Moissac - West Side - W09MS65

N E W S

  Moissac
West Side
W09MS65

N E W S
W09MS65S S

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W09MS65W W

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W09MS65N N

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W09MS65E E

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Palms

Long palmette leaves taper downwards and then flow into the front Register into a broad palm on one side and into a seven-lobed leaf on the other. Behind the Palm the vegetable elements are joined together by a small clamp. In the corners the palms, set together in parallel rows, morph into a seven-lobed leaf, which is folded over to form a kind of shell motif; it is transformed into a kind of volute. In the middle axis of each side the two vertical leaves frame a suspended seven-lobed leaf; it is contained in a heart-shaped cartouche defined by paired tendrils on the underside of the console block.
This capital recycles in large part (except for one or two details) a palmette formula developed in Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, where it is found in the small central apse of the ambulatory of the choir, in the west aisle, in the south transept, and in the north tribunes of the choir and transept. These locations enable us to date the first use of this capital type to the years 1070-1090. However, the forms of the capital in the basilica in Toulouse are more swollen and voluminous, and the play of light and shade is more fully developed. Here in Moissac, by contrast, the forms are flatter; and this effect is further reinforced by the flattened tripartite stems that rise from the annulet; they form the base of every vertical axis, and reinforce the artificial character of the composition.
This motif is also found in the imposts of capitals E05MS23, E11MS29 and N13MS51, as also in the nave of Saint-Michel-de-Lescure near Albi. Here the decorative sculptures were carved by one or several sculptors from Moissac shortly after the completion of the cloister.


palm Saint-Michel-de-Lescure Toulouse Saint Sernin