UNKNOWN MASTER, German
(active 1015-1020 in Hildesheim)

Triumphal column

1015-20
Bronze, height 380 cm, diameter 58 cm
Cathedral, Hildesheim

This bronze column was commissioned by Bishop Bernward. The pictorial summary of the Christian doctrine standing at the very entrance to the Hildesheim Cathedral (the bronze door) has its counterpart in the interior in other fittings of bronze and gold, as well as in the painted decoration. The bronze column is a major monument of Western art because it reflects the political and religious aspirations of the circles of power. This triumphal monument, erected to the glory of Christ, is modelled on the Roman triumphal columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius.