St. Denis, Abbey Church, St. Denis (suburb N of Paris) 1137-40

Early Gothic

Context:

• French Royal Monestary, burial place of Kings of France
• Abbot Suger
• He studied precedents: Temple of Solomon--from Bible, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople aka most splendid church is Christiandom
• St. Denis--patron saint of Fr. : 1st bishop of Paris, martyred by Romans in 3rd cent

exterior:

• built in stages: west end, east end, then nave
• twin tower facade
• 3 doorways w/ tympanas

St. Denis, Abbey Church, 1137-40

Early Gothic

plan:

• very slight transepts 
• Aisles--ambulatory around chapels
• 7 shallow chapels: looks scalloped in plan, rather than Romanesque protruding deep chapels

St. Denis, Abbey Church, 1137-1140

Early Gothic

interior:

•  Vaulting in ambulatory not same width throughout--irregular in plan, but uniform height

• Windows: delicate tracery, stained glass in apse

• Stained glass tells organized stories. Usually N side: Old Testament, S side: New Test, E. end: noble families

• Focus on light--> N. Fr=dark & dreary

*This building is 1st truly Gothic--inspires construction of Gothic churches all over N. Fr.

Notre Dame, Laon, 1155-1205

Early Gothic

 Context

• Many churches in this time named after Virgin Mary
• Orig. church rebuilt in gothic style, then again in 13th cent (when choir elongated and changed from semi circular to rectangular
• On top of hill

Exterior

• Porch hoods project from plane of façade & sculptural details= feeling of depth (something new)
• Highly sculptural rose window, sculptures of oxen in towers

Notre Dame, Laon, 1155-1205

Early Gothic

Elevation of bay: (from bottom to top) aisle, gallery, triforium, clerestory

*early gothic is transition from Romanesque to High Gothic, so still includes some Rom. features=gallery level to support outward thrust from arches

    --flying buttresses added onto early gothic buildings during construction, never part of orig. plan

Notre Dame, Laon, 1155-1205

Early Gothic

interior:

•  Nave: 75' tall, 35' wide
• Seeing colonnettes going down wall to piers not only structural but emphasizes verticality

**purest example of Early Gothic

Notre Dame, Paris, 1150-1250

Early Gothic

exterior: West front:

• Twin square towers
• 3 portals  irregular
• Rose window w/ sculpture of Virgin Mary in front
• Gallery of Kings (28 kings of old test.) more realistic depiction of human figure
• Horizontal arcade

Notre Dame, Paris, 1150-1250

Early Gothic

exterior:

• Located on Ile-de-la-Cite
• extremely decorative all over
• huge rose windows on transepts
• Flying buttresses added 1225 to stabilize it

Notre Dame, Paris, 1150-1250

Early Gothic

plan:

• very long
• slight transepts
• double aisles that wrap around entire building

Notre Dame, Paris, 1150-1250

Early Gothic

interior:

• chapels wrap around entire building
• nave 110' tall (exceeds Cluny III)
•  19th cent: Viollet-le-Duc restored cathedral--most famous historic preservation. Put in structural reinforcements that wouldn’t have been possible in Gothic time--controversial

Notre Dame, Chartes, 1194-1230

High Gothic

exterior:

•  Flying buttresses planned from start-->no gallery level, large clerestories
• Lanset windows above portals
• Emphasized verticality--really tall towers
• Large rose window--same sculptor from St. Denis--figures elongated
• Sculptures of crowned figures in the jambs of west front doorways elongated w/ halos behind their heads. South side jambs more realistic (shows progression of time)

Notre Dame, Chartres, 1194-1230

High Gothic

plan:

•  3 deep chapels (orig) w/ 4 shallow chapels in btw (added in gothic rebuild)
• 3 portals on each side of transept --> 9 total entrances
• Quadpartite vaulting

Notre Dame, Chartres, 1194-1230

High Gothic

elevation of bay:

• from bottom to top: aisle, triphorium, clerestory.
• planning of buttressing allows them to get rid of gallery level-->allows more light-->more spiritual feeling

Notre Dame, Chartres, 11940-1230

High Gothic

interior:

• ribs appear "floating"
• 113' tall, 53' wide nave
• labrynth pattern on floor
• clerestories take up entire wall area btw piers-->more light

St. Etienne, Bourges, 1195-1250

High Gothic

exterior:

• 5 portals on west front
• not as ornamented as Chartres

St. Etienne, Bourges, 1195-1250

High Gothic

plan:

• 4 small protruding chapels
• double aisles all the way around
• sexpartite vaulting--pristine & perfected

St. Etienne, Bourges, 1195-1250

High Gothic

section:

• stepped aisles to fight outward thrust of arches AND flying buttresses following roofline
• more cost-effective but not as popular as Chartes  b/c doesn’t allow as much light
• used in Spain & Italy where its sunnier

St. Etienne, Bourges, 1195-1250

High Gothic

interior

•  Intricate stained glass--design similar to tracery
• Not as bright as Chartes (b/c windows don't take up entire space btw piers

St. Pierre, Beauvais, 1125-1573

High Gothic

•  Built to 158' tall, 45' wide (ultimate in verticality)-->collapsed
• Only choir + transept stand today-->never finished after multiple failed attempts
• Tried to rebuild choir vaults--added larger piers: went from quad to sexpartite vaulting
• Still being worked on in 1500s--height of Renaissance in Italy
• By time of "completion" cathedrals not focus: smaller projects were new focus
• Structural problems monitored today

plan:

• 7 radiating chapels--scalloped looking

St. Pierre, Beauvais, 1125-1573

High Gothic

exterior:

• buttresses reinforced w/ horizontal iron rods
• Spire made of wood in 1583: 500' tall

St. Pierre, Beauvais, 1125-1573

High Gothic

interior:

•  Huge clerestories in apse--lots of light!,
• Intricate tracery
• Overwhelmingly tall

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-48

High Gothic

context:

• built by Louis IX
• relics from Constantinople cost 2x building
• located on Ile-de-la-Cite, part of Royal Palace
• smallest of Gothic examples

exterior

• huge stained glass rose window on west front
• tracery & other ornamentation delicate--looks like lace

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-48

High Gothic

plan & section:

• lower level: for servants, thick walls with small punched windows, allows support for upper level (for royal family) which is only slender piers
• quadpartite vaulting

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-48

High Gothic

interior:

•  Intricate Stained glass infill btw piers -- "jeweled box"
• Painted ceilings, ribs painted gold+ decorated w/ braided motif
• Even lower level highly ornamented