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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Foy-la-Jeune, located in Pujols (Lot-et-Garonne), was built at the beginning of the 16th century according to a Latin cross plan, then enlarged before 1600 by two side chapels. His high altar was consecrated in 1597 by the bishop of Agen Nicolas de Villars, as evidenced by a document of 1758. Sold during the Revolution, it served as a barn after 1821, before being classified as a historic monument in 1903. Since the 1960s, an association has valued its murals, rediscovered at the end of the 19th century by the parish priest Gerbeau.

The murals, executed al seco (on dry ground) from the beginning of the church, aimed to educate the illiterate faithful. Their sober palette (brown-red, pale yellow, gray) illustrates biblical scenes: a tree of Jesse, the Assumption of Mary, the martyrdom of Saint Foy, and a Christ on a cross surrounded by Saints Martin and Georges. Hidden under plaster after the Council of Trent (16th century), they were released by the parish priest Gerbeau, revealing a rare iconographic heritage.

The architecture reflects the late gothic: glazed nave, pentagonal bedside vaulted with warheads, and gable bell tower pierced with arcades. The prismatic mouldings of the arches and the external foothills mark this stylistic transition. After its de-acralisation, the building was saved from ruin by its ranking and then by its cultural reinvestment. Today, he testifies to both medieval piety and revolutionary upheavals.

The site also retains traces of its secular use: traces of modifications related to its role as a barn in the 19th century. The paintings, although partially erased (such as the scene of St Andrew's martyrdom), remain a remarkable example of the religious art of the Renaissance. Their technique — wet on lime milk — and their iconography reflect the pastoral concerns of the post-Tridentine Church.

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