On a perfect day in Provence, I leaned against a wall and sketched a view of Le Thoronet.
I loved this place because of its mathematical precision. As I sketched, I noticed that the tower is an isosceles triangle on top of a square. The windows are semicircles on top of rectangles. Some of the windows are circular.
The whole building has similar satisfying geometry.
This is a Cistercian abbey, founded in 1136. It was built between 1160 and 1230. “restoration work began in 1841 and continues today” says the leaflet. The building is now State-owned. While we were there, a service was taking place in its austere geometric chapel.
Le Corbusier visited the Abbey in 1953.
He wrote of the Abbey of Le Thoronet: ” Light and shadow are the loudspeakers of this architecture of truth, calm and strength “.
Quoted on the Abbey website on this link
References and links:
Novel, by Fernand Pouillon (1912-1986), about the building of the Abbey, and the struggles faced by the construction workers: “Les Pierres Sauvages” (1960)
An article in the Journal “Drawing Matter” about the drawings of Fernand Pouillon: https://drawingmatter.org/fernand-pouillons-survey-of-the-abbey-of-le-thoronet/
Reference to Le Corbusier’s visit in 1953 from the website of the Abbey shop: https://www.boutiquedupatrimoine.fr/en/content/58-abbaye-du-thoronet.html
Click below to download a scan of the leaflet from the Abbey.
Jane Sketching 