Architectural sculpture


	Architectural sculpture

Central portal, Ste. Madeleine, Vézelay Another development in Romanesque architecture is the use of architectural sculpture on the exterior. (Recall that the early Christian basilica was plain on the exterior.) We saw the beginnings of sculptural decoration in the Early Christian period on interior capitals. Romanesque churches often have sculptural decoration in the tympanum (the space between the round arch and the lintel over a doorway), on the door jambs (on each side of the door), and on the trumeau (the center post supporting the lintel in the middle of a doorway). Since many medieval churchgoers couldn't read, since the printing press had not yet been invented, and since the Bible was only available to a few in manuscript form, this sculptural decoration is often called the "Bible in stone."

Ste. Madeleine
Vézelay
begun 1120

The nave is typical of Romanesque pilgrimage churches, with transverse barrel vaulting. It has an interior porch (called a narthex) so that the main portals into the church are actually inside. There are three entrances into the church, each with a sculptured tympanum, but the central portal is most important.

The central portal of both Romanesque and Gothic churches usually makes the most important doctrinal points. This church and its central tympanum are associated with the Crusades. Pope Urban II had intended to preach the First Crusade at Vézalay in 1095 but the typanum was not finished. Bernard preached for a Second Crusade here (1146). The Crusades were thought to be a kind of second mission of the Apostles to convert the infidel and the Pope was viewed as Christ's vicar setting the soldiers forth. King Richard the Lion-Hearted even set out for the Third Crusade from this church.
Click here to examine details.

Gislebertus
Tympanum of the Last Judgment
Cathedral of St. Lazare
Autun, about 1125-30

This large 11'-by-21' tympanum over the central entrance of the church depicts one of the most common subjects in Romanesque and Gothic art -- the Last Judgment. A Bible in stone, it issues a clear warning to all who enter. The tympanum is dominated by the central figure of Christ, the Judge. Contrast this view of Christ, in which He divides the sheep from the goats, with the Early Christian mosaic at Ravenna. The saved are on His right side, the damned his left (the sinister side).
Click here to examine details.

Art History for Humanities: Copyright Š 1997 Bluffton College.
Text and image preparation by Mary Ann Sullivan. Design by Gerald W. Schlabach.

All images marked ^MAS were photographed on location by Mary Ann Sullivan. All other images were scanned from other sources or downloaded from the World Wide Web; they are posted on this password-protected site for educational purposes, at Bluffton College only, under the "fair use" clause of U.S. copyright law.

Page maintained by Gerald W. Schlabach, gws@bluffton.edu. Last updated: 10 November 1998.

	Ste. Madeleine Vézelay begun 1120
	The nave is typical of Romanesque pilgrimage churches, with transverse barrel vaulting. It has an interior porch (called a narthex) so that the main portals into the church are actually inside. There are three entrances into the church, each with a sculptured tympanum, but the central portal is most important.
	The central portal of both Romanesque and Gothic churches usually makes the most important doctrinal points. This church and its central tympanum are associated with the Crusades. Pope Urban II had intended to preach the First Crusade at Vézalay in 1095 but the typanum was not finished. Bernard preached for a Second Crusade here (1146). The Crusades were thought to be a kind of second mission of the Apostles to convert the infidel and the Pope was viewed as Christ's vicar setting the soldiers forth. King Richard the Lion-Hearted even set out for the Third Crusade from this church. Click here to examine details.
	Gislebertus Tympanum of the Last Judgment Cathedral of St. Lazare Autun, about 1125-30
	This large 11'-by-21' tympanum over the central entrance of the church depicts one of the most common subjects in Romanesque and Gothic art -- the Last Judgment. A Bible in stone, it issues a clear warning to all who enter. The tympanum is dominated by the central figure of Christ, the Judge. Contrast this view of Christ, in which He divides the sheep from the goats, with the Early Christian mosaic at Ravenna. The saved are on His right side, the damned his left (the sinister side). Click here to examine details.