Cistercian Monastery Part IV: Glorious Mysteries

I'm finally rounding out my Cistercian Monastery series with the Glorious Mysteries.  Whew!

Jesus knows how I feel:

I like how the sculptor made His robes look like they're billowing.  It's stone!  How do you carve stone into something that looks like it's fluttering in the wind???  If I could high-five the artist, I would.  

The next two mysteries are different from all the other sculptures in that they are done in mid-relief style.  I thought it was an odd choice given all the others are statues, but it was probably a lot cheaper to go this route than creating individual statues for all the saints present for these two events.

First up is the Ascension.  

Five apostles are chosen to represent the lot of them.  Again, I'm pretty sure this was done to cut down on both space and expense.  The image of Jesus is almost exactly the same as the form used for the Resurrection and the apostles are in various states of adoration.  

You can't really tell from the photo, but this is actually a very tall relief. When you're standing in front of it, you have to look up at it, and it does seem as if it's stretching up to the sky.  Given how blue the sky was that day, it seemed that Christ was ascending right off the sculpture.  

Pretty awesome.  

Vincent tried to give one of the apostles a high five because of how his hand was sculpted.  That was funny.  The lake also stretches out behind this one.

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The next relief is a large image of Pentecost.  I admit to being a fan of this one.  Here's a detail of it:

I love how Our Lady is both centered and raised above the apostles.  Given her status as Daughter, Spouse and Mother of God, it's fitting that she's got a large halo and is so obviously set apart from the men who she gently guided as they began building the Church her Son began.  Here's the full image:

The next statue is probably my least favorite, but I think it's just me being picky.  She's looking up into Heaven, but she looks resigned.  I'd imagine she'd looked over-joyed... not just transfixed in a "I'm ready, come get me!" type stare.  I almost feel this would have been her calm, reflected pose when she said "Fiat" to His Incarnation.  But I digress.  Here she is in all her Assumption-y glory:

Finally, the next statue is my favorite of the Glorious Mysteries.  The Coronation of Mary looks like Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  See for yourself:

She's officially Queen of the Universe (you can see her standing on the moon, planets and earth.  She's enthroned upon a gorgeous detailed throne and hands are open in welcome.  She's so regal, gentle and beautiful.  I love this one!

And that, my friends, is FINALLY the end of my Cistercian virtual tour.  I hope you enjoyed!