Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

the weight shift that is the hallmark of classical statuary. Yet the

sculptor’s conception of this prophet is unmistakably rooted in

Greco-Roman art. Comparison of the Fidenza David with the

prophet on the Moissac trumeau (FIG. 17-11), who also displays an

unfurled scroll, reveals how much the Italian sculptor freed his fig-

ure from its architectural setting. Other sculptors did not immedi-

ately emulate Antelami’s classical approach to portraying biblical

figures in stone. But the idea of placing freestanding statues in niches

would be taken up again in Italy by Early Renaissance sculptors

(FIGS. 21-4to 21-6).

Normandy and England 453

17-29Benedetto Antelami,King David, statue in a niche on

the west facade of Fidenza Cathedral, Fidenza, Italy, ca. 1180–1190.

Marble, life-size.

Benedetto Antelami’s King David on the facade of Fidenza Cathedral is

a rare example of life-size statuary in the Romanesque period. The style

is unmistakably rooted in Greco-Roman art.

17-30West facade of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France, begun 1067.

The division of Saint-Étienne’s facade into three parts corresponding

to the nave and aisles reflects the methodical planning of the entire

structure. The towers also have a tripartite design.

Normandy and England

After their conversion to Christianity in the early 10th century, the

Vikings (see Chapter 16) settled on the northern coast of France in

present-day Normandy. Almost at once, they proved themselves not

only aggressive warriors but also skilled administrators and builders,

active in Sicily (FIG. 12-25) as well as in northern Europe.

Architecture

The Normans quickly developed a distinctive Romanesque architec-

tural style that became the major source of French Gothic architecture.

SAINT-ÉTIENNE, CAEN Most critics consider the abbey

church of Saint-Étienne at Caen the masterpiece of Norman Ro-

manesque architecture. Begun by William of Normandy (William

the Conqueror; see page 455) in 1067, work must have advanced

rapidly, because he was buried there in 1087. Saint-Étienne’s west

facade (FIG. 17-30) is a striking design rooted in the tradition of

Carolingian and Ottonian westworks, but it reveals a new unified

1 ft.