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Brinay

Église Saint-AignanCher (18)

French original

L'édifice lui-même, qui date du XIème siècle - le clocher et le porche (caquetoir) sont des ajouts récents - n'a rien de remarquable. Il se compose d'une nef et d'un choeur rectangulaires couverts d'un plafond de bois. Il est d'autant plus surprenant d'y découvrir un ensemble exceptionnel de peintures murales du XIIème siècle. L'intrados de l'arc triomphal, son revers, ainsi que les trois murs - nord, est et sud - du choeur sont décorés de peintures montrant une technique et un art consommés.

Brinay, Église Saint-Aignan

The edifice itself, dating back to the 11th century - the tower and the porch are recent additions - is not remarkable. It consists of a single nave and a rectangular chancel, separated by a triumphal arch and covered by a wooden ceiling. It is therefore all the more surprising to discover its exceptional set of 12th-century wall paintings. The intrados of the triumphal arch and its reverse, the three walls of the choir - north, east and south - are adorned with paintings demonstrating a sophisticated technique and a genuine artistic talent.

1) Labours of the months (intrados of the triumphal arch)

Intrados of the triumphal arch
Intrados of the triumphal arch
Brinay, Église Saint-Aignan
Brinay, Église Saint-Aignan

2)Reverse of triumphal arch

Brinay, Église Saint-Aignan
Brinay, Église Saint-Aignan

Massacre of the Innocents: Herod's order and the massacre

The Presentation of the Christ Child to the Temple
The Presentation of the Christ Child to the Temple
The Flight to Egypt
The Flight to Egypt
Flight to Egypt (detail)
Flight to Egypt (detail)

3) Northern wall of the choir

Arrival of the Magi
Arrival of the Magi
Return of the Magi
Return of the Magi

4) Southern wall of the chancel

Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist (Christ is naked and looks like a small child; an angel is holding a cloth to dry Christ and cover his nakedness)
Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist (Christ is naked and looks like a small child; an angel is holding a cloth to dry Christ and cover his nakedness)
The Marriage at Cana: from left to right: a servant, the Lord's host, the Virgin Mary, Christ, two haloed figures and the bethrothed
The Marriage at Cana: from left to right: a servant, the Lord's host, the Virgin Mary, Christ, two haloed figures and the bethrothed
The Marriage at Cana (detail)
The Marriage at Cana (detail)
Left: the Fall of the Idols ** - Right: The Temptation of Christ (the demon offers stones to the Lord urging him to change them into loaves in order to appease his hunger)
Left: the Fall of the Idols ** - Right: The Temptation of Christ (the demon offers stones to the Lord urging him to change them into loaves in order to appease his hunger)
Christ served by angels
Christ served by angels
Mysterious naked man removing an arrow from his heel
Mysterious naked man removing an arrow from his heel

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