Eglise Saint-Martin
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Martin, located in Saint-Martin-des-Bois (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Saint-Martin-des-Bois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.7232, 0.8270
- Mérimée Reference
- PA41000052
Nestling in the heart of the Vendôme region, the church of Saint-Martin boasts a choir in the Angevin style of rare elegance and medieval wall paintings dating from the 14th century, revealed to the world in 1977.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
On the edge of the gentle hills of the Loir-et-Cher region, the village of Saint-Martin-des-Bois is home to an architectural gem that is all too often overlooked on tourist circuits: the church of Saint-Martin, built at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries under the spiritual and architectural influence of the abbey of Saint-Georges. Yet this modest stone jewel-box contains treasures of unsuspected wealth, from the refinement of its Angevin-style flat chevet choir to the historiated murals that lay dormant beneath the plasterwork for centuries. What sets Saint-Martin apart from the many rural churches in the region is precisely this layering of time visible on its very walls. The sober, elegant west portal bears witness to the care given to the entrance to the sacred in the late Romanesque period. The choir, the real centrepiece of the building, is a powerful expression of Anjou's Gothic vocabulary: the Loire Valley style of wide, slightly domed vaults that exude Cistercian serenity. The tour is naturally structured around a gradual discovery of the building's historical layers. You first enter through the 16th-century porch, a late but harmonious addition, before letting your gaze wander upwards to the single nave, then to the choir where the filtered light reveals the outlines of the murals. These historiated scenes, uncovered in 1977, are one of the building's most moving surprises: figures with firm outlines and colours dulled by the centuries, still seem intent on telling their sacred stories. The village itself adds to the enchantment: Saint-Martin-des-Bois is one of those Loir-et-Cher villages where time seems to have slowed down. Around the church, the silence of the Vendôme hedged farmlands and the gentle Loire air invite you to enjoy a contemplative visit, away from the crowds. It's a perfect stop-off for lovers of Romanesque and Gothic heritage, as well as for photographers in search of authentic interior light.
Architecture
Saint-Martin's church has a simple, legible plan, typical of rural parish buildings from the 13th century: a single nave, preceded by a Renaissance porch added in the 16th century, extends into a choir with a flat chevet, flanked to the south by a bell tower and a side chapel dating from the 14th or 15th century. This partial L-shaped floor plan gives the building an asymmetrical, endearing silhouette, typical of the Gothic architecture of the Loire countryside. The western portal, dating from the late 12th or early 13th century, is typical of late Romanesque architecture, with semi-circular or slightly broken archivolts, restrained mouldings and a discreet tympanum. The choir is the most remarkable architectural feature of the building: its so-called "Angevin" style can be recognised by its vaults with prominent ribs, well-defined transoms and the slight curvature of the formets, creating an effect of lightness and breadth that is unexpected for a building of this size. The flat apse, rather rare in this region, which is more used to semi-circular apses, brings the church closer to the great Cistercian and Plantagenet architectural traditions. The interior retains much of its interest thanks to the wall paintings unearthed in 1977. These 14th-century painted decorations, with ochre, red and black pigments that are still legible, illustrate carefully crafted narrative scenes, testifying to the existence of itinerant painters' workshops active in the Vendôme region at the end of the Middle Ages. The building materials, mainly the local tufa and limestone typical of the Loir valley, give the whole a warm, golden hue that changes with the hours and the seasons.
Related Figures
Abbés de Saint-Georges (XIIe siècle) — tuteurs ecclésiastiques et commanditaires de la construction primitiveMaîtres maçons angevins (XIIIe siècle) — artisans du chœur à voûtes de style angevinPeintres muraux vendômois (XIVe siècle) — auteurs des scènes historiées redécouvertes en 1977Saint Martin de Tours (316/317-397) — saint patron de l'église, dont le culte structura la vie paroissiale du villageRestaurateurs du patrimoine (1977) — équipe à l'origine de la redécouverte des peintures murales médiévales
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Martin located?
Eglise Saint-Martin is located in Saint-Martin-des-Bois, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Martin built?
Eglise Saint-Martin dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Martin open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Martin is currently closed to visitors.
