St Cecilia statue, Cathedrale St-Julien du Mans
Painted statue of St Cecilia playing a portable organ, by Charles Hoyau, commissioned 1633 by canon Bernardin Le Rouge, for an altar to be placed under the grand organ in honour of a musical competition, and moved here in 1974, in the Chapelle Saint Pierre or St Peter's Chapel in the Cathedrale Saint-Julien du Mans or Cathedral of St Julian of Le Mans, Le Mans, Sarthe, Loire, France. The statue was repainted in the 19th century and restored 1997-2002 by Brigitte Esteve and Pierre Gicquel. Behind the altar is a high relief of the resurrection of Christ. The cathedral was built from the 6th to the 14th centuries, with both Romanesque and High Gothic elements. It is dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans, the city's first bishop, who established Christianity in the area in the 4th century AD. Picture by Manuel Cohen
