capitals from saint-germain-des-prÉs 

These12 monumental capitals are the oldest examples of Romanesque sculpture in Paris. They came from the old abbatial church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

The abbey was founded by the crown in the Middle Ages and was one of the largest in the city. The church was rebuilt at the beginning of the period of Romanesque architecture in the 1020s and 1030s. These capitals topped columns in the nave of that church.

 They show the distinctive styles of three different workshops :

• A workshop specialising in plant decoration made the capitals decorated with palmettes and long fluted leaves. A fascination with ancient Corinthian capitals is evident in this work.
• The two other workshops divided the historiated and figured capitals between them. Those capitals tell stories, or depict animals, birds and people. Several Biblical themes are illustrated : Samson fighting a lion or the prophet Daniel in the lion’s den with two lions. 

 One of the capitals shows Christ in majesty : Jesus is shown sitting on a throne and is depicted inside a mandorla, an almond-shaped form that symbolises Majesty. The mandorla was a very important iconographic motif in Romanesque art.

Some of the capitals were damaged when the church was turned into a saltpetre factory during the French Revolution. That is why, after the major restoration work carried out in the 1830s, the capitals were moved to Cluny museum and replaced by copies.