Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye - blue hour

by Olivier Parent

Title

Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye - blue hour

Artist

Olivier Parent

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye : blue hour over the Abbey church and the village during the 'Christmas of lights" (Noël des lumières) celebrations. In the background: the Vercors mountain range.

Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye's majestic abbey church is considered one of the most remarkable examples of Gothic architecture in France (built between the XII and XV centuries).

Formerly known as La-Motte-Saint-Didier, Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye was renamed after becoming the home of purported relics of Saint Anthony the Great in the 11th century, and shortly afterwards of the original house of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony, founded here in 1095 as the result of miraculous cures from St. Anthony's Fire (ergotism) ascribed to the relics. The ergot gangrenous poisoning was known as "holy fire" or "Saint Anthony's fire", named after monks of the Order of St. Anthony who were particularly successful at treating this ailment. Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye welcomed pilgrims who had come from all over the world to meditate on the relics of Saint Anthony the Egyptian, and to benefit from its miraculous healing power.

The earliest mention of a painted decoration in the abbey church dates from 1383. The sculptor from Avignon, Antoine Le Moiturier, worked in the abbey between 1461 and 1464. He has been credited with the realization of the sculptures of the portals of the western facade. The stained glass windows were installed at the end of the 15th century. The covering of the roof in colored and glazed tiles was laid between 1482 and 1490. The historian of the order, Aymar Falco noted in 1534 the presence of the bones of more than 80 saints in the abbey church. This explains the large number of reliquaries still preserved. The great reliquary of Saint Anthony, offered in 1648, is placed under the high altar. The treasure contains many ornaments, chasubles and copes from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, an ivory Christ, a gilded silver chalice from the same period. In addition to the sundial at the back of the abbey buildings, the church has within it a solar clock that is unique in the world and which provides 4 time zones, with extreme precision. The oldest surviving stained glass windows in the abbey date from 1605. A 17th century organ stands opposite the nave.

Thanks to Prosper Mérimée, the abbey church has been classified as a historic monument since 1840.

This image is available as canvas print, framed print, acrylic print, metal print, wood print or poster in a variety of sizes. It can also be printed as a greeting card, T-shirt, jigsaw puzzle, throw pillow, duvet cover, shower curtain, fleece blanket, beach or bath towel, tote bag, zip pouch, phone case, coffee mug, yoga mat, spiral notebook, etc.

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January 26th, 2021

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