Sculptures in Granite, a photo from Bretagne, West

Photographer's Note

Hello Everyone,

I have had several enquiries about the creation of the statues in the Valley of the Saints so I thought, for my last posting this time, I would post this example, which clearly shows the piece of granite rock from which the saint has been carved.

Yes, the statues are all carved from huge pieces of rock. Please see my workshop, showing the sculptors in action.

The Valley of the Saints is solely funded by charitable donations which were sparse at first, but have grown alongside the popularity of the attraction. Each monument generally costs about 10,000 euros, and little instruction is given to the artists who take one on. It has to be at least 10 feet (3 meters) tall, and it has to be a Saint that lived in Brittany between the third and tenth century.

The project is not so much religious as it is a way to memorialise the legacy of the monks who came from Ireland and Wales, and to highlight the importance of granite to Brittany抯 landscape and economy.

Thank you for your interest, Bev :-)

holmertz, ikeharel, COSTANTINO, PaulVDV, Fis2, CMJC, pierrefonds, jemaflor, worldcitizen, jean113, aliabazari, ChrisJ, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (102604) 2022-02-23 6:56

Hello Bev,
This is an interesting end of your short series from the Valley of Saints. Judging from today's main photo these sculptures were all made by skilled and talented artists, but how do they know what saints living more than 1000 years ago actually looked like? Luckily most artists have a vivid imagination!

This wide view, showing several sculptures and people watching them, makes me think a little bit of Easter Island. The WS is interesting too. It doesn't look like a very healthy job to create these sculptures. In spite of that both photos today are highly enjoyable.
Best regards,
Gert

lousat (139170) 2022-02-23 7:57

Hi Bev,return to the valley of the saints after the snowfall, with this beautiful view that includes many statutes and even some interested tourists, a really beautiful place also because it is always evolving, and the work continues with your excellent example in the WS. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Silvio1953 (221463) 2022-02-23 8:08

Ciao cara Bev, my today neighbour, great view of original sculpture, lovely composition with a lot of people, good sharpness, fine details, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pajaran (115779) 2022-02-23 8:43

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, interesantan tekst ...
lepo mesto sa skulpturama, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama, konatrastom i perspektivom.
Dobar rad sa lepom fotografijom u radionci.
Lepa dolina svetaca sa skulpturama.

Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja

ikeharel (113241) 2022-02-23 9:44

Good evening Beverley,
Main picture is clear and distinct, but the WS in my humble opinion is more interesting as a subject, just too far from the sculptor at work.
The statues garden / park drew visitors who enliven the scene.
My best regards,
Ike

COSTANTINO (116377) 2022-02-23 11:14

Hello dear friend and have a nice day
original version
these sculptures are impressive
greetings to the artist
regards
Costantino

PaulVDV (62846) 2022-02-23 11:36

Hello Beverley,
If I understand correctly, the granite rocks come from elsewhere and are sculpted on site.
Impressive sight with the many statues scattered around the terrain.
The visitors give us a very good idea of how big the statues are.
Best regards, Paul

cargus (13954) 2022-02-23 12:55

Beautiful composition,interesting this statue , beautiful colors, well framed and rendered, image well done.!
cordially
Adrian

Fis2 (170639) 2022-02-23 14:11

Witaj Bev!
A very interesting place, granite sculptures make impression.
Good framing, colors and light.
Interesting WS and notes.
Nice presentation.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

CMJC (5097) 2022-02-23 14:42 [Comment]

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pierrefonds (114347) 2022-02-23 15:21

Hi Bev,

The presenc eof the persons has an effect of scale. The point of view is showing the details of the sculptures. The quality of the light beautifies the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

ifege (47957) 2022-02-23 20:00

Hi Bev
This amazing sculpture park looks like it is trying to be a modern challenger to the standing stones farther south in Brittany. A good pair of photos.
cheers
Ian

jemaflor (147018) 2022-02-23 23:45

Hi Bev,
interesting artwork with these sculptures in this famous valley of Saints. Perfectly photographed with perfect weather conditions, sunlight and blue sky, tfs.

emka (158030) 2022-02-24 0:01

Hello Bev, Interesting picture at end of the series showing the wider context. It reminds me of other open-air art exhibitions. A difference is that there are various artists but there are common rules and material. Are the huge granite rocks there or are they brought here from another place? Here I like the contrast of the polished surface of the sculpture and the raw rock.
I looked at the Google Map. There are so many sculptures there! Fascinating place.

Best regards Malgo

mkamionka (74311) 2022-02-25 1:14

Hi Bev,
After reading your note, this made me think of the Angel of the North, which is also a giant creation made of the "local" material of the North East, steel.
I don't think I have a photo of it on TE!
Great reportage,
M

worldcitizen (16048) 2022-02-25 12:30

Hello Bev,
I like this view with both the statues and some visitors. It's an interesting site, and I'm sure each statue is worth seeing. Take care!

jean113 (27819) 2022-02-26 5:08

Hello Beverley, two interesting pictures with informative notes.
After your last post from this site, I 慓oogled� Valley of the Saints, and learnt more about the sculptures. This is a lovely finale to your series with an excellent point of view looking up the hill; we can see more sculptures and of course the visitors add to our overall impression.
Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards, Jean.

jmdias (115046) 2022-02-26 12:17

bev

this sculpture is even beautiful and I liked the style and the harmony of it. a sculpture in granite is made for ages as the egyptian knew. excellent the WS showing the artists at work. I remember some chinese working the granite in hK..

take care

jorge

aliabazari (22089) 2022-02-26 21:29

Hello Beverley
Beautiful portrait of this sculpture. Good text about health in the workshop photos.

ChrisJ (171794) 2022-02-28 2:58

Hi Bev

Missed this one. Looks superficially a bit like Easter Island with these huge statues standing in the middle of nowhere. Good warm cold colour contrasts and sharpness. Tfs!

BennyV (34748) 2022-03-01 2:38

A fascinating view, well captured, Bev. Congratulations.
Looks like a bizarre place, I'd love to visit it.

Benny

mcmtanyel (68383) 2022-04-12 20:19

Hello Beverly,
A modern Easter Island! It must be fun walking from statue to statue.
Regards,
MT