Set in Stone. The Face in Medieval Sculpture, (cat expo. MET, New York, sept. 06- févr. 07), 2006, 240 p., 201 ill. dt 87 coul. -

Faces in Medieval sculpture are explorations of human identity, marked not only by evolving nuances of style but also by the ongoing drama of European history. Created from materials as diverse as marble, limestone, polychromed wood, and silver gilt, the eighty-one sculpted heads featured in this beautifully illustrated volume date from the third century A.D. through the early 1500s and represent French, German, Italian, Spanish, Byzantine, English, and other medieval sculptural traditions. Each sculpture bears eloquent witness to its own history, whether it was removed from its original context for ideological reasons or because of changing tastes. As a work of art, the sculpted head is a particularly moving and vivid fragment; it often seems to retain some part of its past, becoming not unlike a living remnant of an age. In antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages it was generally believed that the soul resided in the head, as articulated by Plato in the Timaeus. The head was thus understood to be a center of power, the core of individual identity, and the primary vehicle for human expression, emotion, and character. Many medieval sculpted heads became separated from their settings—often churches or other ecclesiastical monuments—by the seemingly endless destruction and displacement of art works in Europe during and after the Middle Ages. In many cases the artistic or aesthetic merits of a given fragment are all that remain of the original work's context, meaning, and significance.