This doorway is an example of the reuse of materials during the life of a single medieval church. All of the marble used to make the doorway originally came from the ruins of nearby Roman buildings. Displaying an array of styles and techniques, the principal elements were carved at different times in the eleventh century. The lions were possibly made for another location and then inserted in the portal. The whole was assembled for the church one to two centuries later. The animal imagery used in decorating the portal may refer to medieval bestiaries, books that combined descriptions of animal life with legend, thereby investing the animals depicted here with symbolic significance.
#2975. Portal from the Church of San Nicolü, San Gemini
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2975. Portal from the Church of San Nicolü, San Gemini
3196. Portal from the Church of San Nicolü, San Gemini
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Artwork Details
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Title:Doorway from the Church of San Nicolò, San Gemini
Date:carved 1000s, assembled 1100s or 1200s
Geography:Made in San Gemini, Umbria, Central Italy
Culture:Central Italian
Medium:Marble (Lunense marble from Carrara)
Dimensions:H. 11 ft. 9 in. x 8 ft. 4 in. (358.4 x 254.2 cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Architectural
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1947
Object Number:47.100.45a–g
A pair of half-length lions, each crouching with head turned slightly towards the entrance, decorate the base of the doorway. The lion of the left side emerges from an undecorated block of marble while the lion on the right is accompanied by an animal mask surrounded by foliage carved in low relief. Above the lions, the two jambs differ from one another markedly. A flowering acanthus vine fills most of the left jamb. A bird appears in the lower right corner while above it dogs attack a boar. Above that group, on the right a human figure drinks from a rhyton (or perhaps blows a horn) while stirring a pot, and behind him a bird watches its nest attacked by a snake. Near the top, an angel appears with its wings spread, displaying a star (or perhaps a flower). The right and bottom borders are decorated with tongue and dart molding while the outside edge has bead and reel. The right jamb is divided into two vertical zones carved in lower relief than the left jamb. A grapevine occupies the outer zone while the inner panel is decorated with lozenges enclosing rosettes and foliate decoration in the interstices. The lintel resting on these two jambs is composed of two blocks, decorated with a horizontal row of boldly carved, upright acanthus leaves with protruding tips curling out. There is a scrolling vine beneath the acanthus while above on the left side two addorsed stags flank an eagle. The right side of the upper section is filled with rosettes. To the left of the vertical acanthus leaves there is a continuation of the acanthus vine from the left jamb, but in flatter relief. On the right, the grape vine of the jamb continues with a bunch of grapes and a short section of bead and reel decoration. An undecorated arch consisting of fifteen voussoirs rests above the lintel.
The door comes from the abbey church of San Nicolò just outside the gates of San Gemini in Umbria about 100 kilometers north of Rome, where it served as the main entrance. A document of 1037 suggests that there was already a church on the site by then. By 1119, the monastery came under the protection and the rule of the imperial abbey of Farfa. The abbey was suppressed in 1531 and it was abandoned in the seventeenth century. It was in a ruined state when the door was removed before World War II. First and second century Latin inscriptions appear on several elements of the door, suggesting that the marble blocks came from classical buildings. The inscriptions are concealed on the reverse side except where letters are visible on one of the voussoirs of the arch. They all pertain to the Roman settlements Casventum, which became the medieval town San Gemini and Carsulae, a neighboring town.
The lack of unity among the elements of the door suggests that they were originally intended for different structures, perhaps with the lintel carved to unify them. In a region especially prone to earthquakes, it is also possible that the door was damaged and repaired, which resulted in the combination of seemingly disparate elements. The blocks containing the lions have apparently been altered to adjust for the difference in the dimensions of the jambs, but they were originally a pair. Such lions were common in Umbrian architectural sculpture of the period, especially as fierce and vigilant guardians of important thresholds. The left jamb has parallels in the eleventh-century sculpture at San Salvatore in Spoleto, while slightly later parallels for the right jamb can be found at Montecassino in Campania, founded in 1071. The lintel might be dated to the early twelfth century. The composite nature of the door poses challenges for interpreting the figural elements of its sculpted decoration. Interestingly, animals provide the principal decoration on the twelfth-century façade of San Pietro in nearby Spoleto, which conveys a sophisticated iconographic program.
Selected references:
Forsyth, William Holmes. 1965. "The Sangemini Doorway". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 23, no. 10: pp. 373-380, 1-7.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lisbeth and Jack Soultanian. 2010. Italian Medieval Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 6, pp. 24–31.
