Gargopedia

Gargoyles in Limoux (France): The Sculptural Ensemble of the Church of Saint-Martin

 

A Sculptural Gem in the South of France

Limoux, the town featured in today’s post, is in France, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The town is split in two by the Aude river.

Limoux is home to Saint-Martin church, a magnificent monument with some beautiful gargoyles. The town grew around the church, which was built in the 12th century, although a series of changes were made to it in the 14th and 15th centuries. The tower was rebuilt in the 18th century after being destroyed by lightning, and restoration work was also carried out in the 19th century.

 

 

Gargoyles of Saint-Martin: Sculptural Mastery and Expressiveness

The gargoyles are lovely, quite slender and stylised. Many of them have been damaged, with cracks showing the stonework and broken or missing parts and limbs. But even in spite of this, they are all superb gargoyles and their worn appearance doesn’t spoil our appreciation of them. When you walk round the outside of the church you can still enjoy looking at them.

Their length makes them look as if they’re about to take flight and their leanness gives them an elegant appearance. The gargoyles of Saint-Martin are very expressive and are skilfully carved, as you can see from the detail in some of their faces and in things like plumage and the lion’s mane.

The iconography is also excellent. Although there aren’t many of them (barely twenty or so) you can spot a wide variety of types: animal monsters (winged quadrupeds), demons, animals like a dog, a lion and an ape, as well as striking anthropomorphic figures.

We invite you to contemplate the gargoyles of Saint-Martin de Limoux, yet another example demonstrating that magnificent gargoyles are not found only in large cities or capitals, but also in small towns and villages, where one can discover churches or civic buildings adorned with astonishing and admirable sculptures. In this case, we will present them organized by typologies, in order to better appreciate their formal and thematic variety.

 

Gargoyles Representing Animal Monsters

 

 

gárgolas

 

Gargoyles Representing Demons

 

 

Gargoyles Representing Real Animals

 

 

Gargoyles Representing Anthropomorphic Figures