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The Portal of the Great Chapel, Avignon, France

The Portal of the Great Chapel, Avignon, France

Extensively damaged during the Revolution and the military occupation, the Portal of the Great Chapel is one of the palace's most remarkable sculptural ens...
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Extensively damaged during the Revolution and the military occupation, the Portal of the Great Chapel is one of the palace's most remarkable sculptural ensembles. Its arrangement and decoration are similar to those of the North transept portal of Rouen Cathedral and the portal of Lyon Cathedral, created in the early 14th century. The right-angled form of the bases of the embrasures and the set of bas-relief quatrefoils surmounted by small trefoiled arches are also decorative features of the Lyon portal, as is the iconography of the reliefs, composed of lion masks and a fantastic bestiary of monkeys and mermaids, symbols of temptation.

After the evacuation of the barracks, the walled-up portal was reopened. Its restauration consisted of filling in the elements removed by the military with undecorated blocks of stone.
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