The south and east galleries are Gothic, dating from the late 13th and 14th centuries.
Encrusted with a thick layer of gypsum, they are difficult to interpret. The façade portal
of Saint-Trophime is a paradox. Although dramatic in thematic concept, the execution is
often uninspired. The single portal, added to the older façade, is in the form of a
projecting portico supported by six columns. Its de-sign is clearly inspired by the façade
of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, which in turn is based on Roman monuments like the arches at
Saint-Rémy or Orange.
Paul, a less sensitive replica, in reverse, of the Saint-Gilles Paul, served as model for
six of the other seven Apostles carved by a less skilled sculptor. Peter is the work of a
third sculptor. The Paul Master seems to have carved the tympanum, and the Peter Master
the lintel. The base of the trumeau and some capitals and socles appear to have been
carved by an Italian sculptor. The entire portal seems to have been sculpted rapidly by
four artists, most likely in the 1170s but certainly by July 30, 1178, for the coronation in
Saint-Trophime of Frederick as king of Burgundy.
Whitney S.Stoddard
[See also: PROVENCE; SAINT-GILLES-DU-GARD]
Borg, Alan. Architectural Sculpture in Romanesque Provence. Oxford: Clarendon, 1972, pp. 13,
61–70, 107–08, 110–13; figs. pp. 57–67.
Labande, Léon-Honoré. L’église Saint-Trophime d’Arles. Paris: Laurens, 1930.
Poly, Jean-Pierre. La Provence et la société féodale: 879–1166. Paris: Bordas, 1976.
Sautel, Gérard. Les villes du Midi méditerranéen au moyen âge: aspects économiques et sociaux
(IXe–XIIIe siècles). Brussels: Société Jean Bodin, 1955.
Stoddard, Whitney S. Monastery and Cathedral in France. Middletown: Wesleyan University
Press, 1966, pp. 65, 77; figs. 85, 105.
——. The Façade of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1973, pp.
198–297; figs. 241–417.
ARLES-SUR-TECH
. Situated along the Tech River in Roussillon, the abbey of Sainte-Marie d’Arles
(Pyrénées-Orientales) boasts a rich history that is still visible in the abbey church and
cloister. Founded in 778 as Sainte-Marie de Vallespir at the ancient Roman baths of Arles
(Amélie-les-Bains), the Benedictine community was decimated by invasions during the
9th century. Relocated to its present site, the monastery entered a period of protection and
prosperity in the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1078, further protection was afforded the
abbey when it came under the authority of Cluny. The 12th and 13th centuries saw
increasing profits and new construction, due in part to the rich mines of iron, silver, and
copper in the area.
Architecturally, little appears to have survived from the late 9th-century foundation,
with the possible exception of the unusual western orientation of the church. The plan of
the surviving church, roughly dated by a 1046 consecration, follows a typical basilican
format with nave, two side aisles, and three corresponding semicircular apses. The nave
arcade on rectangular piers supports a high clerestory with twelve windows. Highly
unusual are the three niche chapels that are carved out of the massive eastern wall. When
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