MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, Spanish
(active 1230-1240 in Burgos)

Christ in Majesty (from La Portada del Sarmental)

c. 1235
Stone
Cathedral, Burgos

Two masters influenced by the Amiens school created the sculpture for the Portada del Sarmental on the south transept of Burgos Cathedral, the first specifically Gothic monument in Castile. The Christ surrounded by symbols of the Evangelists, on the tympanum, recalls the old Romanesque iconographic scheme of the Pantocrator, but the figure style and the clarity of composition are classically Gothic. The tendency towards naturalism and the directness with which the the broad surfaces are carved are more Spanish. Christ's face is exceptionally beautiful, and is comparable to the one at Amiens, although perhaps more human.