Andrew Gough's Arcadia

By Corjan de Raaf and Andrew Gough

Commemorating the Magdalene: Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1665)
Allegedly, Nicolas Poussin's personal motto was 'tenet confidentiam' or ‘keeper of secrets’. In 1862, Historian Anatole de Montaiglon published a series of seven letters concerning Poussin, one of them written by Abbé Louis Fouquet, brother of Louis Fouquet, treasurer to Louis XIV. Louis wrote about an encounter his brother had with Poussin in a most lucid manner:

‘He and I discussed certain things, which I shall with ease be able to explain to you in detail – things which will give you, through Monsieur Poussin, advantages which even kings would have great pains to draw from him, and which, according to him, it is possible that nobody else will ever rediscover in the centuries to come. And what is more, these are things so difficult to discover that nothing now on earth can prove of better fortune nor be their equal’.

What exactly did Poussin know? If he did in fact conceal a secret, what clues did he leave behind in his work?

Poussin died in Rome in 1665 and was buried in the Basilica San Lorenzo in Lucina. Châteaubriand, French Ambassador in Rome, raised a monument to Poussin above the artist’s mausoleum in 1820. It carries a dedication and a bas-relief displaying his most famous painting The Shepherds of Arcadia. Below the plaque there’s an inscription that might well answer our question of weather Poussin preserved esoteric clues in his work. It states:

‘PARCE PIIS LACRIMIS VIVIT PUSSINUS IN URNA VIVERE QUI DEDERAT NESCIUS IPSE MORI HIC TAMEN IPSE SILET SI VIS AUDIRE LOQUENTEM MIRUM EST TABULIS VIVIT ET ELOQUITUR’.

This curious expression speaks about how Poussin has given his life without really dying. He is silent now but when you’re prepared to listen, however, he has spoken volumes in his paintings.

Poussin is linked to the enigma of Rennes-le-Château like no other artist. According to Gérard de Sède in his book ‘le Trésor Maudit de Rennes-le-Château (1967), Bérenger Saunière bought a copy of Poussin’s ‘Les Bergers d’Arcadie’ in Paris some time around March 1892. De Sède however was prompted by Pierre Plantard and ‘Les Dossiers Secrets’, the authenticity of each being potentially rather dubious.

Nicolas Poussin and one of his Four Seasons: Autumn or Grapes from the Promised Land.

It is not clear if Poussin ever visited the region. If he did, it would have most likely been a diversion from the standard route used by travellers from Paris to Italy. Nevertheless, Poussin did produce several works that appear to be linked to the history of Rennes-le-Château. His work ‘Autumn or Grapes from the Promised Land’ from 1662 paints an odd scene, indeed. In an age before genetically manipulated food, two men carry a bunch of giant grapes (pommes bleues, of blue apples fame?) to a Rock in a landscape that closely resembles the small valley we are examining near the stream of the Ruisseau des Couleurs.

The mountain in the background resembles those painted by Poussin in the Shepherds of Arcadia and the Baptism of Jesus. It is thought by some researchers to be the mountain of Blanchefort, others believe it to be the mountain of Cardou. The scene depicted is from the Old Testament, Book of Numbers 13, 23-24. It speaks of Caleb and Joshua scouting the Promised Land and cutting a branch from the vine to take back to Moses to illustrate the fruitfulness of the land, i.e. “flowing with milk and honey”. We noticed that ‘the Vine’ is pronounced ‘Divine’. Could this scene depict two initiates carrying divine fruits, Pommes Bleues perhaps, from the Promised Land to the Rock of The Magdalene?

Arcane Shepherds
Les Bergers d’Arcadie or The Shepherds of Arcadia, more specifically the second version of it, is probably the best known painting by Poussin. It was commissioned as part of two works by Cardinal Camillo Massimi; the twin-tableau being Midas Washing his Face in the River Pactolus. Endless speculations, measurements and interpretations have been made of the second, more classical version of The Shepherds,or Et In Arcadia Ego as it is sometimes called, referring to the inscription on the tomb. The painter, Guercino, is believed to be the source of that phrase, inspired by Virgil’s Eclogues V in which a tomb with an inscription (to Daphnis) is described to be in the ideal landscape of Arcadia in ancient Greece. Today, many believe the inscription to be an anagram due to the fact that the sentence has no verb. The most tantalizing alternative being I Tego Arcana Dei or Begone, or I Conceal the Secrets of God. If you compare the first and the second version of The Shepherds you can see that on the latter one of the men has kneeled as if he or the painter has now realized what the true significance of the phrase on the tomb might be.

