Temps, cosmos et liturgie au portail de la cathédrale d’Angers. La progressive spécialisation de l’iconographie angélique dans la sculpture du premier art gothique
Résumé
Time, Cosmos, and Liturgy on the Portal of Angers Cathedral: The Progressive Specialization of Angelic Iconography in Early Gothic Sculpture Created in the mid-12th century, during the early Gothic period, the polychromed portal of St Maurice Cathedral in Angers reveals a group of 25 angels sculpted with great care on its arches. They dominate the main entrance situated in the centre of the western façade. Associated with the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, they surround the Maiestas Domini sculpted in the tympanum and accompany the apostolic college that originally adorned the lintel. The angelic procession is there to acclaim Christ and his Church, to crown the divine Majesty, but also, thanks to the attributes carried by several of them (astrolabes, phylacteries, Eucharistic hosts and candelabra), to participate in the heavenly liturgy and evoke both the cosmos and time. The portal of St Maurice Cathedral belongs to a long tradition of Royal Portals and has both stylistic and iconographic similarities with other portals of early Gothic art (Chartres, Le Mans, Bourges, etc.). All give pride of place to angelic iconography and depict essential ideas of medieval angelology. Taking the portal of Angers as its starting point, this article reflects on the place and function of angels in the sculpture of early Gothic portals and highlights their gradual specialization in the context of the affirmation of Eucharistic doctrine.
