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Architecture 170A |
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St Denis Laon Cathedral of Chartres
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The Gothic cathedral in northern France I. Origins of Gothic architecture in renovations of Abbey Church of St. Denis, under leadership of Abbot Suger: two-towered west front with rose window (c 1135-1140); choir and ambulatory (1140-44) with pointed rib vaults and ample stained glass windows. Theology of an architecture of light and glorification of French monarchy at the burial place of its kings. Writings of Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite about God as light and their identification with St. Denis. Area of France around Paris as center of new style's development. II. An early Gothic cathedral: Laon, c 1160-1205. New importance of the town in political life, and of the cathedral in the town. Plasticity of facade, and expansion of rose window and of porch. Five towers built of seven planned. Four story nave elevation with both gallery and triforium; sexpartite rib vaulting; flying buttresses originally not expressed on exterior. III. Cathedral construction. role of master masons as architects (often with substantial input from local bishops and abbots) and as contractors overseeing craftspeople from different guilds. Emulation and competition as it affects cathedral design. range of tools and machines, all human or animal-powered. standardization as seen in use of templates. IV. The cathedral of
Chartres: assimilates most previous experiments and directs path of later
innovations. The special relationship of Chartres and the Virgin Mary;
the Sacred Tunic. Fire of 1134 and the new west front. Royal
Portal: integration of iconographic and architectural expression; jamb
figures. Fire of 1194 and cathedral reconstruction, that
followed (largely complete by 1220). Cathedral as an expression
of piety and local identity. Financing the cathedral:
contributions from townspeople, the wealthy diocese, aristocrats, and
royalty, from France and across Europe. Transept facades and sculptural
programs illustrating and instructing tenants of Christian faith and
championing the Virgin Mary. Plan: triple-aiseld Latin cross
with double ambulatory. Interior elevation: three stories with
triforium, but no gallery, and greatly expanded clerestory; increased amount
of stained glass, including rose windows in each transept; skeletal quality
of Gothic construction with integration of pointed arch, rib vault, and
flying buttress. Tension between structural and theological
interpretations of Gothic cathedrals, between focus on engineering and on the
creation of heaven on earth. |
