Chapelle Saint-Lazare
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle Saint-Lazare, located in Boiscommun (Loiret), 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
- Boiscommun, Loiret, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0403, 2.3870
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098712
A discreet pearl of the early 16th century, the chapel of Saint-Lazare de Boiscommun reveals a late flamboyant Gothic style with elegant ribbing, a rare testimony to Solognese piety at the dawn of the Renaissance.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the heart of Boiscommun, a small town in the Gâtinais region of Orléans through which the kings of France passed on more than one occasion, the chapel of Saint-Lazare is a discreet architectural gem from the first quarter of the 16th century. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1929, it epitomises this pivotal period, when the flamboyant Gothic style, still vigorous in the Loire Valley, was just beginning to bend its lines under the influence of the nascent Renaissance. What makes the chapel truly unique is its association with the devotion to Saint Lazarus, patron saint of lepers and the poor. It was probably founded in the tradition of hospital or confraternity chapels, which were common in the market towns of the Gâtinais region, where Christian charity was often institutionalised in the form of pious foundations. It's easy to imagine the hands of local stonemasons, trained on the building sites of Orléans' Sainte-Croix cathedral, at work on a star-shaped vault or finely sculpted cul-de-lampe. The visit offers a rare experience of intimacy: the modest dimensions of the building allow a direct and sensitive reading of each sculpted detail, of each moulding that runs along the pillars. The silence of the place invites contemplation, far from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trade. Photographers and lovers of late Gothic architecture will find plenty of material for their shots, particularly in the treatment of the bays and buttresses. The setting of Boiscommun itself adds to the charm of the visit. The town has preserved traces of its medieval past - partial ramparts, tightly-packed urban fabric - which naturally extend the discovery of the chapel into a coherent historical context. The Gâtinais plain, vast and luminous, bathes the whole area in a soft light that is perfect for a stroll.
Architecture
The chapel of Saint-Lazare is part of the late flamboyant Gothic style that dominated the Île-de-France and Loire Valley regions in the early 16th century, before the Italian influence gradually transformed the ornamental vocabulary. The building probably has a simple plan with a single nave, typical of rural and urban chapels of this period, sometimes with a polygonal chevet with canted sides to lighten the eastern end. Externally, the buttresses with moulded eaves, the flamboyantly-narrowed windows with their bellows and spandrels, and the portal with its accolade or basket-handle arch all reveal the work of masons trained in the Gothic tradition of the Loire region. The materials used were probably tufeau limestone, a soft blonde stone typical of the Loire Valley, easy to work and ideal for fine carvings, and Gâtinais limestone for the structural parts. Inside, the main architectural feature is the ribbed vaulting, which may have been embellished with star-shaped brackets and tiercerons. The tracery supporting the ribs is traditionally decorated with sculpted heads or plant motifs - oak leaves, curly cabbages - typical of the Orléans workshop of the early 16th century. Traces of painted polychrome may have been found on the interior plasterwork, enhancing the keystones and capitals with ochre, blue and red.
Related Figures
Saint Lazare — patron de l'édifice, figure biblique associée à la résurrection et à la lèpre, dont le culte justifie la fondation d'hospices et chapelles charitablesProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, promoteur de la politique de sauvegarde qui mènera à la protection de 1929Fondateur(s) inconnu(s) de la confrérie ou maladrerie locale — bourgeois ou seigneur du Gâtinais ayant commandité la chapelle au début du XVIe siècleTailleurs de pierre de l'atelier orléanais — artisans anonymes formés aux chantiers de la cathédrale Sainte-Croix, probables auteurs des sculptures
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle Saint-Lazare located?
Chapelle Saint-Lazare is located in Boiscommun, Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Chapelle Saint-Lazare built?
Chapelle Saint-Lazare dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle Saint-Lazare open to visitors?
Chapelle Saint-Lazare is currently closed to visitors.