Croix du cimetière en granit
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix du cimetière en granit, located in Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche (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
- Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0431, -1.6626
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090645
In the heart of the cemetery at Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche, this 15th-century granite cross fascinates with its round of animals with human figures and its Gothic escutcheons of rare sculptural finesse.
History
In a Breton cemetery where silence mingles with age-old granite, the cross at Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche stands out as one of the most unusual examples of 15th-century Breton funerary sculpture. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1907, it belongs to the family of calvaries and stone crosses that dot inland Brittany, veritable pages of the Gospel carved into the grey rock for the edification of the faithful.
Architecture
The cross rests on a base of carefully dressed granite, the base of which is adorned with recessed mouldings typical of the late flamboyant Gothic style. Above these moulded profiles, the base reveals its most striking ornament: a procession sculpted in the round of animals with human figures, combining the animal world and the human form in a symbolic register typical of the medieval imagination, on the borderline between moralising bestiary and the representation of sin or spiritual transformation. The shaft, slender in line with the usual proportions of 15th-century Breton crosses, is enlivened at the top by armorial bearings surmounted by finely chiselled gables. These small triangular pediments with Gothic hooks frame the coats of arms with an architectural elegance reminiscent of the portals of today's great cathedrals. The whole structure is carved from local, tight-grained granite, with a grey-blue patina that bears witness to centuries of exposure to the Armorican weather. The two sides of the crossing concentrate the major iconographic charge of the work: to the east, Christ on the Cross presents the faithful to the light of the rising sun, in accordance with the traditional liturgical orientation; to the west, the Virgin and Child offers her soothing image to the setting sun. This dual reading of Christ and Mary is characteristic of Breton crosses from the late Middle Ages, which turn the cross into a veritable open-air altar.
Related Figures
Tailleurs de pierre bretons anonymes du XVe siècleCommanditaires seigneuriaux locaux (familles armoriant sur le fût)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (arrêté de classement du 10 mars 1907)Société archéologique d'Ille-et-Vilaine (acteurs de la préservation régionale)Curés successifs de la paroisse de Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix du cimetière en granit located?
Croix du cimetière en granit is located in Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix du cimetière en granit built?
Croix du cimetière en granit dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Croix du cimetière en granit open to visitors?
Croix du cimetière en granit is currently closed to visitors.
