When the sculpture and stone mason Jean-Louis Boistel set to renovating the Chapelle de Bethléem (Bethlehem Chapel) in Nantes, France, he decided to add some unorthodox decorations to the 15th century church. While some of the newer stone gargoyles (or, to be more accurate, chimeras) adorning the pinnacles are inspired by Christian tradition, others come from more modern sources—namely television and the movies.


The chapel was renovated from 1993 through 1995, when it gained these new decorations. I wonder if Boistel was inspired to add a little pop culture to this house of worship by the Darth Vader grotesque that was added to Washington, DC's National Cathedral in the 1980s. Boistel went a bit further, adding Gizmo and a gremlin from the movie Gremlins, an Alien xenomorph, and the super robot from UFO Robot Grendizer, which was extremely popular in France.


The photo above was taken by vebests, who has more photos of the unusual chimeras. And you can see more photos at Premiere and Golem 13.

Une Chapelle « Gremlins » du XVe siècle près de Nantes [Golem 13 via Geek-Art]