Eglise Notre-Dame
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame, located in La Chapelle-Faucher (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- La Chapelle-Faucher, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.3705, 0.7510
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082480
Nestled in the heart of the Périgord Vert, the église Notre-Dame de La Chapelle-Faucher reveals an intact Périgord Romanesque style: six sculpted capitals from the 12th century and a trio of arcades with colonettes of rare elegance.
History
Tucked away in a quiet market town in the Dordogne, the church of Notre-Dame de La Chapelle-Faucher stands out as a prime example of Perigordian Romanesque art in all its luminous sobriety. Listed as a historic monument since 1938, it has preserved an authenticity that many more famous buildings have lost through restoration. Here, the golden limestone still speaks to the centuries without artifice or pretense. What makes Notre-Dame truly unique is the density of its sculpted decoration, concentrated in small spaces. The six Romanesque capitals in the interior are a veritable lapidary museum in miniature: interlacing plants, fantastical creatures and human figures coexist in the pictorial grammar typical of 12th-century Romanesque sculptors. On the south facade, the group of three small arcades, punctuated by finely worked columns and capitals, catches the eye with its almost musical composition, underlined by two medallions with figures set into the masonry like silent witnesses to history. The visit is as much about atmosphere as it is about architectural detail. The single nave, narrow and high, concentrates the light filtered through the Romanesque windows and invites you to meditate. The choir, which ends in a circular apse, gives the space a mystical depth. The 15th-century Gothic chapel, grafted onto the southern façade, creates a dialogue of styles that the eye learns to distinguish and appreciate. The setting adds to the charm of the place. La Chapelle-Faucher, a village in the Périgord Vert region, is surrounded by oak forests and green valleys, just a few kilometres from the Château de La Chapelle-Faucher, whose romantic ruins crown a nearby spur. To visit Notre-Dame is to embrace medieval sacred art and the Périgord landscape in all its glory.
Architecture
Notre-Dame church is in the tradition of Périgord Romanesque architecture, characterised by the sobriety of its volumes, the strength of its local limestone masonry and the concentration of its sculpted decoration on a few key elements. The highly legible layout consists of a single nave extended by a choir bay flanked by the bell tower, then a circular semi-circular apse that closes the whole to the east. This simplified Latin cross layout, with no transept, is typical of rural parishes in the Périgord in the 12th century. On the exterior, the most remarkable decorative features are to be found on the south façade. Above the entrance portal - which has been extensively rebuilt - is a group of three semi-circular arches supported by slender columns whose capitals feature delicate sculpture combining plant motifs and animal figures. Two sculpted medallions with figures, set into the masonry, frame the whole and give the façade a narrative dimension that is rare for a church of this modesty. The bell tower, which stands on the connecting bay between the nave and choir, probably has semi-circular arched openings typical of the late Romanesque style in the region. The interior holds the biggest surprise of the visit: six sculpted Romanesque capitals, placed on the supports of the nave and choir, form a coherent iconographic ensemble of a quality of execution unusual for a rural church. Leafy interlacing, palmettes, human figures and hybrid creatures are treated with a mastery of bas-relief that evokes the workshops that were active on the great pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. The apse, covered by a stone cul-de-four, bathes the sanctuary in a golden light that the restorers have managed to preserve. The 15th-century Gothic chapel, visible from the nave, introduces a lightness of vault and a curve of ribs that contrast delicately with the surrounding Romanesque severity.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Faucher — famille noble périgourdine, probables commanditaires de la construction romane au XIIe siècleSculpteurs anonymes de l'atelier roman périgourdin — auteurs des chapiteaux et des colonnettes de façade (XIIe siècle)Donateurs anonymes du XVe siècle — mécènes de la chapelle gothique latérale après la guerre de Cent AnsInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1938) — responsables de la reconnaissance et de la protection officielle de l'édifice
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame located?
Eglise Notre-Dame is located in La Chapelle-Faucher, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame built?
Eglise Notre-Dame dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame is currently closed to visitors.
