GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

The most famous Gothic Cathedral

Notre Dame de Paris

An Early Gothic Cathedral

Notre Dame, Paris

Means “Our Lady” referring to

Mary, the mother of Christ

Bridges the period between Suger’s

rebuilding of Saint Denis and the

High Gothic period.

Built because Paris had grown so

large = new cathedral was needed

for the royal court.

1163 = Pope Alexander II

(supposedly) laid the cornerstone of

the new church.

Question: Can you pick out the

Norman tripartite façade

structure?

The Nave of Notre Dame, Paris

• Massive walls and buttresses

• Six-part (sexpartite) vaulting

– Adopted from Norman

Romanesque architecture

• Has 4 stories

– An arcade

– A gallery

– 2 levels of small windows

• Lancet windows

• Round oculi (bull’s eye)

windows

• 1st true flying buttresses used for 2

reasons:

– To increase window size

– To secure the vaulting

Nave was “modernized” in 1225

Reworking of the upper 2 levels

Changed to a large clerestory section (we see

this today)

Flying buttresses (as seen today) are the result of a

later remodeling of the cathedral.

The 290’ spire over the crossing = added by the

19th century architect Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-

Duc

View from the South

Notre Dame de Paris

19th century

Spire

Bell

towers

Rose

Window

oculi

Flying buttress

THE High Gothic Cathedral!

Notre Dame des Chartres:

a.k.a. Chartres Cathedral

Early to High Gothic: Chartres Cathedral

Structural techniques applied to Saint Denis

New concepts of space applied to Notre Dame, Paris

Chartres is the transitional Cathedral

From early Gothic to High Gothic

Considered the near-perfect embodiment of the

Gothic Spirit

▪ Use of stone

▪ Use of glass

Construction of Chartres

Constructed in stages

Original stage: mid-12th to the mid-13th

centuries

Transitions and other stages run well into

the 16th century

North Spire

Question: If you are looking at the

west portal, which spire is the North

Spire?

Chartres reflects transition

From experimental 12th century style

To a mature 13th century style

North Spire

400 years at Chartres

Site of a pre-Christian goddess cult

Dedicated to the Virgin Mary

Becomes one of the oldest and most important Christian shrines in France.

Main treasure: a piece of cloth believed to have been worn by Mary at the birth of

Christ.

▪ The Tunic of the Virgin

– Gifted by a Byzantine empress to Charlemagne.

– Given to Chartres by Charles the Bald (grandson of Charlemagne)

▪ This relic made Chartres a major pilgrimage church

Stained glass and Sculptural program

Tried to represent ALL of Christian history in one location.

▪ Royal (West) portal is dedicated to Christ

▪ North transept portal and stained glass above depict the world before Christ

▪ South transept reveals later events in Christian history

– Lives of saints

– Last Judgment

Chartres decoration also encompasses number symbolism

The number 3 = the spiritual world of the Trinity

The number 4 = the material world

The four winds

The four seasons

The four rivers of Paradise

Combined, these numbers (3+4) form the perfect and all-inclusive

number 7.

Most expressed in the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit

References to 3, 4, and 7 recur throughout cathedral imagery.

West façade = the 7 liberal arts surround the image of Mary

and Jesus!

The Royal Portal

Most striking features of the West façade

Prominent rose window

2 towers with their spires

3 doorways (called the “Royal Portal”)

Inspired by the portal of Saint Denis

Center of the West façade

Central tympanum = Christ enthroned with the 4 evangelists

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

The apostles are organized into 4 groups of 3

Fill the lintel area

The 24 elders of the Apocalypse line the archivolts

Right portal (left side of Christ tympanum)

Dedicated to Mary and the early life of Christ

Begins with the annunciation

Ends with the presentation at the Temple

Left portal (right side of Christ tympanum)

Christ ascends heavenward in a cloud

Supported by angels

All 3 portals

Storied capitals depict the earthly activities of Christ

Flanking the doorways

Monumental jamb figures (which become standard elements in Gothic church

portals)

Depict Old Testament kings and queens (the precursors of Christ according to

Christian theology)

NOTE!:

The Jamb figures have both a political and biblical allusion

Political Allusions: Biblical Allusions:

➢ The jamb figures remind the people of the close

ties between the Church and the French Royals.

➢ During the French Revolution, sculptures of kings

and queens were removed from churches and

destroyed. Chartres figures are among the few

that remain.

