First placed under the authority of the Benedictine abbey of St-Cybard d'Angoulême, then that of the cathedral chapter from 1110, this Romanesque church adopted the vaulting in a row of domes on pendentives for the nave and the false square placed under the steeple. The surprise is revealed inside with murals dating from the 15th century. They develop in a frieze along the entire length of the south wall of the nave of the 2nd bay up to the backsplashes, while a piece is preserved on the western part of the south backsplash at 1.50m from the ground. This painting had its counterpart on the north wall of the same span and continued on the wall of the right span. It represents scenes of martyrdom of saints and an isolated fragment which represents a monk holding a kind of club. The fragment isolated on the western part of the backsplash represents a monk, dressed in a crude habit simply indicated by a thick black outline, who holds in his right hand a sort of yellow club at the end of which stands thorns. The face has retained its flesh color and we can clearly see the nose, the arches and the ears indicated by a thin red line. The frieze of characters represents 3 women wearing blue dresses for 2 of them and red for the other, and in the 2nd plan 2 men dressed in high breeches, all standing on a red ground delimited by a thick black line, and on a background of rosettes with red petals. Further on the 1st martyr undergoes his ordeal between 2 men. A large fitted column separates this scene from the previous one. Then a martyr, attached to a green column whose capital bears an angel, is scratched by an instrument handled by one of the 2 men who surround him. The 3rd martyr, suspended by the feet from a wooden gibbet, is about to be plunged into a tank containing, no doubt, a liquid. He is framed by 2 executioners. The 4th martyr is attached to a blue column with an angel at the top. 2 men also flank him. The 5th martyr, lying down, is held in suspension by 2 torturers who subject him to the ordeal of the grill or the fire. With the exception of the 1st, the martyrs stand out against a background composed of intersecting yellow, red and blue lines. The 5th is martyred in a room where 5 semicircular arches stand out. Although the colors have retained a beautiful tint, the whole has suffered until the complete obliteration of details which might have made it possible to better identify the martyrs of the mural.
Translated by Google •
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!