The Romanesque period was a time of great development in the
design and construction of defensive architecture.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Discuss the sculptural works of Wiligelmo as they relate to the architecture and sculpture of the
time.
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
After churches and the monastic buildings, castles are the most numerous type of building of the
period.
In Romanesque art (both in manuscript illumination andsculptural decoration) figures are
contorted to fit the space that they occupy.
Among the many examples that exist, one of the finest is the figure of the Prophet Jeremiah from
the pillar of the portal of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, from about 1130.
Wiligelmo was an Italian sculptor, active between c. 1099 and 1120. He was the first sculptor in
Italy who started again to produce large size sculptures and signed his work.
Wiligelmo was the carver of the Creation and Temptation of Adam and Eve (ca. 1110) reliefs at the
west facade of the Duomo di Modena (Cathedral of Modena) in Italy. The relief is marble and
about one meter high.
TERMS [ edit ]
sculptural decoration
Sculptures were placed within different kinds of buildings such as churches, castles, etc.
They form part of the building itself.
Romanesque
European architecture containing both Roman and Byzantine elements; sometimes applied to the
debased style of the later Roman Empire, but especially to the more developed architecture
prevailing from the 8th to the 12th centuries.
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Background
The Romanesque period was a time of
great development in the design and
construction of defensive architecture.
After churches and monastic buildings,
castles are the most numerous type of
building of the period. While most are in
ruins through the action of war and
politics, others, like William the
Conqueror's White Tower within the
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Tower of London, have remained almost intact.
It is a feature of Romanesque art, both in manuscript illumination and sculptural decoration,
that figures are contorted to fit the space that they occupy. Among the many examples that
exist, one of the finest is the figure of the Prophet Jeremiah from the pillar of the portal of the
Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, from about 1130. A significant motif of Romanesque
design is the spiral, a form applied to both plant motifs and drapery in Romanesque
sculpture. An outstanding example of its use in drapery is the central figure of Christ on the
outer portal at La Madaleine, Vezelay.
Many of the smaller sculptural works, particularly capitals, are Biblical in subject and include
scenes of creation and the fall of man, episodes from the life of Christ and those Old
Testament scenes that prefigure his death and resurrection, such as Jonah and the whale and
Daniel in the lions' den. Many Nativity scenes occur, the theme of the Three Kings being
particularly popular . The cloisters of Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey, in Northern Spain, and
Moissac are fine surviving examples.
A relief from St Trophime, Arles, showing King Herod and the Three Kings.
It follows the conventions in that the seated Herod is much larger than the standing figures.
The Façade in Cathedral Modena
Wiligelmo was an Italian sculptor, active between c. 1099 and 1120. He was the first sculptor
in Italy who started again to produce large size sculptures and signed his work. Wiligelmo
was the carver of the Creation and Temptation of Adam and Eve (ca. 1110) reliefs at the west
façade of the Duomo di Modena (Cathedral of Modena) in Italy . Wiligelmo also carved
portraits of prophets and patriarchs, and most of all the Biblical Stories, at the site. It is a
masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture. Scholars have especially pointed out the splendid
achievements in the creation of Adam and Eve, the original sin and the story of Noah.
Adam and Eve in Modena Cathedral.
Wiligelmo was the carver of the Creation and Temptation of Adam and Eve (ca. 1110) reliefs at the west
facade of the Duomo di Modena (Cathedral of Modena) in Italy.
The side gates are also noteworthy. On Piazza Grande, the Porta Regia ("Royal Gate"), by the
campionesi, and the shorter Porta dei Principi ("Princes' Gate"), are decorated by a pupil of
Wiligelmus' with a relief depicting episodes of the life of Saint Geminianus. On the northern
side is the Porta della Pescheria ("Fish-Market Gate"), with reliefs inspired by the cycle of the
year's twelve months (on the doorposts) and tales from the Breton Cycle of King Arthur (on
the arch).