Nicholas of Verdun

Nicholas of Verdun (1130–1205) was a French artist, one of the most famous goldsmiths and enamellists of the Middle Ages, a major figure in Romanesque art, and the leading figure of Mosan art in his day. He created shrines, figurines, and candlesticks decorated with precious stones, travelling around Europe to fulfill major commissions.

During the last quarter of the 12th century steps were being taken towards Classical Antiquity by a Mosan metalworker Nicholas of Verdun. Nicholas was a remarkable French enamellist and a goldsmith of the Middle Ages. His work transitions from late Romanesque to early Gothic styles. During his career he spent most of his time traveling to different locations where he was commissioned to develop most of his work. Some examples of his transition towards an antique style can be seen through his great craftsmanship of metal making of the enameled altarpiece which was created for Klosterneuburg Monastery, near Vienna in c.1180. The work reveals his master metalworking and the technique of champlevé enameling. His even more notable Shrine of the Three Kings in the Cologne Cathedral, in c.1200, would be an even more appropriate example that takes us back towards classical representations of Antiquity. (Myers & Copplestone 1985, 350) In his work the artist reveals a deep understanding for the conventions centering on the physicality of the classical draperies which oblique the figures, while his faces resemble a classical Byzantine style. Nicholas of Verdun was an innovator and a master metalworker in which it was no accident that his work development occurred in the medium of metal making. The records indicate that most of his work ranges from figurines, to decorated candles with precious stones and shrines. (Myers & Copplestone 1985, 350-351)