Church of Notre-Dame, Villeneuve-sur-Yonne
The church of Notre-Dame (église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption), dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, is a Roman Catholic church situated in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne in France (North of Burgundy). It depends from the Archdiocese of Sens-Auxerre.
History
Its first stone was blessed by Pope Alexander III in 1163[1] at the same time of Notre Dame de Paris. The great Renaissance porch was built in 1575 from sketchings of Jean Chéreau,[2] born in Joigny.
The Church was registered in 1862 into Monuments historiques. It is a remarkable example of a Gothic church from the School of Champagne, or Île de France. Some of the stained glass windows are from the 13th century (north side)[3] and others from the 16th century (The Life of the Virgin, south side, 1st chapel). You can notice one of the first examples in a stained glass of a figure with spectacles. This window depicting the Last Judgement is due to Jean Cousin the Younger. The statue of the Virgin with a Bird (14th century)[4] is from a royal manufacturer (right side). A Madonna with the Child is a polychromatic statue from the 16th century (left side). Other interesting elements are paintings such as The Adoration of the Shepherds (around 1780) from François-Guillaume Ménageot,[5] an Immaculate Conception and a portrait of saint Louis worshipping the Crown of thorns.[6]
The organ (18th century) was restored in 1992.
Gallery
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The Adoration of the Shepherds (from Ménageot)
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Organ (18th century)
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The Virgin with the Bird (14th century)
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Main altar (18th century)
Notes
References
- Jean-Luc Dauphin, Découvrir Villeneuve-sur-Yonne et le Villeneuvien, éditions des Amis du Vieux Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, 1994
- Eugène Lefèvre-Pontalis, « L'Église de Villeneuve-sur-Yonne », Congrès archéologique de France, LXXIVe session : séances générales tenues à Avallon en 1907, Paris/Caen, A. Picard / H. Delesques, vol. 70, 1908, pp. 654–674
Coordinates: 48°04′55″N 3°17′41″E / 48.0820°N 3.2948°E