Sculptural Additions to the South Portal

John Angel’s statue of St. Paul was done in his traditional process. First, an armature is created from a small model, then a full size clay model is sculpted. From this clay model a plaster cast was made and brought to the site for the stone carver to copy. The carver of this particular work is unknown to us at this time. This statue is one of the last sculptural additions to the South Portal in this period.

In 1928, Angel had executed the large Nativity group in the tympanum. The installation of this trumeau statue occurred on November 24, 1953. It may have been the last of the Angel sculptures on the West Front of the Cathedral. Angel may have completed the modeling of St. Paul much earlier, in the 1930’s. All these works span 25 years and marked a commitment to the Cathedral from the Baptistry statues to the many sculptures on the West Front. The Statues at the Martyrs’ Portal, the trumeau of St. John at the main portal and this work on the South Portal are among the many works from John Angel. The Ardolino brothers and cousins carved many of these works.

The Preachers Portal

The “Preachers’ Portal” is the name for this portal in the 1928 guide to the Cathedral. In addition to Saint Paul, there is a plan for eight more statues: “On the left side, west to east: Saints Francis of Assisi, Bernard, Boniface and Chrysostom. On the right side, west to east: Saints Dominick, Gregory, Patrick and Athanasius.” We look forward to the eventual sculptural additions to the South Portal involving these eight statues.

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