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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, located in Mauvezin-sur-Gupie in Lot-et-Garonne, has its origins in the 13th century, although its present structure dates mainly from the 15th and 19th centuries. Built on a high site, it could have served as an observatory. Destroyed between 1437 and 1442, only the foundations and the base of the facade remained. Its reconstruction began in the second half of the 15th century, with the addition of two side chapels covered with arches. The flamboyant Gothic bedside was completed in the late 15th or early 16th century by Raymond de Ferrand, the local lord, whose coat of arms adorn a key to the vault.

The structure of the nave, in the shape of an overturned ship, is an exceptional architectural element. Although Eugene Viollet-le-Duc studied in his Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française, his analysis was based on an erroneous survey by architect Gustave Alaux, dating back to the 13th century when it was carried out in the 15th century. A 1957 study revealed its technical uniqueness: a firm chevron frame with staggered punches and a single complete farm. Subsequent modifications, such as the nave windows, are attributed to Alaux, who restored the church in the 19th century.

In the 18th century, Abbé Dumas joined a sacristy (1733). The building, spared during the Revolution, was enriched in the 19th century by a neo-Gothic interior decor. Between 1942 and 1944, the Italian painter Giovanni Masutti made frescoes in trompe-l'oeil, including a Supper inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. Ranked a historic monument in 1958, the church was restored between 1976 and 1982 by the association Les Amis des pierres du temps passé, under the direction of architect André Desgrez.

The interior decorations, including Masutti's paintings, as well as the frame, testify to his stylistic and technical evolution. Father Brousseau also initiated restorations of the decor. Finally, the church illustrates the interaction between medieval heritage and modern interventions, with elements such as the lower vault feast, added later. Its inscription in historical monuments underscores its architectural and historical importance in the region.

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