The forgotten Abbey 3
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
The forgotten Abbey 3
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Main nave of the Abbaye de Jumieges.
Walking around this ancient godforsaken temple you are immersed in a current of mixed emotions. Such a shame a wonderful construction like this could have been used to obtain stone.
However, the sensations that invade you when walking along this roofless aisle and its surroundings pierced by the sunset light are of such surreal and magical nature that explaining them in words turns difficult. This would never had happened if the abbey had been preserved whole, so the initial shame is mixed with the joy of being there and living the special moment.
Standing on a loop of the river Seine on its way from Paris to the sea, Jumieges Abbey was a monastery in Normandy, built as far as the 7th century. Destroyed by the Vikings, it was once and again restored and enlarged until the 15th century.
Then, the English invasions, the Huguenots, the Wars of Religion and finally the French Revolution were more than it could take and the abbey was totally abandoned and used as a quarry.
The local nobility purchased it afterwards and saved it from total disintegration, preserving what Victor Hugo called "the most beautiful ruin in France".
I, for one, cannot disagree.
You can learn more about what drives me in my blog:
http://inspiringthoughtsandimages.com/
Uploaded
December 1st, 2014
Statistics
Viewed 782 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 03/16/2024 at 12:36 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet