In Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne in the Corrèze department of France, one of the ‘Plus Beaux Villages de France’. The centre of the town is dominated by the Abbey Church of Saint-Pierre, which was completed in 1140.

Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne alongside the river Dordogne

Abbatiale Saint-Pierre de Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

The portal on the south façade of the church has a magnificent tympanum which depicts the Parousia – the second coming of Christ on Earth. The tympanum is divided into three registers. The lower register contains depictions of exotic animals which symbolise the deadly sins of anger, pride and envy. The middle register depicts Hell, into which the characters on the upper register risk being thrown if they are not judged worthy of Paradise. The upper register is dominated by a two-metre carving of Christ, his arms spread in the form of a cross. He is flanked by the twelve Apostles, while angels above him carry the crown and nails. Meanwhile, other angels sound the trumpet to summon up the dead.

Tympanum, Abbatiale Saint-Pierre de Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

There are further carvings either side of the entrance porch, with scenes from both the Old and New Testaments. On the left are episodes from the Life of Daniel, whilst on the right are Temptations of Christ.

Porch carvings, Abbatiale Saint-Pierre de Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

Inside the church, its treasure is exhibited in the north transept. It consists of a statue of the Virgin and Child in wood covered with silver from the twelfth century, a reliquary lantern dating from the eleventh century, a thirteenth-century enamelled shrine depicting the journey of the Three Magi, and two silver reliquary arms from the thirteenthth century, those of Sainte-Félicité and Saint-Emilion.

Virgin and Child, Abbatiale Saint-Pierre, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

Enamelled shrine depicting the journey of the Three Magi (thirteenth century)

The abbey was the subject of attacks during both the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion, resulting in the monks eventually fleeing in 1574. In 1663 it was taken over by the French Benedictine community which restored it. However, it was definitively abandoned during the Revolution, when it became the parish church.

Beaulieu’s original parish church was built in the twelfth century, near the upper port where the river barges stopped. However, it was sold during the Revolution, when its function was transferred to the abbey church. It was purchased by the Brotherhood of Blue Penitents in 1820 and became the seat of the brotherhood until 1870.

Chapel of the Penitents, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

Whilst at the Fernand Leger exhibition at the Musée Soulages in Rodez, it was a perfect opportunity to see the works of the artist after whom the museum was named, Pierre Soulages, who was born in Rodez in 1919. The museum was opened in 2014, enabling the largest collection of his works in the world to be on permanent display. Soulages and Colette, his wife of eighty years, donated 900 works to the museum. However, just a few days after my visit, on 26 October, Soulages died in Nimes at the impressive age of 102.

Pierre Soulages, aged 100

There was an extreme contrast between the colourful works of Leger in one room and Soulages in the next. With Soulanges there were no bright, primary colours or cheerful subjects – instead, vast blocks of black and brown and minimalist works in Brous de noix. Temporary exhibitions at the museum are usually of artists with a connection with the works of Soulages, but on this occasion the paintings were so different that I wondered what possible connection there could be. Yet there were several – the two artists not only knew each other and admired each other’s work but they also worked together. For example, in 1952, at an event to commemorate the fifth centenary of Leonardo da Vinci at Chateau d’Amboise, Léger designed costumes and Soulages the sets for an evening performance.

Pierre Soulages ‘Brou de Noix, 65,7 x 50,1 cm’ (1947)

Whilst in many of Soulage’s paintings black dominated, he explained that “my instrument is not black but the light reflected from the black.” In other words, they were ‘beyond black’; in fact he called the technique ‘outrenoir’. He applied the paint in thick impasto layers and then worked on it with tools to achieve the complex textures he wanted. In earlier years he had also painted in walnut stain, applying bold brown strokes to the canvas to produce an effect which again provided a contrast to the bright colours of the neo-Fauvists of the period.

Pierre Soulages ‘Peinture 162 x 114 cm’ (1958)

In 1938 Soulages enrolled in the Ecole des beaux-arts in Paris, but did not stay as he disliked the traditional techniques taught there and he sought his own way, rejecting the trends in abstract painting of the time. This made him more noticeable and he was successful quite quickly. After military service in World War II, he exhibited at the Salon des Surindépendants in 1947, in Germany the following year and at the Venice Biennale in 1954. In 1954 he also exhibited in New York, gaining recognition in the United States during the time that Abstract Expressionism was being promoted. He would later be made an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Pierre Soulages ‘Design for stained-glass windows’

The windows installed in Abbatiale Sainte-Foy de Conques

Between 1987 and 1994 he produced 104 stained-glass windows for the Abbey Church of Saint Foy in Conques, the preliminary designs for which are also on display in the Rodez museum. He was the first living artist to exhibit at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. A retrospective of his work was also held at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2009 – 2010 and the Louvre held a major exhibition in 2019 – 20 to celebrate his one-hundredth birthday.

The Rosetta Stone, which contains three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC, was discovered in 1799 being used as a building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (or Rosetta) in the Nile Delta.

