« Eucharistie, commémoration, adoration et dévotion : la Crucifixion dans la peinture romane de Catalogne et du nord des Pyrénées », Les cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa, 52, 2021, p. 147-178. (original) (raw)
Les églises de Catalogne et du nord des Pyrénées comportent dix-sept Crucifixions peintes entre la fin du XIe et le XIIIe siècle. L’article aborde les différentes fonctions et significations qui ont pu leur être affectées, en commençant par leur dimension liturgique suggéré par leur emplacement et plusieurs indices iconographiques. Les plus significatifs émanent du programme de Sant Pere de Sorpe où un ange diacre encense le Crucifié au-dessus d’une armoire liturgique pratiquée dans la paroi, flanquée de deux calices peints. Cet ensemble suggère par ailleurs la présence d’un autel aux deux-tiers de la nef et permet ainsi d’envisager un tel dispositif dans Sant Joan de Caselles, Cervià de Ter, Estaon et Saint-André-de-Sorède. Le thème peut également être rattaché aux différentes commémorations de la Passion accomplie à l’occasion de chaque messe et durant la semaine sainte lorsqu’il s’intègre dans un cycle narratif, comme à Montgauch et Sant Tomàs de Fluvià. À Cervià de Ter, la présence de six anges inclinés et tendant leurs mains vers le Sauveur font probablement écho au rituel de l’adoration du Vendredi saint et sans doute à ceux de l’Invention et de l’Exaltation de la croix. Enfin, toutes les œuvres du corpus ont pu servir de support visuel à la dévotion personnelle, en particulier à Ourjout où le Christ exprime ses souffrances et à Sorpe et Estaon où les témoins expriment le nouveau sentiment d’empathie qui s’est développé sur le continent au cours du XIe siècle après son émergence beaucoup plus précoce au sein du monde anglo-saxon. La Crucifixion mêlant stuc et peinture de Sant Joan de Caselles semble résumer l’ensemble de ces significations tout en mettant l’accent sur sa dimension cultuelle puisqu’il semble faire écho au crucifix miraculeux de Beyrouth ou au Volto Santo de Lucques.
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Le Cloître roman. Les Cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa, XLVI, p. 49-60, 2015
In recent years, those studies concerning Romanesque cloisters have surveyed the iconographical analysis by considering the monument’s context: the specific spaces in each studied case. Within the cloister, this research involves assessing to what extent did the liturgy and the daily life that took place in each of the galleries and adjacent areas, allows an explanation for the arrangement of the cycles and images. The same can be stated concerning the circulation between the different areas of the monastery, canonical or cathedral, and the processions that circulated through the cloister or the different entrances towards certain spaces, especially the church and the chapter house. In the case of the Catalan Romanesque cloisters, and given the significant number of sites preserved and still assembled, this type of approach is not only feasible but also desirable. The diversity of solutions that they set forward indicates a high degree of discretion, which requires a prudent and methodical analysis of each case without forcing the possible interpretations.
Many texts and some particularly explicit iconographic programs show that the Madonna holding the Child has been assimilated to the officiating priest. In this article, this reading has been considered for the representation of the Adoration of the Magi in the Romanesque paintings in the Pyrenees and in Maderuelo where they often appear in the axis of the sanctuary and have several Eucharistic indices very eloquent: the Virgin wears a chasuble, she bears the child with two hands in a gesture similar to the one of the priest holding the sacred species and is sometimes accompanied by advocates-archangels whose function is probably to transmit to the Christ the seven petitiones of the Pater Noster. The themes associated with the Adoration of the Magi also provide many syntactic clues contributing to corroborate this reading. In this corpus, the Virgin appears as a figure of the celebrant exposing the host during the consecration and the Magi probably evoke the offertory procession. If, in this configuration, the Virgin can be interpreted as a figure of the Church, it doesn't endow systematically a political dimension. It's possible, however, that she contributed to make the faithful believe in the dogma of the real presence by showing that the host raised by the celebrant is the body of the incarnated God she holds in her hands.
The three canonical images of Christ omnipresent on altar decorations can be interpreted both as devotional supports and as references to the Eucharistic liturgy, and more particularly to the double function he fulfils in this context, as both victim and high priest of the heavenly liturgy accomplishing his own sacrifice. While this reading is commonly accepted for the Crucifixion, it is generally neglected for the Christ in Majesty and the Child in his Mother's lap, although it can be supported by many arguments. There are also several indications that the Virgin may have been conceived as a figure of the officiating priest exposing the sacramental body of his Son. The article provides a broad overview of works that can be interpreted from this Eucharistic perspective, suggesting that it must have been relatively widespread and has continued until the late Middle Ages.
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