. Situated along the Tech River in Roussillon, the abbey of Sainte-Marie d’Arles (Pyrenees-Orientales) boasts a rich history that is still visible in the abbey church and cloister. Founded in 778 as Sainte-Marie de Vallespir at the ancient Roman baths of Arles (Amelie-les-Bains), the Benedictine community was decimated by invasions during the 9th century. Relocated to its present site, the monastery entered a period of protection and prosperity in the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1078, further protection was afforded the abbey when it came under the authority of Cluny. The 12th and 13th centuries saw increasing profits and new construction, due in part to the rich mines of iron, silver, and copper in the area.
Architecturally, little appears to have survived from the late 9th-century foundation, with the possible exception of the unusual western orientation of the church. The plan of the surviving church, roughly dated by a 1046 consecration, follows a typical basilican format with nave, two side aisles, and three corresponding semicircular apses. The nave arcade on rectangular piers supports a high clerestory with twelve windows. Highly unusual are the three niche chapels that are carved out of the massive eastern wall. When the structure was refurbished around the time of the 1157 consecration, a larger and higher arcade was integrated with the older one, providing additional support for a new vaulted ceiling. Both arcades are visible today. A beautiful Gothic cloister of white marble and double columns that reflect Languedoc models was the final, major addition to the complex under the successful abbacy of Raimond de Bach (r. 1261-1303).
Arles-sur-Tech is most renowned for its 11th-century fagade. A rare example of a Lombard-type fagade in Roussillon, it includes several series of blind arcades that dominate the exterior. Significant examples of pre-Romanesque sculpture decorate the small central window and the tympanum. The tympanum in particular features a fine example of early sculpture depicting Christ and the symbols of the Evangelists inscribed within a cross. The focus on a decorative and two-dimensional patterning of the figures is typical and derives from techniques native to ivory - and metalworking. This approach to sculpture had an unusually long life at Arles-sur-Tech, as evidenced by the 1211 tomb of Guillaume Gaucelme, now embedded in a wall within the church.
Fragmentary evidence remains of wall painting in the central niche of the eastern end. The representation of the Last Judgment, often found on the entrance wall of churches, included Christ in Majesty in the hemidome and, below, cherubim and seraphim in adoration. The artistic activity of Sainte-Marie d’Arles also extended to the glorification of the saints Abdon and Sennen, whose relics were housed at the abbey.
Leslie Blake DiNella
Carbonell-Lamothe, Yvette. “Pyrenees-Orientales: Arles-sur-Tech, eglise Sainte-Marie, travaux de restauration.” Bulletin monumental 144(1986):342-43.
Ponsich, Pierre. “L’abbaye de Saint-Marie d’Arles.” Congres archeologlque (1954):347-77.
“Le portail dans l’art roman du Midi de l’Europe.” Cahlers de Salnt-Mlchelde Cuxa 8(1977).
World History
