Calvary at Guéhenno
The Calvary of Guéhenno, dating from 1550, sits in the village of Guéhenno in Brittany. It is one of Brittany’s seven great calvaries and the easternmost, from the old diocese of Vannes. Made mostly of granite with some bluish bas-reliefs, the sculpture used stone from the Guéhenno area, the same material found in other local monuments.
Guéhenno originally formed an enclos paroissial with the parish church, an ossuary, the calvary and a cemetery. In 1794 Republican troops attacked the village, burning the 16th‑century church and badly damaging the calvary, which was attributed to the sculptor F. Guillouic. In 1853, Abbé Jacquot, with help from Laumaillė and two masons, rebuilt the calvary, aided by villagers who had hidden fragments away. Inscriptions record the original work and the 1853 restoration; Jacquot also added pieces and later helped complete a new ossuary in 1863.
The calvary features three granite crosses emerging from a large pedestal; the central cross bears Jesus, while the two smaller crosses hold the two criminals. In front of the pedestal lies an altar table, and facing the calvary Jacquot added a column carved with the instruments of the Passion, crowned by a rooster symbolizing Saint Peter’s denial. The sides of the altar show the four Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel.
Jacquot died in 1866. The calvary was declared a monument historique in 1927. Some parts are by Guillouic, others by Jacquot, so authorship is not always clear.
On the central cross, Jesus hangs in a ten-meter-high figure, with the Virgin Mary and John on the crosspiece and two cherubs on the arms. The two side crosses hold the good and bad thieves, with the bad robber and demon by Jacquot and the good robber by Guillouic. The pedestal base carries four bas-reliefs showing: Jesus praying in the Garden of Olives, the Flagellation, the Resurrection, and Jesus mocked by soldiers. These bas-reliefs are believed to be by two different 16th‑century sculptors rather than Guillouic or Jacquot.
Outside the ossuary are statues, including two young women looking toward the ossuary entrance guarded by Roman soldiers, and a monster representing Satan. Inside the ossuary sits a 1863 gisant of Christ in the tomb, accompanied by sleeping cherubs. An early 15th‑century altarpiece attached to the ossuary side facing the church depicts Jesus at prayer, the Stations of the Cross, the crucifixion, the descent from the cross and the entombment. The central pedestal also features the Stations of the Cross with a centurion on horseback and another centurion with a lance; corner statues are the Evangelists. A Pietà by Guillouic, and a Jesse figure on the central shaft, complete the scene. At Jesus’ feet lie two skulls and crossed bones, symbolizing the forgiveness of sins. The altar’s surface shows the Entombment, with Saint Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, John the Evangelist and three female saints, and it carries additional figures of the Prophets with banners—inscriptions and attributions largely by Jacquot. On the instruments of the Passion column are carvings of the Holy Lance, the Holy Sponge, the whip, the rope, the crown of thorns, pincers, nails, and the reed, topped by the rooster.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:39 (CET).