REINER DE HUY

In the 12th century, craftsmen were no longer anonymous. The four most-renowned names in Maas School sculpture (which due to the rich ore deposits near Dinant specialized in bronze works) from the Romanesque and late Romanesque period are, in the chronological order of their appearance, Reiner de Huy, Godefroid de Claire, Nicolas of Verdun, and Hugo d’Oignies.

The surviving monuments convey the range of the Romanesque craftsman in metal. In addition to precious liturgical objects for the altar, large-scale objects were among the major ornaments in Romanesque churches. Bronze doors decorated major buildings, and wooden doors were fitted with elaborate wrought iron hinges and cast bronze door pulls (or sanctuary rings) in the form of lions’ heads. The font by Reiner de Huy in Li�ge demonstrates the mastery of bronze casting already available to metalworkers at the beginning of the twelfth century.

Five scenes, compositionally linked by a base wave and separated by trees, encompass the walls of the baptismal font at Li�ge. The subject matter ranges from the baptism of Christ in the Jordan through the baptism of Cornelius by St Peter and the legendary baptism of the philosopher Crato by St John the Evangelist, down to the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness to St John’s baptism of the publicans in the Jordan. The font rests on ten (formerly twelve) cattle symbolizing the Apostles in medieval theology. The lid, destroyed during the French Revolution, was adorned with figures of prophets and apostles.

The bronze font made between 1107 and 1118 probably by Reiner de Huy (Rainer of Huy) for the church of St Barth�lemy in Li�ge. The font is the finest example of a series of objects made at or near Li�ge. Their antique appearance and recondite imagery typify the intellectual refinement of Li�ge in the twelfth century; the city was described by contemporary monks as “the Athens of the North” and its school was compared to the Academy of Plato.

Cast on the font are five scenes, separated by trees, on the theme of baptism. The scenes show St John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness; the baptism of the publicans by St John the Baptist; Christ’s baptism, the focal point of the design; the baptism of the centurion Cornelius by St Peter; and the baptism of the philosopher Crato by St John the Evangelist.

The figures balance gracefully on a projecting platform and stand out from the background, creating an illusion of space. Some are naked, while even that are clothed retain a sense of the form of the body and of its free movement beneath the garment. The half-length, naked figures of the centurion Cornelius and the philosopher Crato, who are shown immersed in small cylindrical fonts, have been compared to a surviving Roman bronze statuette in Cologne. And yet the general consensus is that the sources of Reiner de Huy’s style are to be found not in any actual works of classical art, but in Li�ge ivories of the eleventh century (themselves strongly influenced by classical examples) and in contemporary Byzantine art.

Fonts of this design, cast in brass and chased, have been attributed to Reiner de Huy (Rainier of Huy); this one was made on commission from Abbot Hellinus (1107-1118) for the church of Notre-Dame-des-Fonts in Li�ge. Around the font appear in turn the Baptism of Christ; the baptism of the centurion Cornelius and of the philosopher Crato; John the Baptist preaching to the publicans; and the baptism of the publicans. Twelve oxen alluding to the apostles adorn the support. This work represents the logical issue of the art of the 10th- and 11th-century Mosan ivory and bronze workers. The poses and the handling of the drapery presuppose a deep understanding and total assimilation of antique models.