Ancienne église Notre-Dame
ChurchHidden Treasure
Ancienne église Notre-Dame, located in Ribérac (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Ribérac, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.2472, 0.3426
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082781
Formerly a castral chapel that became a collegiate church in 1500, the church of Notre-Dame de Ribérac boasts an astonishing interior: a cupola with cherubs, baroque trompe-l'œil and false perspective coffers of rare sophistication.
History
Tucked away in the historic heart of Ribérac, the capital of the Périgord Blanc region, the former church of Notre-Dame is one of those monuments that holds some of its finest surprises in store for those who cross its threshold. Sober and compact on the outside, the interior displays an unexpectedly rich decorative programme, combining Romanesque architecture, Gothic remodelling and painted ornamentation of Renaissance and Baroque inspiration that stops you dead in your tracks on the threshold of the choir. What makes Notre-Dame de Ribérac truly unique is the coherent narrative of its 19th-century painted décor, orchestrated like a veritable sacred theatre. The apse's semi-circular vault is entirely covered with caissons painted in false perspective, creating an effect of multiplied space that defies the actual dimensions of the building. Underneath, saints occupy trompe-l'œil niches of remarkable illusionist precision, while the dome is enlivened by cherubs bearing phylacteries around the Virgin. This type of complete iconographic programme is extremely rare in a church of this scale. The visit offers a progressive experience, from the 19th-century panelled nave - luminous and soothing - to the Romanesque choir and its semi-circular apse, a veritable sanctuary of colours and illusions. The climb up the stone spiral in the north-west tower pier is an architectural adventure in itself, revealing the ingenious compactness of the layout. The Ribérac setting adds to the charm of the visit: the town, set in the gentle hills of the Périgord Blanc, is renowned for its market and its English-speaking community, but it also harbours an architectural heritage that is all the more enjoyable to discover because it receives little media coverage. Notre-Dame church, now disused, offers a peaceful setting in which to contemplate the details of its exceptional décor.
Architecture
Notre-Dame church in Ribérac has a layout typical of Périgord Romanesque architecture, based around a choir covered by a dome on pendentives, followed by a semi-circular apse. This layout, inherited from Saintonge Romanesque architecture, gives the building a vertical and concentrated spatial organisation, very different from the longitudinal nave of Gothic architecture. The nave, rebuilt in 1836, is covered in wooden panelling, an economical and lightweight solution that contrasts with the medieval stone of the chancel. Two 15th-century bays flank the choir, forming a sort of transept crossing that provides a transition between the modern nave and the original Romanesque space. A spiral staircase in the north-west pier gives access to the bell tower, which sits on top of the choir, a characteristic feature of compact Romanesque buildings in Périgord. The interior is dominated by a remarkably sophisticated 19th-century pictorial programme. The semi-circular vault of the apse is entirely covered with coffered panels painted in false perspective, a technique inherited from the illusionist painting of the Italian Renaissance. Trompe-l'œil niches house representations of saints on the lower walls. The dome is adorned with cherubs bearing phylacteries surrounding the Virgin, while the pendentives house the four Evangelists in the classical iconographic style. On the diaphragms of the north and south arches, allegories of Innocence and Faith complete this decorative ensemble of exemplary theological coherence, constituting one of the rare complete painted programmes of this scale in the Périgord Blanc.
Related Figures
Odet d'Aydie — seigneur gascon, co-fondateur de la collégiale en 1499-1500Anne de Pons — épouse d'Odet d'Aydie, co-signataire de la charte de fondation de 1500Les six chanoines du chapitre — desservants de la collégiale du XVIe siècle à la Révolution
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne église Notre-Dame located?
Ancienne église Notre-Dame is located in Ribérac, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Ancienne église Notre-Dame built?
Ancienne église Notre-Dame dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne église Notre-Dame open to visitors?
Ancienne église Notre-Dame is currently closed to visitors.