The Apostle Peter with keys in his hand

myminifactory

The Saint-Gilles Abbey is a commune nestled in the Gard department of southern France, its origins deeply rooted around the central nucleus of the abbey that served as the initial stopping point for Santiago de Compostela pilgrims traveling from Spain. In 1998, the former abbey church was listed among UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, recognized as an integral part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. The west portal of the abbey church boasts one of the most stunning examples of Romanesque portals and embodies the definitive characteristics of Provençal Romanesque. During the tumultuous French Wars of Religion, Protestants sought refuge within the abbey's walls, leaving it severely scarred. A testament to this iconoclasm is a high-relief sculpture that originally adorned the west portal of the abbey church. The image depicts Apostle Peter holding keys, a common attribute featured in his depictions. Other sculptures, bearing similarities in style and depicting Saints, Archangels, and Apostles, line the facades of the church. These statues are quintessential examples of the formulaic, frontally posed high relief niche statues characteristic of southern French Romanesque art. Their bodies appear slightly elongated, a feature that may be optically corrected when viewed at an angle from below as visitors pass through the portal.