The Cathedral Era
Gina Christopher
The Gothic period offered elegant Cathedrals and new furniture. Chairs were of importance in this era and were designed based on height. Higher status people had a higher back to their chair, but all were designed beautifully. Churches were the center of city life during the Gothic-style period. Gothic-style cathedrals followed the Latin cross floor plan, similar to the Romanesque period. Gothic-style cathedrals are described as beautiful, breathtaking, and flamboyant. Gothic Cathedrals are beautiful due to their decorative detailed interior characteristics. Gothic architecture has a higher focus on wall surfaces than ever seen before. These attributes include, but not limited to, stained glass windows, rose windows, verticalization, bar tracery, rib vaults, groin vaults and stone-frames. The beauty in each of these attributes is derived from their craftsmanship and detail. Light, geometry, and placement of the ornamentation allow the interior characteristics to be perceived as beyond beautiful.
My favorite Art/Architecture
Sainte- Chapelle
The Sainte- Chapelle is my favorite piece of architecture of all time. It is breathtaking, with colossal stained glass windows, almost floor to ceiling. If you view the photo below eye starts at the bottom and follows the narrow columns up to the ribbed arches on the ceiling, and then once the eye meets the center of the ribbed arches, or keystone, the focus drops down directly to the alter. Gothic Cathedrals emphasize the physical beauty of the interior of the façade and also the beauty of the biblical story they worship, making Cathedrals like the Sainte-Chapelle almost magical.
Norte Dame Cathedral
The Notre Dame Cathedral holds many attributes, such as ironwork, rose windows, and geometric designs that show great attention to detail. All these characteristics work together to create a beautiful Cathedral that is historically remembered. Rose windows are like stained glass windows but are created in a circular shape with large bar-tracery within that help divide the biblical stories into pieces of glass. This configuration makes the window look like a flower, which is how they obtained their name.
Wells Cathedral
The Wells Cathedral is special because of the beautiful scissor like arches inside supporting the central tower. In these kind of arches, each arch is buttressed by its neighbors. This Cathedral also stands out to be because it contains nearly 300 medieval sculpture in different parts of the exterior facade.
Current Applications
Ivy Restaurant
This Restaurant is in Downtown Wheaton. It is actually an old Gothic-style cathedral that has been repurposed as a restaurant. You can see gothic-style characteristics such as, pointed arches, narrow columns, verticalization, stained glass, bar-tracery, and ribbed arches. They have great food too!
Cathedral of Christ The Light
The Cathedral was opened in 2008 in Oakland. This modern day Cathedral reminds me of the Gothic-style due to its height and unique wooden skeletal structure. This Cathedral also focuses on the bringing in the natural light, just like the stained glasses windows and rose windows in the gothic-style.
Modern Day Stained Glass Window Designs
There are many examples of stained glass windows today. Modern stained glass window designs can be seen in residential or commercial settings, and not just religious buildings. I particularly like the first photo above because the window remains in a pointed arch shape, like gothic design, but reads very modernly.
One Step Further
Pierre de Montreuil
The original architect of the Sainte-Chapelle is not totally confirmed, but many texts say that Pierre de Montreuil had some influence. He worked on many cathedrals such as, the Notre-Dame Cathedral. As an individual, he erected the large round pillars that support fallout ribs on cathedrals, meaning that the there is not an architectural interruption from the ground to the vaults. After he passed he was named the “master of built stone” due to his work on the Notre- Dame Cathedral’s exterior.
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Hi Gina! Really great blog! I think you have a great overview of Gothic cathedrals and chairs in the beginning. I love how you added your personal favorite pieces as well. I especially love the Cathedral of Christ the Light. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Gina I like your images as well as the one step further of how you explain about their were multiple architecture that work on the Sainte-Chapelle and how many believe that Pierre de Montreuil as he also work on the Cathedral of Notre dame.
ReplyDeleteHi Gina! Great job on your blog! I really enjoyed the images you used and the way you took a step further to find all of the current applications of Gothic style buildings and even the modern day stained glass!
ReplyDeleteHey Gina! I really love that you included the Ivy Restaurant in downtown Wheaton since that is a location very close to us, a place we could potentially visit! Thanks for sharing that with us.
ReplyDeleteGina,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughtful and detailed introduction to the Gothic Period. You provide us with the attributes that are unique to Gothic architecture as well as Gothic furniture. I also love Sainte-Chapelle dearly. You provided us with beautiful examples of current Gothic design. The Ivy restaurant in Wheaton was a great example of a repurposed Gothic Cathedral. I also enjoyed the residential kitchen design that incorporated the stained glass windows. Pierre de Montreuil was a great architect to look into further. 50/50 points