The Saints in the Valley of France

West Australian

2 days ago

The sculptors are busy, their angle grinders cutting the hard granite blocks and creating plumes of dust that drift across the path.
Eleven-tonne granite blocks are being turned into art.
The noise of the grinders and the summer heat make the process even more impressive to watch, but the sculptors are working to a deadline and their passion for their work is evident in their dedication.
I am at the Valley of the Saints, just outside the Finistere region of Brittany in France, where only 17 years ago a single artist had a vision to create a field of monolithic figures, each representing a saint of the Armorican region.
A new carpark has been recently completed and the walk to the entrance and visitors' centre takes you past large black and white photos of the sculptors working. The scenes seem a little surreal, with sketched designs showing an imagining of the work the stone will become. One shows a backwards-leaning wolf at the left side of a block, a second has the face of a dragon devouring a stone garden path while another has an artist's face obscured by dust and flying stone chips.
The visitor centre is large and the staff welcoming. The Valley of the Saints is free and open 24 hours a day — a night-time visit would be an interesting, if somewhat spooky experience — and the only cost is for parking, paid for when you leave. A free guidebook shows the location of more than 200 statues, and each has a numbered plaque which corresponds to a downloadable audio guide. You can listen to a few minutes of information in English about the history of the saint immortalised in stone.
I start at the top of the hill, where stands the first seven created statues of the founding saints of Brittany. They face their original commune, looking outwards from a feudal motte, complete with a moat. The name 'Valley of the Saints' is a bit misleading, as all the statues are on the hillside with the valley below.
It is an extraordinary sight — 4-5m-tall blocks of stone, standing strong and covering a hillside, all carved and shaped into faces, hats, fingers, wings and more. Some figures stand, some kneel, some on plinths, others buried into the earth. They command your attention with their presence and draw you toward them. As you listen to their story on the app, details you hadn't noticed are revealed and the reason for the design is explained along with the artist's interpretation of the Saint. Some stories are tragic, with beheadings quite a common fate, while others involve sacrifice and lost love. Quite a few have an Easter Island look — strong, ancient and connected to the ground, while others seem to be light and flowing, even delicate.
I find the finished wolf statue that I saw in the photograph, and it is nothing like I expected. The detail and technique to cut the stone in such a manner is remarkable. The story goes that the saint was in a cart being pulled by a deer, but a wolf attacked and ate the deer so the saint commanded the wolf to pull the cart instead.
Sculptors are invited to be artists in residence each year, and they come from all over the world to create works. The styles vary from intricate, paper-like Elizabethan ruffs cut into the stone (such skill!) to modern, brutally sharp lines and others that somehow create an image of wings or dresses that sway in a breeze.
Individually, the statues are awesome in their own right, but when you widen your view and take in the entire field of sculptures your appreciation for not only the artists, but those who transport and install the finished pieces grows immeasurably. It is a triumph of art and place.
The Valley of the Saints is in the heart of Brittany in Quenequillec, about an hour drive from Quimper or Brest. It is a 2-star rated Michelin cultures location, and almost half a million people visit each year. I suggest you visit before more people discover this unique attraction.