Nicholas of Verdun

For more information on Nicholas of Verdun, visit Britannica.com.

(b ?Verdun; fl 1181-1205). French goldsmith. His known works indicate that he was one of the leading metalworkers of his day and an early exponent of the classicizing styles around 1200 that formed a transition between Romanesque and Gothic. In his two dated signatures, NICOLAUS VIRDUNENSIS (1181) on the enamel decoration of the former pulpit in Klosterneuburg Abbey, Austria, and MAGISTER NICHOLAUS DE VERDUM (1205) on the Shrine of the Virgin in Tournai Cathedral, the artist gave as his place of origin Verdun, in Lorraine, an area that in the 12th century had close economic and cultural links with the Rhineland, Champagne, the Ile-de-France and the metalworking centres of the Meuse. A more ambiguous signature, NICOLAUS DE VERDA, was on the pedestal of one of a lost pair of enthroned, silver-gilt statuettes in Worms Cathedral representing St Peter and the founder Queen Constance, the wife either of Emperor Henry VI (m. 1186; d 1198) or of Emperor Frederick II (m. 1209; d 1222). The spelling Verda may perhaps be a defect or a copyist's error. The theory that Nicholas spent his last years as a citizen of Tournai, or had a son there of the same name (Cloquet), was based on mistaken evidence: the reference to a 'namesake' dates from 1318, not 1217, and concerns not a painter on glass (voirier) but a furrier (vairier).

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral

Verdun altarpiece at Klosterneuburg

Nicholas of Verdun (1130 – 1205) was a French artist, one of the most famous goldsmiths and enamellists of the Middle Ages, a major figure in Romanesque art, and the leading figure of Mosan art in his day. He created shrines, figurines, and candlesticks decorated with precious stones, travelling around Europe to fulfill major commissions.

His work shows the beginning of the transition between Romanesque and Gothic art. His most famous works are the signed altarpiece of 1181 named after him at Klosterneuburg, Austria, with much enamel, and the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral, completed by others. The shrine of Our Lady (1205) at Tournai Cathedral, Belgium, his only other surviving signed work, is moving into an early Gothic style. His late style also has an element of classicism.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nicholas of Verdun

• Tournai Shrine

This article about a French artist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)