Christ in Majesty with an Angel, capital from the nave of Saint-Germain des Préschurch.

 
Saint-Germain-
des-Prés Capital
Paris, mid. 11th century
Pierre
H. 0.72 m
Paris, Nave of the Abbey at 
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Reinv. in 1912; Cl. 18612

Twelve of the capitals of the nave at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, removed during the major renovations which took place in the 19th century, are displayed as one of the key pieces of early Romanesque sculpture in Ile-de-France. The appearance of supports made up of several columns encased in the square massif went along with the general distribution of capitals with botanical motifs in the antique tradition, mainly with figures. On the capital where Christ figures between two angels in almond-shaped glory, two styles coexist: one, more typically Roman, highlights the caracter on the right side of the basket, and the other represents Christ and the angel at the left. Both are treated with far more freedom, without concern for the frame furnished by the basket, which is played on by the sculptor, since the angel's body slips behind the angle column. This art, of an undisputable authority, is comparable to certain silver and goldsmith work of the Ottonian era.