La maison romane dite « des vendanges » à Cluny

The Romanesque house « of the grape harvest » at Cluny, by Pierre Garrigou-Grandchamp, Brigitte Maurice-Chabard and Jean- Denis Salvèque. The group of sculpted slabs known as the « frieze of the grape harvest » is among the most famous treasures of the Musée Ochier at Cluny. Their provenance and their function, however, have not been identified. Research in the historical sources indicates that the frieze cornes from a Romanesque house located at the corner of two streets that ran along the walls of the abbey of Cluny on the south and west, and proves that the blocks were not used as lintels. Furthermore, a number of colonnettes and lintels dispersed in the collection can also be attributed to the same edifice on the basis of ancient descriptions, and material (stone, patina, etc.) and stylistic characteristics. Two façades have thus been reconstructed forming a right angle, each lit by an opening of six bays situated above the frieze. They constitute one of the key monuments of civil sculpture from twelfth-century Cluny. Richness of decoration and quality of execution distinguish this house, located on a corner at one of the principle crossroads of the town. The esthetic intention manifested here is a precocious witness to the use of perspectives in medieval urbanism.