Eglise de Blars
ChurchHidden Treasure
In the heart of the Quercy region, the church at Blars boasts an eight-sided Romanesque dome and refined Cistercian sculpture. A discreet jewel from the 12th century, listed as a Historic Monument.
History
Nestling in the village of Blars, in the heart of the Lot department, this Romanesque church is one of the most endearing examples of 12th-century Quercy religious architecture. Formerly the church of a Cistercian priory attached to the abbey of Marcilhac-sur-Célé, it retains a remarkable architectural coherence despite the ravages of time and a devastating fire in the 19th century. What immediately strikes the attentive visitor is the deliberate sobriety of the whole - a signature of the Cistercian order - offset by some surprisingly well-crafted sculpted ornaments. The doorway in the south arm of the transept, with its twisted archivolts and sculpted figures on the jambs, contrasts with the usual restraint of Cîteaux art and reveals the hand of an exceptional stonemason. A capital with figures completes this highly expressive sculpted decoration. The interior of the building is particularly noteworthy for its eight-sided dome, an ingenious technical solution in which four sides rest on pendentives and three penetrations lead to narrow windows that were once open onto the roofs. This system, characteristic of the great pilgrimage churches of south-west France, gives the transept crossing a soft, enveloping light. A corridor cut into the very thickness of the north transept wall, accessible via an inclined plane, bears witness to the care taken to serve the upper parts of the building - a rare architectural curiosity. For visitors, Blars offers an authentic experience, far removed from the tourist crowds. The silence of the village, the ochre and grey stone, the white Quercy vegetation framing the apse: everything invites contemplation. Lovers of Romanesque art will find much to observe here, while the ordinary walker will appreciate the serenity of the place and the discreet beauty of a preserved heritage.
Architecture
The church at Blars is a typical example of twelfth-century southern Romanesque architecture, characterised by a Latin cross plan with a projecting transept, a crossing surmounted by a bell tower, and a chevet with three apses. This architectural style, widely used in south-west France, reflects the liturgical ambitions of a Cistercian priory concerned with the rational organisation of sacred space. The most spectacular and cleverest feature of the building is the eight-sided dome over the transept crossing. Four of these panels rest on pendentives, a structural device inherited from the Byzantine tradition and widespread in the Romanesque architecture of Périgord and Quercy - fine examples can be found in the abbey church of Souillac and Cahors cathedral. Three penetrations in the dome once allowed light to filter in from neighbouring roofs, creating a chiaroscuro effect closely linked to Cistercian spirituality. Another remarkable technical curiosity: a corridor built into the thickness of the walls of the north transept, accessible via an inclined plane, allowed access to the upper parts of the vault without the need for external scaffolding, revealing a highly sophisticated approach to early maintenance for the period. The sculpture, sober on the whole in keeping with the Cistercian ideal, is concentrated in two specific areas: a capital with figures on the inside, and above all the doorway of the south arm of the transept, whose archivolts are moulded in a twisted pattern and whose jambs are decorated with two expressively sculpted figures. This doorway is the sculptural showpiece of the building, bearing witness to a skilful hand and a thoughtful iconographic programme.
Related Figures
Saint Bernard de Clairvaux — réformateur de l'ordre cistercien dont les principes architecturaux ont directement influencé la construction de l'égliseLes moines de Marcilhac-sur-Célé — abbaye mère dont dépendait le prieuré de Blars, commanditaires de l'édifice au XIIe siècleRobert de Molesme — fondateur de l'ordre cistercien en 1098, dont la règle a déterminé l'austérité ornementale du monumentLes tailleurs de pierre quercynois du XIIe siècle — artisans anonymes auteurs de la coupole à huit pans et du portail sculpté
