Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriere
Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriereThe Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriere (Limestone, North French, late 13th century) is unusual in style for the time and place in which it was created. In the 13th century, Gothic art in France consisted of more three dimensional sculpture and more of a variety in the poses of the figures than in the Romanesque period which preceded it. The Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriere falls into the transition period between the Romanesque (11th- 12th century) and Gothic time-frames (12th- 15th century), which may contribute to its flat, simple, linear appearance. Its appearance is not exactly Romanesque or Gothic, though it contains features from each period. The Tomb Effigy has the Romanesque features of being flat and rectangular with much empty space. The stiff pose of the figure is also Romanesque in style. The Tomb Effigy also has some Gothic features, such as the strong outline, which makes up each section of the image. This feature is reminiscent of French stained glass from around the same time period.
The large, plain rectangular shape of the Tomb Effigy is like the boxy and geometric appearance of architecture from the Romanesque period. Buildings from the Romanesque period were generally plainer than in the Gothic period, with little decoration. They seemed to be sectioned in large rectangular shapes and had a boxy appearance. Saint Etienne, a church built in the Romanesque period in France, shows this geometric rectangular style (fig.2). The style is flat and does not feature many sculptural adornments, if any at all. As in the Tomb Effigy, the blank rectangle is interrupted only by the figure carving of Jaquelin deFerriere. This plain adornment carved into a large rectangle of Limestone is like the style displayed in the facades of Romanesque
architecture. The west façade of Notre-Dame-la-Grande (fig.3), also in France, also shows this rectangular appearance.
The stiff pose of the figure on the Effigy is much like the figures in French scripture from the Romanesque period. The figures in these scriptures are darkly outlined with unnatural poses. The figure on the Tomb Effigy is arrainged stiffly with his hands crosses at his shoulder and is also darkly outlined. An example of this kind of pose displayed in a French Romanesque scripture is shown in an illustration of Saint Matthew from the Gospel Book of Moissac(fig.4). The figure of Matthew is facing forward, darkly outlined with his hands arranged in front of him, like the figure on the Effigy. The simple drapery of Matthew’s robe in the scripture image is also like the simply carved folds of the tunic on the figure in the Effigy. The simplistic lines of the folds in the clothing are different from the more elaborate and natural...
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