Stylobate Lion
maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1200
Place MadeCentral or Southern Italy, Italy, Europe
MediumCarrara marble
Dimensions63 x 119.5 x 35.5 cm (24 13/16 x 47 1/16 x 14 in.)
ClassificationsArchitectural Elements
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS10s5
eMuseum ID728463
EmbARK ObjectID11436
TMS Source ID645
Last Updated11/6/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis column with its lion base is typical of church portals or entrances throughout Italy in the late Romanesque period. However, they were rarely used elsewhere in Europe except under Italian influence. The weathering of the marble indicates that it was originally placed on an outside door. The deep drill marks on the mane and face suggest that it was made in southern or central Italy where Roman carving techniques were revived and imitated with great precision. The drill work enhances the impression of the lion’s ferocity as does the agonized position of the man pinned beneath its paws. The prostrate captive in turn stabs the lion. The portal lions of San Giovanni Fuorcivatas in the town of Pistoia have a similar subject.
The symbolism of the lion in twelfth century art varies considerably. Inscriptions suggest that the lion sometimes represented a diabolical force, but that it could also be given a positive meaning, as in Proverbs (30.30) where the lion is called “the strongest of all animals.” The Physiologus (a Greek natural history text of ca. 150) describes the lion as sleeping with its eyes open and never relaxing its guard. In this sense it may have stood as a symbol for Christ who never relaxed his vigilance in looking after his flock.
Source: Deborah Kahn, "Stylobate Lion" in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong, et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 25.
The symbolism of the lion in twelfth century art varies considerably. Inscriptions suggest that the lion sometimes represented a diabolical force, but that it could also be given a positive meaning, as in Proverbs (30.30) where the lion is called “the strongest of all animals.” The Physiologus (a Greek natural history text of ca. 150) describes the lion as sleeping with its eyes open and never relaxing its guard. In this sense it may have stood as a symbol for Christ who never relaxed his vigilance in looking after his flock.
Source: Deborah Kahn, "Stylobate Lion" in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong, et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 25.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 63. (as possibly Venetian, 8th century)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 33 (12 Apr. 1964), p. 2. (as Venetian, 8th century)
Walter Cahn. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. IV. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." Gesta (1969), pp. 52-53, no. 7. (as Tuscan, 2nd half of the 12th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 59, no. 84.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 25. (as southern or central Italian, about 1200)
Robert A. Maxwell. "Accounting for taste: American collectors and twelfth-century French sculpture." Journal of the History of Collections (Feb. 2015), pp. 1-12, fig. 1.
Antonella Nesi. "Stefano Bardini e Lucca, fortuna collezionistica dell'arte medievale lucchese." Scoperta armonia: Arte medievale a Lucca (Lucca: Edizioni Fondazione Ragghianti, 2014), pp. 316-317, ill. p. 318 fig. 13.
Anita F. Moskowitz. "The Photographic Archive of Stefano Bardini: A Few Case Studies of Its Utility." Notes in the History of Art 37, no. 4 (Summer 2018), p. 243.
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 33 (12 Apr. 1964), p. 2. (as Venetian, 8th century)
Walter Cahn. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. IV. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." Gesta (1969), pp. 52-53, no. 7. (as Tuscan, 2nd half of the 12th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 59, no. 84.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 25. (as southern or central Italian, about 1200)
Robert A. Maxwell. "Accounting for taste: American collectors and twelfth-century French sculpture." Journal of the History of Collections (Feb. 2015), pp. 1-12, fig. 1.
Antonella Nesi. "Stefano Bardini e Lucca, fortuna collezionistica dell'arte medievale lucchese." Scoperta armonia: Arte medievale a Lucca (Lucca: Edizioni Fondazione Ragghianti, 2014), pp. 316-317, ill. p. 318 fig. 13.
Anita F. Moskowitz. "The Photographic Archive of Stefano Bardini: A Few Case Studies of Its Utility." Notes in the History of Art 37, no. 4 (Summer 2018), p. 243.
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner as part of a set of architectural elements (including a similar lion, museum no. S10s3) from the connoisseur and art dealer Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), Florence for 17,900 lire on 6 October 1897.
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