Capitals of St Mary's Church, Bergen, Norway 1180

Curator: Looking at these magnificent Capitals of St Mary's Church in Bergen, Norway, dating back to approximately 1180, I’m immediately struck by their architectural significance within the Romanesque style. What springs to mind for you? Editor: A grizzled weightiness! So much stoic, gray texture... Centuries clinging on. You almost feel the weather eroding the details as you look. Makes me think of ancient secrets whispered in stone. Curator: Indeed. The carving itself reveals so much about the period’s aesthetic values. Note the geometrical reduction and stylization. Each volute and leaf, each animal form, has been rendered according to specific conventions—emphasizing structure. Editor: Conventions, sure, but they also seem like the sculptor was having some fun. Like with the creature on the right. Is it a badly drawn lion? Or is that a knowing wink at something else entirely? It's so much quirkier than some grand statement about power and piety. Curator: That brings up an important point: the tension between symbolism and aesthetic function. Romanesque sculpture often features complex iconographic programs, but equally crucial is how these elements serve the building's overall tectonic logic. How the capital mediates between the vertical thrust of the column and the weight of the arch above. Editor: It's that push and pull, I think, that keeps it interesting. The way these forms communicate upward support, all while also feeling deeply connected to folk stories. What stories could that sculptor tell, you know? And even as the stone weathers, the sense of personality endures! Curator: I concur completely. In analyzing this work, we gain deeper insight into how medieval artisans ingeniously fused symbolic meaning with structural necessity. Editor: I will remember not the technical mastery of these capitals but the mysterious humor locked away for nearly 1000 years. That’s why I look at art, I think, to connect with souls over the great chasm of time.