Chapelle Saint-Nicolas
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle Saint-Nicolas, located in Priziac (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
- Priziac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0419, -3.4320
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091590
In the heart of inland Morbihan, the chapel of Saint-Nicolas de Priziac houses an exceptionally rare Renaissance rood screen in painted wood, decorated with twelve sculpted apostles and remarkably fine hagiographic scenes.
History
Nestling in the hedged farmland of the Guémené region, on the borders of Morbihan and Côtes-d'Armor, the chapel of Saint-Nicolas de Priziac is one of the little-known gems of Brittany's religious heritage. Listed as a historic monument since 1922, it concentrates in a relatively modest space an artistic density that rivals the great chapels of inland Brittany, far from the tourist hustle and bustle of the coast. What immediately sets Saint-Nicolas apart is its Renaissance rood screen in painted wood, an absolutely rare piece in Brittany and even France. These liturgical screens separating the choir reserved for the clergy from the nave open to the faithful were massively destroyed during the religious upheavals of the 17th and 18th centuries; the one at Priziac, miraculously preserved, is an irreplaceable testimony to this. On one side of the gallery are the twelve apostles in individual statuettes - each recognisable by his or her iconographic attribute - and on the other side nine narrative panels depicting scenes from the lives of the saints with a lively Breton expression. The experience of visiting the church is a mixture of contemplation and wonder: the half-light filtered through the large mullioned window in the chevet bathes the rood screen in a golden light that gradually reveals the restored colours of the sculptures. The timber-framed vault, with its centuries-old woodwork, creates a soft, intimate acoustic. Visitors with a passion for medieval and Renaissance art will take the time to examine each panel of the rood screen with a magnifying glass, while lovers of rural heritage will appreciate the harmonious integration of the chapel into its village setting. The exterior is not to be outdone: the small openwork bell tower on the western gable, accessed via a spiral staircase turret typical of 16th-century Breton religious architecture, gives the building its recognisable silhouette. Around the chapel, the cemetery and its old granite crosses bear witness to the continuity of a long-standing popular devotion. Saint-Nicolas is well worth a patient and attentive diversions: it's one of those places where deep-rooted Brittany reveals its most authentic soul.
Architecture
The Saint-Nicolas chapel adopts a Latin cross plan typical of Breton religious architecture in the 16th century, with a single nave, a projecting transept and an apse with a square apse - a pragmatic and sober choice, typical of rural chapels in inland Brittany, which favoured functional clarity over external decorative complexity. The walls, built of cut granite, bear witness to the skills of the local masons, who had perfect mastery of this thankless but extremely solid material. On the western gable, a small openwork bell tower with geminated bays surmounts the main facade and gives the building its characteristic verticality. A spiral staircase turret, attached to the side of the facade, provides access to the tower: this feature, common in 16th-century Breton chapels, adds a touch of the picturesque to the overall sobriety of the building. The large mullioned bay that occupies the entire chevet wall is the most spectacular exterior feature: its cut stonework floods the apse with light and highlights the rood screen placed at the crossroads of the nave and transept. The interior features a panelled vault, a light and economical solution adopted in many rural Breton chapels in place of a stone vault. The Renaissance rood screen in painted wood is the centrepiece of the interior decoration: installed at the transept crossing, it separates the liturgical space reserved for the clergy from that open to the faithful. Its balustraded gallery is decorated on one side with twelve statuettes of the apostles, and on the other with nine panels sculpted in bas-relief illustrating hagiographic scenes of great finesse, combining Renaissance vocabulary - pilasters, foliage, grotesques - and Breton popular expressiveness.
Related Figures
Saint Nicolas de Myre — saint patron de la chapelle, évêque de Myre au IVe siècle, dont le culte était particulièrement vif en Bretagne intérieureMaître sculpteur anonyme du jubé — artisan breton du XVIe siècle, probablement formé dans un atelier morbihannais ou finistérien, auteur du jubé RenaissanceSeigneur local de Priziac — commanditaire probable de la reconstruction de la chapelle au XVIe siècle, dont l'identité exacte reste à établirInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (années 1920) — responsables de l'instruction du dossier de classement aboutissant à l'arrêté du 28 octobre 1922
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle Saint-Nicolas located?
Chapelle Saint-Nicolas is located in Priziac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Chapelle Saint-Nicolas built?
Chapelle Saint-Nicolas dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle Saint-Nicolas open to visitors?
Chapelle Saint-Nicolas is currently closed to visitors.