Double Bust Of The Church And The Synagogue

Two gypsum busts representing the double allegory of the Church and the Synagogue (Ecclesia and Synagoga) as replicas of the 13th century original statues of the cathedral of Strasbourg, today at the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame. At the beginning of the 1850s, numerous copies of medieval works were made for commercial or study purposes in the form of casts and photographs. These objects demonstrate the interest that people may have had in Gothic monuments and sculptures.
The two busts display a very strong contrast with on one side the Church as a triumphant and crowned woman who turns her head in a fairly marked twisting movement at the neck; in front of it, the Synagogue is represented defeated with veiled eyes and turns its head, a sign of its refusal to recognize Christ. The cloth over the eyes of the Synagogue and the fineness of the features of the two busts also refer to ancient statuary, a new style on the Cathedral construction site which contrasted with the Rhineland tradition of the period.

Period : second half of the 19th century

Synagogue :
Height : 36 cm
Width : 25 m
Depth : 17 cm

Church :
Height : 42 cm
Width : 27 cm
Depth : 15 cm

Condition : good