International studio (35.1908)

Brittany as a Sketching-Ground



“ GUINGAMP ’

BY W. H. CHARLTON

rich in shady woods, and well watered by many a
little lake.
The next point of in-
terest on our journey is
Elven, with its 15th-cen-
tury tower, shortly after
which Rochefort-en-Terre
is reached. It is quite a
village, and lies high above
the river Arz. There are
many quaint buildings
with out-jutting turrets
such as one often finds
on old Scotch houses.
The church is fine, and
near by stands an ex-
quisitely carved stone cru-
cifix. An old ivy-covered
gateway leads to the rem-
nants of an ancient
castle, but it is the sur-
rounding country that
particularly appeals to
artists, and here every
summer do they congre- “rue cordeliers, dinan”

gate, and the comfortable little Hotel
Lecadre has seldom a room unoccupied.
This hotel some four years ago was kept
by three charming Breton sisters, dressed
in costume and coif, and often in the
evenings, especially if chilly, the pension-
naires would gather around the great built-
out chimney place in the kitchen, clean as
a pin, and all aglow with brilliant copper
pots and pans. The little salle-a-manger
here, as at Pont Aven, is decorated with
numerous pictures and sketches which
testify to the comfort and well-being of
the donors during their stay.
One may run down to Nantes, with its
chateau and great quays teeming with life,
or to the quaint town of Clisson with its
renowned castle, or to St. Nazaire, the port
of the Loire, where there is something of
sadness in the landscape, beautiful grey
tones predominate, and the wide estuary
reflects every passing cloud. A line runs
north from Nantes, touching at Chateau-
briant, Vitre, and Fougeres, all full of the
interesting and the picturesque, Vitre
perhaps most so.
North-west is Dinan, too much of a
tourist resort to please the majority of
painters; its famous Rue Terzual, ascend-
ing abruptly from the quay, is a favourite subject
however, and makes a good study in perspective.

BY W. H. CHARLTON

28