List of works of the two Folgoët ateliers

View of the western façade of the Basilique Notre-Dame du Folgoët

What started as the "Chapelle du Folgoët" originated in the reign of John IV, the foundations being laid from 1350 to 1360 but it was during the reign of John V, Duke of Brittany that real progress was made between 1420 and 1422 and in 1423, the Duke founded the chapel college. This is marked by an inscription over the west porch reading "JOHAANES ILLVSTRISSIMVS DVX B(R)ITONVM FVNDAVIT PRAESZE(N)S C(OL)LEGIVM ANNO D(OMI)NI.CCCC.XX.111". Work here was the atelier's first major commission and the carvings are amongst the atelier's best known works.[1][2]

The nave entrance/portal

This entrance leads to the nave. It has double doors and in a niche in the trumeau (architecture) is a statue of Alain, the Bishop of Léon. The entrance suffered damage in the 1708 fire but has been restored.

Bishop Alain in the nave entrance trumeau (architecture)

The south entrance/portal

The south entrance with bishop in the trumeau and the Virgin Mary with child in the tympanum. Note the second bishop to the left on the entrance

This entrance features three of the bishops mentioned below and a tympanum with a depiction of the Virgin Mary with child.

The "porche des Apôtres" and the gable of the sacristy

At the entrance to this porch, the "porche des Apôtres", so called because it holds statues of the apostles, there is a small statue on the right side bearing a scroll which reads "B(IE)N SOIEZ VE(N)US" and on the left a statue depicting an old man stroking his beard. In a niche in the porch's left side buttress there is a statue of Margaret the Virgin slaying a dragon and in niches in the buttress on the right side are statues of Saint Christopher carrying the baby Jesus on his shoulders, of the Virgin Mary with child and Jean V. In the two doored entrance to the basilica itself at the far end of the porch there is a statue of Saint Peter in the trumeau, the saint seeming to preside over the other apostles whose statues adorn each side of the porch interior.

Saint Peter's statue in the trumeau (architecture) of the "porche des Apôtres"

The "Porche des Apôtres"

The west porch

The west porch suffered badly from the fire of 1708 and the carving in the tympanum was damaged. This carving featured scenes depicting the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Adoration of the Shepherds. There is a sculpture depicting Saint Michael fighting the dragon to the left of the west porch entrance.

The double doored west porch with tympanum

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The north entrance/portal

This entrance has little decoration.

The north entrance to the Le Folgoët Basilica

Decoration of the church porch and portal was one of the main areas of activity for the Folgoēt atelier, which will be referred to in the rest of this article as the "atelier", and there are at least nine porches attributed to them. They specialized mainly in adding carvings of angels, saints and prophets to the niches of the voussures of porch arches, working in either granite or Kersantite, Those six porches built predominately using granite can be seen at Quimper cathedral, at Saint-Pol-de-Léon in the Kreisker chapel, in what is left of the ancient chapel of Notre-Dame des Portes at Châteauneuf-du-Faou, at Kernascléden, Saint-Fiacre du Faouët and Quimperlė

Type of sculpture	Location	Description|Notes
Cathedral decoration	Quimper	Construction of the west façade of Quimper Cathedral commenced in 1424. The atelier worked on the west porch, carving decorations for both piédroits and voussures (voussoir) as well as various coats of arms. The west porch seen today is not as it was originally, having been badly damaged in the upheavals of 1793. The entrance has two doors and between them on the trumeau (architecture) is a statue depicting the resurrected Christ giving a blessing and holding a globe but this dates to 1866 and replaced the atelier's granite equestrian statue of John V, Duke of Brittany (the remains of this can be seen in Quimper's Musėe dėpartemental Breton). There are seven rows of voussures in all and the three principal voussures (wedge shaped bricks or blocks at the top of the arch) are decorated with angels in niches and the other voussures are decorated with carvings of curly leaved kale. Decoration above these voussures includes an angel holding the coat of arms of Bertrand de Rosmadec. The niches of the piédroits (the lower bricks or blocks of the arch) are empty. Above the arch is a carving of the Lion of Montfort and the blazons of John V and other subsequent rulers of Brittany, Francis 1 (Duke of Brittany from 1442 to 1450) and Peter 11 (Duke of Brittany from 1450 to 1457). There is also a Lozenge (heraldry) of Joan of France, Duchess of Brittany. In the gable are the coats of arms of the Barons of Nėvet and the Lords of Bodigneau and Clohars-Fouesnant. Other blazons and escutcheons represent the Lords ("seigneurs") of Quėlenec and Faou. The atelier also worked on the south porch known as the Sainte-Catherine or Notre-Dame porch. Decoration includes angels in the voussures and a tympanum above the arch of the porch entrance with a statue depicting the Virgin Mary with child and a statue of Catherine of Alexandria located in a niche in the porch's left buttress. The arch's voussures contain eight angels in all who carry phylacteries or play musical instruments. The child held by the Virgin Mary holds a bird in his hands and she presses a book against her breast. The voussures of the south porch with the depictions of eight angels carrying either phylacteries or playing musical instruments. Above the entrance is the statue of the Virgin Mary with child The atelier also added escutcheons ("écusson") of the Nėvets and Guengats to the north porch known as the "Porche des baptémes" because it was the nearest entrance to the baptismal font and decoration to the porch's arch but the porch has no sculptures although on the interior side of the entrance door to the church there is a tympanum with a relief carving depicting the baptism of Christ.[1][4] Most of the work by the atelier in Quimper was in granite.

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  The south porch known as the Notre-Dame porch has this statue of the Virgin Mary with child in the tympanum. She has angels on either side paying homage, with other angels playing musical instruments and holding phylacteries in the arch's voussures.
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  The south porch has this statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in a niche in the south buttress. She holds a wheel and a sword. It was on a wheel that she was martyred.
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  The south porch with its elaborate series of voussures.
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  The west porch
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  One of the angels in the west porch voussures
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  Another view of the west porch.
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  The Lion of Montfort on the west porch.

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  A painting by Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (1852-1929) entitled "Les Bretonnes au pardon" which relates to the Rumengol pardon.
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  Paul Sérusier's painting "Jeunes Bretonnes"
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  The stained glass window depicting the "coronation" in the Basilique Le Folgoët

The works attributed to the second Folgoēt atelier are-

In the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste the second Folgoēt atelier are attributed with work on the south porch and in particular with the apostles in the porch interior.[1]

One of the apostles in the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste's south porch

The Église Saint-Herbot in Plonévez-du-Faou has many works attributed to the second atelier. All of the south porch is by the atelier including external and internal voussures, a statue of Saint-Herbot on the trumeau of the double doored entrance to the church at the end of the porch and the statues of the apostles in the porch interior.[1]

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  Église Saint-Herbot
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  The south porch of the Église Saint-Herbot
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  Statues in south porch of the Église Saint-Herbot
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  The entrance doors to the church in the south porch of Église Saint-Herbot

• "Sculpteurs sur pierre en Basse-Bretagne. Les Ateliers du XVe au XVIIe Siècle" by Emmanuelle LeSeac'h. Published by Presses Universitaires de Rennes. ISBN 978-2-7535-3309-7