France (Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine)

The Fish-Bearer (Piscifère) Historiated Capital from the Church of Saint-Siméon in Bouliac

2217

High Romanesque (12th Century), c. 1130–1140 CE

A Romanesque historiated capital (c. 1130–1140 CE) on the western portal of the Church of Saint-Siméon in Bouliac, depicting the Fish-Bearer (Piscifère) — a colossal arched fish pressing down upon a finely dressed figure who struggles under its weight while a helper grasps the tail — a moralized allegory of intemperance and the crushing burden of unrepented sin.