The South Rose Window
by Goner
The South Rose Window illustrates the Apocalyse with Christ in Majesty (1225).
It would take hours, more like days, just to view all the windows and learn what they are illustrating. Each window is divided into panels, which are usually read from left to right, bottom to top (earth to heaven). The number of figures or abstract shapes used is symbolic; three stands for the Church, squares and the number four symbolize the material world of the four elements, circles for eternal life.
The Royal Portal
by Goner
The oldest parts of the cathedral are its crypt and the west portal, or Royal Portal, which are remnants of a Romanesque church that was mostly destroyed by fire in 1194.
The central tympanum (space within the arch above the lintel) illustrates the Apocalypse with a central Christ surrounded by four beasts (Revelations 4-5); the twenty-four Elders and angels are in the voussoirs (wedge shaped stones). The tympanum to the left depicts Christ's Incarnation, the one to the right, his Ascension; thus the three tympana read together present a unified theme: Christ's entry into human history, his departure, and the end of time.
Fourteen figures occupy the lintel, identified as the twelve apostles, to whom Christ said at the Last Supper, "You shall sit on thrones as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:30) and Enoch and Elijah at either end.
Clown at the Cathedral
by Toyin
Just outside the cathedral is this clown as I call him..He has a pigeon, a rooster and a hen that are well programmed. These birds seems to know exacly what to do and you pay only 2 euros to have his picture taken.
Meslay-le-Grenet: The Old Wooden Church
by hquittner
This 15C Church is an example of a double nave hall church. It ha a fine wooden pulpit and a ship-keel wooden roof which is inscribed with coats-of arms of nearby ancient aristocracy. The walls are covered by two levels of primitive murals of the late 15C. The upper level contains the Passion and the legend of the the Encounter between the Three Knights and the Three Dead Men (The Triumph of Death). The lower level is the depiction of the Danse Macabre. Only a few examples of this unusual memento mori reain in Europe and ths may be the best. (The light is not ideal ).
West Facade: See the Rebirth of Sculpture
by hquittner
The most puzzling phenomenon in Art History is the total disappearance of sculpture and its technics between 600-1000AD. Earlier (3-600) there was a clear deterioration in this craft seen in the existing works (mostly sarcophagi). Was it lack of economic stimulus (wealthy patrons), lack of teaching (communication) due to depopulation, or just iconoclasm? Some metal working ("goldsmithing"), wood and ivory surface carving, and Celtic stone cross detailing has been found. From these seeds in the 11C, stone decoration began to appear on the outside of churches: first the modillions under the roof, then lintels, the tympani, the jambs and finally the trumeaux. Credit for the first free-standing "in the round" sculpted figures must be given to the mind of Abbot Suger of St. Denis fame. He was a prominent leader at Cluny where church building was a major subject of interest (Santiago and the tourist-pilgrimage trade). When he arrived outside of Paris, he knew of all the best masons and artisans and his insights and abilities initiated the Gothic style, including the column-statue figures on his facade (destroyed during the Revolution). When they were done these anonymous masters moved to a bigger job at Chartres joined by others from nearby venues. This "school" later dispersed throughout the region.
Above all note the well-shaped faces with a hint of expression and the natural flow of the garments. It only gets better in the following years, but sometimes the simplest and purest is best! We show here the statues in the embrasures of the of the South Door, south side (2 views), followed by its opposite on the north; the last two views are the North and South embrasures of the North Bay (door). All of the statues are worth viewing and we show all the others (and the trumeaux), along with comments, in two Travelogs
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Eglise St. Pierre, Chartres
JumpingFamily at Chartres Cathedral, France
Cathedral of Chartres, Chartres FR 2000
Statue of St Peter
