Of Sirens and Onocentaurs: A Romanesque Apocalypse at Montceaux-l'Etoile

Focusing on the relationship between word and image at Montceaux-l'Etoile, this essay argues that a pair of capitals representing a siren and an onocentaur functioned as a sculptural commentary on the apocalyptic notion that "the time is near." From a broader perspective, this interpr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Artibus et historiae 2002-01, Vol.23 (45), p.29-62
Main Author: Travis, William J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bible
Birds
Centaurs
Churches
Greek mythology
Iconography
Literature
Physiology
Sacred texts
Symbolism
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Focusing on the relationship between word and image at Montceaux-l'Etoile, this essay argues that a pair of capitals representing a siren and an onocentaur functioned as a sculptural commentary on the apocalyptic notion that "the time is near." From a broader perspective, this interpretation opens up a new way to read the Romanesque sculpture of Burgundy as word images, where capitals evoked specific phrases from scripture and the choice of phrases determined the overall program; comparisons to Autun and Vézelay suggest that these churches adopted a similar method. Eighty-one texts collected in the appendix set out the evidence for the siren and onocentaur in early medieval thought.
ISSN:0391-9064
DOI:10.2307/1483681