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Church of Saint Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet dans l'Eure-et-Loir

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine religieux
Eglise romane et gothique
Eure-et-Loir

Church of Saint Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet

    2 Rue Saint-Orien
    28120 Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Église Saint-Orien de Meslay-le-Grenet
Crédit photo : Lucien Bégule (1848–1935) Autres noms Nom de naiss - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
XIIe siècle
Initial construction
XVe siècle
Wall paintings
1864
Discovery of frescoes
27 décembre 1913
MH classification
1979
Development
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Church: by decree of 27 December 1913

Key figures

Orens d'Auch - Patron saint (Vth century) Vocable of the church, confessor gascon
Paul-Alfred Colin - Painter-restaurant (11th century) Controversial restoration of frescoes in 1865
Camille Marcille - Collaborator of Colin Participation in the restoration of 1865

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Orien, located in Meslay-le-Grenet (Eure-et-Loir, Centre-Val de Loire), is a Catholic building whose oldest parts date back to the 12th century. The main nave preserves masonries of this period, while the collateral and major transformations (prism poles, frame, painted decorations) date back to the 16th century. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1913, it is distinguished by its exceptional macabre dance painted at the end of the 15th century, discovered in 1864 and restored in 1979.

The frescoes, restored in 1865 by Paul-Alfred Colin and Camille Marcille, provoked controversy because of their artistic choices. They illustrate a poem of 1376, visible on the walls, where Death confronts social figures (papa, emperor, hermit). The upper register represents the Dit of the three dead and the three alive, a moralizing narrative typical of medieval macabre dances. These paintings, in a remarkable state of conservation, bear witness to the religious beliefs and pedagogy of the time.

The church depends on the parish of Notre-Dame-du-Combray (dean of Perche). His name, Saint Orien, refers to Orens d'Auch, confessor of the fifth century venerated in Gascony, whose cult extended to Eure-et-Loir. This pictorial and architectural heritage reflects the stylistic and spiritual evolutions between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, while anchoring the monument in local history.

The elements protected since 1913 include the entire building, owned by the municipality. The official address (1 Rue Saint-Orien) and the Insee code (28245) confirm its territorial anchoring in the department of Eure-et-Loir, near Chartres. Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum, Merimée base) document its heritage and tourist importance.

External links