Localism and Sainte Foy at Conques

The famous reliquary statue of St Foy has long occupied a prominent place in the larger narratives on medieval art, especially in discussions of the pre-Romanesque revival of three-dimensional monumental sculpture. Explorations of the reliquary's production have, however, largely ignored what this article characterizes as the statue's "localism", that is, the statue's relationship to place. Thus, the creation of St Foy sometime between the late ninth and early eleventh centuries may not only be contingent upon the larger narrative of the pre-Romanesque revival of sculpture but also be determined by local circumstances. Indeed, recent research on pilgrimage and landscape suggests that Conques' location contributed to the appearance as well as the reception of its venerable reliquary. This article proposes that the acceptance of an early date of St Foy as a full figure necessitates a reconsideration of the center-periphery paradigm in art history. Investigating Conques on its own terms potentially empowers the artistic agency of the site and favors an early date for its reliquary statue.