The first version was in Egyptian hieroglyphic, never before translated, and the last was in Ancient Greek. This enabled scholars to work on the interpretation of the hieroglyph symbols. Jean-François Champollion, who was born in Figeac, was the first to succeed and render hieroglyphics understandable.

Figeac now not only has a Champollion Museum but the town’s Place des écritures has a giant replica of the Rosetta Stone in his honour.

Rosetta Stone replica, Place des écritures, Figeac

At the Musée Soulages in Rodez, in the Aveyron department of southern France, for the exhibition ‘Fernand Leger. La vie à bras-le-corps’. The exhibition, which was twice cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, presents eighty-six paintings, mainly from the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Fernand Léger museum in Biot. It focuses on three main themes in Léger’s work: the city, the world of work and the world of leisure.

Fernand Léger ‘Le Mécanicien’ (1918)

Fernand Léger ‘Le Remorqueur’ (1920)

Fernand Léger ‘Composition aux trois figures, fond bleu’ (1931)

Fernand Léger ‘Les Loisirs sur fond rouge’ (1949)

Fernand Léger ‘La Partie de Campagne (Deuxième état)’ (1954)

Fernand Léger ‘La Partie de Campagne (Deuxième état)’ (1954)

Fernand Léger ‘La Partie de Campagne’ (1954)

Fernand Léger ‘Le Campeur’ (1954)

Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the Aveyron department of southern France, was founded by Alphonse de Poitiers in 1252 as a bastide town. Its central square, Place Notre Dame, is dominated by thirteenth-century townhouses and La Collégiale Notre-Dame.

Collegiate church of Notre-Dame de Villefranche-de-Rouergue

In Cahors to visit the recently reopened Musée Henri Martin, which contains a fine collection of sculpture and paintings from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, including the world’s largest collection of paintings by Post-Impressionist artist Henri Martin.

Henri Jean Guillaume Martin was born in Toulouse in 1860 and attended the Ecole des beaux-arts in the city from 1877 to 1879, when he left for Paris. In Paris he continued his studies and won a scholarship to tour Italy where he studied the artists of the early Renaissance.

Henri Martin c.1882

He developed a Pointillist style of painting and earned a gold medal at the 1889 Salon. In 1896 he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour, before being promoted to the rank of officer in 1905 and commander in 1914. At the 1900 World Fair he was awarded the Grand Prize for his work.

When Martin decided to move away from Paris, he searched for ten years for his ideal home, eventually buying the Domaine de Marquayrol, overlooking the village of Labastide-du-Vert, near Cahors. He produced what is considered to be his best work in this new tranquil environment where he lived for over forty years. He also produced paintings for many public buildings, including the Capitole in Toulouse, the Sorbonne and the Council of State in Paris and several Parisian town halls. He died at Domaine de Marquayrol in 1943.

Henri Martin ‘Meditation’ (c.1890 – 1900)

Henri Martin ‘Haymaking’ (1910)

Henri Martin ‘The Bridge at Labastide-du-Vert’ (c.1920)

Henri Martin ‘Labastide-du-Vert, morning’ (c.1925)

Henri Martin ‘Monument to the Dead of Cahors’ (1932)

Henri Martin ‘Self-Portrait’ (c.1938)

Cahors is the capital of the Lot department of south-west France. Its fourteenth-century Pont Valentré, with three machicolated towers, is probably the finest medieval fortified bridge in France and is now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In Montcabrier, in the Lot department in south-western France, for the fifteenth edition of the ‘8 de Montcabrier’ festival. An enjoyable evening of Classical era compositions from Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven from an ensemble of excellent musicians, including Spanish flautist Vincens Prats, clarinetist Juncal Salada-Codina, also from Spain, French pianist Morgane Fauchois-Prado and a string quartet of members of the Orchestre de Paris.

Members of the ‘8 de Montcabrier’ ensemble

The concert opened with Mozart’s ‘Flute Quartet no. 1’, which was written in 1777 during his period in Mannheim. It was a lively performance, with some stylish playing by flautist Vincens Prats

The first half continued with Haydn’s ‘String Quartet in D major’, known as ‘The Frog’, which is the last of the set of six ‘Prussian Quartets’, dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia.  The finale contains a rapid repetition of the same note on adjacent strings, which some thought sounded like a croaking frog, hence the work’s nickname. First violinist, Pascale Meley, produced an extremely spirited performance.

The second half consisted of Beethoven’s ‘Trio for clarinet, cello and piano’, which was, for me, the most enjoyable performance of the evening, with particularly accomplished playing by clarinetist Juncal Salada-Codina

Mozart: ‘Flute Quartet no. 1, in D major’, K285; Haydn: ‘String Quartet in D major, ‘The Frog’, opus 50, no. 6; Beethoven: ‘Trio for clarinet, cello and piano in B flat major’, opus 11, no. 4.

