Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Album Part 6

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091. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir and its south wall.

The choir has similarities with the church Notre-Dame-sous-Terre, present in the innards of Mont Saint-Michel and built by the Benedictines shortly after settling down on the Mont in 966. In both buildings, the bay centerings are made of brick quoins, and walls are made of fairly regular small blocks of granite joined with a thick mortar. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-045]

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092. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir. On the left of the large central bay, a small Romanesque bay is clearly visible, with its centering and abutements in granite. Photo by Claude Rayon [Claude-31]

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093. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir and its north wall.

High in the wall, the centerings of the pre-Romanesque bays are made of brick quoins. The large semi-circular bay with a trefoil arch was pierced in 1895, when the tower was rebuilt. The pre-Romanesque bays were discovered and reopened during the restoration of the choir in 1965 by Yves-Marie Froidevaux, a chief architect at the (French) Historic Monuments. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-046]

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094. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir and its north wall.

The masonry is made of fairly regular small blocks of granite joined with a thick mortar. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-047]

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095. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir. The centering of this small pre-Romanesque bay is made with brick quoins. The same bays are present in the church Notre-Dame-sous-Terre, built around the same time in the innards of Mont Saint-Michel. Photo by Claude Rayon.

[Claude-30]

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096. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir (inside) and its north wall. The fairly regular granite blocks of the walls and the brick quoins of the bays are also visible inside, following the restoration of the choir in 1965 by Yves-Marie Froideveaux, a chief architect at the (French) Historic Monuments. The five bays with centerings in brick quoins--three north and two south--were found and reopened at that time. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-048]

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097. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir (inside). The two large semi-circular bays on each side of the choir were added in 1895, during the construction of the new tower. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-049]

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098. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The pre-Romanesque choir (inside). The wooden barrel vault was added in 1965 and completed in 1973. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-050]

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099. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque nave (inside). This nave is probably from the 11th century and early 12th century. In the front wall in the background, the two Romanesque bays were reopened in 1973 after being found under the plaster. The upper bay--a median bay situated in the gable wall--was walled up at the same time, but its granite abutments remain clearly visible. The barrel vault of the nave is in plaster. The floor is covered with large pavings In granite.

Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-051]

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100. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque nave (inside). Another view of the nave, this time towards the choir. Photo by Claude Rayon.

[Claude-32]

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101. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque nave (inside). Romanesque murals were found on the south wall of the nave, a very interesting discovery because murals are almost non-existent in the region. The existence of such ancient wall paintings, probably from the 12th century, was unknown until 1974, until the plaster of the walls of the nave was redone. Colour spots attracted the attention of abbot Poree, pastor of the church, who then requested the visit of the fresco specialists of the (French) Fine Arts Department. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-052]

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102. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque murals, in the south wall of the nave. In this part restored in December 1974, there are three paintings: the struggle of a man against an angel, on the tympanum of the walled-up gate, then a fight between two figures, and finally a country scene. These paintings are surrounded by decorative borders.

These murals may be the work of pilgrims going to Mont Saint-Michel on the medieval road along the coast. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-053]

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103. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque murals, on the south wall of the nave. On the tympanum of the walled-up gate, the battle of a man against an angel, "a fight that could be the one of Jacob against the angel sent by G.o.d, or G.o.d himself showed in a visible form", according to abbot Poree, pastor of the church at the time of the discovery of the murals in 1974. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-054]

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104. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque murals. The same scene on the tympanum of the walled-up gate, taken with a different angle to show the two foliage borders. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-33]

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105. Saint-Jean-le-Thomas. The Romanesque murals. The same tympanum of the walled-up gate, seen from the outside. Above the gate, a small Romanesque bay with its centering and abutements in granite. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-29]