Chartres Cathedral
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The French Gothic Cathedral Chartres Cathedral (Nôtre-Dame de Chartres), France Chartres Cathedral (Nôtre-Dame), Chartres, France, 1194-1221 Chartres Cathedral – façade (west) Chartres Cathedral – Royal Portal (façade portal) (late Romanesque 1130s) Ascension Christ in Majesty Virgin portal (incarnation) (figures early Gothic 1145-55) Chartres Cathedral – south transept portal – three portals dedicated Last Judgment theme (High Gothic 1205-40) Nôtre-Dame, Paris b. 1150-55, nave 1170-80, extensive rebuilding in 1220s, transept 1240s-50s façade 1200-45 I. The “modernist” Gothic technological revolution in large congregational basilicas (Gothic cathedrals) After St.-Denis’ Choir: Early Gothic Cathedrals Nôtre-Dame, Paris, 1150-55, 1220s Nôtre-Dame, Laon, 1150s-1205 Île-de-France I. A. Flying buttresses 1. Why are flying buttresses needed at ever higher heights to buttress nave vaults? Nôtre-Dame – flying buttresses against nave elevation I. A. 1. early flying buttresses at Laon too Laon Cathedral – nave elevation & section flying buttress solid quadrant arch under roof of gallery I. A. 1. Chartres Cathedral I. C. 5. a. Chartres Cathedral I. C. 5. a. Chartres Cathedral 113' I. A. 2. Why is the uppermost flyer necessary? Chartres Cathedral 113' I. A. 2. Unplanned upper flyer added at Chartres Cathedral II. Aesthetics: Beyond structure – three aesthetic qualities that urban patrons wanted to see combined in the novel (“modernist”) sacred spaces of Gothic cathedrals? Early Gothic trends Nôtre-Dame, Paris Laon Cathedral II. 12. fuller spatial unity + greater illumination + increased height Chartres Cathedral II. A. Spatial unity 1. How does the exterior massing contribute to a unified appearance? Romanesque Speyer Cathedral Gothic Chartres Cathedral II. A. 2. From the Romanesque to the Gothic, how does the basilical plan change to create greater spatial unity? Chartres Cathedral Romanesque (1000’s) vs. Gothic (1194-1221) Shrinking of transept and radiating chapels II. A. 2. Romanesque pilgrimage church Gothic cathedrals Nôtre-Dame 5-aisle basilica Chartres Cathedral II. A. 3. How does pointed arch allow for greater spatial unity? quadripartite rib vaults (Chartres) quadripartite rib vaults (Chartres) transverse ribs side ribs diagonal ribs II. A. 3. Uniform apex height of the transverse, side, and diagonal ribs All round arches do not Pointed arches make spatial unity possible II. A. 3. Romanesque groin vault with round arches Speyer Cathedral Gothic quadripartite vault w/ pointed arches Chartres Cathedral B & C. Height and light: How do the three structural expedients – rib vaulting, pointed arch, and flying buttresses combine to make a soaring, diaphanous, luminous Gothic space possible? Chartres Cathedral walls can be thin or simply glazed II. B. & C. Chartres Cathedral pier-to-pier windows windows can be wider II. B. & C. 1. How did the desire for larger clerestory windows eliminate the tribune gallery Chartres Cathedral no tribune gallery + high clerestorey ↓ flying buttresses essential to support nave vault tribune gallery supports nave vault Romanesque Early Gothic High Gothic II. B. & C. 1. Chartres Cathedral, south flank windows become longer 1:1 II. B. & C. 1. Clerestory windows are longer – Light enters through full length & width of windows. triforium early Gothic high Gothic II. B. & C. 1. Pent roof protects aisle vaults The triforium on interior enlivens the dead zone where the pent roof is Chartres Cathedral II. B. & C. 2. What are the three parts of the classic High Gothic nave elevation which results from lengthening the clerestory windows? Chartres Cathedral 1. 2. 1:1 3. III. Context: The Gothic cathedral as a turning point in architectural history French Royal domain – birthplace of Gothic Chartres ○ Chartres Cathedral III. A. Why was this novel kind of sacred architecture created first in cities, not at rural pilgrimage churches or monasteries? cities and royalty Chartres Cathedral - Royal Portal center portal Old Testament kings and queens III. A. Chartres Cathedral West Portal (Royal Portal), 1130s-50 center portal South Portal, 1212-20 center portal III. A. The Cathedral as Heavenly Jerusalem (Kingdom of Heaven) Chartres Cathedral – façade St.-Denis, Paris – façade Gate in a medieval city wall III. A. a beastie a beastie at Notre-Dame, at Chartres Paris a dog gargoyle at Chartres III. B. How do cathedrals express the mentality and contributions of an urban middle class? Romanesque Gothic Ste.-Foy (abbey pilgrimage church) Chartres Cathedral 11th century Creativity in rural abbeys - pilgrimage trade 12th-13th-century Urbanization - cities as centers for royal courts - home to elite merchant classes Intellectually appreciated geometries represent divine truth Appreciation of - worldly goods - human senses and knowledge Plato: Neoplatonic philosophy Aristotle’s natural sciences III. B. Chartres Cathedral Drapers, bankers, wine makers, and bakers represented in the stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral III. B. Chartres Cathedral radiating spokes between flyers Cult of the Carts – civic involvement III. B. Chartres: labyrinth design in pavement Daedalus – creator of the first labyrinth, first architect in Greek mythology Amiens Cathedral: symbols of individual architects in the maze
