Weeping angel

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Angel with hourglass and skull

The Weeping Angel ( French L'Ange pleureur ) is one of the most famous sculptures in the Cathedral of Amiens . It adorns the tomb of Canon Guilain Lucas († 1628) and is the work of the sculptor Nicolas Blasset , who worked for the cathedral from 1630 to 1659.

Grave of Canon Guilain Lucas

The sculpture is located in the ambulatory of the cathedral directly behind the east choir , with a view of the entrance to the apsidal chapel , above the niche with the reclining figure of the canon. The church dignitary, who founded the orphan school École des enfants bleus (“School of the Blue Children”) for the city is shown again in the upper part, this time kneeling in the side profile, adoring a statue of the Madonna . Between the Canon and the Blessed Virgin, the famous weeping angel symbolizes the suffering of the orphans to whom the Canon dedicated himself throughout his life.

The little grave putto sits in a mourning posture, the left leg dangles over the right, the left hand rests on an hourglass (symbol for the limited life span), the slightly bowed head rests on the right hand. The right elbow rests on a skull , which symbolizes the transience of human life.

Although two other wingless cherubs adorn the front gable of the mausoleum, only the slightly lower hanging angel figure (i.e. it was closer to the faithful and visitors) aroused great admiration among the residents of Amien and the surrounding villages since the 17th century. Their popularity became particularly important in the 19th century. Some representations, engravings and drawings got into circulation, the making of more or less faithful replicas of this small statue became fashionable and became a local phenomenon. Well-known families and wealthy merchants decorated their graves with angels. The art historian Christine Debrie was able to locate seven figures in the La Madeleine cemetery and one in the Saint-Aignan cemetery in Grivesnes .

A plaster replica is in the north transept of the Bovelles church, built in 1870 , near the altar dedicated to Saint Joseph.

Another copy, made by Gédéon de Forceville in 1874 , adorns Nicolas Blasset's monument on the roundabout island of Place du Maréchal Joffre , between rue des Otages and rue de Saint-Fuscien , not far from Amiens train station .

During the First World War , hundreds of thousands of postcards, coins and other items with the image of the angel were made and sold, especially to British soldiers who sent them to their families back home.

  • Monument on Place Joffre

  • Grave of the Paul-Barbier family

  • Grave of the Corroyer-Paul family

The angel is registered as part of the tomb of Guilain Lucas in the national inventory of monuments of France ( Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel ).

Web links

Commons : Weeping Angel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Antoine Pierre M. Gilbert: Description historique de l'église cathédrale de Notre-Dame d'Amiens , 1833, p. 271.
  2. ^ Daughter of René Debrie , curator of the Musée Antoine Lécuyer in Saint-Quentin (Aisne) and author of several books.
  3. ↑ Christine Debrie: Nicolas Blasset: Architecte et sculpteur ordinaire du roi, 1600-1659 , Nouvelles éditions latines., 1985
  4. ↑ At the beginning of April 2010, the statue made of white stone could no longer be seen on the grave of the Lenain family in Grivesnes.
  5. ^ Entry no. IM80000937 in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French).

Coordinates: 49 ° 53 ′ 39.7 ″  N , 2 ° 18 ′ 10.1 ″  E