A Familiar View

[anteros_lmc]

A few weeks ago esteven pointed me towards The Sea Painter's World, a recent publication from maritime artist Geoff Hunt which includes this rather lovely picture of HMS Hotspur off Brest. What caught my eye wasn't the Hotspur herself though, but the promontory on her larboard quarter. That is Conguet Point or Le Conquet, with the ruins of the St Mathieu's monastery clearly visible on the headland.



HMS Hotspur off Brest by Geoff Hunt
And the reason I recognised this scene instantly is that I have a print of the very same view by J. T. Serres hanging on the wall beside me here. This is an original print from Serres' The Little Sea Torch which was published in 1801 and includes many of the coastal profiles Serres recorded during the time he spent with the inshore squadron in 1800. Sorry the picture is a bit ropey, the print is framed behind glass, it's much clearer and brighter than it appears here.



The Ruins of the Monastery of St Matthieu converted into a Lighthouse, bearing N 3/4 W by JT Serres
And here's Pointe Saint-Mathieu as it appears today. The monastery was built in the 12th century, allegedly from the flotsam and jetsam of ships wrecked around the coast. It's still there today, and nearby is the site of the Mémorial national aux marins morts pour la France, or the national memorial for sailors who died for France.



Pointe Saint-Mathieu
I'd love to visit one day, and if I do ever get to go, I want to stay here - Hostellerie de la Pointe Saint-Mathieu :)

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of building a church out of things they found on the beach.

And i am reminded again how the sea does not take sides. All fishermen and sailors ran the same risks. And they understood the shared peril.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

And i am reminded again how the sea does not take sides.
You're so right. That's one thing that has never changed.

Talking of sea facing churches built out of found things, are you familiar with the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm in Orkney? It was built out of two nissan huts, a ton of concrete, unlimited patience and transcendent imagination by a group of Italian POWs during WWII. I've been there, and even as an unbeliever, it is one of the most moving things I have ever seen.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

The drive to make art-- astonishing. I had never seen this before. It is stunning. I can only imagine what it was like to stand inside. Poor homesick men. it must have seemed very far for them, from Italy.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Isn't it beautiful? I remember the news reports when the POWs returned in 1982, although Chiocchetti was too elderly to make the journey I believe his son came to the island in this place. Kind of reminds me of some of the navyboy prisoner who went back to France and Germany after the wars to try to thank the people that can helped them escape.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Luverly!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Isn't it purty?

[katriona-s.livejournal.com]

Hunt's art is always so gorgeous! And I love the photo of Pointe Saint-Mathieu, it seems be a really pleasant place...

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

It looks lovely in the photograph doesn't it? I suspect it's pretty wild and exposed way out there on the western tip of France though!