Through Gaël Arcuset
Published on
–
–
–
New York has Central Park. Langon has the wood of Snow White.
New York has Madison Square Garden. Langon has the Comberlin Stadium.
New York a Jennifer Lopez. Langon a Lous Gueys Bignerouns.
New York and Langon don’t have much in common. On the one hand, we have the largest city in the United States, popular with tourists from all over the world and where many stars live. On the other, we have the peaceful sub-prefecture of South Gironde, on the banks of the Garonne.
Yet the two cities are closely linked. And this for many years. We’re not talking about any kind of twinning here …
Can you imagine that le Metropolitan Museum of Art, which we usually call the Met, has the vestiges of the Langonnais heritage; in this case the Notre-Dame-du-Bourg church. Built in 1126, the building has almost disappeared today. On the Jean-Jaurès alleys, only a few walls remain.
A church that has suffered “significant destruction”
By what incredible combination of circumstances pieces of this church crossed the Atlantic to join the Cloisters, a department of the Met located in Manhattan?
Well, first of all, you should know that the Notre-Dame-de-Langon church has had a rather hectic life. ” The church has been remodeled many times and suffered extensive destruction before becoming a national asset during the Revolution and being transformed into a meeting place, shows and then a cinema ”, we explained in The Republican South-Gironde.
Finally, in 1926, the capitals of the building, carved stones, were sold to a wealthy American collector.
Eight capitals are now on display at the Cloister Museum, New York.
In his book, Langon through the centuries, André Sapaly writes: “One of these capitals, the most famous and the most beautiful of all, represents two heads crowned with a diadem; the one on the right could be a female face in which some wanted to see that of Aliénor d’Aquitaine. “
Today, The Cloisters therefore baptized the places “Langon chapel”, even if all the elements of the site do not come from Langon.
Langon Chapel, TheCloisters, NYC, NY, USA! ⁇ pic.twitter.com/13MiqPaBY1
— Jim’s the Man (@yesjimstheman) May 17, 2020
A rapprochement between Langon and the Met?
And the case does not end there. Newly elected mayor of Langon, Jérôme Guillem wrote to the curator of the MET, in April 2021.
“There is a bridge to be established with the Met”
Where will the story between Langon and New York end? ? On l’ignore.
What is certain is that today, in Langon, nobody wants the Big Apple to bite us Comberlin, the Bois de Blanche-Neige or even Lous Gueys Bignerouns…
Has this article been useful to you? Note that you can follow Le Républicain Sud-Gironde in the Mon Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.
–
