The Virgin of Fontenay

This statue of the Virgin and Child (c. 1270) stands in the north transept of Fontenay Abbey, its tall, frontal figures contrasting with the austere Cistercian setting. Linked to St Bernard’s devotion to Mary, it was sold during the Revolution for the modern equivalent of €5 and used as an outdoor tomb ornament. Its repurchase in 1929 by the abbey’s owner and the French State demonstrates the renewed value placed on medieval sculpture.