Stone Saints: Commemoration and Likeness in Thirteenth-Century Italy, France, and Spain

The physical appearance of contemporary saints fascinated thirteenth-century observers, and literary descriptions of saints, as well as rulers such as Edward I or Pope Boniface VIII also survive. For the latter we also possess tomb effigies. Some rulers, like Charles of Anjou or Boniface VIII, were certainly sculpted during their lifetimes. Sainthood is, however, always posthumous. How did sculptors respond to modern saints like Francis or Dominic? Francis appeared early on Gothic cathedral tympana at Amiens in France and at Burgos and Leon in Spain, towns where Franciscan convents had recently been established. In these Last Judgment tympana, Francis was an exemplar of the elect, not the titular saint of a church or altar. Dominic appeared on his shrine at Bologna and in ecclesiastical tomb-sculpture programs in Italy. These are not, however, likenesses of Dominic. The figure of St. Louis at Mainneville was an ymago made shortly after the king's canonization in 1297. A freestanding marble figure of Francis at Siena may have been placed originally within the convent of S. Francesco. These examples suggest that likeness did not seem to have been a serious preoccupation for either patrons or sculptors during the thirteenth century.