Le Tombeau de Philippe Pot

The tomb of Philippe Pot is one of the most remarkable late-medieval tombs. Eight pleurant figures draped in black, each bearing an armorial shield, seem to move forward as they carry the pall on which the knight’s body rests, hands in prayer and dressed in armor and a heraldic tunic.

This unique monument is all the more fascinating as it was commissioned by Philippe Pot during his lifetime to be placed in a chapel of the renowned abbey of Cîteaux. A godson of Duke Philip the Good, Philippe Pot (1428–1493) played a significant role at the Burgundian court before joining the French king Louis XI, who named him Grand Seneschal of Burgundy. Pot had clear intentions on how he wished to be remembered in the context of the politically-fraught end of the Duchy of Burgundy, as witnessed by the long inscription that wraps around the edge of the pall. The masterful originality of the composition, the technical audacity of its stone pall resting on eight narrow points, and the vigorous treatment of the sculpture have intrigued art historians since the tomb was rediscovered in the late nineteenth century. Its restoration in 2018 and preceding technical study have shed new light on this incomparable monument.

 Sophie Jugie has been Director of the Department of Sculptures at the Musée du Louvre since 2014. A curator and expert in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, between 2004 and 2014 she was Director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon. 

 The Solo collection, created by the Musée du Louvre, presents its greatest masterpieces. 

 This collection will from now on be co-edited by Ediciones El Viso, which publishes three to five new titles every year. Next to appear are Ingres’s La Grande Odalisque and, on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary, Pei’s Louvre Pyramid, a new emblem of the world’s greatest museum.