➢ Jamb figures are a reference to the Old

Testament. (The Old Testament supports the New

Testament in Christian theology.)

➢ Jamb figures of the Old Testament were placed

under the New Testament tympanums.

Christ

ascending

tympanum

Enthroned

Christ

tympanum

Mary and Jesus

tympanum

Jamb figures (OT kings

and queens)

The apostles 24 elders of

the

Apocalypse

Jamb figure transitions

Developed from shaft-like reliefs to fully 3-D figures that

appear to interact

Chartres = figures were posed naturally and comfortably

Statues appear

Erect

Frontal

Columnar

Heads of statues are rendered with idealized features

Calm and ordered entryway is presented.

(L)Old Testament Kings and Queens

(R)Saints Martin, Jerome, and Gregory

Saint Martin:

Bishop

Saint

Jerome:

writing

materials

Saint

Gregory:

dove

Rebuilding Chartres

1194 = fire destroyed most of Chartres

Royal Portal, windows, and crypt survived

Papacy convinced the church officials to rebuild.

1194-1260 = New cathedral was constructed.

Money, resources, raw materials, and skilled workers were required.

Remember: David Macaulay's Cathedral

Scaffolds

Master craftsmen

Guilds

Money

All were needed to construct the new cathedral.

We know that the townspeople and the local nobles revolted several times during the construction process:

The Church imposed heavy taxes to construct the cathedra.

During one revolt, the bishop and clergy were exiled for 4 years.

South Portal

Chartres Rebuilt in 1194

High Gothic Architecture at Chartres

The architects take the skeletal structure of Saint Denis and

alter it!

Chartres was 45’ wide and 120’ tall

The enlarged sanctuary with ambulatory and chapels

occupy one-third of the cathedral!

Crossing of Chartres is an equilateral triangle

Altar situated behind a choir screen

Builders made the nave arcade and the clerestory nearly

equal in height

Little interior architectural decoration is used

Four part (Quadripartite) vaulting replaces simple vaulting

from previous cathedrals.

Changes from Romanesque to Gothic

Four-part vaulting replaced the more complex vaulting systems of the

Romanesque tradition:

Durham

Caen

In Romanesque architecture, the piers alternated between heavy and light:

Speyer Cathedral!

Gothic piers alternate between round and octagonal compound piers

(more subtle changes)

Gallery (narrow arcaded triforium) = forms a horizontal band running the

length of the nave

Clerestory is formed by windows

Paired lancet windows topped with an oculi window

Technique is known as plate tracery (glass fills nearly half the wall

surface)

The Glory of Stained Glass

Chartres is unique among French Gothic buildings:

Most of its stained glass windows have survived

Chartres was famous for its glass making shop!

By 1260 = this shop had installed 22,000 square feet of stained glass

in 176 windows.

Probably one of the most famous windows still at Chartres is the Tree of

Jesse window.

Completed around 1150-1170

Jesse lies at the base of the tree (whose trunk grows out of his body).

Father of King David

Ancestor of Mary

The family tree is meant to connect Jesus with the house of David

7 doves (encircling Christ) symbolize the gifts of the Holy Spirit

14 prophets stand in the semicircles flanking the tree

Tree of Jesse Window

12th century windows are remarkable

simple geometric patterns

Squares

Rectangles

Intensity of color and color symbolism

Blue = heaven and fidelity

Red = the Passion

White = purity

Green = fertility and springtime

Yellow (substituted for gold) = the presence of God, the sun, truth

Plain yellow (not meant for gold) = deceit or cowardice

Changed the color or quality of light to inspire devotion

Subject matter was used to educate the viewer

Most of the windows in the “new” cathedral at Chartres were glazed c. 1210-1250.

The North transept windows

Possibly a royal commission

A gift from Queen Blanche of Castile (mother of Louis IX)

Spandrel windows:

Heraldic castles symbolize the country of Castile

Joined by the golden lilies (fleur-de-lis) of France

Lancet windows:

Saint Anne is holding the infant Mary in the center lancet

To the immediate left and right are Melchizedek and Aaron

The far left and right lancets reveal Kings David and Solomon

Rose Window:

Mary is enthroned holding the Christ child

Windows surrounding the pair

four doves (the gospels), Eight angels, The prophets, The Old Testament

ancestors of Christ