The Role of the Saint-Eutrope Workshop in the Romanesque Campaign of Saint-Caprais in Agen

Sometime at the very end of the 11th or the beginning of the 12th century, three groups of Romanesque carvers came together to decorate the collegiate church of Saint-Caprais in Agen. One of these workshops was local in origin, but the other two--one from Saint-Sernin in Toulouse and the other from Saint-Eutrope in Saintes--were extra-regional and apparently contracted for by the canons of Saint-Caprais. All three groups worked together for what must have been a short period of time, for the building campaign on the collegiate church came to an abrupt halt with the building of the transept walls. This essay investigates the sculpture contributed by the Saint-Eutrope workshop in an attempt to establish a relative chronology for Saint-Caprais. Equally important, however, are issues raised concerning the movements of Romanesque workshops.