Les façades des églises romanes de Provence

Abstract

The influence of the triumphal arch of Antiquity on the organisation of Romanesque façades in Provence has often been overrated. The three doorway type, like that at Saint-Gilles, is actually quite exceptionnal. The façade of Saint-Trophime at Arles reduces this outrageous composition to one doorway. The only scheme really inspired by a triumphal arch, is the small, entirely architectural and modest façade of the priory of Val des Nymphes at La Garde Adhémar. More general references to an antique heritage are to be found in the use of friezes (cathedral of Nîmes), although these are not notably reserved for western façades, as in the use of doorways flanked by columns and surmounted by gables (Le Thor). This type of doorway can either stand out from a very sober wall (Aix), or be incorporated into a more complex composition (Saint-Gabriel). The façades are all the more simple in so far as they rarely have a porch (Notre-Dame-des-Doms at Avignon). Indeed the principal doorway is often to be found on the south side of the building (Tarascon, Saint-Restitut). On the Eastern border of Provence, a lean-too porch comprised of an arch set between half arches and against buttresses is preferred (cathedrals of Sisteron and Digne). In fact, many different formulae are used in the conception of Romanesque in façades of Provence. Very little sculpture is employed. Differences in treatment can sometimes be explained by the history of a monument itself. The plain façade of the cathédral of Cavaillon, for example, is quite simply a fragment of the XIth century building. The short narthex of Saint-Trophime at Arles is the result of similar circumstances.