MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, French
(active c. 1130 at Autun)

Pilaster capital

c. 1130
Stone
Cathedral, Autun

In the religious thought and imagery of the Romanesque period Jews were identified in particular with the disgraced disciple, Judas Iscariot. In a capital at Autun the fate of Judas is shown: he is hung from a tree and strangled by two demons, while clutching in his hands the purse containing the thirty pieces of silver mentioned in the Bible - a reminder of one of the most important functions of Jews in the economy of the time as moneylenders.




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