Distorted Sculptured Figures

When we were in Siena at the museum of things that used to be part of the cathedral but were removed for one reason or another, we noticed something odd about two opposing rows of figures, approximately life size, of saints, which presumably were arrayed in a similar manner on the facade of the Duomo. The heads and necks were distorted at practically right angles to the bodies.

We puzzled about why this should be so, and it occurred to me that when the sculptures were high up on the wall, they would look different to the viewing worshipers on the ground. If their heads were held high, the people on the ground would only see their chins. So it made sense to tip their heads and necks down in such a way that their faces could be seen.

I saw the proof of this in Milan Sunday, where a figure not terribly far up the side of one of the large doorways, when seen from the side, seemed to be holding his head out in front of him, under his arm as if it were a football.

From the center of the doorway, however, it looked more or less normal.