Un chœur d’anges pour l’Assomption de la Vierge : étude du décor de la chapelle basse de la collégiale de Saint-Bonnet-le-Château offert par Anne Dauphine

Abstract

This article aims to shed light on the history of the commission for the decoration of the lower chapel of the collegiate church of Saint-Bonnet-le-Château (1416-1417), combining angels musicians with the arms of the Dukes of Bourbon and belts bearing the motto « Hope ». The choice of iconographic themes and the way in which they are associated bear witness to the link between the decoration of Saint-Bonnet and the Bourbon family, due to a second donation made by the duchess. We shed new light on this by comparing it with the Angels Musicians in the chapel of the Virgin in Le Mans cathedral (c. 1370-1378), which inspired the painter of Saint-Bonnet and which Louis II had had the opportunity to admire, cultivating a particular devotion to Saint Julien, the first bishop of Le Mans, whose body was kept in the cathedral. The links between Louis II and the chapel in Le Mans are further strengthened by a comparison between the Angels Musicians of Le Mans and the Weeping Angels in the vault of the Chapel Vieille de Souvigny – dating from the early 15th century and discovered in 2014 during restoration work –, which houses the tombs of the ducal couple.

Keywords

• Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
• Le Mans
• Souvigny
• Mural painting
• Angels Musicians
• Patronage