ROMANESQUE SCULPTOR, Italian
(1140-1160, Lombardy)Although this sculpture of Eve on the portal of the Cathedral of Lodi, also known as Basilica Cattedrale della Vergine Assunta located in Lodi, Lombardy, Italy, is a statue set against a pier, a column-statue in the Italian manner, in execution it is close to the French style. Some consider this a work by Benedetto Antelami from the second third of the 12th century; it was more probably carved by an Antelami follower. The expressiveness of the sorrowful face, the dynamic movement emphasized by the folds of the contemporary dress, and the linear formulations are all characteristic of the 12th-century Lombard school.
In a word, exquisite.
Lovely statue. Being a literature teacher, I look at the symbolism of Eve leaning her head to the door of the Duomo, as though wishing to be allowed in. Whether Adam and Eve were saved is, I believe, an unsettled matter in Christian theology.
Richard,
A lovely sentiment that so enriches this imagery. Thank you.