France (Autun, Burgundy)

The Dream of the Three Wise Men Historiated Capital from the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare

2220

High Romanesque (12th Century), c. 1120–1135 CE

A Romanesque historiated capital by Gislebertus (c. 1120–1135 CE) depicting the Dream of the Magi — an angel leaning over to wake one of three sleeping crowned kings sharing a canopied bed, with the Star of Bethlehem in the upper right corner — the heavy coverlet rendered in mesmerizing tight rippling incisions contrasting with feathered wings and acanthus below.