Eglise Saint-Caprais
ChurchHidden Treasure
Nestled in the Bergeracois, the église Saint-Caprais reveals a Romanesque cupola from the twelfth century and an exceptional chancel with six sculpted columns, where angels and chimeras have ridden the stone for eight hundred years.
History
In the heart of the village of Saint-Capraise-d'Eymet, in southern Périgord, the church of Saint-Caprais stands out as one of those rural buildings that you discover with wonder, far from the beaten tourist track. Its Romanesque architecture, marked by a central dome and a rounded apse characteristic of the Périgord style, bears witness to a remarkable mastery of construction for a country parish. What really sets Saint-Caprais apart from so many other small Romanesque churches in Périgord is the rich plasticity of its choir. This sacred space is vaulted and flanked by six Romanesque columns with capitals chiselled with almost goldsmith's care, revealing a sculpted bestiary of rare inventiveness: angels with outstretched wings, a rider riding a horse with a human head - a fantastic figure inherited from medieval moralities - and stylised plant motifs. The pillars supporting the dome share the same ornamental profusion, transforming the entire building into a miniature example of Romanesque sculpture. A visit to the building offers a dual experience. On the outside, visitors are struck by the church's singular silhouette: the original bell tower, which crowned the dome, has disappeared over the centuries, replaced by a modern bell tower planted at the entrance - a temporal dissonance that alone tells the story of several centuries of history. Inside, your eyes gradually become accustomed to the golden half-light and move along the Gothic ribs of the rebuilt nave, before becoming absorbed in the contemplation of the capitals. The setting adds to the charm of the whole. Saint-Capraise-d'Eymet is a market town in the Périgord Noir on the borders of the Lot-et-Garonne, in a landscape of hillsides and vineyards meandered by the River Dropt. To come here is to combine a Romanesque heritage with the tranquillity of an unspoilt region, just a few kilometres from Eymet and its medieval bastide town.
Architecture
The church of Saint-Caprais is fully in keeping with the Périgord Romanesque school, whose most spectacular signature is the cupola on pendentives covering the central bay of the nave. This feature, inherited from Byzantine influences passed on by the great abbeys of the south-west, gives the interior space an unexpected vertical breadth for a building of modest dimensions. The rounded apse, characteristic of the Romanesque plan used in the region, harmoniously closes off the building to the east and houses the choir, the centrepiece of the ornamental programme. The choir, which is remarkably high in relation to the overall proportions of the building, is cross-vaulted and punctuated by six Romanesque columns whose capitals are the main sculptural feature of the whole. The stonemasons used a varied iconographic repertoire: angelic figures with outstretched wings, scrolling plant motifs and, above all, a rider on a horse with a human head - a fantastic creature that Romanesque sculptors liked to place in sacred spaces to represent the vanquished forces of evil or the mysteries of creation. The pillars supporting the dome are similarly richly sculpted, extending the dialogue between architectural form and stone narrative into the nave. The nave, remodelled in the 13th century, has ribbed vaulting that contrasts with the Romanesque fullness of the choir, creating an immediately legible stratigraphic reading. On the outside, the silhouette of the church is now marked by the modern bell tower at the entrance, which replaces the medieval bell tower that once stood on the dome - an absence that can still be seen in the shape of the drum at the top.
Related Figures
Saint Caprais — martyr chrétien agonisé à Agen vers 303, patron de l'église et figure tutélaire du culte localSainte Foy d'Agen — martyre contemporaine de saint Caprais, dont le culte était intimement lié dans toute la zone périgordine et agenaiseMaîtres maçons romans du XIIe siècle — bâtisseurs anonymes de la coupole et du chœur sculpté, héritiers des ateliers périgourdins itinérantsSculpteurs romans du chœur — artisans inconnus ayant ciselé les chapiteaux aux anges et chimères, probablement issus d'un atelier régional actif entre Périgord et QuercyClergé paroissial médiéval — commanditaires des travaux gothiques du XIIIe siècle, responsables de la transformation de la nef
