Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Chapel of the White Penitents, also known as the Chapel of the Recollet Monastery, is a Catholic building located in Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne. Built in the early seventeenth century, it was initiated by the Recollets, a religious order supported by Bishop Louis II of Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon. The work began in 1618, and the major work was completed in 1626. The interior fittings, including a vaulted chestnut arch, ended in 1651. The chapel, with a unique nave and a rectangular plan, is illuminated by bays in the middle of the hanger and adorned with a baroque gate.

In 1602, Louis II de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon, bishop of Sarlat, favored the establishment of the brotherhoods of white and blue penitents, as well as that of the Recollets in 1613. They build their church and monastery between the ramparts and the building. The chapel initially has two side chapels dedicated to Notre-Dame and Saint Bonaventure, as well as a altarpiece that disappeared in the 19th century. The Salignac-Fénelon are buried there. After the expulsion of the Recollets in 1792 and the sale of the church as a national property in 1796, the brotherhood of the White Penitents bought it back in 1804.

The brotherhood of the White Penitents added a rostrum to the north and in 1808 received a piece of the Crown d'épines, offered by a canon of Notre-Dame de Paris. In 1816, General François Fournier-Sarlovèze acquired the side chapels to honour the royal family. In 1875 the brotherhoods of white and blue penitents merged, and the furniture of 1705 was transferred to the chapel of the Blue Penitents. Disused, the chapel of the White Penitents becomes a gymnasium, then a warehouse, before building a sacred art museum in 1970, today closed. It was listed as a historic monument in 1944.

The sober facade, on Rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau, is marked by its baroque portal, consisting of two re-entry volutes and four canned doric columns. Interior, simple rectangular, reflects 17th century religious architecture. After various uses, the chapel is now an exhibition hall, bearing witness to its evolution from its founding by the Recollets to its preservation as a historical heritage.

External links