On the magnificent little portal of the cathedral of SENLIS (c. 1170??),
on the Left
Lintel,
angels carry the soul upwards, towards the tympanum,
(http://centrechartraine.freeservers.com/senlis/senlpll1.jpg )
On the Tympanum
theVirgin is seated next to Her Son (with an arguably ambiguous
halo.
Her entombment, by the most dynamic angels in Western art
is on the Right
Lintel .
On the portal of the collegial church of MANTES (c. 1180??),
He stands in the center of the Lintel,
passing the little soul on to an angel;
and, again, there is a coronation by the Son
in the Tympanum
above.
(*Something* was clearly sculpted in the peak of the arch
of the tympanum,
and my over-heated imagination could easily make out the traces
of a
nimbus above, clouds below -- the Father??)
Especially curious (to me) is what could have been *between*
the two major figures,
which seems to have attracted the very special ire of the
iconoclasts
(also interesting to note that the head of the Virgin in the Dormition
scene itself
is virtually the only one to have survived on the portal).
Ideas?
Both these portals --undoubtedly the work of closely related
workshops of the
rather new "Early Gothic" stylistic sequence-- appear to
have been heavily
influenced by Byzantine iconography (and style), so very
close parallels there
can surely be found by those that know of such.
(your comments are welcome to: bccrockett@usa.net )