MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, French
(active 1125-1130 at Vézelay)

Tympanum (detail)

1125-30
Stone
Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Vézelay

The picture shows dog-headed men (cynocephali) from the tympanum of the church at Vézelay. These strange creatures, who communicated by barking, were examples of the remote peoples of the world to whom the Apostles were bidden to preach the Word of God.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.