SAINT BLAISE CHURCH
BENQUE-DESSOUS-ET-DESSUS , Haute-Garonne – Cultural heritage
About
Romanesque church of the XIIth century of granite and schist. The chapel, the nave and the choir present numerous frescoes from the 16th century, notably representing several saints, the birth of Mary, the birth of Jesus and six scenes from the Passion of Christ.
Passing through the cemetery gate, we notice a window lintel decorated with a disc stamped with a cross and flanked by two doves. The rusticity of the sculpture may suggest that it is from the Romanesque state of the building. Inside, at the level of the choir, the oldest and most remarkable paintings of the decoration of the church of Saint-Blaise: the Passion of Christ on six compartments. The treatment of the space, the figures and the drapes with artificial, angular folds, show that the artist was influenced by Flemish painting of the Gothic period. The paintings in the nave, more effaced, are devoted to evocations of the life of Mary and Anne, his mother. To the left of the entrance door, in the representation of Mary’s birth, Anne is surrounded by midwives, lying in a four-poster bed. Below, the child is presented to her mother after labor. On the opposite wall, the Nativity (Mary and Joseph kneeling next to the Child) and the Adoration of the Magi. The decoration of the nave and part of the choir also includes a series of saints whose identities can be recognized by their attributes. From left to right: Saint James as a pilgrim, Saint Michael striking down a demon, Saint Mary Magdalene holding a bottle of perfume, Saint Catherine, in a bodice and skirt edged with ermine, holding a wheel and a sword, Saint Barbara, with a small tower.
