Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec, located in Larmor-Plage (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
- Larmor-Plage, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.7213, -3.4007
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091358
Standing in Kergouldec since 1558, this monumental Breton cross stands out for its shaft planted in a stone sphere decorated with a twist, a discreet masterpiece of Breton Renaissance religious sculpture.
History
In the heart of the hamlet of Kergouldec, in the commune of Larmor-Plage in Morbihan, a stone cross has stood silently guard for nearly five centuries. Modest in appearance, it conceals a rare elegance that betrays the care taken by 16th-century Breton craftsmen in the art of roadside crosses. This type of monument, omnipresent in the Armorican landscape, is one of the most authentic expressions of Breton popular piety, engraved in granite like a petrified prayer. What immediately sets the Kergouldec cross apart is its unusual base: the shaft rises from a stone sphere sculpted with a helical twist, an ornamental motif that evokes both the rope of Christ's torture and the Renaissance decorations then in vogue in the sculptors' workshops of the peninsula. This refined detail transforms what could be a simple rural calvary into an artistic object in its own right, revealing the skills of Morbihan's stonemasons. The arms of the cross, known as "pattés", flare out at their ends into slight palms, a common feature in Breton religious statuary of the Renaissance. This formal vocabulary, borrowed from heraldry and Christian iconography, gives the cross a sober solemnity, far from the exuberance of the great calvaries of neighbouring Finistère, but not without a certain nobility. A visit to the cross at Kergouldec is like stopping off at a fragment of our collective memory that is often overlooked on tourist circuits. In this unspoilt hamlet a stone's throw from the Morbihan coast, the monument is an invitation to intimate contemplation, far from the crowds. Lovers of rural heritage, late medieval sculpture and Breton spirituality will find plenty to ponder and marvel at. The setting itself adds to the experience: Larmor-Plage, a popular seaside resort on the Bay of Biscay, offers visitors a hinterland dotted with the stone witnesses that once lined the parish roads. The Kergouldec cross, listed as a Historic Monument since 1928, remains one of these little-known gems that only curious walkers know how to unearth.
Architecture
The Kergouldec cross is carved from granite, the king of Breton sculpture, whose hardness and resistance to the elements have enabled the remarkable preservation of its details over nearly five centuries. The cross consists of a vertical shaft surmounted by a crossbar, the ends of which flare out into patté arms - i.e. enlarged in the shape of a paw or palm - giving the silhouette the visual stability characteristic of Armorican Renaissance crosses. The most unusual feature is undoubtedly the stone sphere that serves as the base of the shaft. Carved with a continuous helical twist, it breaks with the simplicity of the simple dice or quadrangular blocks found on most rural crosses. This ornate spherical shape is reminiscent of the "pommeaux" found on the most elaborate Breton crosses, and the twisting introduces a sculptural dynamism that is rare on this scale. The whole cross probably rests on a base or step of cut granite, as is common practice for monumental crosses in Morbihan. Arm pattés, a Christianised heraldic motif, are common in Breton sacred art of the 16th century: they can be found on the crosses of parish enclosures in Finistère and on small roadside calvaries in Morbihan. Their presence here confirms that the work belongs to a coherent regional formal vocabulary, produced by workshops that distributed their models throughout the peninsula. The date 1558, probably engraved on the shaft or base, is one of the rare examples in Brittany where the commissioner wished to inscribe the date of erection in the stone itself.
Related Figures
Commanditaires locaux anonymes (probablement famille paysanne aisée ou confrérie paroissiale, 1558)Tailleur de pierre breton anonyme, auteur de la sphère torsadée (milieu XVIe siècle)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier de protection (arrêté du 14 décembre 1928)Paroissiens de Larmor, gardiens de la tradition des croix de chemin morbihannaises
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec located?
Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec is located in Larmor-Plage, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec built?
Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec open to visitors?
Croix datée de 1558 située à Kergouldec is currently closed to visitors.