1 Jun 2012

Annunciation and Visitation - Reims Cathedral

Submitted by walwyn
01/1230
Wed, 04/27/2011 - 13:20 - Reims Cathedral, France 27/04/2011
link to flickr

These four statues (c. 1230–1255) stand on the central portal of the north transept—traditionally called the Portail de la Vierge, of the western façade of Reims Cathedral. They form two distinct narrative groups. On the left, the Archangel Gabriel turns toward the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation; on the right, Mary greets her cousin Elizabeth in the Visitation.1 Although the figures now appear monochrome, they were originally enlivened with polychromy.

The sculptures are celebrated as milestones in Gothic art for their naturalistic proportions, subtle bodily movement, and elaborately modelled drapery. Their faces, especially those of the Visitation group, display a striking degree of individuality and emotional presence, signalling a clear departure from the restrained formality of earlier Romanesque work.

The Visitation pair is the earlier of the two groups, made around 1230 by a sculptor familiar with classical Roman models, apparent in the heavy, cascading folds and the contrapposto stance. The Annunciation figures were carved 15–20 years later, c. 1245–1255, by sculptors working in a lighter, more linear idiom characteristic of the High Gothic phase at Reims. Although created at different times by different hands, the figure of Gabriel though is thought to be the work of Joseph Masters,23 the two groups were installed together during the great rebuilding campaign that followed the fire of 1211, initiated under Archbishop Aubry de Humbert. This reconstruction established the monumental façade that became the ceremonial gateway for the coronation of French kings.

Together, the Annunciation and Visitation groups encapsulate the stylistic evolution underway at Reims: a shift toward naturalism, expressive gesture, and a renewed engagement with classical form, all within a coherent theological programme centred on the life of the Virgin.