Virgin, forming an arc of mourners well suited to the semicircular
frame. The sculptor adjusted the heights of the figures to fit the
available space (the apostles at the right are the shortest), and, as in
many depictions of crowds throughout history, some of the figures
have no legs or feet. At the center, Christ receives his mother’s soul
(the doll-like figure he holds in his left hand). Mary Magdalene,
wringing her hands in grief, crouches beside the deathbed. The sor-
rowing figures express emotion in varying degrees of intensity, from
serene resignation to gesturing agitation. The sculptor organized the
group by dramatic pose and gesture but also by the rippling flow of
deeply incised drapery that passes among the figures like a rhythmic
electric pulse. The sculptor’s objective was to imbue the sacred fig-
ures with human emotions and to stir emotional responses in ob-
servers. In Gothic France, as already noted, art became increasingly
humanized and natural. In Gothic Germany, artists carried this hu-
manizing trend even further by emphasizing passionate drama.
EKKEHARD AND UTAThe Strasbourg style, with its feverish
emotionalism, was particularly appropriate for narrating dramatic
events in relief. The sculptor entrusted with the decoration of the
west choir of Naumburg Cathedral faced a very different challenge.
The task was to carve statues of the 12 benefactors of the original
11th-century church on the occasion of a new fundraising campaign.
The vivid gestures and agitated faces in the Strasbourg tympanum
contrast with the quiet solemnity of the Naumburg statues. Two of
the figures (FIG. 18-49) stand out from the group because of their
exceptional quality. They represent the margrave (military governor)
Ekkehard II of Meissen and his wife Uta. The statues are attached to
columns and stand beneath architectural canopies, following the pat-
tern of French Gothic portal statuary. Their location indoors ac-
counts for the preservation of much of the original paint. Ekkehard
and Uta suggest the original appearance of the facade and transept
sculptures of Gothic cathedrals.Gothic Outside of France 49118-48Death of the Virgin,
tympanum of left doorway,
south transept, Strasbourg
Cathedral, Strasbourg,
France, ca. 1230.
Stylistically akin to the
Visitationgroup (FIG. 18-24,
right) of Reims Cathedral, the
figures in Strasbourg’s south-
transept tympanum express
profound sorrow through
dramatic poses and gestures.18-49Ekkehard and Uta, statues in the west choir, Naumburg
Cathedral, Naumburg, Germany, ca. 1249–1255. Painted limestone,
Ekkehard 6 2 high.
The period costumes and individualized features of these donor
portraits give the impression that Ekkehard and Uta posed for their
statues, but they lived long before the Naumburg sculptor’s time.1 ft.18-49AWest
choir screen,
Naumburg
Cathedral,
ca. 1249–1255.