BERZÉ-LA-VILLE
. About six miles southeast of the abbey of Cluny lies the small farm or grange of Berzé-
la-Ville. In
Berzé-la-Ville (Saône-et-Loire),
grange, apse. Photograph courtesy of
Whitney S.Stoddard.
the early 12th century, thirty granges around Cluny supplied food for the large monastic
community. Inside the chapel of this grange are the finest extant Burgundian mural
paintings. Christ in Majesty, surrounded by the twelve Apostles, is seated on a throne
inside an almond-shaped mandorla. The inclusion of the twelve Apostles rather than
symbols of the four Evangelists suggests a connection with Rome. On the spandrels
below the semicupola are holy virgins and martyrs holding lamps, and around the base
are nine half-length saints. The martyrdoms of SS. Blaise and Lawrence are depicted
within niches on the sides of the choir.
The Berzé muralist painted figures in reds, greens, purple, and white against a blue
background. The dark blue sets off the figures in warm tonalities. The figure of Christ has
the same frontal pose as does the Vézelay Christ, yet the anatomical articulation of the
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