MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, English
(active c. 1080 at Chichester)

Raising of Lazarus (detail)

c. 1080
Stone
Cathedral, Chichester

The dating of the two reliefs at Chichester representing the Raising of Lazarus and Christ in the House of Martha and Mary depends on whether they considered post-Norman-conquest works, or typically Saxon. The approximate date of 1080, suggested by some English historians, has the merit of taking into account the Saxon as well as the French elements in this Norman work. On the other hand, several authorities believe the panels to have been executed as late as the 12th century, while yet others place them as early as the middle Saxon period. The decidedly expressionistic style of the emaciated, angular face suggests an attribution to a Saxon sculptor.