The Virgin and Child with Bird

Guillaume MARSAL & Hugo ABELARD write:

The Virgin and Child with Bird is a remarkable sculpture carved at the end of the fourteenth century or early fifteenth century. It is the late medieval treasure of Riom…

The fourteenth century in Europe was a very difficult century. It started with a drought with an exceptional year in 1303 (the Rhine could be crossed on dry ground), followed by a very wet period 1312 to 1319; the Black Death of 1347 to 1352 killed more than a third of the European population. Finally, the Hundred Years War ravaged France and was accompanied by famines. These events are the crisis of the late Middle Ages. The fifteenth century is a hinge period between the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance. Historians locate the end of this century in 1492 with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

The 1,58m-tall limestone statue is in Our Lady of Marthuret church in Riom. It was made by Pierre de Thury (historians have not found out anything so far about him). The style is typical of French late Gothic sculpture.

The Gothic church of Notre-Dame du Marthuret was built from 1308. In the early sixteenth century, the chapel dedicated to Saint James was added and, in 1538, a stained glass window given by the brotherhood of the Tanners was added. The church was enlarged during the nineteenth century.

The statue was hidden and protected by the guild of butchers during the 18th century revolutionary period and it was covered with grey paint. The sculpture was placed on the pier of the Neo-Gothic portal of Notre-Dame du Marthuret in the nineteenth century and it was placed in the chapel of Saint-Jacques in 1932 thanks to the intervention of the Mayor Etienne Clémentel (Mayor of Riom between 1904 and 1935). Thanks to a good restoration in 1991, the sculpture has regained its original polychrome.

The Neo-Gothic portal of the church of Notre-Dame du Marthuret houses a copy of the Virgin and Child with Bird made in the nineteenth century (cf. photos).

Inspired by the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas the Israelite, the sculpture tells a story of the Christ Child. Jesus, as a boy, modelled birds out of clay and would give them life by blowing on them. One of them, prisoner in the hands of the child, pecked his finger. This theme fascinated artists of the late Middle Ages.

The Virgin, wearing a sober and elegant cloth, wears a crown of great simplicity. She smiles kindly on the child, her eyes half-closed. She has a straight nose and slightly puffy cheeks. The Child in her arms is wearing a short purple dress. Looking up, he is holding tight in his left hand a bird that pecks his finger.

The sculpture is typical of the style from the Gothic period showing a tender representation of the Virgin. It appeals to our “realist” aesthetic sense today.

Roxanne BACHELET & Coline MICHAUD add...

The “Vierge à l’oiseau” (“The Virgin and Bird”) is 1,58m tall, so it’s life size. It is a Gothic sculpture. It is made of limestone. It represents Mary, the mother of Jesus, holding her son in her arms. The child is looking up at his mother and has a little bird in his left hand. The theme of the Virgin with bird was very popular at the end of the Middle Ages. This statue is from the end of the 14^th century.

The Virgin is standing. She is simply dressed: a long gown, a shawl on her shoulders, a lovely crown on top of a veil. She is contemplating the child. She is calm and smiles tenderly. She is about 20 years old. The Infant sits on her left arm; her right hand holds the right foot of the child. The child is about 18 months old and wears a tunic.

The sculpture captures the tenderness of the mother, the love she feels for her child. Christ’s feet represent the humanity of the Lord. This work refers to the mysteries of the Incarnation and of the Redemption.

The sculptor was inspired by the Gospel of Saint Thomas the Israelite: “And a certain Jew when he saw what Jesus did, playing upon the Sabbath day, departed straightway and told his father Joseph: Lo, thy child is at the brook, and he hath taken clay and fashioned twelve little birds, and hath polluted the Sabbath day. And Joseph came to the place and saw: and cried out to him, saying: Wherefore doest thou these things on the Sabbath, which it is not lawful to do? But Jesus clapped his hands together and cried out to the sparrows and said to them: Go! And the sparrows took their flight and went away chirping.”

The bird in our statue has spread wings; Jesus shows his index to the sparrow and the bird pecks it. The child’s expression is one of surprise and pain. It’s also why the Virgin’s smile is happy and sad at the same time.

We don’t really know many things about the statue and its creator. Indeed, in the past, artists rarely signed their sculptures; the “Vierge à l’oiseau” doesn’t have any signature. However some historians think that it could have been made by Pierre de Thury, a relative of Jean, duc de Berry. The Duke was Pierre’s patron. Jean, born in 1340 and died in 1416, was the third son of Jean II, the French King. He was the patron of Riom; he ordered the building of the Sainte Chapelle and of the palace of Riom.

During the Revolution, the statue was saved and hidden by the butchers’ corporation. Then, in the 19^th century, it was placed on top of the portal of Marthuret church, after having been covered with white paint.

To protect the beautiful sculpture from the weather, the mayor, Etienne Clémentel, had it moved into the church in 1932.

In 1991 the “Vierge à l’oiseau” was restored; traces of color were found.

Nowadays, the authentic statue is inside Marthuret, with the original colors. And outside is a reproduction that you can see from the street, entirely white.

Marthuret church in Riom is situated in Rue du Commerce.

We asked some local people what they think of the “Vierge à l’oiseau”. Several people didn’t know it at all; they had never seen it, maybe because to see it you have to go inside the church.

However those who have noticed the sculpture, appreciate it. They find it very beautiful, atypical and really interesting. It inspires good feelings. Most knew at least part of its story.

A man told us that he was proud of the very rich architectural heritage that he can see in Riom.