Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité, located in Neulliac (Département 56), 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
- Neulliac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1122, -2.9891
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091462
Au cœur du Morbihan, cette chapelle bretonne du XVIe siècle déploie un porche gothique flamboyant et un lambris peint d'exception, témoignage rare des arts décoratifs religieux de la fin du XVIIIe siècle.
History
Nestling in the discreet countryside of Neulliac, in the heart of inland Morbihan, the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Carmès is one of those marvels that Brittany knows how to keep secret. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1980, it is a striking example of Breton rural religious architecture, whose sober exterior masks an uncommonly rich interior. What immediately sets Notre-Dame-de-Carmès apart is the exceptional quality of its late Gothic west porch, whose sculptures of grape vines coiled between the mouldings reveal the hand of local craftsmen sensitive to the decorative vocabulary of the nascent Renaissance. The pointed-arched door surmounted by a moulding in the form of an accolade and a gable crowned by a cross with a curly cabbage is a highly delicate piece of architecture, typical of the Breton flamboyant Gothic style. Inside, there is a major surprise in store: the wood panelling bears a series of late 18th-century paintings depicting the main scenes in the life of Christ. These wood-painted decorations, rare on this scale in Breton rural chapels, make Notre-Dame-de-Carmès a veritable museum in the open air, where popular devotions and artistic ambitions meet in an intimate and contemplative space. The chapel's surroundings play a key role in the visitor experience: a nearby fountain is a reminder of the importance of sacred springs in Breton popular piety. These fountains, often associated with devotional chapels, were at the heart of processions and pardons that punctuated the life of rural communities. For today's visitor, the chapel and its fountain form a picture of absolute serenity. The visit will appeal to lovers of medieval architecture and popular sacred art alike. Take your time to observe the sculpted details of the porch, the sobriety of the square bell tower, and then look up at the paintings on the panelling, a veritable illustrated catechism offered to the faithful of yesteryear.
Architecture
The Notre-Dame-de-Carmès chapel has a Latin cross floor plan, a canonical form of Breton religious architecture inherited from the Middle Ages, which organises the space into a nave, transept and chancel according to a logic that is both functional and symbolic. The western facade is dominated by the flamboyant Gothic entrance porch, whose pointed arch framing the door is adorned with an accolade moulding typical of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The gable surmounted by a chou frisé cross - a typically Breton motif in the shape of rolled cabbage leaves - crowns the whole with elegance. Sculptures of grapevines between the mouldings introduce a Renaissance decorative vocabulary into an ensemble that is still resolutely Gothic. Above this porch rises the square tower of the bell tower, the upper sections of which were rebuilt in the 18th century, giving the elevation a slight stylistic heterogeneity that is clearly visible. The materials used are those of the Breton region: local granite, a hard stone with bluish-grey tones, structures the walls and gives the building the austere robustness typical of the chapels of the inner Morbihan. The building is in the tradition of the Breton master masons, itinerant craftsmen who disseminated late Gothic models throughout the Armorican peninsula. The interior reveals the hidden wealth of the building. The panelled roof frame that covers the nave is the centrepiece of the interior décor: the wooden panels painted at the end of the 18th century unfold an iconographic cycle devoted to the main scenes in the life of Christ, from the cycle of the Incarnation to the Resurrection. These naive and expressive paintings, with their warm colours despite the centuries, bear witness to the vitality of Breton folk art. The transept and choir, completely rebuilt in 1768, offer a luminous, uncluttered space that contrasts pleasantly with the richness of the nave.
Related Figures
Les maîtres maçons bretons du XVIe siècle, artisans anonymes qui sculptèrent le porche gothique flamboyantLes commanditaires de 1768, chantres ou notables locaux à l'origine de la reconstruction du chœur et des croisillonsLe peintre anonyme du lambris, artiste populaire breton de la fin du XVIIIe siècle auteur du cycle christologiqueLes confréries carmélites du Morbihan, acteurs de la diffusion de la dévotion mariale ayant inspiré le vocable de la chapelleLes membres du clergé paroissial de Neulliac qui assurèrent l'entretien et le rayonnement de la chapelle au fil des siècles
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité located?
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité is located in Neulliac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité built?
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité open to visitors?
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Carmès et fontaine située à proximité is currently closed to visitors.
