Portail de l'église Saint-Martin

Between 1854 and 1859, the church of Saint-Martin de Pompierre was rebuilt on a different site. The original portal at the side of the nave was moved to the entrance of the new church. The church is built of hard grey/yellow limestone from the Mouzon valley, and features a tympanum framed by a semicircular arch.
A zigzag molding can be seen running along the entire arch, detaching the wall from the door. On the lintel, Christ wears a royal crown. With his right hand, he blesses; with his left, he holds the Book of the New Law. To the left of the lintel, the Virgin Mary stands, holding the Infant Jesus in her arms. Then, in the arcade furthest to the left, we see the scene of the announcement of Christ?s birth to the shepherds.
Most of the tympanum features three different scenes:
-on the left, the massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod gives orders to two soldiers to cut off the heads of children.
-next, we see the flight into Egypt. Joseph, guided by an angel, is followed by Mary, seated on a donkey with the infant Jesus on her lap.
-on the far right, two figures can be seen conversing: one is a priest, the other appears to be a woman with a fantastic animal on her side. However, the crudeness of the stone makes it impossible to be absolutely certain.
The massacre of the Innocents and the flight into Egypt complement the Adoration of the Magi, the main theme of the tympanum.
This building is the finest example of Romanesque sculpture in Lorraine. In a good state of preservation, it bears witness to the influence of Burgundian sculpture in the region during this period.

DATAtourisme France