Building Community: the Gothic cathedral Flashcards
1
Q
St Denis, Paris
rebuilding by the Abbot Suger
west front from 1135, choir from 1144
A
- Marked amalgamation of secular and religious power
- St Denis as a negotiation between Church and French rulers
- Suger advised Louis to reinforce his political power **via the Gothic church
- Two western towers and portals at Western end
- Model for French Gothic
- Creation of a LIT INTERIOR SPACE
- Able to experience transcendence + celestial realm
- Walls made ‘transparent’
2
Q
Chartres
France
west front – from 1140; rest from 1194
A
- Follows St Denis model
- Triple portal on Western front
- Scultural programme in typanum
- Features life of Christ, about redemption
- Shift away from Old Testament (retribution)
- Rose window between towers - cult of Mary
- Nave higher than Romanesque prototypes - surrounded by stained glass
3
Q
Notre Dame de Paris,
Paris, France
1163‐1250
A
- Driven by DESIRE for light and transcendence
- Centre of the Isle du France
- Kernel of the French state, adjacent to Royal palaces
- Aligns CHURCH and STATE
- Dominated surrounding landscape, vast in scale
- **BUT, most French Gothic cathedrals have transepts that extend further
4
Q
Sainte‐Chapelle
Paris, France
1240s
A
- One of the most sublime architectural achievments of the period
- Walls of the side aisles are diaphonous, articulated by numerous stained glass windows
- Example par excellence of how a lit interior space created a sense of immaterialism
*
5
Q
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, William Wardell, begun 1858
A
- Amalgamates English and French gothic style
- Chevet plan used in the ambulatory
- Large scale of the crossing
- Groin vaulting in the side aisled
- Ribbed vaulting in nave
- Use of wood for ribbing - availability of material, relatively cheap
- Blue stone exterior, piers, columns
- Use of flying butresses
- Sculptural relief on the exterior
6
Q
Key features of Gothic architecture
A
- Pointed arch
- Ribbed vaults
- Flying butresses
- Stained glass windows
