Nicholas of Verdun

The region extending from the valley of the Rhine and Meuse rivers to Cologne was the major northern center of copperplate enameled metalwork in the 12th century and Nicholas was probably trained in one of the many Mosan workshops.

Although he must have maintained a large atelier of his own with numerous assistants, possibly based in Verdun, commissions in Cologne, northern France and outside Vienna required him to travel frequently.

Nicholas of Verdun was a leading practitioner of this short-lived proto-Renaissance as seen in the enameled plaques of the Klosterneuburg Altar and the Three Kings Shrine in Cologne Cathedral.

The process of bronze casting outlined by Theophilus around 1100[2] gives a clear sense of the kind of work Nicholas performed.

The work of Nicholas saw the transition from late Romanesque to early Gothic styles such as the enameled altarpiece which was created for Klosterneuburg Monastery around 1180.

His work shows the understanding of conventions on utilizing the physicality of classical draperies which oblique the figures, resembling Byzantine art.

The program is set up according to biblical scenes and is considered to be the most important surviving work done with ambitious effort for something that was made in the 12th century.

The shrine's general concept and figures of prophets were created by Nicholas of Verdun but much of the work was also done by his assistants.

Throughout its history it was said that the shrine was hidden in 1794 from the French troops and at that time the work was shortened by one axis, which later ended up undergoing restoration which was done from 1961 to 1973.

Her Relics were carried around by Bishop Radbound in order to stop a deadly plague epidemic, and shortly after Tournai was saved.

Records indicate that the shrine was made in the early 1200s, and it resembles a more Gothic oriented approach where the artist combined enamel work with beaten metalwork.

The original relics disappeared in 1566 during the Iconoclasm but the shrine remains in a restored condition after 1890 due to the aftermath of the French revolution.

[7] Nicholas of Verdun created the tri-lobed arch in ca.1200, located in a reliquary shrine in Cologne, Germany.