GOTHIC ART
CHAPTER 4: GOTHIC SCULPTURE
Jacques Rouveyrol
I. CHARACTERISTICS
The gradual disappearance of the wall progressively frees sculpture from the grip of architecture and leads it toward nature.
The Gothic age in sculpture will be one of balance between the demands of the architectural framework and the model of nature, which the Renaissance will later fully embrace.
1. Framing
The sculpture is not free.
It is framed from above and below: by a canopy (dais) and a pedestal.
It remains subject to architecture.
2. Attachment to the Wall
The "statue" gradually frees itself from the wall.
It is still attached to the wall by its back.
But being attached only at the back, it frees itself laterally and forward.
3. Faciality
The statue is neither fully frontal nor completely axial. It is facial...
a. Frontality: archaic — Egyptian sculpture, Greek kouros, Romanesque Virgin, and the very first Gothic (column statues of Chartres).
The frontal presentation of the Egyptian Pharaoh, the Greek Kouros, and the Romanesque Virgin gave these figures a hieratic aspect.
They are fixed in a symmetrical posture for eternity and convey, on earth, the idea of divinities coming from another world.
b. Faciality is typical of Classical Gothic.
The Gothic statue, thanks to its faciality, begins to show movement, giving it a sense of "life."
While the frontal statue could only be viewed properly from the front — seen from a single perspective — the facial statue can be viewed from multiple angles, except from the back (see: the Annunciation, Reims).
A vertical axis runs through the sculpture, around which it can rotate. Completely freed from architecture, the statue has become autonomous.
4. Expressiveness
Thus, relatively freed from the constraints of architecture, sculpture ceases to be low or high relief and becomes a statue. It gains a certain autonomy that allows it to achieve expression. This expression does not yet come through the face but through posture.
5. Balance between Architecture and "Nature"
Still partly subject to architecture, sculpture must accept certain "deformations."
The column statues of Chartres elongate vertically as required by the columns to which they are attached.
However, in a sense, freed from the wall they tend to advance from, they resemble more closely the human beings they represent.
The balance between architecture and nature defines Gothic sculpture.
6. The Human Type
The possibility of resembling a natural being allows the statue not yet to embody an individual (tall or short, bald or with hair, etc.) but, at least, the human type — the very essence of humanity, what is universal and common to all individuals: their humanity.
7. The Correspondence between the Old and New Testament
a. The "Disorder" of the Romanesque Portal Iconography
We have seen the cloister of Moissac align its capitals in an obvious iconographic disorder. The porch of the same church evokes scenes from the New Testament in a disorder almost as significant: Annunciation / Visitation (this one is still manageable), Adoration of the Magi, Presentation at the Temple, Flight into Egypt, Death of Lazarus, Death of the Miser, Lust.
b. The "Chronology" of the Gothic Portal (The Portal of the Precursors)
The Gothic portal unfolds Sacred History. From the Patriarchs and prophets to the Saints of the Gospels, one progressively moves toward the Nativity (represented by the Virgin Mary).
Gothic art introduces order, either chronological or symbolic (the correspondences between the Old and New Testaments. See further below).
II. ICONOGRAPHY: THE FORM
1. The New Themes:
From the Apocalypse on the Romanesque tympans, we move on the Gothic tympans to Christ in glory, the Last Judgment, and the Glory of the Virgin. God ceases to be this terrifying being unrelated to humanity. He becomes the Father, the one who separates good from evil, rewards or punishes. This shift occurs because His Son has a Mother, like humans. God has "humanized" Himself. He remains a severe Judge, but one whose actions can be influenced by the prayers of the Saints or His Mother.
2. Gothic Grammar
a. Signs, Not Symbols
Images (sculptures, paintings) together create a writing made up of signs, not symbols as is often repeated. A sign is a difference. A sign only takes its meaning when distinguished from the signs to which it is attached. The relationship between the signifier (for example, the cruciform halo around Christ’s head) and the signified (Christ) is arbitrary (one could have given Him a non-cruciform halo, as is done with other saints). In contrast, in a symbol, the relationship between the signifier (the cross, for example) and the signified (Christians) is "justified" (in the sense that Christians cannot be represented by just anything, such as a balance or a sword, which represent justice). Therefore, the fact that Jesus inherits the cruciform halo has only one meaning: He is not interchangeable with those who inherit the simple halo. However, the opposite could have been possible. The mandorla or glory surrounding a body designates it as being that of God or the Virgin. Bare feet, God, Jesus, angels, and apostles. This distinguishes them from the Virgin, other saints, and ordinary mortals (who are not provided with a halo and thus distinguished from the Virgin and other saints, who share with them the common feature of having their feet shod).
b. The Types
Gradually, types begin to emerge that can be found in works of the 17th, 18th, and even 19th centuries. For example, there is a type for Saint Peter, recognizable by specific features of his physiognomy, independent of the keys that are another distinguishing sign. Similarly, there is a type for Saint Paul, independent of the sword that also distinguishes him. There is also a type for Saint John the Baptist, though this type is less independent, as it is closely linked to the lambskin that he wears.
c. The hierarchy of places: top/bottom, right/left. The value of a figure changes depending on where it is placed. For instance, in the depiction of the Tetradymorphic figures, Saint Matthew is positioned at the top right (from Christ’s perspective), while Saint John is on the left. On the other hand, Saint Mark and Saint Luke are placed at the bottom, on the left and right respectively (from Christ’s perspective).
