Calvary at Guimiliau

The Calvary at Guimiliau, completed in 1588, is located in Guimiliau, Brittany, in northwestern France. It is part of the Guimiliau "enclos paroissial" (Guimiliau Parish close).

The Guimiliau calvary is enormous and the statues displayed on it cover 37 scenes from the life and death of Jesus Christ. It comprises an octagonal base with arched corners/buttresses. The statues are spread over the surface (platform) of this base and along the frieze which runs around it. A single cross with crosspiece rises from the platform. It was built between 1581 and 1588. The date 1581 was inscribed on the architrave above the altar on the east facade and 1588 appears near the figure of the Virgin Mary in the scene depicting the Adoration of the Magi. The calvary was restored in 1881 and the lichens cleaned off in 2009. The buttress on the north-east corner has a small stairway leading up to the main surface of the platform. This enabled the calvary to be used as a pulpit. The priest could deliver a sermon, surrounded by pictorial representations of the stories he would relate to a largely illiterate congregation. Each buttress has a niche on the outer side in which there are depictions of the Evangelists each sculpted with their attribute. The main facade is that on the west side and this has an altar added to it. This altar has a column on each side, these supporting the architrave and in a niche here is a depiction of saint Paul Aurelian who founded the diocese of Léon. The various statues are placed on the main platform and along the frieze which runs around the plinth. The figures on the frieze are smaller than those on the platform and those on the platform are in ronde bosse whilst those on the frieze are in high relief. On the frieze above the columns of the altar there is an inscription reading

"AD GLORIAM DOMINI-1581-CRUX EGO FACTA FUI"

The cross has a granite shaft and the crucified Jesus, sculpted in kersanton, is attended by four angels who are collecting his blood. On the crosspiece below are back to back ("géminée") depictions of the Virgin Mary and St Peter and John the Evangelist and Saint Yves. The top part of the cross was damaged in a storm in 1902 and refashioned by Yann Larhantec.

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