Henri Mege 1904 1984 Sainte Trinide Chapel In Sanary

Henri Mege chapel of the Holy Trinity in Sanary The base of the wall of the chapel chevet is Gallo-Roman masonry. This chapel is probably built on the remains of a temple dedicated to Ceres or Cybele. It is difficult to know the time of its construction. From the records studied, there is a request from 1572 tending to obtain from the council of Ollioules the position of guardian and hermit of the chapel for Jean Aycard. There is mention of marriages and burials in the 17th and 18th centuries. The chapel was restored in 1785. It appears in the land register of 1791 where it is mentioned as belonging to the inhabitants of the district. It has remained private property since the sale of national property. Returned to worship in 1804 because it saves parishioners long journeys. On the occasion of the Holy Ternide, from a simple chapel, it becomes a festive gathering place for an entire district. This festival corresponds, in the calendar, to that of Ceres. The chapel, which has long served as an agricultural shed for wine and oil, still has its religious furniture and a polychrome statue of the saint in a posture, clothing and with attributes, "the ears of corn" which suggest that she perpetuates through the ages the natural devotion of peasants for the forces which can grant them harvests and therefore life. The Sainte Ternide chapel reminds all passers-by that our Provence is a region where the Celts, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans have rubbed shoulders and succeeded each other, to stick to antiquity. Oil on canvas signed lower right countersigned on the back located and dated 1961 Beautiful frame from the Montauti gallery in Nice Henri Mege was born in Isère in 1904. He was very quickly introduced to painting and drawing by his mother. Like his father, he was destined for a military career and joined the horse hunters. He left for Indochina in 1931 for a 25-year engagement. He met the new emperor Bao Dai and became squire to His Majesty and commander of the imperial guard in Hue. He devoted his free time to painting and produced numerous landscapes, particularly of the surroundings of Hue. He married the great-niece of the last viceroy of Tonkin. He then became a professor in Saigon from 1950 to 1956. After which, he returned to Chambéry to spend his retirement there. He also painted many canvases in this region.