This positioning emphasizes their respective levels of importance, as well as their symbolic relationship to Christ. For example, Saint Matthew and Saint John, placed higher, are seen as closer to the divine, while the figures at the bottom represent a more grounded, earthly connection.
(Saint-Loup de Naud)
d. The Order of Detail:
The bases of statues convey something about the statue they support. For example, the basilisk and the asp (symbols of death and sin) are positioned beneath Christ's feet, symbolizing His triumph over death. The saints stand above the kings who persecuted them, signifying their eventual victory over these earthly powers.
The placement within the church also carries significance. The north side, associated with darkness and cold, holds scenes from the Old Testament, while the south side, symbolizing daylight and warmth, depicts scenes from the New Testament. Additionally, numbers are symbolic: the twelve apostles are significant, as "4" represents the material world (the four elements), and "3" symbolizes the spiritual realm (the Holy Trinity). Thus, "4x3=12" represents the apostles as those who bring the spirit into the material world, connecting God with the Earth.
III. L'ICONOGRAPHIE : LE CONTENU
The cathedral is not only an ark or a prefiguration of the Heavenly Jerusalem (the City of God), it is also a book. Not, once again, a Bible for the illiterate, because one must know how to read (as we have just seen) to understand its iconography, but rather an encyclopedia that recaps and presents all the knowledge of the time (see Émile Mâle). The source is Speculum Maius (The Great Mirror of the World) by Vincent of Beauvais, which is divided into "four mirrors.
1. Le miroir de la Nature (Speculum naturale)
Nature is nothing more than the incarnation of the Thought of God. He conceived it, He created it according to His plans, and it therefore perfectly expresses His Thought. However, one must know how to read it. All the work of "science" will be to decipher this "text." Take, for example, a walnut (nothing more common), the walnut of Saint-Victor. First, there is the shell. It has two meanings: it represents either the humanity of Christ or the World. Then there is the husk, which has two possible meanings in relation to the shell: it symbolizes the wood of the cross or sin. Finally, there is the fruit, which represents either the hidden divinity of Christ or the Thought of God. Thus, everything is contained in each thing, and God is everywhere.
There are also the animals. Not all of them are symbolic, of course. The most important ones represent the four Evangelists, forming the Tetramorph. These are the Eagle (Saint John, but also the Ascension of Jesus, and among the virtues, contemplation), the Angel or Man (Saint Matthew, but also the Incarnation of Jesus, and the virtue of wisdom), the Lion (Saint Mark, but also the Resurrection of Jesus, and the virtue of courage), and the Ox (Saint Luke, but also the Crucifixion of Jesus, and the virtue of temperance). The serpent (or dragon) represents the devil. The elephant symbolizes the Fall. The asp represents sin, and the basilisk symbolizes death, as we have seen.
Again, not all animals are symbolic. The oxen of Laon are a tribute to the work these animals performed during the construction of the cathedral. Elsewhere, they express the creative power of God (see, for example, the Creation of Animals on the north portal of Chartres).
2 . Le miroir de la Science (Speculum doctrinale)
The cathedral is thus a mirror of Nature. It is also a mirror of science. On its walls, all that science holds as knowledge is displayed.
a. Practical science: Work. These are the "calendars" that describe the occupations of each month in relation to the zodiacal chronology.
Thus, the cathedral is a Mirror of Nature. It is also a Mirror of "Science." On its walls, everything known by science is displayed.
a. Practical science.
Work. These are the "Calendars" that describe the activities of each month, linked to the zodiacal chronology.
b. Speculative Science: Medieval science is not, like ours, an instrument for dominating nature (through science, "we make ourselves masters and possessors of nature," as Descartes stated in the 17th century); it is its interpreter. And it is taught in a precise order. Hence the organization of studies: the trivium (grammar, dialectic, rhetoric) and the quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, music), and finally philosophy (or theology). These disciplines are often personified, frequently through reference to an authentic scholar (Aristotle, Pythagoras, Boethius, etc.).
3. The Mirror of Morality (Speculum morale):
The third great dimension of knowledge is morality, the science of behavior.
a. The Roman Model: There is a Roman model of morality: Psychomachia by Prudentius, the battle between virtues and vices, which decorates many capitals. It is an inner struggle that would inspire Roman sculptors. The Gothic sculptors, however, sought inspiration elsewhere and from different models, depending on whether they were illuminators or sculptors.
b. Gothic Models for Illumination: The Tree of Virtues and Vices (below) by Hugh of Saint-Victor and the Ladder of Virtues by Honorius of Autun.
c. The Sculptors: They do not adopt any of these models and instead oppose virtues and vices in pairs.
