The exterior silhouette of the building was articulated by four principal bell towers,
one square (over the crossing of the main transept) and three octagonal (capping the small
transept, and atop the arms of the main transept). Towers on the western façade were
erected after 1200.
Nine capitals from the hemicycle in the sanctuary of the choir survive in the Musée du
Farinier at Cluny. These date probably from the first quarter of the 12th century and
represent biblical scenes, the Seasons, the Virtues, and the Tones of Plainsong. Though
sculptural remains from Cluny III are scant, ornamentation at other Romanesque
churches in Burgundy can provide a sense of its once extensive decorative program.
Under the abbacy of Hugues, the rest of the monastic complex was greatly expanded,
on a scale proportional to that of the new monumental church. A large hospice (36 by 163
feet) was built in the great forecourt of the monastery, as was a stable at least 100 feet
long. In 1080, the
Cluny (Saône-et-Loire), abbey church,
south transept. Photograph courtesy of
Whitney S.Stoddard.
refectory for the monks was trebled in size and decorated with an immense fresco
painting of the Last Judgment.
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