In the Ille-et-Vilaine

 Combourg is a small town in the north western part of Brittany. This small town is said to have risen from a small parish town when in the 6th century Irish monk, Saint Lunaire, built a church. Much later in the 11th century the archbishop of Dol-de-Bretagne built a château where his younger brother Riwallon lived. The town grew around three centres; the château, the feudal settlement that developed due to the protection of Riwallon and then a priory settlement that developed after Riwallon summoned Benedictine monks to the area. 

Even though the town has changed over the centuries it is said that the part of the town centred on the former priory has remained mostly unchanged over the last 300 years. It has 16th century residences such as the Maison de la Lanterne, newer 19th and 20th century buildings and, with the former priory site, you can see there are buildings spanning over many different architectural periods.

Viewed from the peaceful waters of Lac Tranquille, the Château de Combourg majestically rises above the large trees and houses and buildings built on the lower water level. From this view Château de Combourg, with its turrets and chimneys looks more like a fairytale castle than the austere fortress that it really is. A romantic symbol, the medieval castle of Combourg is not only the birthplace of writer François-René de Chateaubriand but it is also one of the prettiest medieval fortresses in Brittany with its beautiful 25-hectare parc à l’anglaise (English-style park) designed by the Bühler brothers. 

Constructed between the 12th and the 15th century to defend the Dol cathedral as well as the independence of Brittany, the Combourg castle originally belonged to the Du Guesclin family before becoming the stronghold of the Chateaubriand family. It is behind those high crenellated towers that the great writer and politician François-René de Châteaubriand spent his youth haunted by loneliness and ghosts. Immortalised in his book entitled Mémoires d’outre-tombe (Memoires from beyond the grave) the castle is is still inhabited today by the author's descendants.

Chateaubriand was born at Saint Malo and the town boasts a large sculpture honouring the man. Saint-Malo was named for Maclou, or Malo, a Welsh monk who fled to Brittany, making his headquarters on the island, in the 6th century and probably became the first bishop of Aleth (Saint-Servan). The fortress at the northeast corner of the ramparts, built between the 14th and the 17th century, has four great round towers, one of which houses a museum devoted largely to famous mariners born in the city, including the 16th-century French navigator Jacques Cartier. Chateaubriand died in Paris during the Revolution of 1848 on 4 July and was buried, as he had requested, on the tidal island Grand Bé near Saint-Malo, accessible only when the tide is out. 

He had bestowed on him the honour of being called the “most famous of all French romantic authors” and authored the Genius of Christianity in defense of the Catholic faith, then under attack during the French Revolution. Chateaubriand defends the wisdom and beauty of Christianity against the attacks on it by French Enlightenment philosophers and revolutionary politicians. In the work, Chateaubriand aims to prove "Christianity comes from God, because it is excellent". The book had an immense influence on nineteenth-century culture and not just on religious life. In fact, it might be said its greatest impact was on art and literature: it was a major inspiration for the Romantic movement.

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Combourg was completely rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of the old 13th century church. It is built in Lanhélin granite, from 1859 to 1887. Two very important architects worked on the construction of the church. Charles Langlois participated in many enlargements of churches and he started work on this church; He also did a drawing of the bell tower, then he withdrew. The architect Arthur Regnault resumed the work. He was very well known in Ille-et-Vilaine, having made plans for 42 churches, including three in the canton of Combourg. He extended the transept and made the choir, the central square, and the chair plan. To him is owed the drawing of the high altar which is extraordinary.

The stained glass of the transept and the choir are of very good quality. They were made by the Parisian workshop Claudius Lavergne. On the right side are: Saint Roch, Saint Gilduin, Saint Catherine of Siena, Sainte Claire, Saint François-Xavier, Saint Francis of Assisi. On the left side are: Saint Lunaire (Leonarius), Saint Alphonse de Ligori, Saint Clotilde, Saint Cloud, Saint Francis of Amboise, Saint Maurice, Saint Michel Archangel. The right transept (south) has a huge glass roof, offered by the Count and Countess of Chateaubriand which contains in the crown of thorns forming a rosette, Mary's assumption. Below, is the tomb of the Virgin Mary around which the apostles are placed. Eight stained glass windows towards the bottom of the nave were made in 1966 by the Robert Briand workshop, Rennes (see below). 

