Access to Les Arcs: special equipment required
Access to Les Arcs: special equipment required
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Tuesday 24 December updated on 12-24-2024 at 8:06
Tuesday 24 December updated on 12-24-2024 at 8:06
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Inspired by great artists like Bernini, Borromoni, Guarino Garini, Baroque art appeared in Italy and developed in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. At this time, the churches and chapels of Savoy, often of medieval origin, were enlarged or transformed. If the exterior remains sober, the interior is richly decorated: in the choir, the altarpiece attracts all eyes and becomes a real catechism in images. Baroque is the art of staging, of movement with the play of drapery and light, trompe l'oeil, gilding and bright colors, curves and counter-curves, volutes, dramatization and theatrical productions... It is the expression of grandeur and excess to seduce the faithful.
Due to the influence of Neoclassicism, the décor is more sober here...even if there are still a few Baroque cherubs disrupting the quiet and the onion dome rebuilt after the French Revolution is still here to catch travellers' eyes!
The exterior of the building betrays its Romanesque origins to this day. An inscription dating from 1772, however, affixed to the apse, attests that it was modified considerably during the 18th century: the bell tower was attached to the nave, the apse was moved back and given a flat back wall, etc.
Pignol, an artist popular in the early 18th century in the Tarentaise Valley, realised the central painting for the main altarpiece in 1716. This depiction, bustling with Baroque exuberance, of the martyrdom of St. Andrew is surrounded by a rather strictly ordered ensemble, marked by Doric columns: the altarpiece is Neoclassical in style, as shown by the scarcity of decorative sculptures and the straightness and small size of the tabernacle.
The central element of the church is a pulpit carved in 1765 by Joseph-Marie Martel: it is topped by a sounding board with indented scrollwork and overlooked by restless cherubs. Its side panels illustrate St. John the Baptist, St. Andrew and the coat of arms of the Montmayeur family.
An Adoration of the Magi, attributed to Oudéard, a Beaufort painter from the 17th century, can be seen on the south wall of the church.
18/07/2024, every Thursday between 2 pm and 4 pm.
22/08/2024, every Thursday between 2 pm and 4 pm.
