Romanesque Christ in Majesty. Romanesque Provençal Art.

Important and rare Romanesque sculpture in the round depicting Christ. The throne is openwork on the sides and the locks of hair fall down the back. Christ is shown seated on a throne, holding the book in his left hand and raising the now-missing right arm. The lift of the shoulder indicates the original gesture. He wears a cloak with straight, classical folds, richly decorated across the chest. The throne is adorned with rosettes and rows of dots. The Book is also finely carved, with rosettes and figures; it most likely represents the Book of Life, with four engraved episodes relating to the soul being judged. This Christ in Glory belongs to the corpus of Provençal Romanesque sculpture and can be dated to the mid-12th century.

The Book of Life is associated with the Last Judgment and is described in Revelation 20:12. The scenes engraved here show, within a circular frame, a figure in various attitudes—lying down, standing, falling headfirst—likely evoking major events from the life of the person being judged (see photograph with enhanced contrast). Despite its losses, this sculpture retains its power and presence. Representations of Christ in Majesty are extremely rare in sculpture and are more commonly found on portals and tympana. Furthermore, our sculpture provides a previously unseen illustration of the Apocalypse from the New Testament. Provenance: held in a Provençal family for several generations.
Related works: Portal of Saint-Trophime, Arles; North portal of Saint-Gilles du Gard. Figures from the Book: orant on the lintel of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in Beaumont-du-Ventoux and the portal of the church of Sainte-Jalle.
Consulted literature: Tympans et portails romans, Michel Pastoureau & Vincent Cunillère, 2014; L’influence antique dans l’art roman provençal, Victor Lassalle, 1970; Sculptures romanes de Haute-Provence, Jacques Thirion, Bulletin Monumental, vol. 130 no. 1, 1972.