The architecture of the high altar is made to attract the gaze. It is of a Gothic style - flamboyant, with pinnacles, arrows, golden angels. The sun with a triangle in the centre evokes the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The altar table is marble with a reliquary. It is an impressive set, one of the most beautiful in Ille-et-Vilaine. There are two wooden statues on pillars of black marble at the entrance of the choir. A statue of Saint Gilduin, in stone, is to the left of the apse. An 18th century statue of the Virgin Mary is on the right of the altar in the south transept south. She was hidden during the French Revolution and returned to the parish church in 1945. There are significant traces of the Chateaubriand family: the concession of a chapel was made in 1883. There are the tombstones of Count Geoffroy de Chateaubriand and his wife, the great-nephews of François-René of Chateaubriand. A photocopy of their death certificates hangs on the wall above their tombstones. The statue of Saint Gilduin is the work of Count Geoffroy de Chateaubriand. In front of the church a trompe-l'œil represents Chateaubriand leaning against a window.

Robert Briand was born in Rennes, in a family where drawing and painting are “genetic” gifts. His grandfather, his father, and a brother have always drawn. As a young man, he studied at the Beaux-Arts in Rennes, where he was taught by the painter Mathurin Méheut. On leaving the Beaux-Arts, he perfected himself for a year by making copies. Then, he embarked on the art of stained glass and the restoration of stained glass windows, he undertook from 1945 many restorations of stained glass windows in particular for: the church of Carnac, cathedral of Vannes and Dol-de-Bretagne, Locmaria church in Belle-Ile en Mer, Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle church in Lorient, Notre Dame de Combourg church, Il du Ponan church, Saint Pierre church in Ploemeur, parish church of Saint Méloir des Bois, while continuing painting and decorating. He exhibited in France, in Quiberon, in Japan, in Germany, in Luxembourg, and in Canada. His first exhibition dates from 1944, in Paris "Aux Artistes français". His glass workshop was in Rennes at 8 rue Hoche. He says: "I did the Fine Arts during the years 1941,1942, and I had Mathurin Méheut as professor. I worked in the realization of stained glass, and I started painting, charcoal, and gouache, then oil painting. Beach scenes, horses, birds, and especially Gabiers."

Part way up the Grande Rue of Mont St-Michel stands the small Église St-Pierre. It blends in with the stonework all around and is easy to miss—keep an eye out for it. Dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, St-Pierre is considered the parish church of Mont St-Michel (as opposed to the Abbey church or chapel). The church is dedicated to St-Pierre, or Saint Peter, the patron saint of fishermen. Given its location on Mont St-Michel, in the interior is a side chapel with a statue of Saint Michael slaying the dragon. The church provides a quiet oasis and a break from the hustle and bustle of the Grande Rue. Just above the Église St-Pierre is a small cemetery, and the church's tall bell tower is both a landmark and a reminder of passing time.

Art is Magic is the first French retrospective of Jeremy Deller, winner of the 2004 Turner Prize and Britain’s representative at the Venice Biennale in 2013. The exhibition is a city-wide co-production that takes place in the spaces of Frac Bretagne, La Criée Centre d’art contemporain and the Musée des beaux-arts de Rennes. Frac Bretagne, founded in 1981 by the National Government and the Brittany Regional Council, is a leading institution in the western region of France. Since 2012, it has been located in a building designed by the French architect Odile Decq in Beauregard park in Rennes. La Criée center for contemporary art is an exhibition space and generator of ideas, encounters and verbal exchange. It is dedicated to artistic experiment and the production and dissemination of the work of emerging or established artists from France and abroad, both on site and in other venues. The Rennes Museum of Fine Arts is, like most museums in France, a revolutionary creation. Constituted in 1794 from works seized in the religious and civil buildings of the city, the museum of fine arts however draws most of its wealth from the fabulous cabinet of curiosities of Christophe-Paul de Robien (1698-1756), President of the Parliament of Brittany. This encyclopedic collection was one of the richest in Europe: paintings, sculptures, Egyptian, Greek and above all Celtic antiquities, works of art from all continents, as well as an exceptional set of drawings featuring Leonardo da Vinci , Botticelli, Durer and Rembrandt.

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Jonathan Jackson + Enation - Young World's Riot.