Croix du cimetière
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix du cimetière, located in Plestan (Département 22), 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
- Plestan, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4243, -2.4466
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089425
A 15th-century stone sentinel, the cross in Plestan cemetery fascinates with its finely chiselled carvings and the symbols of the four Evangelists engraved on the base, a rare example of medieval Breton funerary art.
History
At the heart of the cemetery in Plestan, a village in the Penthièvre region of the Côtes-d'Armor, stands a monumental cross of striking sobriety. Erected in the 15th century, it belongs to the great family of crossroads and cemetery crosses that dot rural Brittany, a veritable open-air museum of popular faith and Breton sculptural genius. What makes this cross truly unique is the rich iconography of its base, adorned with the symbols of the four Evangelists - Mark's lion, John's eagle, Luke's bull and Matthew's angel - so-called "tetramorphic" figures inherited from medieval Christian tradition and the Book of Revelation. Their presence in a funerary space is not insignificant: they symbolically accompany the deceased towards the Last Judgement and remind the living that the word of God watches over the tombs. The shaft of the cross itself is decorated with sculptures that bear witness to the skills of Breton stonemasons in the Late Middle Ages. In a region where granite imposes its constraints but also its nobility, these anonymous craftsmen were able to take advantage of the hardness of the material to produce reliefs of remarkable precision, braving the centuries with dignity intact. To visit this cross is to pause in suspended time. The environment of the parish cemetery, enclosed in the village around the church of Saint-Symphorien, offers that special meditation that characterises Breton places of remembrance. The low light of the morning or the golden hues of the evening reveal the relief with a particular acuity, inviting the eye to explore each face of the base. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1964, the Plestan cross is a must-see for anyone exploring the rich heritage of inland Brittany, far from the crowds, in the authenticity of an unspoilt rural village.
Architecture
The Plestan cross is in the tradition of 15th-century Breton monumental crosses, characterised by a slender shaft resting on an architectural base with several projections. Carved from local granite, the preferred stone of Armorican craftsmen, it has the slightly bluish grey hue typical of the quarries in the Penthièvre region, which golden and grey lichens colonise over time to create a natural colour palette of great beauty. The base, the most remarkable element of the whole, is decorated on all four sides with the symbols of the Gospels - the tetramorph - inherited from the vision of Ezekiel and the Apocalypse of John: the winged man or angel for Matthew, the winged lion for Mark, the winged bull for Luke and the eagle for John. These representations, executed in bas-relief with an economy of means characteristic of Breton late Gothic art, reveal the technical mastery of local sculptors who were able to bring the hardness of the granite to life. The shaft of the cross also bears a figurative sculptural programme, probably centred on a representation of Christ on the cross - the corpus - on the main face, and possibly a Virgin or a saint on the opposite face, in accordance with the iconographic practices of the period. The crossed arms have been carefully treated to soften the geometric rigour of the composition, demonstrating a refined artistic sensibility for an object of popular devotion.
Related Figures
Artisans tailleurs de pierre bretons du XVe siècle (auteurs anonymes de la croix)Clergé paroissial de Plestan (commanditaires présumés du programme iconographique)Seigneurs de Penthièvre (mécènes potentiels des arts religieux locaux au XVe siècle)Prosper Mérimée (inspecteur des Monuments Historiques, initiateur du recensement du patrimoine rural breton)Curés de la paroisse Saint-Symphorien de Plestan (gardiens successifs du monument)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix du cimetière located?
Croix du cimetière is located in Plestan, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix du cimetière built?
Croix du cimetière dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Croix du cimetière open to visitors?
Croix du cimetière is currently closed to visitors.