They blanched at the thought of Our Lady being possessed of such a base appeal, even as they, too, were drawn. It was the latter that alarmed Chantry officials. To gaze upon it was to be enthralled, spiritually and physically. It was living, commanding, obscene, yet inspired. His subject? Our Lady, though not as depicted in traditional statuary.Īrwand's mad ambition summoned the form of Andraste uninterrupted by the trappings of war and devoid of the vestments she assumed after death.
It was busywork and rhetoric in a time of excess, but answer he did-with the reserves of a nation and a passion unhealthy. Can stone lie with purpose? Can it beckon with raw feminine command, yet shine with an inspiring virtue? That challenge was posed to sculptor Arwand de Glace, artisan and son of Empress Vougiene of Orlais.