#chartes cathedral

[season22]

David Diao

[alittlegreenraccoon]

Not perfect but I'm happy with it!

[camera-worker]

Lauren et Chartres cathédral, 2018 #07-002-11

[themuseumwithoutwalls]

MWW Artwork of the Day (3/31/15) Medieval France (12th-14th c.) Martyrs (13th c.) Sandstone relief sculptures Left portal, south transept façade, Chartres Cathedral

Gothic art was a style of Medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy. In the late 14th century, the sophisticated court style of International Gothic developed, which continued to evolve until the late 15th century. In many areas, especially Germany, Late Gothic art continued well into the 16th century, before being subsumed into Renaissance art. Primary media in the Gothic period included sculpture, panel painting, stained glass, fresco and illuminated manuscripts. The easily recognizable shifts in architecture from Romanesque to Gothic, and Gothic to Renaissance styles, are typically used to define the periods in art in all media, although in many ways figurative art developed at a different pace.

The earliest Gothic art was monumental sculpture, on the walls of Cathedrals and abbeys. Christian art was often typological in nature (see Medieval allegory), showing the stories of the New Testament and the Old Testament side by side. Saints' lives were often depicted. Images of the Virgin Mary changed from the Byzantine iconic form to a more human and affectionate mother, cuddling her infant, swaying from her hip, and showing the refined manners of a well-born aristocratic courtly lady.

Secular art came into its own during this period with the rise of cities, foundation of universities, increase in trade, the establishment of a money-based economy and the creation of a bourgeois class who could afford to patronize the arts and commission works resulting in a proliferation of paintings and illuminated manuscripts. Increased literacy and a growing body of secular vernacular literature encouraged the representation of secular themes in art. With the growth of cities, trade guilds were formed and artists were often required to be members of a painters' guild —- as a result, because of better record keeping, more artists are known to us by name in this period than any previous; some artists were even so bold as to sign their names.

RE: The sculptures of the Chartres Cathedral

In northern Europe it was common for the iconography on the north side of a church to focus on Old Testament themes, with stories from the lives of the saints and the Gospels being more prominent on the physically (and hence, spiritually) brighter southern side. Chartres is no exception to this general principle and the north transept portals, with their deep sheltering porches, concentrate on the precursors of Christ, leading up to the moment of his incarnation, with a particular emphasis on the Virgin Mary. The overall iconographical themes are clearly laid-out; the glorification of Mary in the centre, the incarnation of her son on the left and Old Testament prefigurations and prophecies on the right.

As well as the main sculptural areas around the portals themselves, the deep porches are filled with myriad other carvings depicting a range of subjects including local saints, Old Testament narratives, naturalistic foliage, fantastical beasts, Labours of the Months and personifications of the 'active and contemplative lives' (the vita activa and vita contemplativa). The personifications of the vita activa (directly overhead, just inside the inside of the left hand porch) are of particular interest for their meticulous depictions of the various stages in the preparation of flax –- an important cash-crop in the area during the Middle Ages.

If the north transept portals are all about the time leading up to Christ's incarnation and the west façade is about the events of his life and Passion, then the iconography of the south transept portals addresses the time from Christ's death until his Second Coming. The central portal concentrates on the Last Judgement and the Apostles, the left portal on the lives of martyrs and the right on confessor saints (an arrangement also reflected in the windows of the apse).

Just like their northern counterparts, the south transept portals open into deep porches which greatly extend the space available for sculptural embellishment. A large number of subsidiary scenes depict conventional themes like the labours of the months and the signs of the zodiac, personifications of the virtues and vices and also further scenes from the lives of the martyrs (left porch) and confessors (right porch).

(Wikipedia extracts)

For more Gothic sculpture, see this MWW Special Collection: * Ancient/Medieval Art

[venicepearl]

Particolare delle antiche vetrate della Cattedrale di Chartres

[sheltonspeller]

The Godforsaken (Dedicated to Rita "Real" Hester)

The Godforsaken (Dedicated to Rita “Real” Hester)

Before the godforsaken

had time to swallow…

they knew who first

judged what out of dreams

came truly real*

and he was fastened to a rock

and they knew who

stirreth up the people and dippeth his hand**

in the dish with Judas

and he was nailed to a cross

And they read books within books

about wise and foolish virgins

and signs of the end

and love and judgment

and they heard God talk

through the…

View On WordPress

[jpmoswald]

from http://www.dailygrail.com/Humanity-Plus/2013/5/Orson-Welles-and-Chartres-Cathedral 

Orson Welles from F for Fake

[diogeneez-blog]

Notre Dame, Chartes, France, Gothic, 1150-1350