23 July 2020

Haut-relief polychrome sculptures in the Amiens cathedral*

La cathédrale d'Amiens abrite deux magnifiques suites sculptées en haut-relief 
dans chacun des bras du transept. Ce sont des monuments funéraires.

Le premier haut-relief, «Le Temple de Jérusalem», est une suite de quatre niches illustrant
une action qui prend place dans une partie du temple.
Dans les deux premières niches, Jésus chasse les marchandsdu temple.
Dans la troisième niche, la table des pains évoque l'eucharistie.
Dans la dernière niche, le grand prêtre encense le tabernacle.


Le deuxième haut-relief, qui relate la légende de saint Jacques le Majeur et du magicien Hermogène,
est un don du chanoine Guillaume aux Cousteaux, mort en 1511.


Just above is a view of part of the second haut-relief in a slightly different light.

*The text in French in this post is my adaptation of text I found on a French web site
that includes many beautiful close-ups of these hauts-reliefs.
The three images in this post are from photos that I took on July 21, 2010.

7 comments:

  1. The fineness of this work seems almost unbelievable. Astonishing.

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  2. Apart from the fact that these are works of art, it is interesting to see what people were wearing at the time these carvings were done.

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    1. I agree with you about the clothing, chm. I think the climate was colder in those days.

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  3. The colors are wonderful. Do you know if they are original or have they been touched up? Many of us can relate to needing a touch up. ;)

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    1. All I know is that the Amiens cathedral has undergone a lot of restoration work over the past 30 years.

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  4. Great photography, again, Ken! I enjoyed the French site you linked to, as well.

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  5. In the second photo, the painted figures really come to life. The carving is wonderful.

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