West portal of Santa Maria de Ripoll
Type:
Portals,
Sculptures
Date:
Mid-twelfth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Spain
Description:
The basilica of Santa Maria de Ripoll was consecrated in 1032, and its west facade may have been painted for that occasion with monumental biblical narratives. In the following century, the painted facade was covered over with a large, stone portal, leaving only traces of the painting visible. The new stone portal recalls the form of Roman triumphal arches from antiquity, especially in its overall shape and its battle imagery arranged in registers. The lower band includes large, standing figures that most likely commemorated historical (non-biblical) men, possibly former counts from the region, abbots of the monastery of Ripoll, or other important ecclesiastical individuals. The middle registers have scenes from the biblical books of Exodus and Kings, and these are closely aligned with images in an eleventh-century illustrated bible from the monastery. That same bible, called the Ripoll Bible, may also have served as the model for the now-lost painted facade.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• Watch a video of pre- and post-restoration footage of the portal.
• Look through the digitized version of the Ripoll Bible.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