Entry by Peter Barnet, curator emeritus, Department of Medieval Art and The Met Cloisters
[2020; adapted from draft Barnet Sculpture Catalogue]
Inscription: (on block X of arch): _ I / CR / V / R (too fragmentary for interpretation)
(on back of left section of lintel, block 41, inscription II): [T]RANS . VSQVE EVPRH […] [should be EVPHRATEM] / QVI . FACIE[I] . N […] [should be NOSTRAE] / HOC . LABERI . LEPIDI . REQ […] [should be REQVIES] / TELLVRIS NVLL […] (too fragmentary for complete interpretation)
(on back of left hand base, block 5, inscription I): T[ITO] FLAVIO . T[ITI] . f[ilio] / Q[VINTO] EGNAT[IO] . AV[…] / EX . AERE . CON […] [should be LATO] / DECVR[IONVM] . ET . AVG […] [should be AVGVSTALIVM] / ET . PLEBIS . VRB […] [should be VRBANAE] / OBCVIVS . DEDI […] [should be DEDICATIONEM] / EGNATIA . CO […] / MATER / EPVLVM . VIRITI […] [should be VIRITIM DEDIT] (too fragmentary for complete interpretation)
From the Church of San Nicolò, San Gemini, Italy; removed from the abandoned Church of San Nicolò and sent to the United States with permission from the government of Italy through Ugo Jandolo (1936).; [ Ugo Jandolo(agent for Italy), Rome (sold 1936)]; [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1936–sold 1947)]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Grand Gallery," October 19, 1974–January 5, 1975.
Milj, Egidio Antonio. Carsoli rediviva; Ovvero, storiche ricerche intorno all'antichissima città di Carsoli nell'Umbria. Macerata: Dalla Stamperia di Antonio Cortesi, 1800. p. 75.
Indici-guida dei monumenti pagani e cristiani riguardanti l'istoria e l'arte esistenti nella provincia dell'Umbria. Perugia, 1872. p. 92.
Lanzi, Luigi. "Sangemini: Ricordi d'arte e di storia." In L'Umbria descritta ed illustrata, edited by R. Floriani. Perugia: Tipografia Boncompagni, 1892.
Grisar, Hartmann. "Una scuola classica di marmorarii medioevali." Nuovo bullettino di archeologia cristiana 1 (1895). p. 54.
Clausse, Gustave. Les marbriers romans et le mobilier presbytéral. Paris: E. Leroux, 1897. p. 167.
Lanzi, Luigi. Terni. Collezione di monografie illustrate. Serie 1a; Italia artistica, Vol. 55. Bergamo: Istituto Italiano d'Arti Grafiche, 1910. pp. 141, 145, 148–49.
Toesca, Pietro. Storia dell'arte italiana. Storia dell'arte classica e italiana, Vol. 3. Torino: Unione Tipografico-editrice Torinese, 1927. p. 579.
Ceroni, Gelindo. "L'Abbazia Benedettina di San Nicolò a Sangemini." Latina Gens: Terra Sabina 7 (1929). p. 496.
Ceroni, Gelindo. "L'Abbazia Benedettina di San Nicolò a Sangemini." Ospitalità italiana 5, nos. 3-4 (March-April 1930). p. 82.
"San Gemini. Monumenti." In Enciclopedia italiana. Rome: Istituto Giovanni Treccani, 1936. p. 652.
Tarchi, Ugo. L'arte cristiano-romanica nell'Umbria e nella Sabina. Milan: Fratelli Treves, 1937. pl. 216.
Kronig, Wolfgang. "Review of L'arte cristiano-romanica nell'Umbria e nella Sabina, by Ugo Tarchi." Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte (1938). p. 181.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seventy-Eighth Annual Report of the Trustees for the Year 1947; Review of the Year 1947." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 7, no. 1 (Summer 1948). p. 14.
Salmi, Mario. La Basilica di San Salvatore di Spoleto. Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1951. pp. 61, 67, n. 15.
Grassini, Piero. "Notizie sulla diruta Abbazia di San Nicolò in Sangemini." Bollettino della Deputazione di Storia Patria per l'Umbria 54 (1957). pp. 106, 379, fig. 1, pl. 2.
Forsyth, William H., and Margaret B. Freeman. "'Reports of the Departments,' Ninety-Fourth Annual Report of The Trustees for The Fiscal Year 1963-1964." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 23, no. 2 (October 1964). p. 80.
Forsyth, William Holmes. "The Sangemini Doorway." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 23, no. 10 (June 1965). pp. 373–380, fig. 1–7.
Martelli, Gisberto. "Notiziario. Umbria. Sangemini (Terni). Chiesa di San Nicolò." Bollettino d'Arte 50 (1965). p. 139, fig. 165.
Gatti, Renata. "Precisazioni su alcuni portali romanici dell'Umbria meridionale." Commentari 17, nos. 1-3 (1966). pp. 17, 24, nn. 16, 18.
Ciotti, Umberto. "Memorie archeologiche." In La Chiesa e l'Abbazia di S. Nicolò a Sangemini: Studi e ricerche. Sangemini: Arti Grafiche Panetto et Petrelli, 1967. pp. 53–54.
Martelli, Gisberto. "La restaurata Chiesa di San Nicolò di Sangemini nel quadro dell'architettura romanica dell'Umbria meridionale." In La Chiesa e l'Abbazia di S. Nicolò a Sangemini: Studi e ricerche. Sangemini: Arti Grafiche Panetto et Petrelli, 1967.
