Tugal Caris (active 1630 – 1666),Marie-Dominique Menant
"Tinténiac, Ensemble 1 du maître-autel"
''Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel: Bretagne'', 2006, archived fro
the original
on 14 December 2014 . also spelled Carris or Cariste, was a 17th-century French ecclesiastical sculptor and ecclesiastical architect who worked in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

. He was one of the creators of in a new style invented by sculptors from

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

Biography

Caris was born in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, and was from Laval; in 1630 there is a record of him living there.Jules-Marie Richard, "Notes sur quelques artistes lavallois du xviie siècle. — Les Constructeurs de Retables", ''Bulletin de la Commission historique et archéologique de la Mayenne'' 1906, offprint Goupil, 1907, p. 18 . He later moved to

and died in

. He married Jeanne Barais, probably the sister of Catherine Barais, wife of the architect Michel Bellier. One of their children, Jacques Caris, also became an architect in Nantes.

Altarpieces

His first known commission for an altar was at

Vaiges Vaiges () is a commune in the Mayenne department and Pays de la Loire region of France. Geography The river Vaige forms part of the commune's northern border, then traverses the commune's territory from north to south before forming part of its ...

in 1634; this is no longer extant. The altars in the church of St Denis at

Saint-Denis-du-Maine Saint-Denis-du-Maine () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Geography The Vaige forms most of the commune's eastern border. See also *Communes of Mayenne The following is a list of the 240 communes of the Mayenne ...

(1632) and in St Peter's at Nuillé-sur-Ouette (1633) can probably also be attributed to him. From 1634 to 1636, he created the altarpiece at

Redon Abbey Redon Abbey, or Abbey of Saint-Sauveur, Redon ("Abbey of the Holy Saviour"; french: Abbaye Saint-Sauveur de Redon), in Redon in the present Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, France, is a former Benedictine abbey founded in 832 by Saint Conwoïon, at the p ...

.Paule Maloubier-Tournier
"Les retables du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècle en Ille-et-Vilaine"
''Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest'' 69.1 (1962), p. 97 . Châtillon-sur-Colmont (53) Église Retable du Rosaire.JPG, Altarpiece of the Rosary of St. Martin's church, Chatillon-sur-Colmont Brée (53) Église 06.JPG, Main altar with altarpiece attributed to Caris,

Brée Brée () is a commune in the Mayenne department in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of Mayenne The following is a list of the 240 communes of the Mayenne department of France. The communes cooperate in the following inte ...

Caris's most important altarpieces were created while he was living in Rennes. In 1642 he is believed to have created the high altar ensemble with side altars in the church at Availles-sur-Seiche, as well as the altarpiece at

Rannée Rannée (; Gallo: ''Ranaé'', br, Radenez) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Rannée are called ''rannéens'' in French. See also *Communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine d ...

. The altarpiece of the high altar of the church at

Tinténiac Tinténiac (; br, Tintenieg; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Teintenyac'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabi ...

may also be his work. In 1651 he was responsible for the main altarpiece at

Gaël Gaël (Gallo: ''Gaèu'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It lies southwest of Rennes between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron. In the 18th century, a fair was held twice a year in August and ...

. Caris's altarpieces are relatively restrained in their ornamentation compared to those of other sculptors in the Laval school, such as Pierre Corbineau and his son , and the .

Architect at Rennes and Nantes

In 1640, his reputation in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

led the chapter of

Rennes Cathedral Rennes Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes) is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church located in the town of Rennes, France. It has been a monument historique since 1906. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Peter, is the sea ...

to engage him to oversee the completion of the façade, and he worked there until 1654, when Pierre Corbineau took over; according to , Caris directed the work as far as the cornice on the first floor. In 1648 he left Rennes for Nantes, where in 1656 he was contracted to oversee work on the cathedral.Charles Durville, ''Études sur le vieux Nantes'', Volume 2, Nantes: Durance, 1915,
p. 26
.

Biography

Altarpieces

Architect at Rennes and Nantes

References

Further reading