L'image à l'époque gothique (1140-1280) (review)

In this second volume of a projected trilogy, Jean Wirth proposes an alternative to Émile Mâle's classic iconographic studies of medieval French art. Considering theological and literary theories of images during the "Gothic era," he explains the unprecedented prestige of artificial images by a heightened interest in nature, the visible world, and the mimetic capacity of art.

Part I, "Scholastics and the Image," establishes the theological rationale for naturalism. Appreciated by the Scholastics as an entity distinct from the divine supernatural, nature was understood to be accessible to reason and physics. Furthermore, the Scholastics adapted Aristotelian thought to argue that images, by virtue of likeness, had the capacity to reveal both the physical appearance and the spiritual nature of things. This applied equally to holy images as to portraits of living individuals, as well as the Eucharist. Wirth further argues that the more naturalistic style of Gothic art complemented the scholastic theory of devotional images as diminishing barriers between the materiality of the image and what it represents.

Part II, "Imitation of Nature," argues that the emphasis on the literal sense of scriptures at the expense of the complex typologies and allegories fostered greater naturalism from the thirteenth century onward. Naturalism was also promoted in secular and theological literature by the association of beauty with similitude. For example, Pygmalion's beautiful ivory statue, described by Jean de Meung in the Roman de la Rose, finds analogies in William of Auvergne's account of the soul as a beautiful statue created by God and in St. Bonaventure's description of the sculptor producing an external image of the internal soul, whose effect is commensurate with the artist's ability to produce similitude. The association of beauty with naturalism is further justified by the Scholastic theory of hylomorphism, according to which the soul is presented as a form of body, the two united in a form of marriage.

Wirth sees the impact of these ideas in the transformation of Gothic sculpture around 1220, including the animation of figures through gesture, the physical extension of the body in space, and the adoption of contrapposto (e.g., Chartres north). Around the middle of the century he sees a further engagement of spectators through clearly defined physiognomies revealing distinct emotional states (e.g., Naumburg), which he connects to contemporaneous physiognomic treatises. He interprets the ubiquitous architectural framing of figures in sculpture as a bridge between fictive and real worlds that reflects the development of optical theory and perspective. A theological optimism in the revelatory capacity of the appearance of things leads to what Wirth terms a "perceptual illusionism" (p. 204) in Gothic art.

Part III is devoted to the iconography of embodiment. Particularly significant is his exploration of the dialogue between the sacred and profane worlds. Wirth describes how the theme of spiritual marriage is depicted in images of Mary as "bride of Christ" in the coronation scene and in the intimate sculptures of Mary and the Christ Child, which often draw upon the iconography of profane love (e.g.,Christ caressing Mary's chin).Wirth explains these innovations in relation to the Church's promotion of spiritual marriage in commentaries on the Song of Songs and its assertion of control over secular marriage by designating it a sacrament. At the same time, Wirth suggests that the lay response to ecclesiastical control is offered by themes of courtly love that parody religious themes on the margins of sacred books used by the laity.

Exploring the cult of the dead (chapter II), Wirth describes the conflicting views of secular authority expressed in French sculptural programs: On one hand, the kings, princes, and tyrants trampled under the feet of the apostles and saints allude to the victory of the Church over its secular adversaries; on the other hand, the gallery of kings reflects a more positive view of the contemporary monarchy in the guise of Christ's royal genealogy. He also shows how aristocratic tombs assimilated...