Kronig, Wolfgang. "Review of La Chiesa e l'Abbazia di S. Nicolò a Sangemini: Studi e ricerche." Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 32, nos. 3-4 (1969). pp. 335–37.
Cahn, Walter. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. VI. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts." Gesta 9, no. 2 (1970). p. 68.
Beeson, Nora B., ed. Guide to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. no. 27, p. 216.
Forsyth, William Holmes, and The International Confederation of Dealers in Works of Art. "Acquisitions from the Brummer Gallery." In The Grand Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Sixth International Exhibition presented by C.I.N.O.A.. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974. p. 4.
Da Spoleto a Sangemini attraverso le Terre Arnolfe. Itinerari spoletini, Vol. 3. Spoleto, 1975. p. 90.
Ciotti, Umberto. "Carsulae." In San Gemini e Carsulae, edited by Umberto Ciotti. Milan: Bestetti, 1976. pp. 45–46.
Prandi, Adriano. "L'arte a San Gemini." In San Gemini e Carsulae, edited by Umberto Ciotti. Milan: Bestetti, 1976. pp. 269–78, fig. 251–66.
Cahn, Walter. Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections: Volume 1, New England Museums. New York: B. Franklin, 1979. p. 110.
Prandi, Adriano. L'Umbria. Italia romanica, Vol. 3. Milan: Jaca Book, 1979. pp. 79–100, fig. 25.
Prandi, Adriano. Ombrie romane. Nuit des Temps, Vol. 53. La Pierre-qui-Vire: Zodiaque, 1980.
Gaggiotti, Marcello, and Luigi Sensi. "Ascesa al senato e rapporti con i territori d'origine. Italia: Regio VI (Umbria)." Tituli 5 (1982). p. 249.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lisbeth. "Romanesque Sculpture in North American Collections. XXII. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part II: Italy." Gesta 24, no. 1 (1985). no. 1, pp. 61–63, fig. 1.
Dalli Regoli, Gigetta. Dai maestri senza nome all'impresa dei Guidi: Contributi per lo studio della scultura medievale a Lucca. Memorie e documenti per servire all'istoria del principato lucchese, Vol. 2. Lucca: Pacini Fazzi, 1986. p. 14.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. pp. 68, 70, pl. 61.
Sensi, Luigi. "Le iscrizione latine del portale di S. Nicolò di San Gemini." Epigraphica 58 (1996). pp. 179–87.
Gandolfo, Francesco. La scultura normanno-sveva in Campania: Botteghe e modelli. Fonti e studi (Centro Europeo di Studi Normanni), Vol. 9. Rome: Editori Laterza, 1999. p. 17.
Gigliozzi, Maria Teresa. Architettura romanica in Umbria: Edifici di culto tra la fine del X e gli inizi del XIII secolo. Collana Università/strumenti, Vol. 34. Rome: Kappa, 2000. p. 143.
Nickel, Helmut, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Note on the Iconography of the Sangemini Doorway." Metropolitan Museum Journal 35 (2000). pp. 117–120, fig. 1–4.
Bertelli, Carlo. "L'esplorazione del sacro e del profano nell'arte dell'étà di Ezzelino." In Ezzelini: Signori della Marca nel cuore dell'impero di Federico II, edited by Carlo Bertelli, and Giovanni Marcadella. Milan: Skira, 2001. pp. 184–91, fig. 100, 100a, b, c.
Sperandio, Bernardino. Chiese romaniche in Umbria. Perugia: Quattroemme, 2001.
Norris, Michael. Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 9, pp. 52–53.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lisbeth, and Jack Soultanian. Italian Medieval Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. no. 6, pp. 24–31.
Gangemi, Francesco. "Monumenti Transatlantici." In Medioevo tra due mondi. San Nicolò a San Gemini e le alienazioni monumentali nella prima metà del Novecento. Rome: Campisano Editore, 2022. fig. 1, pp. 7–24.
Mann, Griffith. "The San Gemini Portal and the Metropolitan Museum of Art." In Medioevo tra due mondi. San Nicolò a San Gemini e le alienazioni monumentali nella prima metà del Novecento, edited by Francesco Gangemi, Tanja Michalsky, and Bruno Toscano. Rome: Campisano Editore, 2022. fig, 3, 6, 7 pp. 51–77.
Paribeni, Andrea. "Il Lungo Addio. La Vendita del Portale di san Nicolo a San Gemini Attraverso la Documentazione D'Archivio." In Medioevo tra due mondi. San Nicolò a San Gemini e le alienazioni monumentali nella prima metà del Novecento, edited by Francesco Gangemi, Tanja Michalsky, and Bruno Toscano. Rome: Campisano Editore, 2022. fig. 1, pp. 31–50.
Jean de Liège (Franco-Netherlandish, active ca. 1361–died 1381)
ca. 1381
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