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Origin and history

The Cheylat Chapel of Saint-Geniès, also known as the Cheylard Chapel, is a medieval religious building located in Black Perigord, on the commune of Saint-Geniès in Dordogne. Built in 1327 on the initiative of Gausbert de la Chaminade, local lord, it is distinguished by its location on a hill, close to the former dungeon and the church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption. Its modest architecture, marked by a flat bedside and a vaulted nave, contrasts with the richness of its interior decorations.

The murals, made between 1330 and 1340, cover all the walls and depict two separate thematic registers. The upper part illustrates the Passion of Christ (baiser of Judas, Flagellation, Crucifixion), while the lower side presents hagiographic scenes, as St.George terrasing the dragon or St. Christopher. These frescoes, partially erased but restored in the 20th century, fit into a starry black background where angels and symbolic medallions stand out. The chapel, classified as a historical monument since 1899, bears witness to the perigurdine religious art of the fourteenth century.

The iconography of the chapel reveals a methodical narrative organization. On the south wall, three episodes of the Passion are merged into one composition: the kiss of Judas, the healing of the soldier's ear by Christ, and the Flagellation. The wall of the bottom juxtaposes the Baptism of Christ and the Crucifixion, while the north wall depicts St Peter and an anonymous martyr. These representations, although partially altered by a mortuary liter added in the eighteenth century, retain a remarkable stylistic quality, emphasized by modern restorations.

The Cheylat chapel, a communal property, is now integrated into the cemetery of Saint-Geniès. Its early ranking (1899) reflects its heritage importance, both for its architecture and for its paintings, rare preserved examples of medieval mural art in New Aquitaine. The available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum, Mérimée base) confirm its role as a place of worship and memory, anchored in the historical landscape of the Black Perigord.

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