Column Figure of the Nimbed King
French; Made in Saint-Denis Limestone; H. 45 1/4 in. (115 cm). Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1920 (20.157). www.metmuseum.org.
Created for the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, the home of the Gothic style as established by Abbot Sugar (1122-1151). This column figure of an Old Testament king is comparatively sculptural and life-like in nature. The crown of jewels and nimbus (a circle of radiant light surrounding the head of a drawn or sculptured divinity, saint, or sovereign) mark this as a royal and saintly figure.