Sainte-Hélène, mère du premier empereur chrétien romain, embarque dans son pèlerinage pour trouver la vraie Croix : capitale romane sculptée fin 1100s au-dessus de la statue de pilier de Sainte-Hélène, dans le portail nord de la Basilique Saint-Just-de-Valcabrère, consacrée en 1200 AD dans le village pyrénéen de Valcabrère, Occitanie, France.
2832 x 2832 px | 24 x 24 cm | 9,4 x 9,4 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: a bearded servant suggests Saint Helena, Roman Empress and mother of first Christian emperor Constantine I, should set out on her Holy Land pilgrimage in search of Crucifixion relics on horseback. The servant gestures to her mount on the other face of this late-1100s sculpted Romanesque capital in the north portal of the French Pyrenean Basilique Saint-Just-de-Valcabrère (Basilica of St Just). The saint, also known as Helena of Constantinople, is depicted in suitable attire for her journey, holding a pilgrim’s staff in her right hand. Medieval sculptors carved her statue and this capital at Valcabrère because the basilica is one of the French churches to retain a fragment of the True Cross she brought back from Jerusalem. The austere pillar statue of St Helena below the capital portrays her holding a crucifix, a further reference to her discovery of the cross used to crucify Jesus Christ. 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 settlement of Lugdunum Convenarum and many Gallo-Roman architectural fragments were re-used in its construction. D1145.B3672.A
