Monday, 17 February 2025 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Great Britain / Großbritannien Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 3minutes
The Little Chapel is situated in the Les Vauxbelets valley, Saint Andrew, Guernsey. It was created in July 1914, by Brother Déodat. He planned to create a miniature version of the grotto and basilica at Lourdes, the Rosary Basilica. The chapel has been described as “probably the biggest tourist attraction in Guernsey”, and “intricate”.
The Little Chapel is decorated with seashells, pebbles, and broken china. “From a distance the colours and design make a pleasing whole, close-up it’s amazing to see all the different pieces used to create the effect.” It has room for around eight people.
The chapel was brought sudden fame following a Daily Mirror article, which led to islanders donating coloured china; the Lieutenant-Governor of the island offered mother of pearl, and other gifts came from around the globe.
The mosaic style is “pique-assiette” or “Picassiette” (a French term based on a pun blending pique-assiette – literally, plate-pincher, the sort of person crashing into a party to enjoy a free meal – and famous artist Pablo Picasso). According to Mosaic Art Source, “[P]ieces of broken pottery, china, glass, buttons, figurines, and/[or] jewelry are cemented onto a base to create a new surface. Almost any form can be used as a base, and any combination of pieces can be applied, restricted only by the individual creator’s imagination.” The style was the nickname of a French Art Brut artist, Raymond Isidore, who decorated his house near Chartres, known as Maison Picassiette, much in the same style as the Little Chapel.
