the name Atlas – the Titan who was forced to hold the sky on his shoulders for eternity.
So this appeared to be the whole Romanesque collection of the museum. However, one has to admit that a museum where the Romanesque remains easily fit on a kitchen chair is certainly something special!

The remaining 25%

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.