Vote for one of the heritage treasures of Hauts-de-France
By Anne-Sophie Hourdeaux
Published on
A vote is open to all online until March 10, 2022 on the website of the French Art Safeguard to select a work to save. You have to choose between 3 projects per region. For Hauts-de-France, this is the altarpiece of the church of Eppe-Sauvage (North), a banner in Wimereuxand Pluviôse monument in Calais (Pas de Calais). €8,000 are at stake! This is the campaign The Largest Museum in France », financed by Allianz.
The Safeguarding of French Art organizes the “Largest museum in France” in partnership with Allianz. Thirteen works of art will benefit from a grant of 8,000 euros each, ie one per region. Currently, 3 works per region are in competition. The public must vote!
How were the 3 works chosen by region? By public vote too! The only condition for selecting the works: they must be accessible to everyone free of charge.
For the Hauts-de-France, let’s see the 3 works in the running:
A textile banner of the Immaculate Conception Church in Wimereux
The Immaculate Conception Church in Wimereux is undergoing restoration. If the exterior work is supported by the city, the furniture and the interior benefit from the action of the Association of Friends of the Church. For the competition of the Largest Museum of France, the association intends to restore a textile banner of procession of the beginning of the 20th century, very degraded.
The oldest liturgical vestments are stored in the attic of the sacristy of the Immaculate Conception Church. Those in good condition are on display, but some parts can no longer be used due to their deterioration.
This is the case of processional banners. The one presented for the competition dates from 1910. The colors are degraded and the embroidery is damaged.
An altarpiece at the Saint-Ursmar church in Eppe-Sauvage
In Avesnois, the Saint-Ursmar d’Eppe-Sauvage church dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. It has triptychs. One is an altarpiece representing the life of the Virgin Mary, in carved gilded and polychromed wood. The work suffers from the ambient humidity.
For the moment, it is this work which comes first in the votes.
A monument in Calais
The Pluviôse monument in Calais recalls an episode from 1910 which killed 27 soldiers from a submarine.
On May 26, 1910, during an exercise, the submarine Pluviôse was gutted by a liner. It flows. On June 10, the wreck of the submersible finally entered the port of Calais after many adventures. On June 19, 27 bodies were extracted and identified. A monument pays homage to them.
This bronze work was made by the sculptor Émile Oscar Guillaume. Inaugurated on June 22, 1913, it represents an angel, plunging his arm inside the pluviôse which still emerges above the waves, to eliminate there the souls of the sailors who remained prisoners of the mortuary envelope of the submarine. It reads: “To the sailors of Pluviôse who died for the Fatherland”. The names of all the victims are also engraved there, as well as that of Eugène Rivet, pilot of the port of Calais, who towed the submersible to the port on June 11, 1910.
Unfortunately, this masterpiece is in poor condition. The original patina is very oxidized and has a strong presence of copper nitrate on the surface. The lettering is in average condition.
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