Double Capitals from Saint-Pons-de-Thomières; Scenes from the Life of Saint Pons: Proconsul ordering torture of Saint Pons / Saint Pons and the Bears / Witnesses
Date: mid-12th and early 13th century
Dimensions:
Plinth to keystone: 112 5/8 in. (286.1 cm);
Plinth to spring of arch: 88 in. (223.5 cm);
Between columns (on centers): 63 1/4 in. (160.7 cm)
Medium: marble
Place of Origin: Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Classification: Architectural Elements
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1929.203
Label Text:The Wages of Sin!
The sculpted capitals on the arcade to your right must have impressed—perhaps even terrified—monks in the cloister of the monastery of St.-Pons. The carvings depict dramatic scenes that embody key aspects of medieval Christian belief. Most dramatic is the capital closest to you. It vividly conveys the awesome power of the Last Judgment, the separation of the saved and the damned at the end of time.
On the side of the capital facing you, the archangel Michael and the Devil weigh people’s souls with a balance scale. To the right, and curving around the capital, the devil’s helpers lead a dismal procession of chained sinners to the mouth of hell, depicted as a fearsome monster. Demons with pitchforks and tongs fling their victims into its jaws, while another stokes the flames with a bellows. In contemplating this imagery, a monk would surely be reminded of the horrifying consequences of a worldly and sinful life.
The sculpted capitals on the arcade to your right must have impressed—perhaps even terrified—monks in the cloister of the monastery of St.-Pons. The carvings depict dramatic scenes that embody key aspects of medieval Christian belief. Most dramatic is the capital closest to you. It vividly conveys the awesome power of the Last Judgment, the separation of the saved and the damned at the end of time.
On the side of the capital facing you, the archangel Michael and the Devil weigh people’s souls with a balance scale. To the right, and curving around the capital, the devil’s helpers lead a dismal procession of chained sinners to the mouth of hell, depicted as a fearsome monster. Demons with pitchforks and tongs fling their victims into its jaws, while another stokes the flames with a bellows. In contemplating this imagery, a monk would surely be reminded of the horrifying consequences of a worldly and sinful life.
DescriptionSt. Pons and the Bears
The Proconsul sentences St. Pons
The Proconsul sentences St. Pons
On view
In Collection(s)