International studio (35.1908)

Brittany as a Sketching-Ground



“an old house, quimterle’

BY W. H. CHARLTON

tioned before leaving the
vicinity of Pont Aven,
namely Quimperle, situated
at the confluence of the
rivers Elle and Isole. The
old town is grouped around
the curious Church of St.
Croix, built on the plan of
the Holy Sepulchre at Jeru-
salem, a most interesting
building, but not so pic-
turesque as St. Michael’s
which crowns the highest
part of the town. Looking
up from the river side, it
is a splendidly piled - up

mass of buildings, old
houses, some timbered,
hotel is dwarfed by her great flourishing sister others washed over with some pale colour, with a
across the way, with huge salon and a salle-cl-manger more positive note here and there in the bright
to seat a hundred guests, and still Mile. Julia is green shutters; this, with perhaps a figure or two in:
its soul and life, though things have
changed, and the cobbled streets
are a-hum with motor-cars, and the
tourist has come to stay.
Concarneau, which is within a
few miles of Pont Aven, shares
with Douarnenez the honour of
being the headquarters of the sar-
dine fisheries, and where sardine
boats are there is life and colour
also. Beautiful sails of every shade
of brown combine with the bright
colours of the boats themselves, the
sails to be exchanged while in har-
bour for the equally beautiful blue
sardine nets, which are hung from
the masts to dry; fragile and deli-
cate are they, and light as gossa-
mer, billowing out in graceful curves
with every wind that blows. A
splendid background is formed by
the old town, the Ville Close, en-
circled by its granite walls and
ramparts, an island at low tide.
The walls enclose a little world of
streets, shops, and old houses ; even
the people seem more quaint and
old-fashioned than in the bustling
busy new town. Not far off is Beg
Meil, a cheerful little watering-
place, in whose neighbourhood are
many picturesque farms.
Another town must be men- “st. corentin, quimper” by w. ii. charlton

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