Medieval lion about to devour two serpents, sculpted in Pisan Romanesque style on a capital of the central portal in the façade of the Chiesa di Sant’Anastasio in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. The lion is among surviving examples in Lucca of art by stonecutters following 1200s AD Lombard master sculptor Guido di Bonagiunta Bigarelli, also known as Guido da Como. Sant’Anastasio lay redundant and empty for many years before its revival by the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Lucca, Tuscany, Italy: this medieval lion, poised to devour two serpents held in its paws, is one of two sculpted in the Pisan Romanesque style that adorn the capitals of the central portal in the brick façade of the ancient Chiesa di Sant’Anastasio in Via Sant’Anastasio. The lions are amongst surviving examples in Lucca of work by stonecutters influenced by Lombard architect and master sculptor Guido di Bonagiunta Bigarelli, also known as Guido da Como, who was responsible for sculpture on the west front of Lucca’s Duomo or Cattedrale di San Martino, an architrave over the entrance to Lucca’s Chiesa di San Pietro Somaldi, the baptismal font in the Baptistery at Pisa, and for a pulpit and other sculpture in churches at Pistoia. The Chiesa Sant’Anastasio dates from the 9th century AD. Its current appearance derives from 13th century renovation, which left it with a single nave built in brick and a lower façade of white limestone. After many years lying idle, redundant and deconsecrated, it was revived by the Romanian Orthodox Church, with its interior walls and vault re-decorated in the Orthodox style.
Size: 3601px × 2400px
Location: Chiesa di Sant’Anastasio, Via Sant’Anastasio, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1200s, 13th, ad, anastasia, animal, architecture, art, bigarelli, capital, carved, carving, ce, central, century, chiesa, christian, church, como, , da, devour, di, eat, feast, food, guidetto, guido, hanging, italian, italy, kerr, large, lion, lolling, lombard, lombardic, lucca, master, meal, medieval, mouth, open, orthodox, pisan-romanesque, portal, predator, prey, romanian, saint, salivating, santanastasio, school, sculpted, sculptor, sculpture, sculptured, serpents, snack, snakes, stone, terence, tongue, tuscan, tuscany, wide
