Croix de cimetière
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix de cimetière, located in Médréac (Département 35), 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
- Médréac, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2687, -2.0582
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090626
Standing in the heart of the Médréac cemetery, this 16th-century Breton cross, listed as a Historic Monument since 1912, fascinates with its two equally richly sculpted sides, a rare testimony to the faith and talent of Breton stonemasons.
History
In the peaceful cemetery of Médréac, a small commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine region of Brittany, stands a cemetery cross that has defied the passage of time since the 16th century. Listed as a Historic Monument by decree on 23 February 1912, it belongs to the family of monumental crosses that make up one of the finest groups of crosses in France. Its early recognition by the Monuments Historiques, at a time when the inventory of Breton heritage was in full swing, testifies to the quality and rarity of this sculpted object. What immediately sets this cross apart from its counterparts is the symmetry of its iconographic programme: its two sides feature figures of identical importance and workmanship, a sign of the artist's deliberate desire to create a work that can be read from all angles, offering visitors who walk around the cross a complete and balanced visual experience. This duality is rare, and gives the piece a particularly accomplished theological and aesthetic dimension. The visit is akin to a sculpted meditation. Taking the time to walk around the cross, to observe the play of Breton light on the granite or limestone, to decipher the precisely carved figures, is to enter into the intimacy of a 16th-century craftsman whose name is unfortunately unknown to us, but whose gesture remains astonishingly vigorous. Lovers of late medieval art and religious sculpture will find this an authentic source of wonder. The Médréac cemetery, with its lush, peaceful setting, offers just the right atmosphere in which to appreciate this type of monument. The cross has survived the centuries and even a move - from the old cemetery to the new one - without losing either its integrity or its evocative power. It remains an essential milestone in Brittany's Renaissance sculptural heritage.
Architecture
The Médréac cross is typical of 16th-century Breton cemetery crosses, a monumental type characteristic of the Armorican funerary landscape. Built in all likelihood from local granite - the material of choice for Breton quarrymen and sculptors because of its resistance to bad weather and its availability in the subsoil of Ille-et-Vilaine - it has the classic structure of these objects: a more or less slender shaft resting on a stepped base, crowned by the head of a cross with branches delimiting the sculpted medallions. The major stylistic feature of this cross lies in the total equivalence of its two iconographic sides: the figures depicted are of the same size and the same workmanship on both sides, which is far from systematic in Breton production of the period, where the main side (generally facing east or towards the entrance to the cemetery) traditionally receives a more elaborate treatment. This deliberate symmetry betrays the hand of an experienced sculptor, mastering conventions while choosing to break away from them. The figures, probably Christ-like and hagiographic in keeping with the usual iconography of these crosses, are treated in a late Gothic style tinged with the new sensibilities of the Renaissance, with a sense of volume and drapery characteristic of Breton workshops in the first half of the 16th century.
Related Figures
Artisan breton anonyme du XVIe siècle — sculpteur de la croix, maître tailleur de pierre aux ateliers non identifiésFabrique paroissiale de Médréac (XVIe siècle) — commanditaire présumé de l'œuvrePaul Sébillot (1843-1918) — folkloriste breton dont les travaux contribuèrent à valoriser le patrimoine populaire et monumental de BretagneInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (début XXe siècle) — ayant proposé le classement de la croix en 1912
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix de cimetière located?
Croix de cimetière is located in Médréac, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix de cimetière built?
Croix de cimetière dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Croix de cimetière open to visitors?
Croix de cimetière is currently closed to visitors.