Hunter Mathieu
Professor Smith
ART100
12 November 2017
The Stained Glass at Chartres Cathedral
The Chartres Cathedral, which is located in the southwest part of Paris, France in the town Chartres, is nothing short of amazing. This gothic inspired cathedral is also called the Cathedral of Notre-Dam (Frankl p. 33). What makes this cathedral so special you ask? In this paper, I will argue that the Chartres Cathedral is the most prominent and detailed structure, specifically religious structure, to this day. There are 176 windows that contain more than 32,000 square feet of surface area of stained glass throughout the entire historic building that were donated by the royal family, noblemen and merchant guilds (Chartres). These windows radiate a heavenly and immaterial glow that suggests a spiritual beauty from the backlit and dimness of the various colors, while the outside light on average is about 1,000 times greater (Chartres).
Gothic architecture thrived in Europe during the 12th century and was expressed powerfully in great churches and cathedrals (Frnakl p. 35). Structures of this kind and in this time period seem to have a specific story to tell through the miniscule details and the Chartres Cathedral depicts the story of Jesus and many other influential people in biblical history (Aubert p. 272). The stained-glass windows are the main attraction but there are also statues and high arches with huge ceilings that make this cathedral the finest structure in the world. These statues main purpose is to preach and instruct many scenes and figures from the Old and New Testaments that may have not been covered in great detail in the stained glass (Chartres).
The oldest parts of the Chartres Cathedral are the underground crypt and the west wing, which were the remains of the church after it was destroyed in 1194 by a fire (Aubert p. 266). After this tragic event, the cathedral was reconstructed in 1260 and was built 112 feet high and 427 feet long out of limestone (Grodecki p. 157). There are four wings that represent a passage of time as they are directly pointed to the north, south, east, and west. It is believed that the stained-glass windows were produced in the sequence from the west wing to the east (Frankl p. 302). As the cathedral’s stained glass goes from west to east, it provides a continuous path, called the Labyrinth, which winds back and forth on the floor throughout the entire building. This was designed to recreate the Road to Jerusalem by moving along it while saying prayers (Frankl p. 39-40).
The west wing represents the apocalypse “the last judgment,” which can be found in various scenes in the stained glass, because the sun sets in the west (Frankl p. 301). Scanning from right to left, the first three windows found in the west wing shows the Tree of Jesse, the Life of Christ, and the Passion (Aubert p. 266,269). The history behind these three windows is extremely monumental in both the Christianity and Catholicism faith but it doesn’t stop there. There are scenes of the Fall of Adam and Eve as well as the sequence of building Noah’s arc and the diverse animals that was brought on the boat during the flood (Chartres). The north wing represents the times past of the Old Testament with many prophets and the Virgin Mary (Aubert p. 271). The south wing represents the contemporary period of Jesus in the New Testament (Grodecki p. 159). Finally, the east wing represents the future as it wraps around the choir and sanctuary. This wing was constructed in the 16th century that includes 200 sculptures in 41 different scenes (Grodecki 158).
The cathedral has three large rose windows located in the west, north and south wings that were all made in different years. The rose window in the west is a round window that measures to be 42 feet in diameter with mullions and traceries that extends outward from the center in the manner of the petals of a rose. There are small windows in between the lancets and the rose window that contain the French royal court of arms so the visitors knew the windows in the north wing were donated by the Queen’s mother, Blanche, in 1150. The rose window symbolizes the Virgin Mary, as she was known as the Mystic Rose. The rose window in the north portrays figures from the Old Testament while the south rose window depicts an image of the Apocalypse (Chartres).
Another important stained-glass window is the program for the Incarnation. This window read left to right from bottom to top beginning with the Annunciation, where Gabriel, God’s angel, announced to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a child and name him Jesus, Son of God. The next scene is of the Visitation where Mary met Elizabeth and then shepherds are seen viewing the Star of Bethlehem on the left. On the right, there are three wise men and the life of Jesus is continued up the window. Just below the arch, Jesus is riding a donkey into Jerusalem and angels are on each side (Chartres).
From the detailed stained-glass windows to the abundance of statues throughout the cathedral, the Chartres Cathedral is by far the most elegant and significant historic structure. Without a doubt, the Chartres Cathedral has withstood throughout time and it has become a large attraction for many travelers. There have been recent restoration projects to preserve all the natural beauty and hard work that has went into creating this building,