Poussin: the twin-tableau of Midas Washing his Face in the River Pactolus and Les Bergers d'Arcadie I, Les Bergers d'Arcadie

Heaps of research has been conducted on the mountainous landscape immediately behind and to the right of the tomb. Although the mountain peaks can be closely mapped to the Rennes-le-Château area, it is next to impossible to say this is Poussin's landscape with certainty. Poussin however, appears to have used the same mountains on more than one occasion, in work that is traditionally linked to the area. The plot thickens if you see the likeness to the mountains on Van Scorel's painting, Mary Magdalene.

Did Poussin and Van Scorel paint Cardou, Blanchefort, Bugarach? From left to right: Grapes from the Promised Land, Les Bergers d'Arcadie, Mary Magdalene (Van Scorel), the Baptism of Jesus.

What the Shepherds said to one another... (Luke 2:15)
Let's look at the second version of the Poussin painting in some more detail. The woman on the right is standing in the classical pose of a pregnant woman, slightly bended backwards with a hand to support the back of her hip. This tableau could very well be depicting a pregnant woman watching a group of shepherds. The shepherds seem to have discovered a tomb and are struggling to decipher its inscription. They appear to be looking to her for guidance. The kneeled man points at the letters RC from aRCadia, the initials of Rennes-le-Chateau and Ruisseau de Couleurs, the small stream that runs between the Grotto of Mary and the Rock of the Magealene.

Shepherd examining the letters RC, observed by the pregnant shepherdess

The Grotte of Marry is marked by the big square Rock, placed opposite its entrance. Some 20 yards to the right there is a second grotto with a peculiar triangular entrance. In the grotto, enforcing the effect, there's a pyramid shaped niche.

The triangular shaped entrance to the smaller grotto, nearby the Grotto of Mary

Pyramid shaped nice inside the smaller grotto, close by The Grotto of Mary
This grotto is almost constantly flooded. Could this be the tears of the Magdalene?

On Poussin's painting there is a triangular shape in the tomb that resembles the entrance of this smaller, triangular shaped grotto. Also there is a familiarly shaped rock serving as a foot rest for the shepherd on the right. If you turn the painting 135° (3 * 45°) counter clockwise, the two arms of the men pointing at the tomb form an 'M'. The stick of the first shepherd has an angle of 45° as if to mark out the triangular hole in the tomb. Are they pointing at a location near Rennes-le-Château marked by the rock and the triangle? The M lies near Rennes-le-Château, opposite the rock, left of the triangle. Et In Arcadia Ego: And in Arcadia I, Mary Magdalene, watch the shepherds discover my Burial Site: Le Grotte du Fournet dite de la Magdeleine (the Grotto of Mary).

Similarities between the Vallee de Couleurs and Les Bergers d'Arcadie

Commemorating the Magdalene: Abbé Henri Gasq (attributed to) (1806 - 1882)
In the church of Rennes-les-Bains there’s a painting called Le Christ et le Lièvre or The Christ and the Hare. The painting is named after a hare because in Christ’s right knee, the painter created a trompe d’oeuil of a hare. The Holy Blood and Holy Grail first brought the painting to the attention of the general public some 25 years ago. However, the painting seems to garnish attention for all the wrong reasons. Neither the apparent hare in Christ’s right knee nor the bear like claw in the right hand corner, nor the alleged spider on the ceiling are especially believable. Nevertheless countless articles have been written about each.

From the church in Rennes-les-Bains: the Crucifixion and Le Christ et le Lièvre
Below are details of the originals by Van Dyck and Paulus Pontius
Note Mary is looking at an X on the ceiling, as in Saunière's Alter Painting

What is of particular interest is the fact that Mary is once again in a grotto, staring at an X! This time the 'X' is on the ceiling; once again it is symbolising concealed esoteric knowledge. But what knowledge?

Interestingly, there are other, more ancient associations of 'X's in the region of Vallée des Couleurs. An ancient megalith, which is now on display near the Mayors office in Rennes-le-Château, was found nearby the Rock of the Magdalene and the Grotto of Mary and contains many, clearly carved 'X''s. When were they carved? What do they mean? Are they related to the apparent mystery at hand?

An ancient megalith found in the Vallée des Couleurs depicting 'X''s

Are the carvings part of an ancient tradition?

Furthermore, outside the grotto is a stone platform that bears more than passing resemblance to the Rock of the Magdalene. As we delve deeper, the circumstances surrounding the painting become even more intriguing. A certain Paul Urbain de Fleury, husband of Gabrielle Hautpoul and Lord of Rennes, is said to have dedicated the painting to the church in Rennes-les-Bains, where it remains to this day. For reasons that are unclear, Paul Urbain de Fleury, who died in 1836, is buried in the cemetery at Rennes-les-Bains in two graves. But there is more.

