THE CHURCHES OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE

EXHIBITION IN MEZIN

St Jean-Baptiste in Mézin is a fine example of France's rich heritage of medieval church architecture, which ranges from small Romanesque chapels to great Gothic cathedrals.

To coincide with a televised Mass, which took place in St Jean-Baptiste, I have put together an exhibition at the Tourist Office in Mézin called “CHURCHES OF THE SOUTHWEST”.

St Jean-Baptiste, the church that dominates the village square, was built in the 12 Century. This is the same date as our house, La Petite Galerie, and I love telling guests that when Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World the dwelling where we now live was already 300 years old! (For visitors from the Antipodes I change this anecdote to: “When Captian Cook set sail for Australasia, our house was already 600 years old!)

I can see the church quite clearly from my studio on the third floor, and I have done several large acrylic paintings of the spire viewed across the rooftops of Mézin.

Many of the works in the exhibition are watercolours which were painted during the seven months that Lynne and I spent touring France in a campervan looking for a house, and there are examples of Romanesque chapels and churches from all over the southwest.

Several paintings are of churches that are on the Pilgrim's Route to Compostella which runs through Mézin.
Each one is an historic reminder of the beautiful designs and ingenious engineering feats created by the architects, artisans and master builders of the Middle Ages.

The exhibition, 'Churches of the Southwest', is on in the the exhibition space above the Tourist Office in Mezin. Entry is free. For more information please telephone: Renseignements 05 53 65 77 46.