Chartres Cathedral, towers show evolution of
gothic from 1100’s to 1300’s. Façade has
stringcourses, three portals topped with three
lancets and a rose window, a row of niches holding
statues of the apostles, and a gable roof with a
niche of the virgin and child
West façade of Amiens Cathedral, France 12201269, three architects worked on this cathedral,
built on the site of another church that burned
down. Conceived from the beginning as a Gothic
church so more unified and symmetrical. Each
feature is now concerned with height and carrying
the viewer’s eye upward.
Reims Cathedral, west façade, France, 1211,
Window space has been increased due to the
improvements in buttressing, ex. Tympanums are
now filled with glass, portals are no longer
recessed into the façade but are built outward
from it. Taller, thinner, radiating chapels are
deeper than at Chartres, transepts are stubby and
almost blend in with the nave showing little or no
break
Door jamb statues, west façade, Kings and Queens
of the Old Testament, stylized fabric, feet on slant
defying natural stance, more free from
background, separated by floral bands, on the
level with visitors
South transept, Saints Theodore, Stephen,
Clement, and Lawrence, 13th century,
Conform less strictly than figures on royal portal,
feet rest naturally on a horizontal plane, stand in
contrapposto, different heights, facial expressions,
clothing personalized, shows a renewal in the
human figure (differentiation from Early to High
Gothic)
Vierge Doree (“Gilded Virgin”) –Amiens - carved
20 years after Beau Dieu, more independent of
architecture background, more human than iconic;
although crowned queen of heaven, looks at son
rather than viewer, holds Jesus on her left hip
showing a shift in body weight; combines a
monumental form with a very personal intimate
depiction of mother and child
Beau Dieu (“Beautiful God”) – Amiens - carved in
deeper relief than the “Teaching Christ” from
Chartres, right arm is more extended, hemline is
no longer horizontal, creates more open space and
fluid movement, standing on a lion and a basilisk
Annunciation and Visitation, door jamb statues at
Reims, c. 1225-1245, on left is Mary and Gabriel,
on right are Mary and Elizabeth, do you notice
anything telling about the height of their
pedestals? What about the differences in drapery
between the two pairs?