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BENQUE-DESSOUS-ET-DESSUS
A 12th-century Romanesque church of granite and schist. The chapel, nave and choir feature numerous 16th-century frescoes, depicting in particular several saints, the birth of Mary, the birth of Jesus and six scenes from the Passion of Christ.
Beyond the cemetery gate is a window lintel decorated with a disc bearing a cross and flanked by two doves. The rusticity of the sculpture suggests that it dates from the Romanesque period of the building.
Inside, on the choir level, are the oldest and most remarkable paintings in the décor of Saint-Blaise church: the Passion of Christ is depicted in six compartments. The treatment of space, the figures and the drapery with its artificial, angular folds show that the artist was influenced by Flemish painting of the Gothic period.
The paintings in the nave, which are more subdued, are devoted to evocations of the life of Mary and Anne, her mother. To the left of the entrance door, in the depiction of Mary’s birth, Anne is surrounded by midwives, lying in a four-poster bed. Below, the child is presented to his mother after the birth. On the opposite wall, the Nativity (Mary and Joseph kneel before the Child) and the Adoration of the Magi. The nave and part of the choir are also decorated with a series of saints, recognisable by their attributes. From left to right: Saint James as a pilgrim, Saint Michael casting down a demon, Saint Mary Magdalene holding a bottle of perfume, Saint Catherine in an ermine-trimmed bodice and skirt, holding a wheel and sword, Saint Barbara with a small tower.
