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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue439" data-source="post: 825995" data-attributes="member: 53455">Mediæval sculpture like it was done yesterday!We are in the Romanesque abbey church of Souillac, southwestern France, and the inside of the western façade is amazing. Inside? Yes, and no one knows for sure why. Was that sculpture always meant to be there and beheld by the faithful as they exited the church? Was it, which is more likely, intended for some outside use that did not happen and was it then placed inside the church for protection and “temporary storage”?Regardless, the fact that it was always kept inside results in a unique example of almost undamaged sculpture, and what a sculpture that is indeed...! The tympanum shown in this photograph is relatively small, implying it was destined for a side portal. Contrary to most churches where the themes selected for tympani come from the Apocalypse, the one used here shows a much less known episode: that of deacon Theophilus who, disappointed because his bishop did not grant him the post of treasurer of a church, sold his soul to the Devil, later repented and was pardoned by the Virgin Mary who redeemed him.At the bottom left, we see Satan and Theophilus sealing the parchment, and on the right Satan holding Theophilus’s hands as a symbol of “ownership”. Above, Theophilus in a dream sees, on the left, an angel bringing back the parchment, and on the right the Virgin, accompanied by two angels, “re-inserting” the parchment, which symbolizes the soul, into Theophilus’s head. On the right side stands Saint Peter with his keys, and on the left Saint Benedict with his abbot’s crozier.The intricacy of the sculpture and the depth of the relief are truly amazing, especially when you think of the rather crude tools that were available in the early 1100s!Nikon Z7 II, Sigma 135mm, ƒ/1.8 Art lens. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.[ATTACH=full]412124[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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