Silvacane Abbey and La Roque d'Antheron

Tuesday afternoon we set off for La Roque d'Antheron. This village is in the Bouches-du-Rhone departement. Silvacane Abbey, a former Cistercian Abbey, is located near La Roque d'Antheron. It is a sister abbey to Senanque Abbey, the one we visited the other day. We came on Silvacane Abbey before La Roque. The Abbey is being renovated. Its interior, without decoration or distraction is an excellent example of 12th century Cistercian architecture.

The dortoir (dormitory) in the cloisters.

The Monks' Room - the only heated room in the Abbey

 The refectory had these stained glass windows with a short video showing how they had been created. The artist, I think, was Sarkis and each glass panel was created by pressing fingerprints all over the glass and then brushing them with paint (I think - I wouldn't have the technical vocabulary to be sure). Anyway, it was fascinating. When the glass panels were complete, then they had to be carefully put in place. I think they are very beautiful.

Coureur (Runner)

Priere (Prayer)

Archange (Archangel)

I think these sculptures are fantastic and thought-provoking. When we were making our way from the entry to Silvacane Abbey, the above 2 were on the lawns on either side. There seemed to be no explanation. Then, when we went into the church, this one, which looked like a modern Christ crucified, was in the space where the altar would be - you might have noticed it in the second photo. It seemed rather incongruous in a 12th century Abbey. All was explained as we were leaving the gift shop where there was a flyer entitled "Les Yeux Au Ciel". The title reminds me of the quotation from Oscar Wilde: "We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars". I wonder is that what the sculptor is trying to say. The sculptor is Nicolas Lavarenne and these three sculptures are in Silvacane Abbey from the 25th of June to the 17th of September. And even better - there are quite a few of his sculptures in Aix-en-Provence which is our next day trip! All of his sculptures are of humans on 3 poles.

From this flyer, I have been able to put names on the 3 Silvacane sculptures. I have also figured out that, in a way, he is expressing sentiments similar to Oscar Wilde. With his sculptures he persuades us to accept that there is hope in all of us and by looking upwards we can aspire to be anything we want. I am looking forward to seeing more of his work.

Then we went in to La Roque d'Antheron, where the Tourist Office was closed and where the locals looked at us as if we were from Mars! So we went home and thought about Nicolas Lavarenne and his work!