Description
North Porch, Left Portal-a king
The only extant column statue in this portal- a beardless, crowned man holding a scepter. Once there were other statues as well-they were removed during the French Revolution. The base of the column at right shows where the statue base was chipped away. These statues would have been much more visible before the construction of the sacristy, which Massé says was built in 1310.
It is not known whom the column statues represent. Bulteau believed them to be patrons of the porch, but more modern scholars dispute this claim (see Marriage, p. 24). Later scholars proposed that they represent the ancestors of Christ, but this too has been disputed. (Katzenellenbogen, p. 75).
Subject
Cathédrale de Chartres--Pictorial works.;Church decoration and ornament--France--Chartres--Pictorial works.;Church architecture--France--Chartres--Pictorial works.;Christian art and symbolism--France--Chartres--Medieval, 500-1500--Pictorial works.
