In one of Brittany's most picturesque viewpoints stands the sculpture Notre-Dame-des-Naufragés by Polish artist Cyprian Godebski. Situated at the tip of Cape Pointe du Raz, overlooking the bays of Douarnenez and Audierne, the figural group depicts the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms, providing assistance to a young man climbing ashore. Although the monument differs from its predecessors in its strong realism and lack of references to historical styles, what makes it truly unique is the context of its creation.

History of creation

Commissioned in 1901 by the Count de Trobriand as a private vote of thanks from local sailors, the realisation was intended to resemble similar themed monuments in the Brittany landscape. Despite the progress of the work, the republican authorities of the Côtes-d'Armor department did not authorise the monument to be erected in a public space. As Andrzej Pieńkos notes, the rejection of the project for the foundation of a monument of a sacred nature in public space was influenced by the planned separation of Church and State in the country. Brittany was at the same time an important centre of Catholics and supporters of the views of one of its inhabitants - the philosopher Ernest Renan - considered by some representatives of right-wing circles to be the Antichrist. The atmosphere of the dispute escalated in 1903 during the so-called 'sardine crisis', which severely affected the local fishermen, which both sides of the conflict tried to exploit to consolidate their influence. Faced with the difficulty of reaching an agreement between the parties, Godebski donated the figural group, made in 1901-1903, to the local religious community as an expression of remembrance after the death of his son in Tonkin. The choice of location for the statue was made in consultation with the bishop of the Quimper region, François-Virgile Dubillard, and Canon Abgrall, responsible for the design of the 4.5-metre high plinth. The land 200 metres in front of the semaphore and 400 metres from its extremity was donated to the parish of Plogoff by Lescoff resident Yves Kersaudy. The monument on Pointe de Rez was unveiled in July 1904. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 people may have attended the mass accompanying the inauguration of the sculpture.

Inscription summarising the history of the monument

The circumstances of the work's creation are partly revealed by a plaque located on the north side of the plinth: "Cette statue œuvre et don du sculpteur GODEBSKI érigée par les soins de Mgr François-Virgile DUBILLARD et par la piété de ses chefs diocésains en l'honneur de la patronne des marins à l'occasion du jubilé de l'Immaculée Conception et en témoignage de vive reconnaissance envers la charité catholique pour ses généreux secours pendant la crise sardinière (1903) a été bénite et inaugurée solennellement par Son Eminence le Cardinal LABOURE en présence de plusieurs évêques et d'un immense concours de prêtres et de fidèles le 3 juillet 1904." (This statue, the work and gift of the sculptor GODEBSKY, was erected by Bishop François-Virgile'a DUBILLARD and by the devotion of his diocesan superiors in honour of the patron saint of sailors on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Immaculate Conception and as an expression of deep gratitude to Catholic charity for her generous help during the sardine crisis (1903) was blessed and solemnly inaugurated by His Eminence Cardinal LABOURE in the presence of several bishops and a huge gathering of priests and faithful on 3 July 1904.)