Le décor des bâtiments conventuels des abbayes masculines françaises, aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles.

A significant renewal of monastic decoration occurred in France during the 17th and 18th centuries, as religious institutions sought to align their visual environments with spiritual and identity aspirations. This study reveals how major orders—Maurist, Cluniac, Cistercian, Carthusian, Premonstratensian, and Genevese—reconstructed or restored over 130 abbeys in northern France, employing intricate iconographic and aesthetic programs to enrich the symbolic, intellectual, and sensory dimensions of monastic spaces. Through a corpus-based analysis, it demonstrates how these decorations, often totalizing in scope (sculptural and painted), served as tools for moral and spiritual identity formation, invoking biblical models and urging conversion. The research highlights the role of analogy in transforming space into a resonant environment for monastic life.

Savary, C. Le décor des bâtiments conventuels des abbayes masculines françaises, aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. https://doi.org/10.70675/05a4b9a5z5cc7z47c8zbd11z6c12d3521927