Viewing historic portals, whether still at their original site or in a museum, can be transportive in many ways. If on location, one can physically walk through their structure, treading in the footsteps of the many people who have come before; in a museum setting, their imposing presence aids in conjuring the original environment to create an immersive experience.
Portals are large, impressive entranceways or doorways to a building. When created for medieval French ecclesiastical structures, they were richly decorated. The two main architectural styles during this period were Romanesque, with semi-circular arches, and Gothic, with distinctive pointed arches.
Abbey of Moutiers-Saint-Jean
The doorway from Moutiers-Saint-Jean, on display at The Met Cloisters, stood originally in one of the oldest and most distinguished Burgundian monasteries. Situated near the city of Dijon, the Abbey of Moutiers-Saint-Jean was originally founded in the fifth century. According to tradition, the Merovingian King Clovis I, the first Christian king of France, and his son, Clothar, founded the abbey and gave the monks a charter stating that it was exempt in perpetuity from royal and ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
The complete history of the abbey is only partially known. Its archives were burnt and destroyed during centuries of multiple sieges, as typically happened to many monasteries throughout France. The abbey flourished in the Middle Ages, and a renovation program began in the 1100s that continued into the next century. The limestone doorway was built around 1250. According to Peter Barnet and Nancy Wu in their book “The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture,” this doorway was probably the south transept portal that led from the monastic cloister to the abbey’s church. It is considered one of the finest examples of a Gothic portal on view in the United States.
Depictions of the coronation of the Virgin were a popular 13th-century motif in French tympana. This one shows Christ holding a tripartite orb-disk on his knee while he crowns the Virgin as Queen of Heaven. The scene is framed by a trefoil of miniature grape leaves and clusters of grapes, which are symbolic of Burgundy’s status as a wine region, along with the Eucharist. Above the trefoil is a pointed arch filled with kneeling angels. It is likely that the angels lost their heads during the Wars of Religions, since during this period iconoclasts attacked carvings perceived as symbols of idolatry.
When this portal was originally made, the entire structure would have been richly painted in bright colors, but now only traces of blue-green pigment remain on the tympanum. The niche figures depict ancestors of Christ, including Moses. The two large statues of kings are rendered in a naturalistic style, and it is believed that they may depict Kings Clovis and Clothar holding the infamous charter.
During the French Revolution, the treasures of the monastery were dispersed. The jamb statues of the kings were removed from their doorway posts and probably separated at this time from their heads. It was common during the Revolution for statues, especially those of kings, to be beheaded as an analogy to the effects of the guillotine. By 1797, most of what remained of the abbey’s structure was sold to individuals and the land was turned into a farm. This doorway remained on the farm and was incorporated into a barn. In the 1920s, the portal passed through the hands of two art dealers and there is a photograph showing the portal at this time without the two kings.
The portal was bought in 1932 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The purchase was made in anticipation of the opening of The Met Cloisters. About a year after The Cloisters opened, curator James Rorimer found in the possession of a dealer the two king statues. They were identifiable from historic drawings of the abbey, and their parts had been reassembled since the 18th century. These statues were bought by the Museum and reunited with their portal, as they remain to this day.
Cathedral of Saint Lazare
The Cathedral of Saint Lazare in Autun, France is 150 miles southeast of Paris. It was constructed between 1120 and 1146 in what was then Burgundy. Its purpose was to house relics of St. Lazarus and serve as a pilgrimage site. The immense tympanum on the limestone west portal, which is the main entryway to the cathedral, has a carved image of “The Last Judgement.” Depictions of this vivid narrative as told in The Gospel of Matthew were popular medieval tympanum motifs.
It is believed that this portal, along with 60 capitals and other interior doorways, were created by the sculptor Gislebertus between 1125 and 1135, with the west tympanum alone taking four to five years. This cathedral is considered by scholars to be the greatest Romanesque decorative achievement made by one man, yet Gislebertus’s life and work remain mostly a mystery.
Gislebertus’s west portal tympanum shows a fearsome scene of judgment and damnation. It is an imaginative image renowned for its technical skill. In the 1969 British television documentary series “Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark,” Sir Kenneth singles out this main portal and its tympanum as a medieval masterwork. He pays particular attention to the row showing the damned being judged: “They form a crescendo of despair. They’re reduced to essentials in a way that brings them very close to the art of our own times ... [with] gigantic hands that carry up the head of a sinner as if it were a piece of rubble on a building site.” He lauds Gislebertus’s storytelling and his remarkable ability to adorn an entire cathedral.
Stone carving is incredibly laborious, and in the Middle Ages usually a workshop would have been engaged for such a major project. Most of the names of these artists are lost to history. However, in the case of the Cathedral of Saint Lazare, below the tympanum’s Christ figure is the inscription “Gislebertus hoc fecit,” which translates as “Gislebertus made this.”
Christ as sculpted embodies compassion from his outstretched palms and knees. The entire scene is carefully composed without entangled, overcrowded figures, which was the common style of the period. This consideration of spaces allows shadow to play upon the scene. Gislebertus was also a master at depicting drapery. Every piece of clothing, in fold and pleat, is molded to the figures’ bodies. In some places, there is an illusion of wind billowing the fabric.
Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris is one of its titular city’s most iconic landmarks; indeed, it is one of the most famous buildings in the world. It is situated on Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine. In the early Middle Ages, the city of Paris formed around this central location at the behest of King Clovis, who established the area as his capital. By the 12th century, the bishop of Paris decided to erect a new cathedral on Île de la Cité to replace a historic early Christian church that was deteriorating on the same site. Construction began around the time the new Gothic style was proliferating in the country
There are three magnificent portals on Notre-Dame’s west façade, the main entryway into the cathedral. The portal of the Virgin is on the left and the Saint Anne portal is to the right. The former shows the death of Mary, her assumption to heaven, and her coronation as queen of that realm. The Saint Anne portal was installed around 1200, making it the earliest of the three, and features some carved pieces in the Romanesque style that were repurposed from an older cathedral. Saint Anne’s doorway is carved with scenes from Christ’s childhood. This tympanum’s central image shows the Virgin and Child attended by the king of France and bishop of Paris, powerfully messaging to worshippers the connection between their royalty and the Church.
The third portal, in a Gothic style, is the central doorway. It was the final one installed and illustrates “The Last Judgement.” The lower lintel has carvings of the dead rising from their graves as angels sound the trumpet. The upper portion shows Archangel Michael weighing souls as demons try to influence the scales: The saved are sent up to paradise while the damned are dragged to hell. On the tympanum, Christ is seated in glory with standing angels as Mary and St. John kneel alongside. The sculptures of 12 apostles on either side of the doors are reproductions of the originals, which were destroyed during the French Revolution.
The cathedral has continued to face threats. In April 2019, a fire broke out under the roof’s eaves. Thankfully, the main structure, including the rose windows, the portals’ bell towers, and the portals themselves were saved. However, severe damage occurred to the cathedral’s spire, most of the roof, and upper walls. Extensive reconstruction continues today, and the restored cathedral is expected to reopen in December 2024.
As exterior structures, portals were not built for the purpose of being the focus of prayer and devotion during services. However, they were still carefully planned and crafted with great artistry to be morally influential. History and current events demonstrate that these important monuments of stone have a fragility that requires preservation and protection.
