Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs, Religious chapel in Peillon, France

The Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs is a chapel with a central nave and sanctuary, featuring vaulted ceilings and architectural elements spanning multiple construction periods. The interior is defined by its painted walls that completely dominate the space.

The chapel was built in the mid-15th century. A confraternity of White Penitents, founded around the same time, met first in the castle church of Peillon and probably owned the chapel by 1661, the date of its oldest surviving registers. The confraternity then enlarged it by adding a short nave, taller and wider than the original chapel.

The vault and chevet carry wall paintings attributed to Giovanni Canavesio, made around 1495: eight Passion scenes on the vault, and on the chevet a central Pietà with the Crucifixion above, flanked by Saint Anthony and Saint Petronilla reading. Marc Thibout considered them slightly earlier than those of Notre-Dame-des-Fontaines.

The chapel stands in the village of Peillon, in the Alpes-Maritimes department. The primitive chapel was enlarged around 1661 by the White Penitents, who added a short nave higher and wider than the original. The building is classified as a monument historique, so access to the painted vault may be restricted; check locally before planning a visit.

The central apse features a Pietà showing Mary holding Christ, surrounded by saint figures, displaying artistic influences from a neighboring chapel. This motif stands apart in its compositional arrangement from the other Passion scenes in the space.