Page:Charles Moore--Development and Character of Gothic Architecture.djvu/286

Rh and the action a little confused. The sculptor, moreover, has become in a measure conscious of his art; and mingled with thought of his subject there is an apparent desire to display his skill. To the mind of the spectator is suggested something akin to the feeling produced by a tableau vivant.

Returning now to the consideration of statues ranged against the jambs, or placed upon the dividing pillars of the doorways, one of the finest of the early part of the thirteenth century is the statue of the Virgin upon the dividing pillar of the south door of the west front of the Cathedral of Amiens. As I have already remarked, the artists of the early thirteenth century were able to give more freedom and natural modelling to such figures than had been the case with those of the preceding century, and yet to maintain in them a strictly architectural character. In this Virgin of Amiens the archaisms of Chartres and St. Denis give place to a more natural treatment. The head is well set, the features are regular and perfectly cut, the wimple falls in graceful lines upon the shoulders, the pose of the body is unconstrained, though very quiet, and the simple draperies are cast into easy folds. Few examples of mediæval art exhibit more calmness, or more sweetness of expression.

More strikingly graceful and queenly in bearing, though still temperate in conception and treatment, is the statue (Fig. 173) of the Virgin in the portal of the north transept of Paris. In the earlier Gothic statues, as a rule, the weight of the body rests equally on both legs, keeping the shoulders level, and producing a formal cast of draperies, as in Figs. 168, 169, and 170; but now, as in this figure, an easier posture is assumed. Resting mainly on the left foot, the lower part of the body is thrown slightly to the left, while the right knee is naturally a little bent, the right arm and shoulder a little lowered, and the head inclined a little to the right. The subtle mingling of simple nature and skilful art in this statue is especially shown where a portion of the mantle is cast over the left arm, and falls vertically in a heavy fold to the foot of the figure.