Brittany; The Mont-Saint-Michel, 2017
Mont Saint-Michel's shape is graphically iconic, rising dramatically from the waters at high tide and from the tidal flats at low tide. The muscularity of this complex fortress contrasts with the placid estuary, tidal flats, and nearby pastures and farms. A visitor who can ignore the commercial bustle of tourist shops is rewarded with striking views of the countryside and with more intimate confrontations with the maze of rooms, chapels, courtyards, passageways, and steps that go up and down, seemingly at the same time. M.C. Escher must have been inspired by these steps and galleries.
The shape emphasized
The muscular fortress is perched on granite.
Well-preserved buildings and courtyards offer charming overlooks. Everything has been restored and buffed out after 150 years of neglect or rough use. The French government had used some of the rooms as a prison.
Tour groups and school classes throng the steps, even off-season, puzzling through maps and appraising the ramparts and spires above.
Saint Michael inspires.
Germaine Richier (not Giacometti) sculpture is on the rooftop.
Details
Restoration is ongoing. Here, the cloister.
Another way across the long bridge. The bridge replaced a causeway to restore tidal and river flow so water could again surround the island at high tide.
Comments
After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.