Shot of the Day – 34 – Notre Dame Synagoga
Synagoga Allegory, West Façade,
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (29 April 2006)
The photo captures one of the four prominent sculptures on the buttresses that anchor the west façade…the front entrance of the cathedral. The façade and three entrance portals are covered with sculpted figures…saints, kings, bishops…like a French/Catholic Hall of Fame on one huge, vertical, flat display.
The pose is what caught my eye. She is not the usual plump female depiction from the middle ages. She’s attractive, graceful and mysterious. Those hips off to the side are a bit suggestive…or is it just me?
Then there are the other objects in the scene with her. This is an allegory, a symbolic representation to convey a story or message. To say more about this medieval beauty, I needed to hit The Google and learn about it.
The statue is paired with another as they flank the central entrance to the cathedral. The figures, Ecclesia and Synagoga, represent the church and synagogue (really the Jewish religion). At a time when most of the population was illiterate, it was important for the church to get its messages across to the masses visually, hence the added elements to the figures.
Ecclesia Allegory, Notre Dame Cathedral
(Cropped from an image of the West Façade, (29 April 2006)
Ecclesia has a staff with a cross and often carries a chalice (for the Blood of Christ). She wears a crown and is usually triumphal and forward-looking. By contrast, Synagoga is blindfolded or looking down. Her crown is on the ground. She holds a broken lance and some representation of Old Testament tablets or Torah scrolls that are about to fall from her grasp. She is defeated.
This was all about the church’s position that since Jesus WAS the Jewish messiah, Judaism’s own tenets dictate that it was ‘Game Over.’ The religion was no longer necessary and all Jews should convert. Done. The looking down, blindfolded thing is all about those stubborn Jews’ refusal to ‘SEE’ this. Having her blindfolded by a snake in this case seems especially nasty. Twelve hundred years into the church’s existence, they were still shaming Jews…or so I thought.
Turns out this particular work doesn’t go back that far. The message of Christian dominance and Jewish humiliation was important enough to retain in the 19th century. After these figures were destroyed during the French Revolution, the powers-that-be made sure they were replaced in kind.
There you have it. ‘Images and More’ is not just about pretty pictures.
posted by Ted Ringger @ 9:15 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I was aware that medieval illiteracy made public readings of proclamations and local news necessary. And I knew about the importance of images in signs to identify tradesmen and others but it hadn't occurred to me that the church would use art as one of its tools for repression. Thanks for the eye-opener!
Thanks, Jack. I was also unaware of the extent of the practice. On the other hand, none of this surprised me...even the fact that the replacement Synagoga dates to the 19th century. This was the church that stood by while Jews were incinerated just a lifetime ago.
Genius to stop and then research. There’s a reason for why this was made and you followed it. I have a friend that just published a book. She has traveled with her husband for years. He’s a very successful guy but she finally wanted to do something for herself....in her name, not his. She noticed figures of woman all around the world who were “saints” and researched and wrote about them. Lesson, stop, look, and go deeper. If it grabs you. Thanks Ted!
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