Roman and Romanesque Treasures in Autun

As promised, here are some photos from our last stop on Wednesday, the city of Autun in northern Burgundy. It's a very pretty city with lots to offer those interested in Roman and Romanesque art.

Autun was settled in Roman times, when it was known as Augustodunum. You can still see some Roman ruins around the city, the best of which are the Roman amphitheater (which we didn't have time to see), a large gate, and the 1st-century Temple of Janus. We stopped at the temple on the way out of town, after the weather had turned ugly again. It stands in a field, with cows looking unimpressed nearby.

View of Autun Cathedral through the ruins.

Autun Cathedral stands on the highest point in the city and we had to walk fairly steeply uphill from our parking spot to reach it. Although it has a mostly Gothic exterior, it is full of wonderful Romanesque art and architecture. It was built in the early 1100s and dedicated to St. Lazarus, the guy Jesus raised from the dead. The cathedral claimed to have a relic of Lazarus, so it attracted pilgrims.

The sky was cloudy for most our visit, but the sun did come out just long enough for us to get some nice photos of the exterior:

One of the major highlights is the west door, which is under a large porch. It was sculpted around 1135 by a master sculptor named Gislebertus. He also probably did some sculptures at Vezelay and Saulieu, which we visited recently. It's rare to know the name of a medieval artist, but he signed his name in the center of the tympanum over the door:

GISLEBERTUS HOC FECIT - "Gislebertus Made This."

The tympanum (the half-circle of sculptures over the door) depicts the Last Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Here on the lower right of the tympanum, the damned rise from their graves and march off to Hell in torment. Among them, a greedy man clutches his money bags, a lustful woman has her breasts gnawed by snakes, and another sinner is grasped by two giant claws around his head.

On the other side, two pilgrims are among the happy redeemed going to Heaven. A good incentive for going on pilgrimage! Note the symbols on their bags - a Crusader's cross on the left, representing the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and a scallop shell on the right, for the pilgrimage to Santiago.

Inside, the nave is very pretty, with more decoration on the pillars than most Romanesque churches. One of my books says it was inspired by the Roman gates that still stood in Autun. This is looking west towards the entrance.

Closer look at the arches. You can see some carved capitals in this photo, and they are the other main highlight of Autun Cathedral. They were also carved by Gislebertus, and depict biblical stories, legends and mythical creatures.

This is the Second Temptation of Christ, in which the devil tries to convince Jesus to throw himself off the tower of the Temple.

This wins the award for the cutest capital - an angel wakes up the Three Magi, who are snoozing cozily under a single blanket with their crowns on. It seems to combine two biblical events into one - the star that led them to Bethlehem and the warning they later received in a dream not to return to King Herod.

A really wonderful adoration of the Magi, with everyone looking so friendly and happy.

Narrow side of the above capital - Joseph ponders it all.

A Muppet-like personification of Greed, gripping his money bags, on a capital about virtues and vices.

An Old Testament story - the three young Hebrews kept from harm in the fiery furnace.

God confronts Cain as to the whereabouts of his brother Abel, and Cain responds, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Meanwhile, on the side of the capital, Abel's dead body is hidden in the bushes.

Lots more (200+) photos of all the sculpture-y goodness at Autun Cathedral can be seen on Sacred Destinations.

Just across the street from the cathedral is the Musée Rolin, which I couldn't miss because it has more sculptures from the cathedral, plus ancient Roman finds and other great stuff. David was glad to leave me there and headed down the hill in search of a kebab shop for late lunch (he found one).

Exterior of the museum.

The star attraction of the museum is this sensuous sculpture of Eve grasping the apple, by our friend Gislebertus. This was originally over the north door of Autun Cathedral.

Ancient Roman tombstones in the museum's courtyard.

A fantastic Roman mosaic found under the streets of Autun, depicting a Greek philosopher or poet.

Since then, we've mostly waited out the rain at our base in Macon. I got some work done and booked a few more hotels, and we traded in our rental car down in Lyon. Yesterday the sun finally came out again and we did another long loop through beautiful countryside to visit old churches. It was a really fun day.

Last night we had a big thunderstorm and downpour, but the sun is out again today and it is actually hot! This morning I photographed the old church here in Macon and this afternoon we'll drive up to Tournus to see another one. Tomorrow we move to our new base, Clermont-Ferrand. More details on all this soon!

Roman and Romanesque Treasures in Autun posted on June 10, 2008 by Holly Hayes