Church of St. Austrebert, Montreuil (L'Eglise Ste. Austreberthe a Montreuil)

Frank Brangwyn

This rare large etching of the Chapelle Sainte-Austreberthe in Montreuil-sur-Mer, France was done by Brangwyn in 1907. He used a zinc plate to etch the image on and a gray-green wove paper which imparts a mysterious light, a "color" to the composition.

The chapel is located in front of the buildings of the former abbey of Sainte-Austreberthe, which today is E. Woilliez High School. The present chapel was built between 1756 and 1761, following a fire that destroyed the abbey of Sainte-Austreberthe. The Abbess Agathe Orleans hired the Lemercier brothers of Montreuil as the architects.

The chapel has three levels. Two pilasters mark the door frame, the arches supporting an entablature surmounted by a triangular pediment. The upper level is marked by a large semicircular bay flanked by two pilasters supporting a molded cornice. The crown consists of two pilasters framing a semicircular niche and supporting a cornice which reproduces the arch of the niche. The roof is covered with slate on two sides.