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Links to all French Cathedral and Abbey Photo Pages in Paradoxplace Links to all Abbey and Cathedral Pages in Paradoxplace
Cathédrale St-Lazare, Autun (Burgundy) Medieval Narrative Capitals (1100s) in the upstairs Chapter House
Back to Paradoxplace Burgundy & Champagne Pages
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The new church is presented. On the right is a bishop with his (now broken) crozier. The guy on the left is wearing an "Autun Bonnet" (a piece of medieval gear unique to Autun) but other than that noone knows - he might represent the sculptor or master mason ... think on, medieval fiction writers!
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Vices and Virtues - Generosity stands on moneybags Greed (Avarice), and skinny Abstinence stands on plump Gluttony. It is rare to see virtues done at all in Romanesque sculptures, let alone be the focal points. (See, for example, Moissac).
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THE MAGI CAPITALS BY GISLEBERTUS (1100s)
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The Dom's favourite Magi representations (indeed favourite Romanesque capitals) - above, a boyish Archangel Gabriel nudges the sleeping Magi awake and points towards the guiding star. The postcard image (top) was probably taken from a ladder, and the higher position makes the eyes work much better - interesting. The story also extends to the aftermath of the Magi's manger visit, when an angel appeared to them in a dream and warned them not to go near King Herod who was seriously manic about finding and killing the baby Jesus, and would have done for them had they not divulged his location.
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And the Magi get up and go to the manger ...... whilst round the corner an excluded Joseph listens in and ponders what is going on. The group photo immediately above comes from the Grivot book shown at the top of the page, whilst Joseph is a postcard image and the photo below is ours.
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OTHER CHAPTER HOUSE CAPITALS BY GISLEBERTUS (1100s)
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The Flight to Egypt - after Herod, bypassed by the Magi, did his lolly (the Slaughter of the Innocents) and Joseph and Mary decided they'd be better off in Egypt. Capital sculptures illustrating the Flight to Egypt are amongst the most recognizable and attractive Romanesque capital art - see for example Saulieu and Fleury.
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Abel Dies
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God has a serious moment with Cain (with the body of Abel hidden in the bush on the right). The capital is signed "Dieu et Adam" but accurate signage was not a big feature of Romanesque artists.
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Judas hangs (with Satanic help)
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Link to Photos of Capitals in the Nave
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For other Paradoxplace links visit the home page
All original material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-2013 - The contents may not be hotlinked, or reproduced without permission. |
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