Cul-de-lampe : ange (?)

The protagonists wear the same garment, a long alb with a round collar and lapel, with a round button. The face has youthful features. It is similar to 14th and 15th century angels, but there is no iconographic evidence to support this hypothesis. The figure's right arm is contorted behind the head, so that the hand rests on the top of the hair. The treatment of the figure is precious in its finesse. Small eyes with thin, non-overflowing eyelids and smooth eyeballs, a broad, round nose and a well-defined small mouth are finely marked on the blended volumes of the round head, full cheeks and chin. Hair waves are still clearly visible on the left side of the face and in a fringe at the top of the forehead. Although the twisting of this figure's arm is unnatural, it does not alter the overall weighting of the body, leading us to believe at first glance that the hand visible on the head is that of another figure. The separation of the protagonists is uncertain. Thick, ample drapes with curved folds conceal the bodies, and the many chips and misses hamper the reading. The intricate interplay of fabrics freely covers a wide surface, extending beyond the strict confines of the support. The lower part of the dresses spreads over the right-hand side of the block, and their volumes are in no way constrained by the shape of the cul-de-lampe, whose strict truncated cone shape disappears. The breadth, freedom and ease of the fabrics are all hallmarks of the high quality of this sculpture. This trait is found in small-scale decorative sculpture, as well as in statuary at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. Although the polygonal fluting is not visible below the tailloir, and the play of draperies obscures it, the sculpture is nonetheless subordinated to a decorative function. The features of the face are similar to those produced in the 1390s at the Sainte-Chapelle in Vincennes, and to several angels from sites where buildings were erected under the patronage of Jean de Berry. These comparisons reinforce the hypothesis of a dating around 1400. It is interesting to find a production at Les Cordeliers, opposite the palace, that is stylistically comparable to the works produced by the artistic milieu of Jean de Berry's patronage. However, the evolution from the palace's consoles to this small cul-de-lampe is clear. This sculpture cannot therefore be directly linked to the palace sculptors' workshop.