It was in October 2023 that we visited the Abbey of Clairvaux. Completely outside the holiday season of course and that was noticeable. Where we were initially the only visitors, a German family showed up at the very last moment. And because the abbey can only be visited with a guide, we more or less had a private tour.
This abbey has an impressive history. After its foundation in 1115, it quickly became one of the prosperous abbeys of the Cistercian order. However, the French Revolution put an end to the power and privileges of both the French nobility and clergy.
As a result, the abbey acquired various other functions in the centuries that followed. First of all, it became an almshouse and house of correction and in 1808 Napoleon turned it into the largest prison of his time. Until 1971, prisoners were housed in the abbey itself (under not very good conditions). After that, a new shelter was built, which at the time of our visit was still serving as a prison.
As a photographer, you are often looking for contrasts to capture an appealing image. Contrasts in light, colour or shape, for example, often come to mind first. During the visit to this abbey, I noticed a somewhat more subjective contrast. It was precisely the great contrast between the functions of this abbey throughout the centuries that appealed to me enormously. The difference between a prosperous monastery with monks who had voluntarily chosen to dedicate their lives to their religion and prisoners who had no choice and were serving a certain sentence against their will, could not have been greater in my opinion.
That morning I had taken quite a few photos, but it was only once I was back home that I got an idea about these photos. A good friend of mine regularly takes photos for the magazine Klooster!. So I wondered whether there might be interest in an article about this abbey and its colourful history.
After some time I got a call from the editors and they were enthusiastic about my idea. I would then have to deliver a number of photos and a theologian and also a regular writer for the magazine would then write the accompanying text. Eventually seven of my photos were published. And I must honestly say that when I finally received the issue in question at home and saw the photos, which were printed across the entire width, it gave me a very satisfied feeling.



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