Which cathedral features the 'Smiling Angel' statue?

Reims Cathedral features the famous “Smiling Angel” statue, a medieval sculpture associated with the Annunciation.

The angel stands beside the north portal of Reims Cathedral’s western façade. Often identified as Gabriel, the figure is notable for its gentle expression, which contrasts with the solemnity of much medieval religious sculpture. The work was carved during the cathedral’s major construction period, generally dated to about 1236–1245.

Reims was one of the great coronation churches of France, and its façade carries an exceptionally ambitious sculptural program. Hundreds of figures present biblical scenes, saints, kings and angels, turning the portals into a visual teaching program for medieval worshippers.

The Smiling Angel became especially famous after the First World War. A fire caused by German shelling in September 1914 knocked the statue’s head from its body and shattered it. Fragments were recovered, casts were made, and the restored sculpture was returned to the cathedral in 1926. The statue is sometimes called the Smile of Reims or the Angel of the Annunciation.