The forgotten Abbey

by Weston Westmoreland

Title

The forgotten Abbey

Artist

Weston Westmoreland

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

The Forgotten Abbey of 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.


There is a digital oil painting of this image. You can find it here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-forgotten-abbey--painitng-weston-westmoreland.html

You can learn more about what drives me in my blog:

http://inspiringthoughtsandimages.com/

Weston Westmoreland.

Uploaded

September 30th, 2014

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