Lintel Support with Lion
1125/50
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
35.6 × 34.3 × 36.8 cm (14 × 13 1/2 × 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
architectural sculpture
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
111252
Art Historical Context
This striking *Lintel Support with Lion*, carved from limestone around 112550, hails from medieval Spain during the Romanesque period—a time when robust stone architecture flourished in churches and monasteries across the Iberian Peninsula. Measuring a compact 35.6 × 34.3 × 36.8 cm, this architectural sculpture once bolstered a lintel, the horizontal beam spanning doorways or windows, providing both structural support and symbolic power. Lions were potent motifs in Romanesque art evoking strength, guardianship, and biblical references like the Lion of Judah, often placed at entrances to ward o...