Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2pzkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-07T11:40:40.452Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Resurrecting Lazarus: The Eve from Saint-Lazare at Autun

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2021

Get access

Summary

Perched on both knees and her right elbow, the woman rests amidst thick fronds of fruiting foliage that relate closely to the forms of her body (Fig. 16). A first frond begins in front of her elbow, grows upwards and inwards towards her arm, bends back along with the angle of her hand, arcs around her face, and then bursts open into leaves and fruits just above her head. A second stem arcs upward behind her upper body before likewise bursting into bloom just above her outstretched left arm. A third twists its way upward in front of her lower torso: unlike the others, this frond expands outward into leaves and fruits that grow along its whole curving length. Two large leaves topped with seeded fruits extend onto the woman's abdomen and intersect there with its defining lines. Two others curl backward in space around her buttocks and thighs, even as this part of her body twists sharply downwards towards the ground. A fourth frond enters the sculpture from beyond a break in its block and is bent into a horizontal direction by a disembodied clawed hand; this bend in the frond echoes that in the woman's knees below. By bending the frond, furthermore, the clawed hand directs one of its fruits directly into the woman's outstretched hand, an intersection that is emphasized as the third frond passes behind her wrist. Following the line of her left arm forward connects the rounded form of the fruit in her hand to the similarly rounded forms of her breasts, suggesting that they likewise be seen as the fruits of the second frond, as it passes behind her body in line with them. Finally, the curves of the first frond, along with the gesture of the woman's bent right arm, call attention to her remarkably detailed and expressive face, which turns away from her extended arm and body (Fig. 17). She has a small, tight mouth, a damaged nose, and huge eyes. Her eyes are deep set with heavy eyelids, bulging eyeballs, deeply drilled pupils, and sharp lower ridges. A faint mark appears in the inner corner of her left eye and suggests the possibility of a tear forming there.

Type
Chapter
Information
Motherhood and Meaning in Medieval Sculpture
Representations from France, c.1100-1500
, pp. 87 - 119
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×