Chartres Things to Do

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Imagine the dilemma. You have cracked the problem of spanning a large area by creating the vault to support a roof. However the massive forces involved require a huge buttress of stone to counteract the outward thrust of this weight of stone.

The solution create space within this stone buttress to allow light and air to enter the building. Voila the Flying Buttress is invented.

Taken to the extreme of development, as here at Chartres, this supporting device has become a thing of beauty in itself.

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Chartres cathedral is one of those real famous places which really deserves its reputation. Do not miss an opportunity to visit this lovely place and see High Gothic developed to its finest.

The object of the Medieval stonemasons who built these great edifices was to enclose the greatest space with light and air. When you consider that the building material at their disposal was stone this was no mean feat.

When you enter Chartres the first impression is of amazing height and that the building, for all its massive bulk seems to float heavenwards. This is exactly what the builders wanted to achieve. A tribute to the glory of God in his heaven, to make us mere mortals feel awe in His presence.

This is a museum and learning center dedicated to the art of stained glass. When we were there, they had an extensive exhibit of large-format contemporary stained glass artwork by various artists and a display of detailed photos of the cathedral's stained glass windows with notes explaining what the images in the windows represent. Unfortunately, there is very little information about how they made the windows and how they are maintained. The museum is worth a stop though to complete your Chartres visit since the stained glass windows are the town's pride and joy. The museum also has a selection of books about stained glass and the cathedral available for sale.

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You can rent an audio guide from the tourist office or just use the map. I used the map as I really just wanted peace and quiet and to enjoy the sites. You get some of everything in the walk - steep, narrow lanes; bridges; a slow flowing river; beautiful buildings; small parks; and churches. It is worth doing especially if the weather is nice.

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The 3 sets of 3 double doorjambs on the 3 sides of the Cathedral are only a small part of stone carving on the church.There are many “extra” statues distribute on the outer parts of the North and South Porches, the tops of pediments and pinnacles., not to forget the carvings of the voussoires of the receding door arches.Some of this is covered in pictures with other Tips. There is a freize of over 200 figures on the Life of Christ above the statues of the West Facade. It covers the entire length like an extended capital in a cloister. The Virgin’s Door of the West Facade has on its arches such things as the 7 Liberal Arts and individuals who exemplify them, the Labours of the Months and Signs of the Zodiac. The buttresses of the Porches have the Vices and Virtues. These are extended sermons and homilies. With a detailed guidebook (which you may find in the bookstore) you can spend hours in a treasure hunt as the daytrippers hurry inside to see the stupendous glass after a quick glance at the architecture, admittably some of most innovative and satisfying in the world. We keep coming back. Chartres is the best! If any dozen of these objects were in a great museum they would have a whole section devoted to them.

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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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The Last Judgement is always a splendid Medieval show. The Central door on the South Porch is no exception. This is not the usual place for this central focus. In the period just befor this, it was the feature of the West Facade. Chartres showed a more loving face to its congregation even befor the great rebuilding. These vignettes of damned and blessed supplement the tympanum which pours out onto the bases of the arcades

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It should be remembered that there was no modern concept of History in medieval times and the church used “historical facts” to explain God’s will and plans. So in the apse of Chartres, just to the right of the last apsidial chapel it is not surprising to find a battle window of Charlemagne’s exploits next to one on Saint James (Santiago) since the Holy Roman Emperor freed Compostella of Saracen rule. On the other hand the Rose Windows became studies in the power and meaning of numbers by the selection of numbers and shapes of the “petal” arrangements, as well as dictating the size of the decorative categories.(There are books and mathematical essays on this). The Roses in Chartres all have lancet windows below them that relate the roses to the doorways and also give a place to acknowledge the powerful donors. The individual windows were subscribed to by the various guilds and in the lower corners and edges are pictograms of the daily activities of these trades. All of these things are not easy to decipher and a detailed guide is useful both during and after a visit. Take lots of pictures.