Like the northern one, the south porch is evidently an afterthought,
and, like it, it consists of three open porticoes, corresponding to the
doors of the transept, and supported in front by six piers, which are
treated with amazing originality and skill. Enormous lintels of
Berchères stone connect the vestibule with the doorway. These have had
to be strengthened, as on the other side, by iron ties. Though only a
couple of yards or so broader than the north porch, the south porch,
thanks to the open space in which it stands, and to its advantageous
position on top of seventeen steps, appears much larger and more
imposing. The bays and the vestibule are peopled by 783 figures, in
which the visitor will note the advance in art made by the sculptors
since they took in hand the statuary of the western and, again, of the
northern porch. The anatomy of these figures and the treatment of their
drapery are infinitely more correct; the pose is more probable, the
work more polished, the whole undoubtedly much more beautiful according
to all the canons of classical art. But quite as undoubtedly there has
been a loss of charm as well as a gain in the technique. The figures, if
they are less crude, are also less expressive. The superb Christ of the
central bay, classic in its calm and regularity, is not so convincing,
so unforgettable as the Christ surrounded by the winged beasts of the
western façade. Even the magnificent effigies of S. Theodore and S.
George have not the same haunting loveliness as the earlier nameless
kings and queens, which are ill-drawn, and unknown indeed, but alive for
ever in their human simplicity.
The majestic statue of Christ, trampling under foot a lion and dragon,
which I have mentioned, is on the face of the central bay, and holds the
place of honour as the Master in the midst of His Apostles. On His right
is the bay of the martyrs, whose strength He is, and He is the Light of
the confessors in the bay on His left. His divine kingship is suggested
by the representation of Him in the upper part of the central bay,
judging the living and the dead.
Beneath the central statue are the figures of Pierre Mauclerc, Count of
Dreux, and Alice, his wife, who spent some 10,000,000 francs upon this
porch and the rose window above. They are represented in two scenes,
praying and being married, but in both giving bread to the poor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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