“This statue of the virgin with child is reassembled from three pieces of rock discovered in an archaeological dig on the Rue de Furstenberg in 1999.” This is what the small French sign next to the Sainte-Germaine Sculpture in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Près says. Isn’t it fascinating that this statue, likely intended for the entrance to the old Chapelle de la Vierge, was left unfinished? It was probably due to an error in its size. The stones were then reused in the foundation of a wall. Imagine how this statue, some anonymous artist’s hard work, was abandoned and ended up buried, helping hold up a building for the last eight centuries or so. Imagine the generations of Parisians who lived there and worked there who never knew it was under their feet the whole time, waiting to be dug up at the end of the 20th century. It must have been a real surprise to discover it during the archaeological dig. The simplified style of the crown and the lines of the virgin’s face and the slight incline of the virgin’s head towards the child make this sculpture a moving testimony to the great quality of Parisian sculpture in the 13th century. The Sainte-Germaine Sculpture has a remarkable history; a piece of Parisian history hidden under the ground waiting to be rediscovered.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to