Romanesque Art in Southern Manche: Album Part 13

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201. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Sketch of the south gate, that is walled-up at the base of the tower. Sketch by Marie Lebert.

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202. Sartilly. Location. The town of Sartilly is located on the road between Granville and Avranches, 15 kilometers south of Granville and 11 kilometers north of Avranches. Sartilly was on the medieval road going from Saint-Lo to Mont Saint-Michel, the final destination for many pilgrims. The parish of Sartilly belonged to the deanery of Genets and the archidiachone of Avranches. The church is under St. Pair's patronage.

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203. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate was the west gate of the Romanesque church, and is now the south gate of the church that replaced it. The Romanesque church, which was ready to collapse, was demolished and replaced in 1858 by a much larger building of Gothic inspiration. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-10]

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204. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The capital baskets are carved with various designs like oak leaves, acanthus leaves, scrolls framing an acanthus leaf at the corner, or corner curls. The sculptures, carved in high relief in granite, are much more elegant than in any other small church in the region. The square base of the columns is topped by a double torus. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-11]

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205. Sartilly. The old Romanesque church, demolished in 1858, in a drawing from the journal Revue de l'Avranchin dated 1924-1926. This church was described in the Minute Book of the City Council (Registre des Deliberations du Conseil Munic.i.p.al) of Sartilly of 1837-1864: "The church we should replace is an old building (...) composed of: 1) a dark nave which is 19 meters and 60 centimeters long and 7 meters wide, with the lower part of its walls soaked with moisture and cracked in several places, and not standing straight anymore, particularly towards the end of the church; 2) a tower between the nave and the choir (...); 3) a choir which is 9 meters long and 6 meters wide (...)." Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-118]

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206. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate is in granite, which is the local stone, Sartilly being located at the heart of the granite ground of Vire. This gate, probably from the second half of the 12th century, is the most beautiful Romanesque gate in the region. The moldings of the arch and archivolt are the result of meticulous work, as well as the sculptures of the capital baskets, with oak leaves, acanthus leaves and scrolls. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-111]

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207. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. Sketch of the arch, the archivolt and a column. This gate, which was the west gate of the Romanesque church, is now the south gate of the church that replaced it. Sketch by Marie Lebert.

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208. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The arch of the gate is formed of three grains: a grain with a lower centering, and two semi-circular grains surmounted by a archivolt. The first grain is molded with a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a large cavetto adorned with large and slightly rounded bezants. The second grain is molded with a thick angle torus. The third grain is molded with two tori surrounding a listel. The archivolt is a prominent cordon ornated with saw-teeth in high relief carved with a hollow row of triangular sticks. It rests on both sides on two carved heads with well designed features. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-112]

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209. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left columns. On each side of the gate, the three grains rest on three attached columns through an impost molded with a cavetto. The square part of the impost is adorned with a small hollow molding. The impost goes on above the external pier supporting the archivolt. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-113]

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210. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left side of the archivolt. The archivolt is formed by a band adorned with saw-teeth in high relief carved with a row of triangular sticks. On either side of the arch, it rests on a head carved in the granite. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-114]

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211. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left side of the archivolt.

Detail showing the same carved head, in profile. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-115]

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212. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The right side of the archivolt.

Detail showing the second carved head on which the archivolt rests.

Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-116]

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213. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The right side of the archivolt.

Detail showing the same carved head, closer. Photo by Alain Dermigny.

[Alain-117]

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214. End of this alb.u.m, with a cap and its angel holding a s.h.i.+eld, in the church of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer. Special thanks to Alain Dermigny and Claude Rayon for their beautiful pictures. Many thanks to Bernard Beck, Daniele Cercel, Georges Cercel, Philippe Dartiguenave, Al Haines, Nicolas Pewny, Martine Valenti, Marie-Noelle Vivier and Russon Wooldridge for their kind help over the years. Photo by Claude Rayon.

[Claude-22]