Who hoc fecit? Gislebertus hoc fecit! Artwork/ Quote of the Week 3.13.2011

I'm keeping with last week's medieval theme for the artwork this week, but I'm changing up the medium. This week, I'm bringing you the awe-inspiring tympanum of the Cathedral of St. Lazare in Autun, France (1120-1135).

The picture really doesn't do justice to its size- in person it is truly impressive. As you walk up to the steps to the entrance of the church, the great stone scene looms over you. And back when the church was built- this wasn't even the main door! This church was built to replace the too-small cathedral next door, and for a while both churches were in use (the new, bigger church hadn't been designated as cathedral yet). During this time, people going from one church to the other (like, say, penitents), would enter the new church via its closer side door, not the "front" entrance with the snazzy tympanum.

According to an inscription right below the feet of carved Jesus (In case you can't tell, the scene is of the Last Judgment, with the Weighing of the Souls going on in there), "Gislebertus hoc fecit". For those of you who don't do Latin, that means roughly that "Gislebertus made this". Which seems straightforward enough,  but it raises two options.
1) Gislebertus was the master sculptor working on the project and had a bit of an ego thing going (big inscription of his name right in the middle of the tympanum).
2) Gislebertus is a rich noble-type guy who funded the building of the church, and thus got to have his name inscribed in a position of honor. The only problem with this idea is that there isn't a record of a wealthy, noble Gislebertus living in the area anywhere near this time.

As for the quote of the week, we'll take it back over a millenium to ancient Rome. This week's quote comes from Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-42BC), who until recently, was called "Tully" (instead of Cicero). I'm not sure why he made the name change- I rather think that Tully makes him seem like a nice guy, while Cicero sounds very formal.

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity."
-Cicero, Pro Publio Sestio

If you wonder, "Should I like Cicero/Tully?", the answer is probably yes. George Washington liked him; Thomas Jefferson liked him; and those are some pretty big names to be going to bat for you. Antony had him killed, but hey, you can't please everybody. Moral of the story: he's a pretty big deal.