Eglise Notre-Dame
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame, located in Pencran (Département 29), 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
- Pencran, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4369, -4.2353
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090147
A jewel of 16th-century Breton religious art, the church of Notre-Dame de Pencran features a porch with twelve apostles, a Calvary with three crosses and an ossuary, all set within a strikingly coherent parish enclosure.
History
In the heart of Léon, the region of Finistère where Breton religious art reached its most accomplished expression, the church of Notre-Dame de Pencran, with its calvary, sculpted porch and ossuary, forms a parish enclosure of rare integrity. Far from the crowds of star sites such as Guimiliau and Saint-Thégonnec, Pencran offers visitors an intimate encounter with one of the most coherent monumental programmes of the 16th century in Finistère. What immediately sets Notre-Dame de Pencran apart is the quality and legibility of its southern porch, a veritable theological portal where the statues of the twelve apostles line up in their niches with Breton solemnity. The sculpture of these figures, characteristic of local Renaissance workshops, combines popular expressiveness with undeniable technical mastery. The Calvary with its three crosses - that of Christ flanked by the two thieves - recalls with direct brutality the scene of Golgotha, translating into stone the concrete, unadorned faith of the peasants of Leon. A visit to the enclosure also includes the 1594 ossuary, a small building with an archway where the bones of the deceased were collected to free up space in the cemetery, and whose presence so close to the church illustrates the intimate relationship that the Bretons had with their dead. Inside, the church's liturgical furnishings are marked by popular piety: statues of saints, side altars and stained glass windows all contribute to an atmosphere of authentic contemplation. The bell tower, which underwent several alterations following the lightning strikes of 1718 and 1833, displays the superimposition of styles that time and reconstruction have shaped: a 16th-century base surmounted by a gallery of classical pilasters, crowned by a slender spire. This visible architectural stratigraphy is in itself an account of the history of the parish. Pencran is best visited in spring or early summer, when the golden light of Armorique bathes the kersantite stone and granite of the enclosure. Away from the overcrowded tourist circuits, this listed monument offers a serene visiting experience, conducive to contemplation and photography.
Architecture
The church of Notre-Dame de Pencran is in the tradition of the parish enclosures of the Léonards, these monumental complexes that bring together within an enclosed space the church, the monumental porch, the calvary and the ossuary. The main building, which was rebuilt in 1553, adopts the usual basilica plan of Renaissance Breton churches: a central nave flanked by aisles, a flat chevet and a return sacristy. The materials used were local granite, which is ubiquitous in the Léon region, and kersantite - a dark volcanic rock quarried near Brest - favoured for the sculpted elements because of its fine grain. The south porch is the centrepiece of the architectural complex. Rectangular in plan and covered by a barrel or coffered vault, its walls are decorated with statues of the twelve apostles set in niches with sculpted canopies, following an iconographic programme common to the great works of Breton art of the 16th century. The treatment of drapery and faces reflects the influence of the French Renaissance, filtered through local sensibilities. The calvary with its three crosses, erected in the enclosure, is of a sober design compared to the monumental altarpieces of Guimiliau, but with a concentrated expressiveness characteristic of Leonard productions from the second half of the 16th century. The bell tower, rebuilt in 1696 and then partially rebuilt after the lightning strike of 1718, has a multi-storey silhouette topped by an octagonal spire. The pilastered gallery on the upper level, attributable to the first quarter of the 18th century, introduces a discreet classical vocabulary that contrasts pleasantly with the gothic rusticity of the lower levels. The ossuary dating from 1594, to the north-west, features simple architecture with semicircular arches, sober and functional.
Related Figures
Maîtres d'œuvre anonymes des ateliers léonards (milieu XVIe siècle) — sculpteurs du porche et du calvaireFondeurs de la cloche de 1365 — artisans dont l'œuvre survécut à six siècles de vicissitudesRecteurs de la paroisse de Ploudiry (XVIe siècle) — commanditaires présumés de la reconstruction de 1553Artisans campanaires de 1696 — reconstructeurs du premier clocherMaçons et architectes de 1718 — auteurs de la galerie à pilastres classiques après la foudre
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame located?
Eglise Notre-Dame is located in Pencran, Département 29 department, Bretagne 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.
