Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France. Gothic Europe. Original construction. c. 1145-1115 C.E.; reconstructed c. 1194-1220 C.E. Limestone, stained glass
The Chartres Cathedral is probably the finest example of French Gothic architecture and said by some to be the most beautiful cathedral in France. The Chartres Cathedral is a milestone in the development of Western architecture because it employs all the structural elements of the new Gothic architecture: the pointed arch; the rib-and-panel vault; and, most significantly, the flying buttress.
Context
- legend says that the church was built on the site of a Druidic temple--whether or not this is true, we do know that it was built on the site of a Roman temple
- long history of use as a Christian space: used for Christian worship since around 200 CE
- by 1000 CE there was a substantial church in the site
- Chartres has always been associated with the worship of the Virgin Mary
- 9th century: the church received a relic* from Constantinople: the tunic of Mary (or the Sancta Camisia)
- this relic made the church a hugely popular pilgrimage site (which also made the church very rich)
- the Romanesque church on the original site burned down in 1194--but the tunic was found three days later, unharmed!
- the people of the town took this as a divine message that they should rebuild the church so that it would be as grand and beautiful as possible, deserving to be the worship place of Mary
- work on the reconstruction of the cathedral started around 1220
- the formal plan of the Church is a Latin cross with three aisles, a short transept, and an ambulatory
- the high nave is supported by double flying buttresses
- three part elevation of nave arcade, triforium, and clerestory
- the absence of a gallery, which would have usually been present as a four-part elevation, was a conscious choice made by the architect in order to increase the amount of space for stained glass windows
- uses pointed arches and ribbed vaults inside the body of the church, which is very typically Gothic
- everything was meant to move the eye upward
- the radiating chapels, which in a Romanesque church would have been separate spaces of their own behind the altar, were integrated into the larger area of the church, which allowed for light to permeate all parts of the church
- Gothic unified space
- based on a cruciform basilica plan, with a transept intersecting the nave being added after the fire
- transept provided an extra entrance/exit, which was good for the flow of people
- in total, Chartres has nine portals (aka doors)
- the nave is the widest in France and is 121 feet high
Content
- everything about the church was chosen by architects in the effort to create "heaven on Earth"
- one of the best examples of Gothic cathedrals
- new focuses on more airy, open spaces; thinner walls, and geometry
- people used the perfect proportions of geometry to try to simulate and bring to mind the balance, harmony, and beauty of the world that God had created
- part of the old Romanesque cathedral remains intact on the west-facing facade--it is easy to tell which part because the walls are much thicker, with small windows, and is organized according to the golden ratio
- jamb figures
- the relief figures that are carved into either side of the portals/doorways
- kings and queens of the Old Testament
- each is attached to a column
- carved in Gothic style
- representations of spiritual beings--not naturalistic in any way
- they seem to levitate, with no real weight to their bodies
- stretched out vertically
- their drapery obscures their bodies
- meant to represent gatekeepers: they "watch" the people in a kindly and calm way as they enter the church, reminding people of the ever-present eyes of God
- huge Gothic emphasis on stained glass
- large windows were made possible by the use of flying buttresses, which supported the weight of the walls and allowed them to be much thinner and taller
- flying buttresses took the outward thrust of heavy ceilings and directed it out and down; allowing for the structural design of the church to be taken out of the church itself
- "floating planes of light"
- were meant to make people feel completely surrounded by light; inundated by the spiritual presence
- light was seen as a divine symbol because it was beautiful and immaterial, so people saw it as the closest thing that they could get to the divine realm
- light entered the stained glass windows and cast colored patterns on the walls and pews of the church; moving during the day according to the movement of the sun
- vivid, rich colors used in the glass
- large rose window in the north transept
- bordered on the bottom by additional lancet windows that form almost an entire wall of stained glass
- the rose window images correspond with the structural program found surrounding the portals of the church; in the middle is he Virgin Mary with her son, Jesus, then above her four thrones with angels and the Kings of Judea, who were Mary's ancestors, and finally several minor prophets surrounding the rest of the program and the lancets below her
- shows how God foretold all of the events of Christianity from the start: it was his divine plan to have a son born on Earth to Mary who would go on to save mankind from their sin
- north transept portal has intricate jamb figures
- some are from pre-fire and some are from post-fire, so there is a marked difference in the Romanesque v. Gothic sculptural style
- relief archivolt sculptures protrude many feet from the side of the church, almost forming their own chapel
- Romanesque:
- shows God speaking the Word, then the Word becoming material (ie Genesis, with the creation of water/earth, Adam/Eve, etc.)--all devoted to the time before Christ
- an emphasis on Mary, who is being crowned in the tympanum
- additionally shows Mary as a baby, Mary holding Jesus, and Mary ascending to heaven
- Gothic:
- much more elongated, proportional, with a larger intricacy of drapery and greater emotional expression
- Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah... a bunch of different Old Testament prophets, who foresaw the coming of Christ
- how they relate to each other aids in their didactic purpose; for example, Abraham looks up to the angel that will stop him from slaying his son, Isaac
- the chancel screen (aka a screen separating the area around the altar from the larger nave) once sported an astrological clock that told the day of the week, the month of the year, the time of sunrise and sunset, the phase of the moon and the current zodiac sign (unfortunately it was destroyed in the 18th century)
Function
- was a hugely popular pilgrimage site
- the dimensions of the church were constructed in order to facilitate the easy flow of large numbers of people
- aisles surrounding the nave and behind the altar meant that people could walk all the way around the church, see the relic, and exit, without ever having to walk in front of the altar
- people in the Middle Ages embarked on pilgrimages in order to gain health, divine goodwill, or to ensure their place in heaven during the afterlife
- many components, such as the guardian jamb-figures and the stories told in the stained glass, were constructed to aid in the pilgrims' journey; the jamb figures reminded the pilgrims of the ever-present merciful (yet nonetheless judging) eyes of God and the angels, and the stories in the stained glass were didactic, telling scenes from the Old and New Testament--helpful, for many at the time were illiterate
- Chartres was a breakthrough for Gothic architecture because it was the first cathedral in which the flying buttresses determined the overall exterior aesthetic plan of the building--previously, architects attempted to conceal or camouflage the flying buttresses into the larger walls of the cathedrals, by the flying buttresses of Chartres had to be so extensive in order to support the extraordinarily tall nave that this just wasn't an option
*definition: a part of a deceased holy person's body or belongings kept as an object of reverence; relics were believed to have special powers that could bestow divine goodwill, healing, or favor on those who visited them--hence the culture of pilgrimage, where people would travel great distances to visit the cathedrals that housed relics
Sources:
KhKhan Academy
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral
http://chartrescathedral.net/
