Baptismal font of St. Bartholomew\'s Day Massacre

The baptismal font is a true masterpiece of Art Mosan, as well on the esthetic level as on the technical plan. Some say them that they are one of the seven wonders of Belgium.

History

The Baptismal font comes from the Notre-Dame church to the Font, set up under Notger, first prince-bishop of Liege, towards the end of the 10th century. This small church was with the south-eastern side of the cathedral Saint-Lambert. It was the only one with being able to confer the baptism and remained the parish mother of Liege until the end of the Principauté of Liege.

At the beginning of the 12th century, the Hellin abbot, of Notre-Dame to the Font, made make the Font for the baptistry. On the basis of testimony of chroniclers and historians, work is allotted to a goldsmith hutois, Renier of Huy.

During the French revolution, the church was destroyed as well as the cathedral. Of 1796 with 1804, the tank was hidden at private individuals, then brought to the church St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Two oxen of the original base and the lid were not found. It is supposed that the lid was out of brass, as the tank, and that it carried the figures of the apostles and the prophets of the Old Testament. According to a study, this lid would be in the roofs of the Albert Muséum to London.

The village of Furnaux has Baptismal font hones of it which without being the counterpart of those of Liege is consequently inspired theology, that of Rupert de Deutz.

Description

The base, out of stone, was cut at the time of the setting in plan in 1804. The oxen correspond to a symbol included in the Old Testament. Indeed, in the Book of the Kings, one says to us that Solomon ordered a " Bronze " sea; supported by 12 oxen, for the square of a temple.

The principal scene is the baptism of Christ. Saint Jean Baptiste is vêtu of a mélotte, the clothing of the hermits of the desert; he shows much respect and humility vis-a-vis Christ.

Christ is plunged naked-body in the the Jordan; he is the only character of face of the tank. With its right hand, it makes the sign of the Trinity. Above him, God is represented by a head of old man nimbée, inclined towards Jesus and surrounded by a cloud illustrated by a semicircular moulding from where emerge from the rays. As a sign of respect, the angels hide the hands under a linen which they tighten with Christ.

On the right of this scene, baptism of Crow per Pierre saint. Crow, Roman centurion, were to hear about Christ and her teaching.

II made invite Pierre saint in order to obtain explanations; this one, according to the Hebraic law, could not divide the roof of pagan. Finally, he heard God in dream and went in Corneille where he baptized it with his continuation.

The adjacent scene is the baptism of Craton. This Greek philosopher recommended the contempt of the richness. II was converted and baptized by Jean saint the recognizable Evangelist with the book which it holds with the hand.

These two scenes show a great unit. Initially in the subjects but also in the composition; normally, a stylized tree separates the scenes, here, it is absent.

On the left of the principal scene, baptism of the neophytes. Saint Jean Baptiste is leaning on young people in a very soft attitude, very human. The neophytes have flexible bodies, perfectly modelled, almost in sculpture in the round. The two characters of right-hand side leave probably this baptism to move towards Christ; the position of their feet allows this assumption.

The last scene is the preaching of saint Jean Baptiste. The group vis-a-vis the saint is a digest of the crowd which was to listen to this precursor; the emotions tested by this group appeared the faces very of course. Between saint Jean Baptist and the group, there is a vacuum to show the ditch which existed between the new designs and the old ones. An arm of Jean-Baptiste saint is tightened to try to fill this ditch.

The tank is the point of meeting of the influences Greek, Byzantine and mosane. It is noticed that the purifying and precursory beings are of a higher size; the characters are 20 and represented according to the process of the Roman plank such as one finds it on the column of Trajan, in Rome.

The attitudes are natural: flexible bodies, excellent model and respected proportions, which is a true exception to XIIe century. The technique employed is that of the cast iron to the lost wax which consists in carving in relief, in wax, an outline of the tank to which one applies a bored ground gangue of channels. Then, one turns over the whole and one surrounds it by refractory bricks to dissolve wax; brass in fusion is run in the mould. When metal is cooled, one polishes it with fine sand and one applies a thin gold film.

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