After publishing the photos of Ussé, I received an email from Margaret Smith Springwood, an Australian reader, with these two photos:
“I was in the little chapel [Chapel of the Immaculate Conception], turned to face the doorway and was startled to see this quite eerie face looking down at me from on high. I’ve not seen one, either before or since, and thought you might be interested, or indeed, be familiar with it.”
It is vaguely familiar from somewhere else. I am a little embarrassed to say that, although I spent some time in the chapel, I did not see it. Does anyone else know about it?
Après avoir publié les photos d’Usée, j’ai reçu un courriel de Margaret Smith Springwood, une lectrice australienne, accompagné de ces deux photos.
“J’étais dans la petite chapelle [Chapelle de la Conception de la Sainte Vierge], puis je me suis retournée pour faire face à la porte d’entrée. J’étais déconcertée de voir ce petit visage qui m’a fait tressaillir d’en haut. Je n’en ai pas vu d’autres, ni avant ni après, et j’ai pensé que cela pourrait vous intéresser ou même vous être familier”.
Ce visage m’est vaguement connu mais d’un autre lieu. Je suis un peu embarrassée de dire que malgré le temps que j’ai passé dans cette chapelle, je ne l’ai pas vu. Le connaissez-vous ?
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11 replies on “Peek-a-boo – Coucou !”
The face does seem a bit unsettling!
Isn’t it just?
The window looks normal on the beautiful front facade, but quite strange in the inside photo of it. Worth returning to check it out, if time permits.
Yes, I’d love to check it out but Susan might get there before me! Ussé is quite far for us, unfortunately but we’ll get there some time.
Ooooo, what fun! I’ve never noticed it. Must check it out next time I’m at Ussé! My guess would be that it is not the original glass for the window. I would say it is fragments from somewhere else (probably one of the hundreds of churchs demolished in the 19th C) and someone with a sense of fun has installed it here.
If you didn’t see it, I feel less embarrassed! It doesn’t look like an original does it. Why were so many churches demolished in the 19th century? I thought that was during the French revolution.
Churches were demolished during the Revolution, of course, but things like the stained glass would often have been destroyed in the general frenzy of the times. Many churches were simply sold during the Revolution. The new owners were often speculators who sold on the pretty bits once it became OK to display religious imagery again.
I also thought it could be a fragment from a broken window. Certainly have seen lots of yellowish stained glass faces before, but usually they are attached to a body!
I am going to write to Ussé and see if they can tell me more!
Rosemary,
I was delighted to see my photos on your blog and that they piqued the interest of some of your readers. I’m not surprised that others haven’t noticed the face … it is very high up and quite small … but it certainly got my attention. Perhaps the lighting was just right on the day. Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome Margaret! Thank you for sharing the photo!