MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, French
(active 1110s in Toulouse)

Porte Miègeville

before 1118
Stone
Collegiate Church of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse

Two portals on the south side of the collegiate church of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse are important milestones of the development of Early Romanesque sculpture. The Porte Miègeville, the entrance to the southern side aisle is important in the development in of the Romanesque portals. It is one of the first portals in which all the important elements in the structuring of a portal, such as the tympanum with a lintel and archivolts, columns with figured capitals set into the stonework, sculptured consoles and reliefs on the façade of the structure, separate from the rest of the church architecture, are gathered together in a united ensemble.

The picture shows the tympanum of the Porte Miègeville with the Ascension of Christ, and the door lintel with the Apostles, their heads twisted upwards in order to see what is happening.