Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours, located in Tours (Indre-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3944, 0.6792
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098140
Discreet and precious, this flamboyant Gothic chapel in the heart of Tours spans five centuries of history before becoming a living showcase for the arts. A little-known jewel, listed as a Historic Monument.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Tucked away in the urban fabric of Tours, the former chapel of Petit-Saint-Martin is one of those monuments that you discover almost by chance, but never come away unscathed. Built between the 14th and early 16th centuries, it embodies three generations of Touraine Gothic craftsmanship, from the first pointed arches to the flourishes characteristic of the flamboyant style that triumphed in the region at the dawn of the Renaissance. What makes this place so special is precisely this architectural layering: each century has left its mark, making the chapel a veritable stone manual of the development of Gothic architecture in the Loire Valley. Lovers of art history will find plenty of material for a careful reading of the elevations, windows and sculpted details, which combine the rigour of Southern Gothic with the ornamental lightness of the 15th century. Now converted into an annex to the École des Beaux-Arts in Tours, the chapel is enjoying a particularly happy second life. This cohabitation of medieval heritage and contemporary creation creates a unique atmosphere: the ancient vaults echo with the work of students, and the sacred space of yesterday hosts exhibitions, workshops and educational presentations. Few monuments can boast such continuity of purpose - serving, century after century, to elevate the spirit. The visit offers an intimate experience, far removed from the crowds that throng the great châteaux of the Loire. Here, history is told in hushed tones, in the golden half-light of a nave that has survived the Wars of Religion, the Revolution and two world wars without losing its soul. For the curious visitor, it's a rare opportunity to experience the living, everyday context of Touraine's medieval religious architecture.
Architecture
The building belongs to the great family of Loire flamboyant Gothic, a style characteristic of Touraine and Anjou that developed an exceptionally fine repertoire of ornamentation between the late 14th and early 16th centuries. The nave, with its simple, elongated plan typical of urban conventual and parish chapels, is covered with pointed vaults whose radiating ribs reflect the stylistic evolution over two centuries of construction. The flamboyantly infilled windows, characterised by their sinuous bellows and spandrels, are one of the most striking features of the building. The walls, probably made of tufa - the soft, white limestone that is the architectural signature of the Loire Valley and lends itself wonderfully to the sculptor's chisel - have a beautifully regular pattern. The porous, luminous tufa gives the Touraine interiors that distinctive milky clarity, subtly enhanced by the contemporary lighting installed for the École des Beaux-Arts. The exterior buttresses, sober and functional, punctuate the side façades without seeking the spectacular effect of the great cathedrals. Inside, the transition between successive building campaigns can be seen in the capitals and sculpted bases, where the stylised vegetation of the Radiant Gothic style gradually gives way to the naturalistic hooks and foliage of the Flamboyant style. The first decades of the 16th century saw the introduction of a few discreet antique elements - medallions, primed pilasters - which betray the Renaissance contamination characteristic of the workshops in Touraine during the reign of François I.
Related Figures
Saint Martin de Tours — évêque de Tours au IVe siècle, dont le patronage spirituel inspire l'ensemble des fondations religieuses tourangelles médiévales portant son nomLouis XI — roi de France (1461-1483) dont le règne coïncide avec l'apogée de Tours comme capitale officieuse du royaume, favorisant l'essor des chantiers religieux locauxCharles VIII — roi de France (1483-1498), né à Amboise, sous le règne duquel les ateliers de taille de pierre tourangeaux connaissent une activité exceptionnelleFrançois Ier — roi de France (1515-1547), sous la première partie de son règne que s'achèvent les dernières campagnes de construction de la chapelle, à l'heure de la rencontre entre gothique et RenaissanceLes maîtres d'œuvre tourangeaux anonymes — artisans et tailleurs de pierre des ateliers locaux qui bâtissent, génération après génération, l'architecture civile et religieuse de la Tours médiévale
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours located?
Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours is located in Tours, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours built?
Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours open to visitors?
Ancienne chapelle du Petit-Saint-Martin, actuellement annexe de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours is currently closed to visitors.