Along with the theologians of the time, three categories of virtues are highlighted:
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The Theological Virtues: Faith (vice: idolatry), Hope (vice: despair), Charity (vice: greed). These are the virtues without which there is no hope of Salvation.
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The Cardinal Virtues: Chastity (vice: intemperance), Prudence (or Wisdom; vice: folly), Fortitude (or courage; vice: cowardice), Justice (or obedience; vice: rebellion).
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Other virtues such as humility (vice: pride), patience (vice: anger), gentleness (vice: harshness), concord (or peace; vice: discord), etc.
4. The Mirror of History (Speculum historiale):
Finally, the cathedral will be the mirror of History. Not of secular history, which has little meaning, but of the only History that matters: Sacred History as it is narrated by the Old and New Testaments. This History must be understood, meaning that since the Old Testament announces the New, one must find the correspondences between the two. The lives of saints, on one side, and the history of the Jewish people, on the other, resonate throughout History. These resonances must be grasped and explained.
Thus, the Sacrifice of Isaac prefigures that of Christ. The water drawn from the rock by Moses, the blood that pours from the wound in Christ's side by Longinus. Jonah coming out of the mouth of the whale, the resurrection of Christ. And so on. The stained glass windows of the cathedrals are subtle commentaries on the Bible.
Take, for example, this fragment of stained glass from Lyon. It establishes correspondences between the Old Testament, the New Testament, and symbols. This is presented from bottom to top:
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Isaiah, the prophet who announced the birth of Jesus by a Virgin; The Annunciation, the angel announcing the birth of Jesus to the Virgin; The unicorn, a pure animal that can only be approached by a virgin.
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The burning bush that burns without being consumed; the Virgin giving birth without having "consummated"; Gideon’s fleece covered with dew for no natural reason.
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Abraham is ready to sacrifice Isaac to obey God; Jesus sacrifices himself on the cross for the salvation of mankind; The brass serpent is lifted up by Moses in the desert to save the Jews from the burning serpents sent as punishment.
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Jonah spat out by the whale returns to the world; Jesus, on the third day, rises again; the lion cubs, which appear dead the first three days, seem to come back to life on the third day by their father's breath.
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The kladrius is a bird capable of determining whether a sick person will live or die; The Ascension of Christ, who will live after death; the eagle is the bird that rises the highest and, to teach its young to fly, carries them on its wings.
Each text, in fact, carries three meanings:
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The literal or historical sense (a fact is reported: Abraham existed);
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The moral or tropological sense (the immediate meaning of this fact: Faith. Abraham, despite God’s hesitations—who gives him a son and then takes him away—obeys, never doubting for a second that it is God who commands him. He does not know that God is testing his faith, of course; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a trial, but he believes);
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The mystical or allegorical sense (the Crucifixion of Christ prefigured by the sacrifice of Isaac).
But the life of Christ (The New Testament) must also be interpreted. And the legends attached to it, even if they are not mentioned in the text. For example, the legend of the two wise women, Zélémie and Salome. One is astonished that Mary is still a virgin after childbirth, and the other doubts. When she checks with her hand, it dries up. It is only by asking forgiveness from the Child Jesus and through an act of faith that she regains the use of her hand. One of the main sources of inspiration, apart from the New Testament, will be The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine.
5. The Evolution of Representations.
We see the content of Gothic sculpture and its sources. We must also consider, finally, its form. Not the general characteristics studied above, but its particular characteristics. Especially the evolution of certain figures, such as, for example, that of the Virgin.
a. Romanesque: The Virgin in Majesty. Frontally, hieratic, seated on her throne with the Child on her lap, she is the throne of God. Nothing feminine or maternal about her.
Un thème apparemment très fréquent au tympan est celui dit du Couronnement de la Vierge. Cette façon d'envisager les choses étant par ailleurs contestable. En effet le fait de déposer une couronne sur la tête d'une vierge équivaut de la part d'un homme à une demande en mariage. Il est évident que ce n'est pas sa mère que le Christ demande en mariage. Par ailleurs, on se souvient qu'une femme portant couronne caractérisait l'Eglise par opposition à la Synagogue aux yeux bandés. Ainsi, le Couronnement de la Vierge, ne serait en fait que le Mariage mystique de Dieu avec l'Église.
Cette représentation évolue au cours du temps. Dans la formule la plus ancienne, la couronne est déjà sur la tête de "la Vierge". Puis, il reviendra à un ange de déposer la couronne. Dans la formule finale, vers 1250 (la plus explicitement matrimoniale) c'est le Christ qui dépose la couronne sur la tête de l'Eglise.
Who sculpted the ressurection of the virgin?
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