Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol)
On Gingerguide's self-guided Dijon audio tour, Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol) is a stop worth about ~60 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Dijon Dijon guide
About Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol)
Claus Sluter's 1404 masterpiece, six polychrome Old Testament prophets surrounding a sculptural base, considered the greatest work of late medieval sculpture in Northern Europe, in the former ducal charterhouse.
The Well of Moses (Puits de Moïse) is the surviving base of a large sculptural Calvary commissioned by Philip the Bold for his charterhouse at Champmol, just west of Dijon. It was created between 1395 and 1405 by Claus Sluter, a Flemish sculptor working for the Burgundian court, and is considered the supreme work of late medieval European sculpture. The hexagonal base supports six life-size figures of Old Testament prophets, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Zachariah, Daniel, and Isaiah, who were originally part of a sculptural program leading up to a Calvary group above. The prophets are extraordinarily vivid: each one is differentiated by facial type, age, costume, and expression, and the quality of the carving (in stone, with original polychrome painted decoration by Jean Malouel and gilding) is unlike anything else in 14th-century art. The naturalistic handling of drapery, the psychological individuality of each face, and the monumental scale place this work decades ahead of its contemporaries. The Chartreuse de Champmol itself was largely destroyed during the Revolution, what remains, including the well, is now within the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, the Centre Hospitalier Spécialisé la Chartreuse.
Did you know? The prophets of the Well of Moses were originally painted in polychrome by Jean Malouel, court painter to Philip the Bold, small fragments of the original paint survive, and restoration analysis shows that Moses had a golden crown and a blue mantle.
How much time do you need at Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol)?
Around ~60 min works well for Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol) — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol)?
Yes — Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol) made the cut as one of 18 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Dijon. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Dijon
Hear the story of Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol)
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