Le Bar-sur-Loup

Admiral de Grasse’s village and the “Dance of Death” in the church

Local name: Le Bar-sur-Loup — église Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur

Collection: Around Grasse · France · Open in OpenStreetMap

The story

Before you is the church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur in Le Bar-sur-Loup. The village is first mentioned in 1078. Next door stands the castle of the counts of Grasse. Into this family, in 1722, was born François Joseph Paul de Grasse, the future admiral. In 1781 his fleet defeated the British off the Chesapeake Bay. That victory helped the Americans win their War of Independence. The admiral’s statue stands in front of the castle. The church was built in the second half of the twelfth century and the first half of the thirteenth. Inside hangs the “Dance of Death,” a fifteenth-century painting on wood. Legend says a count held a ball during Lent, and as punishment his guests died: Death the archer strikes the dancers with arrows. The painting has been protected by the state since 1910. Behind the high altar is a retable, a large altarpiece of fourteen panels on a gold ground, from around 1500. It is attributed to Louis Bréa, a painter from Nice. The church doors were carved by a master from Grasse, Jacotin Bellot. And in spring, on Easter Monday, the village celebrates the bitter orange tree, whose blossoms are picked from mid-April.

Visiting

The church is open every day, but you get the key in exchange for an ID document: June to September at the tourist office, the rest of the year at the town hall, Place de l’Amiral de Grasse, +33 4 93 42 70 11. The castle is private. The “Chemin du Paradis” trail to Gourdon starts from the parking by the cemetery.

On the way

• Cannes → Grasse

Photos

Sources

• Ministère de la Culture, base Mérimée — Église Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, Le Bar-sur-Loup (PA00080661)
• Ministère de la Culture, base Palissy — Danse macabre (PM06000033)
• Côte d’Azur France — Église Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur
• Côte d’Azur France — Village du Bar-sur-Loup
• Wikipédia (FR) — Le Bar-sur-Loup

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