June 30th was a really great touring day for us, as we hyper-fast-forwarded 28,000 years from the caves of Arcy to the church of St. Germain at La Ferte-Loupiere and its great Danse Macabre. The village of La Ferte-Loupiere is some few miles northwest of Auxerre and, notably, provides two free RV spaces across the road from the church (east side), with electricity, and welcomes over-night stays. The church has the usual pedigree, going back a thousand years or more from the foundations, renovated or rebuilt numerous times, with the usual Romanesque, Gothic, and later facets. Alas, the church struck us as in very poor condition, especially considering the artistic treasures it houses, all murals from the presumably earlier 16th century: the Three Knights and Death, St. Michael skewering a demon, an Annunciation, and, most famous, the Danse Macabre, some forty characters that run nearly the length of the nave, and whose depictions are said to yield many insights into later Medieval life and society. The Danse was whitewashed early in its history, by ecclesiastical order, but rediscovered and revealed in 1910. I'm posting some of my many pix of the church and the murals but definitely recommend the church friends' website, http://lamefel.fr, for closer views and English description.
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| Eastern facade of St. Germain, La Ferte-Loupiere |
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| West; central aisle and two flankers; first documented in 1137 |
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| Not in English too |
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| Nave, looking east |
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| Nicely carved pulpit for a relatively remote place |
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| Altar, etc. |
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| Very rickety old staircase |
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| Starboard aisle; note boxed seats |
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| Solitary |
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| Long view of the murals...we'll come back to them |
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In the port aisle, an extraordinary interpretive display, covering
the pigments, mural technique, the paintings themselves |
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| For example, one of a dozen |
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| Ditto |
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Capital on a pillar; the present church floor is nearly
2 meters above the original 12th century |
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| More, demonstrating the expanse of the display |
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Yes, it's in French, but the descriptions are so good,
and our Francophile friends will appreciate them...about
the Three Knights encountering Death |
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Skewering the demon; this a pretty good 16th century copy
of a Raphael Skewering, executed at the command of Leo X as
a gift to Francois I, in 1518, to celebrate the wedding of Leo's
nephew to a French noble woman; two pretty major art
patrons; so it says
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An Annunciation
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| Main attraction, the Danse |
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| More to come... |
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