Autun tympanum
Type:
Churches,
Portals,
Tympana,
Sculptures
Date:
ca. 1130
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Description:
The cathedral of Autun was built to accommodate increasing numbers of pilgrims arriving to venerate the relics of St. Lazarus. The tympanum on the west portal, completed around 1130, includes a rare artist's signature beneath Christ's feet: "Gislebertus hoc fecit" (Gislebertus made this). The Last Judgment imagery includes angels weighing human souls while devils attempt to interfere with the scales. Among the saved are two male pilgrims who carry pouches, one with a cross and the other with a cockle-shell badge, the latter associated with pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• See the virtual tour of the tympanum on John James's Creation of Gothic website.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
