Description
This sculpture, carved in walnut wood by a Germanic workshop, depicts Saint Odile, the patron saint of Alsace.
The hagiography of the holy Merovingian abbess Odile of Hohenbourg (c. 660–720), written and disseminated in the 9th century, is largely legendary. Born blind, the young Odile regained her sight at the moment of her baptism. This miracle became the foundation of her cult and, by extension, of her iconography. Indeed, like Saint Lucy, the abbess is média oculorum, the patroness of the blind and of ophthalmologists. The patron saint of Alsace is therefore represented in the attire of a Benedictine abbess, holding a pair of eyes placed upon a book, a symbol of the Rule of her order.
In accordance with her iconography, Saint Odile wears her Benedictine habit. She stands upright, her head slightly inclined and her gaze lowered, conveying a melancholic expression. In her hands, she holds an open book upon which rests a pair of eyes.
The artist who created this work demonstrates a perfect knowledge and mastery of the techniques and formal characteristics of the great Rhineland masters of Late Gothic art. The careful treatment of the angular and deeply carved drapery, the delicacy of the fingers, and the gentle softness emanating from the small inclined head, covered with a wide veil whose shadows further enhance the saint’s introspective expression, all testify to the sculptor’s remarkable skill.