Since Paris pointed out the Gemini pose, I had a closer look at the Zodiac in the Notre Dame West rose window, and I think some items further cement the connection between the VM Zodiac images and earlier French ones.
- Its Aries has a tree placed in precisely the correct positon to cause the nibbling/background confusion. And there is uneven terrain.
- Its Cancer has half of the legs on the tail. Furthermore it has little "forward" claws, while other examples of lobsters with legs on the tail tend to have "flexing" claws. And it has the little claws on the legs as well.
By themselves, these parallels would not be massively illuminating, but together with the Gemini pose, a lot of rare features are adding up.
- Its Aries has a tree placed in precisely the correct positon to cause the nibbling/background confusion. And there is uneven terrain.
- Its Cancer has half of the legs on the tail. Furthermore it has little "forward" claws, while other examples of lobsters with legs on the tail tend to have "flexing" claws. And it has the little claws on the legs as well.
By themselves, these parallels would not be massively illuminating, but together with the Gemini pose, a lot of rare features are adding up.