The first
records in the history of Moutiers date back to 701 with the monastery which
used to welcome Anglo-Saxon and Briton pilgrims on their way to Rome. And yet,
its history is much older than that.
The parish
church of Moutiers was built around the year 1000 and dedicated to Saint Paul.
A porch with a lean-to stands against the Western gable. Viollet Le Duc, the
famous XIXth Century architect, dates back this porch to the XIIIth Century,
and the stone partition to the XVth Century ; this beautiful narthex allowed the church to be
classified as a historic building by the Monuments
Historiques as soon as 1862.
The
building is composed of one nave and two small side chapels which evoke a
transept. There is a strong disparity between the nave and the choir: the nave
has six Roman style openings while the choir, with its strong buttresses, is
lit thanks to flamboyant, high Gothic style openings.
During the
summer of 1982, after a very dry spring, the mayor of Moutiers, François
Solano, noticed that the white distemper which had been covering the walls of
the church since the XVIIIth Century was cracking... ochre paintings were
appearing. Thanks to the efficiency of two historians, Suzanne and Robert
Pelissier, who followed the progress of the restoration for ten years, the whole decoration was
unveiled by a decorator master, Isao Takahashi.
The 200
square meters of wall paintings represent one of the biggest collection in
Burgundy. The oldest paintings (XIIth Century), on the Northern wall, tells the
story of the New Testament : from the Annunciation to the resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
The Roman
setting is also to be seen on the Western and Southern walls, representing
various great characters.
On the
Southern wall, another set of paintings dates back to the XIIth Century. It is
laid out in three levels: on the highest level, a procession of pilgrims is
heading towards the choir; on the two lower levels, there are scenes from the
Old Testament such as Eve’s birth, Abel’s murder, or references to Saint John
the Baptist. Its most interesting elements are Jesus’s christening and the
representations of the Flood and Noah’s Ark.
Other wall
paintings (XVth and XVIIIth Century) can be seen in the North Chapel and in the
chancel.