We are now going to go on a little detour from my French travels and Rennes-le-Chateau to a place more local to me, but which has a connection to yesterday’s post.
I mentioned that Sauniere had requested a copy of a painting from the Louvre. This is what the Cadogan Guide has to say about the painting:
Interest in the Razes began in the 17th century, after a humble shepherd found a gold treasure in the area, but never revealed exactly where; there is some evidence that artist Nicholas Poussin used landmarks of the region (including the hill of Rennes-le-Chateau) in the background of his enigmatic painting Et in Arcadia Ego (1638-40), generally understood to mean death is present, even in idyllic Arcadia. Or some say it is a rather juicier anagram: ‘l Tego Arcana Dei’ (‘Begone! I hide the Secrets of God!’).
At Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire there is a monument called ‘The Shepherd’s Monument’ that is based on the original painting:
The Shepherd’s Monument has long posed an enigma as people have tried and failed to crack the mysterious code which sits beneath the sculpted relief. The code reads:
O. U. O. S. V. A. V. V.
D. M.
Many have drawn on the family’s associations with free-thinking groups and societies at the time of the monument’s building and some repute it to lead to the Holy Grail.
The sculpted relief is based on the 1642 painting Et in Arcadia Ego by Nicolas Poussin – a work which in itself has attracted much speculation. The Shugborough relief is a reversal of the original depiction with several key – and some would say deliberate – changes. The work was carried out by Peter Scheemakers and designed by Thomas Wright.*
Fascinating story! I’m reminded of “Brideshead revisited” which featured a skull with the legend “Et in Arcadia ego”.
There is a suburb not far away called Arcadia, and we once rented a post office box there, which led to various comments about that. There was also a football team based there, the “Arcadia Shepherds”, but then they were sponsored by a commercial company that forced the name to be changed to “Mnet Supersport” or something like that.
We’ve been away on holiday, in many places without Internet access, so I’ve missed some of your France posts — when I get caught up, I must go back and have a look.
Very interesting, it seems a shame that the name of the football team was changed. The new name is rather souless.
I hope you had a good time away and that you enjoy my France posts. I certainly enjoyed my few days away there.
My goodness you do get around, Cherie.
It is one way of finding out about history
Lovely statue and the mystery simply adds to it I think
The first time a saw the statue I was drawn to it. I had no idea of its history and my photos on that occasion didn’t do it justice. The fact I stopped and paused on that occasion caused Mr C to try and understand the inscription.
When we got back home I could find nothing about the statue or the inscription anywhere on the internet. We were left wondering until I friend quite by chance showed me a picture of the original Nicolas Poussin painting. My memory filtered back and I remembered where I had seen it before!
Although not quite it seems (due to the changes of detail)
I like to read about your visits to all these wonderful and historical places.
I am glad you enjoy reading about my visits. I try to capture the essence of the places.
I have read quite a lot about the associated mystery, but hadn’t heard of the Shugborough monument. Isn’t it great that there are still such mysteries in life?
It is great Lisl, it gives us reason to explore things further
Dear CherryPie …
The letters O . U . O . S . V . A . V . V and D M are not such a mystery; the two lower letters read Dagobert Merovingian and the upper line letters broadly translate as Observateur Utiliser Objecter Shugborough Voir Aussi Visa Versa … or, Observer Use the Object at Shugborough to See or Understand Also Vice Versa”.
The Shepherds Monument is best viewed as the reverse of a transparency. The Chinese House is another example of ‘Vice Versa’.
On the Monument, the shepherd’s thumb of his left hand is immediately after the ‘R’ in Arcadia – alphabetically followed by the ‘S’, his index finger is planted on the ‘N’ in the second word ‘IN’. The word ‘Ego’ is dropped from the end of ‘Et In Arcadia Ego’ to leave ‘Et IN ARCADIA’. The thumb ‘picks up’ the ‘S’ and the finger overwrites the ‘N’, thus reading ‘ET IS ARCADIA’ – or, ‘Also in Arcadia’.
The Chinese House is a glaring anomaly; it is located on the west side of the group of monuments when theoretically it should be where the Doric Temple stands. All the monuments tell an intriguing story. There were originally nine monuments at Shugborough just as there are nine locations where the Templar concealed the treasure. The same story is told in the effigies in Temple Church London and in the Danse Macabre figures in Rosslyn Chapel. Each location was given a chessboard location … If you are able to read the monuments you will know the location of the treasures – ‘Nothing is wanted but the Key, if thou canst comprehend these things thou knowest enough’.
Geoffrey Morgan
Thank you for the interesting information. I knew the picture on the monument was a reversal of the original, but I didn’t realise that some of the other features in the garden were also mirror images.
The Shugborough Monuments are fascinating not only in their geometric layout but in the stories they tell.
Geoffrey
Is there a book or a site where I can read more about them. I have always struggled to find detailed information about the Shugborough Estate and its monuments.
The best summary I’ve ever come across is in Chapter 4 Shugborough : the Shepherd’s Monument in a book called ‘ Can you Crack the Enigma Code ? ‘ by Richard Belfield. A fascinating read.
Thanks for that
The cat’s Monument
Thomas Anson’s cat was nick-named ‘Kouli – Khun’ which is in essence Kaoline Colline … or Chalky Hill. The actual location bears this out for at the top of the hill on which the treasure may be found has a chalky outcrop at its summit.
Geoffrey
Thank you for the additional information