Anzy-le-Duc (Saône-et-Loire), priory,
chevet. Photograph courtesy of
Whitney S.Stoddard.
masonry, descend. Masonry above and to the west of this suture is a later campaign. The
west portal depicts Apostles on the lintel, the Ascension in the tympanum surrounded by
Elders of the Apocalypse in the archivolts. Edson Armi argued that the lintel, capitals,
and archivolts were carved by two distinct sculptors whose work at Anzy predates the
famous choir capitals of Cluny III. The Mont-Saint-Vincent Master created the crude
portal of Mont-Saint-Vincent, the inner narthex lintel and tympanum of Charlieu, and the
lintel of Anzy-le-Duc. The Avenas Master, deriving his name from a fine altar at Avenas
south of Cluny, carved sculpture on the portal of Mâcon, Anzy-le-Duc (archivolts and
capitals), and Perreay-les-Forges before continuing to work at Vézelay and Cluny III.
The dates of this sculpture depend upon the dating of the Cluny III choir capitals,
which varies from 1085 to 1150. The capitals are probably slightly later than the Cluny
III portal of 1109–13; if this conclusion is correct, the Anzy-le-Duc sculpture can be
dated in the early 12th century.
In addition to nave capitals and façade portal, there are two other later portals: one in a
museum in Paray-le-Monial and the other in a building south of the priory.
Whitney S.Stoddard
Armi, E.Edson. Masons and Sculptors in Romanesque Burgundy. 2 vols. University Park:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1983, Vol. 1, pp. 14–15, 21, 37–38, 41–42; Vol. 2, pp. 84a,
b, 85d, 89a, b, 116b.
Pendergast, Carol. The Romanesque Sculpture of Anzy-le-Duc. Diss. Yale University, 1974.
——. “The Lintel of the West Portal at Anzy-le-Duc.” Gesta 15 (1976):135–42.
Porter, Arthur K. Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads. 2 vols. Boston: Marshall Jones,
1923, Vol. 1: Text, pp. 120–22, 130; Vol. 2: Illustrations, pp. 17–24, 95–99.
Stoddard, Whitney S. Monastery and Cathedral in France. Middletown: Wesleyan University
Press, 1966, pp. 52, 58, 78; figs 62, 64, 73, 74, 107.
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