The splaying of the doors is adorned with great statues backed up against columns and separated by smaller columns, the capitals of which are connected to a foliate frieze of elegant design. The bases are ornamented with carved drapery. The tympana of the doors contain window-lights, while five rows of statues, separated by lines of flowers and foliage, fill up the archings, which suffered severely in the bombardment of September 19, 1914. About a dozen subjects were destroyed or spoilt. During the subsequent bombardments, shell splinters did further damage. [Illustration: DOORWAY OF THE WEST FRONT BEFORE THE WAR] Generally the sculptural decoration on the ground-floor dates from the middle of the 13th century. In September, 1914, several of the great statues of the lateral splayings were completely destroyed and the others more or less seriously damaged. However, subsequent damage was slight, thanks to the protective measures taken in 1915. =Central Door= The lavish decoration of the central door suffered mutilations during the last three centuries. The inscription carved on the lintel dates from 1802 and replaced carving descriptive of the life of the Virgin, destroyed during the Revolution. The sculpture on the arches, especially that of the three upper lines, was partly restored in the 17th and 18th centuries. The beautiful statues in the splayings of the door represent: _to the right_ (_photo, p. 36_), the =Annunciation= and =Visitation= (the latter group is striking by reason of its inspiration from the antique); _to the left, the_ =Purification= (_photo, p. 36_). The Virgin of the Annunciation group was damaged by shell splinters on September 4, 1914. [Illustration: CENTRAL DOOR OF THE WEST FRONT BEFORE THE WAR (_Cliché LL._)] [Illustration: _The Annunciation._ _The Visitation._ RIGHT-HAND SPLAYING OF CENTRAL DOOR] In the gable, a pretty group representing the =Coronation of the Holy Virgin= was injured by the fires of 1914. Of the two fine statues on the top of the buttresses framing the Central door, only the right-hand one (=Solomon=) exists to-day; the other, representing the =Queen of Sheba=, was destroyed by a shell in September, 1914, except the head, which was saved. [Illustration: LEFT-HAND SPLAYING AND LINTEL OF THE CENTRAL DOOR (_Cliché LL._)] =The Right-Hand Door= _See photograph on p. 25._ On the lintel, =Saint Paul=, blind, is being led to Ananias, who restores his sight and baptizes him.