At the Musique en Sol festival in Paunat, in the Dordogne department of France, for an excellent and varied concert with Quatuor Agate and Israeli pianist Adi Neuhaus.

Quatuor Agate

Adi Neuhaus

The concert opened with Chopin’s ‘Fantasy in F minor’, a very expressive single-movement work, generally regarded as one of the composer’s finest. It was very passionately played by Adi Neuhaus. The first half continued with Beethoven’s ‘String Quartet no. 13’. Completed during the final years of the composers life, the Quartet was controversial when first performed. The final movement, a difficult lengthy fugue, was negatively received and was replaced. However, it has been resurrected in recent performances and recordings, as it was by the Agate Quartet this evening, enabling the work to be heard as Beethoven originally intended. The whole piece was extremely well played, but the fugue was superb.

The ‘Piano Quintet’ of Shostakovich completed the evening’s performance. Written for the Beethoven Quartet in 1940, it was a great success on it’s first performance at the Moscow Conservatory and received the Stalin Prize. Tonight it was also extremely well played by the joint forces of Adi Neuhaus and the Agate Quartet. Whilst lurking dark shadows could often be discerned, especially from the piano, not surprising given the period during which it was written, the work was dramatically, sometimes even flamboyantly, performed, with the scherzo particularly enjoyable.

Chopin; ‘Fantasy in f minor’, opus 49; Beethoven: ‘String Quartet no. 13 in b flat major’, opus 130, with ‘Grosse Fuge’, opus 133; Shostakovich: ‘Quintet for Piano and Strings in g minor’, opus 57.

In the Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, western Tuscany, to visit the cathedral, baptistery and, of course, the famous leaning tower.

Piazza dei Miracoli

The Piazza is dominated by the cathedral, construction of which began in 1064. Whilst it is Romanesque in style it also shows clear Byzantine influences, especially in the interior mosaic decoration.

The apse mosaic depicts Christ in Majesty holding an open book in his left hand with the inscription EGO SUM LUX MUNDI (I am the light of the world). With his right hand he is giving benediction. He is flanked by the Virgin, who has raised her hands in intercession, and St John the Evangelist. The head of St. John was completed by Cimabue in 1302 and this was to be his last work as he died in Pisa in the same year.

Apse mosaic, Pisa Cathedral

The cathedral contains a carved pulpit made by Giovanni Pisano between 1302 and 1310. Unfortunately, it was damaged in a fire in 1595 and has suffered somewhat from subsequent restoration work. Nevertheless, it is one of the most magnificent of the Pisano pulpits.

Giovanni Pisano ‘Cathedral pulpit’ (1302 – 10)

The Baptistery is a spectacular construction and is the largest in Italy. Building started in 1152 and it was completed in 1363 and so it is an example of the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic style. 

Baptistery

Baptistery interior

The interior is quite plain with a large octagonal font at the centre dating from 1246. The main feature is the pulpit which was sculpted by Nicola Pisano, the father of Giovanni, between 1255 and 1260. It is a hexagonal construction, raised on seven columns. At the base of three of these columns are sculpted lions.

Nicola Pisano ‘Baptistery pulpit’ (1255 – 1260)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the campanile or bell tower of the Cathedral, is the most famous feature of the Piazza, due to the fact that it has a nearly four-degree lean, the result of unstable foundations.  The tower began to lean during its construction in the twelfth century, due to the soft ground which could not properly support its weight. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees; however, the structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, and the tilt has now been reduced to 3.97 degrees.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Along the northern edge of the complex is the Camposanto Monumentale – the cemetery building. ‘Campo Santo’ translates as ‘holy field’, as legend says that it was built using sacred soil from Golgotha, brought back to Pisa after the Third Crusade.

The walls of the structure were completely covered in frescoes. The earliest, attributed to Francesco Traini, were painted in 1336 – 41. Frescoes depicting ‘The Last Judgement’ and the ‘Triumph of Death’ in the south-western corner were painted in the years after the Black Death and are usually attributed to Buonamico Buffalmacco. In the north gallery there is a cycle of ‘Scenes from the Old and New Testaments’ by Benozzo Gozzoli, whilst in the south arcade are ‘Stories of Pisan Saints’ (1377 – 1391) by Andrea Bonaiuti, Antonio Veneziano and Spinello Aretino as well as ‘Stories of Job’ by Taddeo Gaddi from the end of 14th century.

In July 1944, a bomb fragment from an Allied air raid started a fire in the Camposanto, which burned for three days, causing the timber and lead roof to collapse. This severely damaged everything inside the cemetery, including the frescoes. Subsequent restoration work has stabilised them but most are now in poor condition.

Buonamico Buffalmacco ‘The Three Dead and the Three Living (left) and ‘The Triumph of Death’ (c.1338 – 39)

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘The Vintage and Drunkenness of Noah’ (early 1470s)

Benozzo Gozzoil ‘The Building of the Tower of Babel’ (early 1470s)