Croix du cimetière
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix du cimetière, located in Saint-Juvat (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
- Saint-Juvat, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.3530, -2.0435
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089637
A seventeenth-century stone sentinel, the cross in the Saint-Juvat cemetery stands out for its square shaft with chamfers, its coat-of-arms and its elegant pedestal base - a fine example of Breton Baroque stonework.
History
At the heart of the small cemetery in Saint-Juvat, a peaceful village in the Côtes-d'Armor region, stands a monumental cross whose sober elegance sums up several centuries of Breton rural piety. Listed as a historic monument since 1926, this 17th-century lapidary work belongs to the family of parish crosses that dot the Armor countryside, true markers of the identity of a culture deeply rooted in stone and faith. What immediately sets the Saint-Juvat cross apart is the sophistication of its base: a massive dome topped by a shelf, the corners of which rest on small columns, creating a play of shadows and volumes that is rare for a monument of this scale. Far from being a crude cross planted in the ground, it is based on miniature architecture that bears witness to the care and artistic ambition of those who commissioned it. The square shaft, adorned with heraldic shields and chamfers, invites you to bend down and decipher the sculpted coats of arms, which may bear witness to the noble families or rectors who presided over the parish's destiny. These coats of arms are invaluable genealogical clues for local historians and fans of sigillography. A visit to this discreet monument lends itself to slow, almost meditative contemplation, in the silence of a village cemetery where time seems suspended. Lovers of rural heritage and Breton sculpture will find here a particularly accomplished example of the funerary and votive art of the Costarmorican countryside during the Grand Siècle.
Architecture
The cross in the Saint-Juvat cemetery rests on a two-tiered base of particularly meticulous design: a massive dice, a cubic block serving as a base, on which is placed an overhanging shelf, the four corners of which are supported by small engaged columns. This arrangement, reminiscent on a smaller scale of the baldachins and aediculae of learned architecture, gives the monument a visual lightness and architectural elegance that are rare in rural funerary furniture. The shaft is square in cross-section, with chamfered edges - a technical detail that softens the angles while creating a characteristic play of light - and decorated with armorial bearings in relief. The carving of these coats of arms, even if time may have dulled the details, constitutes an iconographic programme in its own right, combining devotion and affirmation of identity. The whole piece was probably carved from local granite, the preferred material of Armorican craftsmen, combining exceptional durability with the possibility of precise sculptural work. The summit cross, replaced in the 18th century, probably displays the formal characteristics of this period: a more sober composition, perhaps a Christ on the cross or a bare Latin cross, in the style of Breton creations from the second half of the 18th century. Despite this chronological heterogeneity between the 17th-century shaft and the 18th-century cross, the ensemble forms a coherent work that illustrates the successive adaptations of rural religious heritage.
Related Figures
Recteurs de Saint-Juvat du XVIIe siècle (commanditaires présumés de la croix)Familles nobles locales arborant les écussons gravés sur le fûtTailleurs de pierre armoricains anonymes du XVIIe siècleInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription en 1926
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix du cimetière located?
Croix du cimetière is located in Saint-Juvat, 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.