Sainte-Hélène, impératrice romaine et mère du premier empereur chrétien, Constantine I, tient un crucifix tandis que la capitale sculptée ci-dessus dépeint sa quête pour trouver de précieuses reliques de Crucifixion à Jérusalem. Statue de pilier romane datant de 12th ans et capitale sculptée dans le portail nord de l'église pyrénéenne contenant un fragment de la vraie Croix, la Basilique Saint-Just à Valcabrère, Occitanie, France.
2832 x 4256 px | 24 x 36 cm | 9,4 x 14,2 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
23 décembre 2007
Lieu:
Valcabrère, Occitanie, France.
Informations supplémentaires:
Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
Valcabrère, Occitanie, France: Saint Helena, Roman Empress and mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, stands amongst statues of martyred saints in the entrance to the Romanesque Basilique Saint-Just-de-Valcabrère (Basilica of St Just) because the church houses a fragment of the True Cross she is said to have brought back from Jerusalem. The austere late-12th century pillar statue depicts Helena holding a crucifix, while above her, a sculpted capital appears to show her as a pilgrim, accompanied by a bearded servant and encouraged by a pointing angel, preparing to mount a horse as she starts her Holy Land quest to find the precious relic of the Crucifixion. The St Helena statue is flanked on the west jamb of the north portal by a pillar statue portraying St Pastor, a 13-year-old schoolboy martyred by the Romans in Spain. Pastor’s younger brother, Just or Justus, is depicted in similar manner on the east jamb. Sculpted capitals above the boys’ heads show scenes of their arrest, flogging and death by decapitation in 304 AD after they confessed their Christian faith. The brothers are joint patron saints of the church. The fourth statue, of the first Christian martyr, St Stephen, stands next to St Just and is surmounted by a capital depicting his death by stoning. The basilica, a superb example of Romanesque architecture, stands apart from the village of Valcabrère in the Garonne Valley, below and about 1 km east of the village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges with its Romanesque and Gothic former cathedral. The basilica was built on the burial ground of the ancient Roman city of Lugdunum Convenarum and many Gallo-Roman architectural fragments were re-used in its construction. D1145.B3666
