MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, German
(active c. 1230 in Saxony)

Golden Gate

c. 1230
Stone
Cathedral, Freiberg

One of the last Romanesque portals in Germany is the west portal of the parish church of Freiberg near Dresden (Saxony), known as the Golden Gate. The theme of the entire ensemble is the glorification of the Mother of God and the Child, and she appears in the centre of the tympanum accompanied on the left by an angel carrying a sceptre and Joseph, and on the right by the Magi. The eight figures in the jambs are depictions of typological predecessors of Christ and Mary.