You may not notice it at first glance when entering the Chartres Cathedral with 172 bays and 2,600 m2, but it occupies a prominent place, near Mary, carrying Jesus, in the apse. Placed to the right of the Virgin, this thuriferous angel praises it, a sign of the holiness of the Child God and his mother.
The censer seems to be moving, in this swing so characteristic of the chain that holds it. The incense is the sign of the sacredness of the person or the object to which turns the thuriferous (word which means incense holder).
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This is the mystery of the incarnation that is honored, in the image of the Virgin and Child. The scent it gives off while burning rises to the sky like the prayer of the faithful. “May my prayer before you rise like incense,” reminds us Psalm 140. This is an opportunity to show a precious work of goldsmithing, a sphere opening in the middle, resting on a foot, and pierced with holes allowing the perfume to pass through.
In his left hand, the thuriferous angel carries a shuttle, a small box in the shape of a nave containing incense, this perfume so precious that it was more valuable than gold in the time of Jesus.
The wings of the celestial messenger are spread, one pointing to the sky, the other, to the earth, a sign of a mission: they indicate that the angel is an intermediary between God and men, between heaven and Earth.
To show his eternal youth, since he is pure spirit, he is depicted young, with abundant hair. His holiness is signified by a red halo bordered with blue. Barefoot, he is dressed in a green tunic and a brown coat. It emerges from a blue background, this marvelous blue so characteristic of the canopies of Chartres, while an interlacing on a blue and red background adorns the borders, with a decoration of stylized flowers. Columns surround it, extending into a fortified city reminiscent of the heavenly Jerusalem.
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