To continue the history of altars and more commonly the altarpieces behind them, many in this area were moved during the French Revolution. Indeed Puycelsi is one of the few to have kept its own original one dating from 1689. Villages such as Verfeil gained their altars or altarpieces at this time infact did French culture a great service since the Revolution abolished the official religion, and local people destroyed church interiors turning the buildings into Temples of Reason or gave them another name but still having a very secular purpose. It was only in France profound such as round here that what we now regard as 'treasures' were taken and because of the villages 'hidden' nature that the art works were protected.
So having explained that, the plot thickens. If the altar and altarpiece had remained at Beaulieu would it have survived or been destroyed? But then we come back to the Elgin marbles. Britain argues that had the marbles remained in Athens they would have been destroyed by the pollution. Being destroyed during the Revolution would just have been an instant destruction so should Verfeil keep them because they saved it for us to see? Roll on Solomon
Ginny
PS loved my pseudonym, Ginnya, but that was only because I was writing late at night.
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