The painting is a copy of an engraving by Paulus Pontius, who in turn, copied it from La Lamentation by Van Dyck. The copyist that created the painting in Rennes-les-Bains made some adjustments to the scene. There is for example a similarity between the left side of this painting and the Mary Magdalene bas relief on the altar of Saunière’s church. The position of Christ’s right arm implies that he is not dead. In both the Van Dyck original and Paulus Pontius’ version the hand is supported by Mary Magdalene. Where is she in this picture? For the full story about this painting and its origins please refer to the excellent research done by Franck Daffos and Jean-Pierre Garcia.

In the same church there’s also a painting called The Crucifixion which looks as if it was painted by the same artist. The true author of these works has long been disputed. Daffos and Garcia make a good case for it being Abbé Henri Gasq, once the chaplain of the church of Notre Dame de Marceille near Limoux. Henri Gasq gave the painting to his colleague Abbé Jean Vié in 1842 (Vié was Henri Boudet’s predecessor as curé of the church in Rennes-les-Bains). Notre Dame de Marceille and Gasq appear to play a key-role in several mysteries surrounding Rennes-le-Château. During the research of Gasq’s paintings it was noticed that a rock was sitting prominently at the edges of both tableaus. When the crucifixion was superimposed over the Christ and the Hare the two rocks became one; a rock like the Rock of the Magdalene, visible from within the Grotto.

The Crucifixion superimposed over Le Christ et le Lièvre, the coloring has been adapted slighty

View from the Grotto of Mary - notice the Tour Magdela in the distance

Remnants of an apparent grave in the Grotto of Mary

Closing Remarks
Upon detailed inspection, the gorilla-like pillars of Rennes-le-Château prove to be quite curious in deed. The Rock of the Magdalene in particular, which to our knowledge is yet to receive its just attention, raises a number of interesting possibilities.

Every Rennes-le-Château enthusiasts is aware of the apparent bond between father Boudet in Rennes-le-Bains and father Saunière in Rennes-le-Château. They lived side by side, in adjoining villages. If father Boudet inherited a tradition of knowledge from Paul Urbain de Fleury, who had it commissioned in art, or from others, would he not have passed it on to those he trusted, such as Saunière? This raises the question of whether father Boudet himself was a 600 lb gorilla in the mystery, what with his sizable and rather inexplicable donations to father Saunière (via Marie Dénarnaud) and the peculiar books he authored. But that's another question for another time.

The fact remains that the landscape of the Vallée des Couleurs is especially curious; the Rock of The Magdalene, The Grotto of Mary, with it's ancient graves, the nearby grotto whose triangular shape is reminiscent of aspects of Saunières Altar Painting and possibly even the work of Nicolas Poussin; they all seem to be echoed in classical works of art. Is this our collective unconscious playing tricks or is the vicinity of the Grotto of Mary and the Rock of the Magdalene being commemorated by initiates who are aware of its esoteric significance? Just what that esoteric significance may be, well, we shall reserve comment. Perhaps the evidence - the gorilla-like pillars, are suggestive enough.

Not surprisingly, however, when we apply Occams Razor we are left with nothing but coincidence:

The number 22 is insignificant or perhaps an innocent homage to the saint who the villagers have dedicated the church too; Mary Magdalene.
The Rock of the Magdalene is set naturally in its environment and is completely ordinary in shape, hence its apparent likeness to other stone platforms depicted in classical art.
The apparent similarity of the landscape in and around the Grotto of Mary with scenes depicted in classical works of art is again nothing but a passing similarity.

Is this conclusion satisfactory? In our analysis we attempted to employ Occams Razor, yet look beyond it where necessary and interject some lateral thinking to the process, for the evidence seemed to warrant this. We then must ask ourselves, has this produced a more satisfactory result? To that end, what with our affinity for the evidence presented we could not objectively say, and thus we invite you to decide.

Postscript
Many of the arguments put forward in this article presuppose that the reader is familiar with the reasons why Mary Magdalene is believed to have traveled to the South of France, and why she has become associated with Rennes-le-Château in particular. In Part II of this essay, we will explore new and fascinating evidence that appears to validate these claims, including more evidence for the significance of the number 22, as well as brand new research that confirms that the Alabaster jar of Mary Magdalene was restored in the South of France in a way that for the first time builds a logical bridge between many of the popular hypotheses. So, as they say, the story will be continued . . . by Corjan de Raaf and Andrew Gough

Credits
Many thanks to:

Franck Daffos, much more can be read in his book Rennes-le-Château, le secret dérobé

Jean-Pierre Garcia

Jan Bakker

www.rennes-le-chateau-archive.com

www.geoportail.fr

www.terugnaardebron.com

www.graildiary.blog.de