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In the second quarter of the eleventh century the new abbey church of Saint-Philibert was built in Tournus (Saone-et-Loire) in Burgundy, together with what its inscription called the Gerlanus arch. This arch is in the upper storey of the western side: capitals, coarsely chip-carved with ornaments and plants, each support a thick slab with a sort of impost block. The capital on the picture shows a man carrying a hammer. He is frequently considered to be Gerlanus the architect himself. While there is no way to verify this interpretation, it would be the first individualizing portrait of an artist in Western art history.
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