Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum | Bush-Reisinger Museum | Arthur M. Sackler Museum

Once set atop an engaged twin column in the abbey church of Santa María de Lebanza, in Palencia, this capital would remind viewers of the Christian promise of Resurrection. The narrative wraps around the entire object, and it seems likely that it would have been seen from three angles. On the front, an angel sits on the edge of the tomb, and two women stand nearby; a third woman approaches on the right. These are the three Marys, who went to Christ’s tomb only to find it empty. The figure on the left, holding a gardening hoe, may be the gardener for whom Mary Magdalene mistook the risen Christ. Perhaps in accordance with the theme of death and resurrection, the inscription above asks for prayer for the patron’s soul: “Rodrigo Gustioz, a very good man, made this arch. Knights, pray for him.” These two capitals are the only remains from the church of this important Romanesque abbey.

Object Number

1926.4.2.A

People

Unidentified Artist

Title

Capital from the Abbey of Santa María de Lebanza, Palencia; principal face: Two Holy Women and Angel at the Tomb: right face: Third Holy Woman; left face: Gardener (Christ?)"

Classification

Architectural Elements

Work Type

architectural element

Date

c. 1185

Places

Creation Place: Europe, Spain, Palencia

Culture

Spanish

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/232084

Medium

Limestone and mortar with red paint

Dimensions

64 x 64 x 50.5 cm (25 3/16 x 25 3/16 x 19 7/8 in.)
822 lb.

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: abacus: ISTO: ARCO FECI[T] RODRICUS GUSTIUT (us) VIR VALDE BONU[S] MILITE(s) ORATE PRO IL(1)O

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Friends of the Fogg Art Museum Fund

Accession Year

1926

Object Number

1926.4.2.A

Division

European and American Art

Contact

am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

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Arthur Kingsley Porter, Spanish Romanesque Sculpture, Pegasus Press and Pantheon Books (Paris, France and Florence, Italy, 1928), vol. II, p. 32, pl. 104

Linda Seidel Field, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, exh. cat., ed. Stephen K. Scher, Thistle Press and Clarke and Way, Inc. (Providence, RI, 1969), repr. as fig. 42a, p. 119

Linda Seidel, "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections: X: The Fogg Art Museum: III: Spain, Italy, the Low Countries, and Addenda", GESTA (1973), vol. XII, no. 1/2, no. 4, repr.

Walter Cahn and Linda Seidel, Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections, volume 1: New England Museums, Burt Franklin & Co., Inc. (New York, NY, 1979), no. 54b-1, fig. 215

32Q: 1003 West Arcade, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Google Art Project

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu