L’abbatiale carolingienne de Saint-Philbert-de-Grandlieu. Les enduits peints

Abstract

The Carolingian abbatial church of Saint-Philbert-de-Grandlieu. The painted wall-coatings The abbey church of Saint-Philbert preserves ancient priming coats on the masonry, some of which have been studied in the axial chapel and crypt. In the axial chapel, a sample on film and the stratigraphic study indicated seven layers of primer or surface reworkings. The first three coats, with a decoration of painted drapery that is partly preserved in the lower parts of the wall on the north and south, are earlier than the construction of the present east wall of the chapel. Two layers of primer are contemporary and post-Gothic, and two phases of work indicate later restorations. The presence of charcoal in the oldest layers and the identification of the pigments used in the painted drapery may allow a more precise dating. The crypt preserves three priming layers, the first of which is contemporary with the initial state of the crypt. The second dates from the architectural reworking that witnessed the construction of the piers supporting the vault. The third, preserved in places on the rising walls, has no stratigraphic relationship to the two preceding phases. Soundings taken in two zones of the eastern part of the abbey church show the potential for a more systematic study in order to refine the stratigraphy and dating of the different surface treatments in the building.