LITMIR.BIZ

      During the Romanesque period, sculpture in the round was rare; the Church opposed icons because devotion to them was seen as worship of a graven image, prohibited by the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament. However, pilgrims and other worshippers filled the churches along the pilgrimage route, and to accommodate the crowd, altars and stations were set up within the naves and ambulatories of the churches. These altars often included a reliquary or statue such as this one, which served as the focal point of prayer.

      This statue of the Virgin is made of wood and partially covered in silver and gilded silver plating. The répoussé decoration on the throne and the gown of the Virgin reflects the metalwork traditions of earlier period, on decorated objects such as manuscript covers and reliquaries. The architectural motif on the throne is typical of statues of this type and symbolises the church. The Virgin herself forms a throne for Christ; in this embodiment she is known as the “Throne of Wisdom”. Christ holds a Bible in one hand while the other is raised in a gesture of benediction.

      201. Anonymous. Virgin from Ger, Santa Coloma in Ger Parish Church, Santa Coloma en Ger (Spain), second half of the 12th century. Wood carving with polychromy in tempera, 52.5 × 20.5 × 14.5 cm. Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (Spain). Roman.

      202. Anonymous. Tympanon, Puerta del Cordero, San Isidoro Collegiate, León (Spain), beginning of the 12th century. In situ. Roman.

      203. Anonymous. Altar, Santa Maria Parish Church, Taüll (Spain), second half of the 12th century. Pinewood carving with polychromy in tempera, 135 × 98 cm. Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (Spain). Roman.

      204. Anonymous. Christ in Majesty, Cathedral, Rodez (France), 12th century. Marble, 53 × 44.5 cm. Musée Fenaille, Rodez (France). Roman.

      205. Anonymous. Elijah’s Episcopal Throne, San Nicola Basilica, Bari (Italy), 1105. Marble. In situ. Roman.

      206. Anonymous. Sarcophagus of Infanta Doña Sancha, San Salvador y San Ginés Church, Jaca (Spain), c. 1100. In situ. Roman.

      207. Gislebertus, French. The Last Judgment, main portal tympanum, Saint-Lazare Cathedral, Autun (France), 1130–1145. In situ. Roman.

      On the tympanum of the portal of Saint-Lazare in Autun, the details of the Last Judgment are played out in vivid details. Christ is shown in the centre, as judge. The weighing of souls is shown to the right of Christ, and the blessed are then separated from the damned. The torture of the damned is shown in terrifying detail. The blessed, in contrast, are helped by angels to reach heaven. Below, a line of souls await their judgment. Anyone passing through this portal would be faced with a vivid reminder of what the fate of the sinner would be.

      208. Anonymous. South-Side Portal, former Saint-Pierre Abbey Church, Moissac (France), 1110–1130. In situ. Roman.

      Carving the portals of churches in the Romanesque period was part of a general desire to decorate and beautify a building dedicated to God. The motifs were chosen from the Old and New Testaments, a pictorial art, in opposition to the abstract animal interlace found in the Celtic art of the preceding period. Illustrating the portals with personages from the Bible was done to instruct and inspire a largely illiterate population. The portal at Moissac is typical in terms of what is shown: the Theophany, or end of time. Christ is shown in the centre, surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists. Lined up around them in three registers are the Twenty-Four Elders who would stand by Christ on Judgment Day. Moissac is unusual, however, for the style of the carving. The figures represent an ecstatic, metaphysical experience. They are supposed to be imbued with the Holy Spirit, and are therefore shown a dynamic state of movement.

      209. Gislebertus, French. Flight into Egypt, capital of the chancel, Saint-Lazare Cathedral, Autun (France), 1120–1130. Salle capitulaire de la cathédrale Saint-Lazare, Autun (France). Roman.

      210. Gislebertus, French. The Annunciation to the Magi, upper level of a capital from the chancel of the Saint-Lazare Cathedral, Autun (France), 1120–1130. Salle capitulaire de la cathédrale Saint-Lazare, Autun (France). Roman.

      This capital from the church of Saint-Lazare in Autun is masterful in how much it conveys through a simple, effective composition. The three kings, or magi, are shown sleeping. They are identified by their number and their crowns. As they sleep, they have a vision of an angel, only the upper part of whom is shown, the rest hidden behind the blanket of the sleeping magi. The angel gestures to the magi, and to the star above them, and we can almost hear his directions to them. The lines marking the folds of the angel’s robes, and of the blanket, add dynamism to the composition that evokes the swirling drapery of the Parthenon’s metopes (see nos. 60, 61, 62).

      211. Anonymous. Evil and Hedonism, west wall, south portal porch, former Saint-Pierre Abbey Church, Moissac (France), 1120–1135. In situ. Roman.

      212. Anonymous. Column, reverse of the facade, Sainte-Marie Abbey Church, Souillac (France), 1120–1135. In situ. Roman.

      213. Anonymous. Prophet Isaiah, door jamb from the ancient west portal, Sainte-Marie Abbey Church, Souillac (France), 1120–1135. In situ. Roman.

      The figure of Isaiah from Souillac is in the same dynamic state of ecstasy as the figures on the Moissac portal. The sculpture decorates the door jamb of the abbey church of Sainte Marie. Showing evidence of the influence of Gaulish art in the elongated proportions of the figure, as well as a classicising influence seen in the movement of the drapery around the figure, this sculpture embodies the developed French school of Romanesque art. No longer flat, frontal and schematic like the art of the Late Antique, this figure is all pose and movement.

      214. Gislebertus, French. Eve’s Temptation, lintel, north portal, Saint-Lazare Cathedral, Autun (France), c. 1130. Limestone, 72 × 131 cm. Musée Rolin, Autun (France). Roman.

      215. Anonymous. Portal, south-side transept, former Saint-Pierre-de-la-Tour Collegiate Church, Aulnay-de-Saintonge (France), c. 1130. In situ. Roman.

      216. Anonymous. The Last Judgment, west portal tympanum, Sainte-Foy Abbey Church, Conques-en-Rouergue (France), 12th-14th century. 360 × 670 cm. In situ. Roman.

      217. Anonymous. The Last Judgment and the Infernals, south portal tympanum, Saint-Pierre Abbey Church, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (France), 1130–1140. In situ. Roman.

      218. Anonymous. The Ascension,

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