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Abbot
Suger (1081-1151) spent much of his life at the Abbey of Saint-Denis
near Paris, which he rebuilt with innovations now recognized as a
pioneering use of Gothic architecture and art. Abbot Suger's
autobiographical
accounts, entitled Liber de De rebus in administratione sua gestis
("The book on what was done under his administration") and Libellus
Alter De consecratione ecclesiae sancti dionysii ("The other little
book on the consecration of the Church of Saint-Denis"), are among the best
known sources of medieval art history. Erwin Panofsky, translator
and editor of Suger's Latin memoirs, claims that Abbot Suger restored the Abbey Church
with such remarkable fervor under the belief that he was its adopted son.
As a young boy born to lowly
 parents
who was dedicated as an oblate or lay novice to Saint-Denis at the age of
nine or ten, he renounced his individual identity and became identified with
the Abbey Church. Appointed abbot in 1122, Suger's main goal was to honor
God and St.Denis through the beautification of his church.
Suger's great ambition led to the thorough
remodeling of the
Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, thus
making his name synonymous with the beginning of Gothic art and architecture
in France. While it remains uncertain just how much Abbot Suger actually
influenced the design plan of Saint-Denis, it is certain that he was an active
participant. It is quite touching to read the description of a sleepless
Suger who thought that he must go himself to search for those hard-to-find
wooden beams for the new west part: "Quickly disposing of other duties and
hurrying up in the early morning, we hastened with our carpenters, and with
measurements of the beams..."
(III; Panofsky 1946, p.95).
Fig.1: Abbot Suger shown holding
a model of the Jesse Tree Window, which he personally donated to Saint-Denis.
Detail from lower right corner, AD 1140-44 (photo: Athena
Review). The rebuilding of the west façade
seemed to especially conform to Abbot Suger's philosophy known as anagogicus
mos or "the upward leading method." Influenced by the theological writings
of Dionysius, the Syrian Pseudo-Areopagite (ca. 500), Suger believed that
the universe consists of the "Father of Lights" (God) the "first radiance"
(Christ) and the "smaller lights" (the people). Suger's rebuilding of the
church exemplifies the desire to get closer to this "one true light" in his
use of heightened architecture as well as by his passion for light in the
church. The west façade served as a stepping-stone on the way to Heaven
towards the light of God. The twelve columns in the choir, moreover, symbolized
the twelve apostles, while the columns in the enlarged ambulatory represented
the twelve prophets. Part of the original inscription of the west façade
by Abbot Suger expresses this philosophy:
Noble is the work, but the work which
shines here so nobly should lighten the hearts so
that, through true lights they can reach the one
true light, where Christ is the true
door…
the dull spirit rises up through the material to
the truth, and although he was cast down
before, he arises new when he has seen this
light.
Suger's memoirs, furthermore, provide
a very detailed description of the lavish additions to the royal abbey. One
of the finest additions was made between 1145-1147 when Abbot Suger commissioned
mosan goldsmiths (from the Meuse Valley) to create a huge cross (6 m in height)
to adorn the choir (Panofsky 1946, pp.57-61). Mosan goldsmiths were known
for their three-dimensional treatment of the metalwork as well as realistic
facial expressions, detailed treatment of the hair, and the elegant rendering
of drapery. The cross' naturalistic style, which was also adorned by four
figures of evangelists at the base, soon became replicated in the stone
sculptures of Gothic cathedrals such Senlis. Although the cross no longer
exists, variants of the lower part of the cross have been found at the Abbey
of Saint-Bertin, now Saint-Omer. Suger, furthermore, practiced what Panofsky
calls supersplendent architecture through such features as the golden altar
panels of the choir:
Into this panel…we have put according to our
estimate, about forty-two marks of gold; [further] a multifarious wealth
of precious gems, hyacinths, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and topazes, and
also an array of different large pearls - [a wealth] as great as we had never
anticipated to find... (Of the Golden
Altar Frontal in the Upper Choir XXXI; Panofsky 1946, p.55)
Abbot Suger also replenished the choir
with holy relics, thus reacting against the strict monastic order of St.
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). While St. Bernard believed that gold has
nothing to do with God, Suger justified his extravagant taste as a way of
honoring the Lord with the most precious materials available. He had a definite
taste for splendor and beauty and filled the church with golden vessels,
stained glass, lustrous vestments, and tapestries. One of the most singular
works is a liturgical vase resembling an eagle, which was formed from an
amphora made from ancient porphyry. This beautiful example of medieval art
is reminiscent of either ancient classical zoomorphic vases, or the eagles
portrayed on Byzantine fabric. According to Panofsky, Suger desired the wealth
of his cathedral to be superior to that of the basilica at Hagia Sofia in
Constantinople. By his death in 1151, he had renewed Saint-Denis from its
very foundations and made his church one of the most resplendent in the Western
world.
. References: .
Panofsky, E. (ed.) 1946. Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis
and Its Treasures. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
This article appears on page 34 of Vol.4 No.2 of Athena
Review. .
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