A Romanesque chapel in the 17th century!
Defining what is Romanesque seemed easy enough at first: anything that’s pre-Gothic Mediæval art and architecture. But of course, as one progresses, one realizes that it is more complicated than that, as scholars much more learned than ourselves have been ferociously disputing the concept since Charles de Gerville invented it in December 1818.
However, one thing is for sure: around 1630, the age of Romanesque was most certainly over.
And yet, around that date, among a group of monks who had fled the Cluniac priory of Nantua and taken refuge in the remote village of Cheignieu-la-Balme in the hope of escaping the rampant plague that was decimating populace and clerics alike, there was one Dom Claude du Plastre who had this small chapel built, and I’ll be damned if it is not mostly Romanesque in inspiration, with a Gothic rib vaulting over the choir: look at this beautiful barrel vault over the nave, look at this lovely Romanesque windows with their slightly broken arches...!
Dedicated to Saint Claude, this chapel is private property, but small events, like chamber music concerts, are organized there, the acoustics are excellent.
I photographed it in the course of my pro bono photographic work for the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, and contrary to most of the other churches I had to shoot in the département of Ain (southeastern France), this one was pure pleasure.
The western façade, simple and humble. The roofing layout is typical of the Bugey region, which is low mountains around 1,000 meters of altitude. The awning was added in the 19th century.
A Romanesque chapel in the 17th century!
Defining what is Romanesque seemed easy enough at first: anything that’s pre-Gothic Mediæval art and architecture. But of course, as one progresses, one realizes that it is more complicated than that, as scholars much more learned than ourselves have been ferociously disputing the concept since Charles de Gerville invented it in December 1818.
However, one thing is for sure: around 1630, the age of Romanesque was most certainly over.
And yet, around that date, among a group of monks who had fled the Cluniac priory of Nantua and taken refuge in the remote village of Cheignieu-la-Balme in the hope of escaping the rampant plague that was decimating populace and clerics alike, there was one Dom Claude du Plastre who had this small chapel built, and I’ll be damned if it is not mostly Romanesque in inspiration, with a Gothic rib vaulting over the choir: look at this beautiful barrel vault over the nave, look at this lovely Romanesque windows with their slightly broken arches...!
Dedicated to Saint Claude, this chapel is private property, but small events, like chamber music concerts, are organized there, the acoustics are excellent.
I photographed it in the course of my pro bono photographic work for the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, and contrary to most of the other churches I had to shoot in the département of Ain (southeastern France), this one was pure pleasure.
The western façade, simple and humble. The roofing layout is typical of the Bugey region, which is low mountains around 1,000 meters of altitude. The awning was added in the 19th century.