Jouhet

A "green man" in Jouhet church perhaps?

Jouhet is a pretty, sleepy village on the east bank of La Gartempe. Most of the buildings in the town have some quirky feature about them - a first-floor "veranda", carved balustrade along the garden path, stone-mullioned window frames, hipped roofs, ornate chimney stacks or whatever. It already exuded character without the commune having to lift a finger. The main road heads toward a bridge over the river but before actually crossing the river,  turns sharp right to follow the eastern bank - as if the bridge leads to some unknowable place.

And on the way in to the village, the local shop, bar, tabac, restaurant all conveniently in one building was thronged with locals getting ready for Saturday lunch. Perfect timing - I decided to join them, a popular local eatery is always a good recommendation. A good choice it was too. The bar also acted as "guardian of the key" which gave access to the funerary where the frescoes lived.

Frescoes in Jouhet funerary

After lunch, I dandered toward the town square before the marie, the church, the bridge and the funerary. The church door faced the river with a narrow lane on one-side separating it from a row of houses, the biblioteque and the marie. Inside was quite plain and somehat disappointing as I had been expecting a painted ceiling. The arch before the alter was supported by a pair of half-columns one of which had a "grotesque" face; this i took to be an example of a stylised green man perhaps representing some elemental pagan spirit. Not usually as prominent and plain as this example though.

Outside again, I crossed the road to the funerary. I suspect this part of the village has gone through some restructuring over time; a funerary would usually be placed at the centre of the graveyard to be used for funerals and similar occasions - no sign at all of any gravestones. The exterior of the building was indeed quite austere but as soon as I unlocked the door, flooding the interior with light - the frescoes were extraordinary!

Jouhet funerary

These frescoes represented scenes from the bible usually designed for the illiterate majority. These particular paintings had been commissioned in the 15th century by a local count and the same artisan was employed in Antigny and other locations heading towards Saint-savin so their style would be quite similar. 

It was especially pleasant in Jouhet - I took a shine to the place - enjoying the heat of the afternoon and the tranquillity of the village. But I had to be moving, so I dropped the key back with the "guardian" and set off again. Crossing the bridge, I turned right to follow the left bank of the river north to Antigny. The roads here were proper twisty country roads; sadly they were short-lived before joining up with the main drag between Lussac-les-Château and Saint-savin - well it did have a white-line down the middle of the road!