Murals for Médard
LEMASSON, Albert.
Two pencil and watercolour sketches for frescos at the church of Saint-Médard at Saint-Mars-du-Désert. [Saint-Mars-du-Désert, c. 1942.]
Two watercolours on paper (378 x 282 and 282 x 378 mm), sketched in pencil, one with extensive pencil notes, the other signed in ink ‘A. Lemasson’, both labelled in pencil to verso ‘Saint Mars du Desert’; executed on the blank versos of two leaves (proofs?) from Lemasson’s Les Églises de la Thiérache (1938, title and limitation); some slight foxing and staining, pinholes to corners, but generally bright and well preserved.
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Two pencil and watercolour sketches for frescos at the church of Saint-Médard at Saint-Mars-du-Désert.
An attractive pair of sketches for Lemasson’s frescos in the chancel of the church of St Médard in his hometown of Saint-Mars-du-Désert.
A native of Saint-Mars-du-Désert in the Loire-Atlantique, Albert Lemasson (1892–1982) studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts after his service in the First World War. Although adept in several media, he came to specialise in ecclesiastical frescos, often executed alongside his brother Paul (1897–1971).
The frescos at the church of St Médard were completed during the Second World War, with the two sketches here depicting the apse firstly in perspective and secondly with the five arches shown schematically. The first sketch is closer to the designs as executed, with the Crucifixion on the right and the Last Supper on the left, with further scenes above and around them and rays of light proceeding from the top of the central arch and passing through other scenes into neighbouring arches; the second sketch shows considerable variation from this scheme, with extensive pencil notes – many crossed through – suggesting a degree of experimentation.