Calvary at Saint-Thégonnec

The Calvary at Saint-Thégonnec is part of the enclosure (enclos paroissial) of the parish church of Notre-Dame in Saint-Thégonnec. Erected in 1610 it is the last of the monumental calvaries of Brittany. See also Saint-Thégonnec Parish close.

Apart from Roland Doré's "Christ aux outrages", and the crucifixion cross attributed to Yann Larhantec, the sculptural work on this calvary has been attributed to the Maître de Saint-Thégonnec's workshop, who are also credited with work on the calvary of the St Sébastien Chapel at Saint-Ségal and another at Locquénolé near Morlaix. In 1794, during the course of the French revolution, the calvary was knocked down but the local people managed to save the sculptures and hide them away, although some were lost. The calvary was the subject of a major restoration in 1970 by the organization Mainponte de Paris. The scenes depicted on the calvary relate to Jesus Christ's passion, his death and his resurrection and, in addition, there is a statue of St Thégonnec himself complete with the depiction of a wolf (see note 1 below).

The sculptures on this face depict Jesus Christ's arrest and the Mocking of Jesus ("Christ aux outrages"). The two people shown in the arrest sequence who carry phylacterys are almost certainly the priests sent to arrest Jesus. They carry law scrolls and are accompanied by a guard who has a sword tucked into his belt.

On the calvary platform are three crosses. We see Jesus on the central cross with four angels collecting his blood and on the reverse an "Ecce Homo". Jesus has a horsed cavalier on either side of him and on the lower crosspiece there is a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, with St Peter on one side and John the Evangelist on the other, whilst on the reverse of these three figures there is a pietà in the centre with the Virgin Mary on one side and St Yves on the other. There are two smaller crosses, one on each side of the crucifixion cross, from which the two robbers hang. The good robber turns to Jesus whilst the bad robber turns away from him. At the foot of the main cross there is a statue of Mary Magdalene looking up towards Jesus and on the pedestal platform a "mise au tombeau" and a depiction of Jesus' resurrection.

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