Double stone capital from the Cistercian abbey of Nôtre-Dame-de-Pontaut in Gascony

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Double stone capital from the Cistercian abbey of Nôtre-Dame-de-Pontaut in Gascony

Place of OriginFrance, Pontaut (Landes)

Datelate 14th century

Dimensionsplinth to keystone: 8 ft., 11 in. (271.8 cm)
plinth to spring of arch: 6 ft., 1 3/4 in. (187.3 cm)
between columns (on centers): 5 ft., 2 in. (157.5 cm)

Mediummarble and limestone

ClassificationArchitectural Elements

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1931.89

Not on View

Label TextThe Gothic: Elegant Triumph or Barbarian Crudeness? The Pontaut arcade, to your right, contrasts sharply with the Cloister Gallery’s other medieval arcades. They are “Romanesque” in style, making use of robust, semicircular arches based on ancient Roman architecture. The Pontaut arcade uses pointed, far lighter arches typical of the “Gothic” style; derived from Islamic architecture, it was the last major development of medieval architecture. The name “Gothic” was coined as a term of ridicule during the Italian Renaissance, when late medieval culture was seen as backward and crude (as were the Goths, one of the barbarian groups that had invaded the Roman Empire). Medieval people, however, referred to the Gothic style as ars nova—the “new art,” or, as we might say, “modern architecture.” Ironically, this richly carved arcade comes from a monastery inhabited by monks of the Cistercian order, which at one time opposed the use of any artistic embellishment in monasteries. The damaged, somewhat awkward images on the Pontaut capitals are difficult to decipher, but include fantastic animals and human figures. Can you can find the praying monk, the musician playing a stringed instrument, and the unicorn?Published ReferencesLégé, Abbé Joseph, Las Castelnau-Tursan, Aire-su-l'Adour, 1886-1887, (1889?) 2 vols.

Le Grand, Michel, "L'Abbaye de Pontaut..." Bulletin de La Société de Borda, vol. 60, pt. 1, pp. 17-40.

Godwin, Blake-More, "Report of the Director for 1932," The Toledo Museum of Art News, no. 65, June 1933, p. 885.

Godwin, Molly Ohl, "Medieval Cloister Arcades from St. Pons and Pontaut," Art Bulletin, XV, 1933, pp. 174, 185-189, figs. 11-14, (dates 14th-15th century).

Godwin, Blake-More, "The Completed Museum Building," The Toledo Museum of Art News, no. 65, Jan. 1933, p. 852.

Rorimer, James J., The Cloisters, New York, 1938, p. 31f. (dates 15th century).

Durliat, Marcel, La Sculpture Romane en Roussillon, Perpignan, 1948-1954, t. IV, p. 86. (dates 14th century).

Riefstahl, Rudolph M., "Medieval Art," Toledo Museum News, New Series, vol. 7, no. 1, inside cover, repr. (col.), cover (also published as Medieval Art).

Weingerger, Ricki D., "The Cloister," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 21, no. 3, 1979, pp. 68-71, repr. figs. 23-29.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 56 repr. (col.).

Gillerman, Dorothy, ed., Gothic Sculpture in America, II: the Museums of the Midwest, Turnhout, Brepols, 2001, p. 376-380, no. 269, repr. p. 377. [as from eastern France]

Putney, Richard H., Medieval Art, Medieval People: The Cloister Gallery of the Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 2002, cover + p. 6, repr. (col.) fig. 1, pp. 8 (fig. 2), 29, 37, 44, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 104-105, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 14, repr. (col.)

Comparative ReferencesSee also Aubert, Marcel, L'Architecture Cistercienne en France, Paris, 1947, 2nd. ed., vol. II, Chapter 1, esp. pp. 14-21.