The ultimate aesthetics of light and color

/kloc-The word "Goth" in the 6th century refers to an architectural style that is thought to have originated from Goths. Goths occupied northern Europe in the early Middle Ages, and this style was most obvious in the north of the Alps. With the development and prosperity of the city, the cathedral is becoming more and more important as a place for the promotion of bishops.

Gothic art

Gothic style rose in the area around Paris in the middle of12nd century. This style has been adopted in most parts of Europe for one hundred years. Population growth, urban expansion and the growing importance of cathedrals are all characteristics of the Gothic period. At this time, the territory conquered by European princes and nobles was expanding day by day, and the battle for the throne triggered a series of wars between Britain and France, namely the Hundred Years' War. In some parts of Europe, the war hindered the development of art, and by 1400, Gothic art began to decline. 1550, Gothic art almost disappeared from the European continent, and only England remained.

Early Gothic Art in France

Architecture plays a leading role in forming a unified Gothic style. The Royal Monastery Saint-Denis Church was built on the outskirts of Paris in the first half of12nd century. Its elegant architectural form and wide windows contrast with the massiness and solidity of Romanesque style. The compact and harmonious layout of Notre Dame de Paris is another important example of early Gothic style.

Saint-Denis: Flocculation and the Beginning of Gothic Architecture

Saint-Denis Abbey Church is a royal abbey church, located on the edge of Paris. Built in the late 8th century, this church enjoys a high reputation in both religious and secular aspects. It is the site of the tomb of the French Apostle Saint-Denis and the main memorial hall of the Caroline Dynasty. This historically famous church was rebuilt between 1 137 and 1 144, and the host was abbot Xu Ruowang. His ambitious reconstruction plan aims to emphasize the relationship between saint-denis Monastery and the French monarch.

The cloister and choir area make the interior of Saint-Denis church bright, which makes it stand out from the early churches. Compared with Roman architecture, the building structure is thick, solid, elegant and almost weightless.

In enthusiasm, the significance of Saint-Denis Church lies in believing that the material kingdom is a platform leading to spiritual meditation. Therefore, the dim and jewel-like light entering through the stained glass window of the church will bring the viewer into "a strange place in the universe, which belongs neither to the chaotic world nor to the pure heaven". The success of the choir design of Saint-Denis Church lies not only in its outstanding architecture, but also in its great psychological shock.

Xu Ruo and Xu Ruo, a medieval architect, were not architects and lacked professional training, but he was the general manager of architectural engineering. In the12nd century, the meaning of the word "architect" is quite different from its modern meaning. People in the Middle Ages believed that the general manager of a construction project was the architect himself. Even God, as the creator of the universe, is sometimes regarded as an architect who uses building tools.

Chartres Cathedral

Near 1 145, Bishop chartres began to build a new style cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a close friend of Dean Xu Ruo, with the same idea. Fifty years later, a fire almost swept the whole church, leaving only the underground chapel at the east end and the west facade. The building behind the west facade of chartres Cathedral was built in the middle of12nd century, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1 194.

West facade

The surviving west facade is similar to the saint-denis Church in many aspects, and it is composed of units in pairs and groups of three, which is a transparent model.

On the west gate of chartres Cathedral, naturalism seems to originate from the confrontation with the strange demon image in Romanesque art, with solemn characters and increased volume. The statues on the side walls form a continuous sequence of three doors, representing the prophets, kings and queens in the Bible. Its purpose is to declare that the ruler of France is the spiritual descendant of the royal family in the Old Testament, and to emphasize the harmony between the divine right of priests (or bishops) and the secular power of kings proposed by Dean Xu Ruo.

La Ang Cathedral

The construction time of La 'ang Cathedral was slightly earlier than 1 160.

The internal facade of La 'ang Cathedral consists of four parts: the nave arcade, the arcade, the triple arcade and the high side window. These features can be found in Romanesque architecture, but they have never been reflected in the same building. The four-story superposition is a Gothic innovation, which reduces the weight of the wall. The nearly square bay in the nave of La 'ang Cathedral is covered with a six-point vault. This arrangement continued the architectural experiments started by Romanesque builders of Saint Etienne Abbey Church and Caandarum Cathedral.

Notre Dame Cathedral

The building was built in 1 163. Notre Dame de Paris is extremely compact and concise, reaching a harmony unmatched by Romanesque architecture or early Gothic architecture.

The ear hall intersecting with nave only slightly exceeds the width of the west facade, which reduces the wall space and increases the building lighting. The large high side windows and the light and slender shape make the walls of the nave look surprisingly thin, achieving a light effect. The emphasis on the vertical sense in the interior facade of the church is also an obvious Gothic feature. The sense of verticality comes not only from the actual proportion of nave, but also from the persistent and repeated emphasis on the upward trend and obvious calmness, from which a sense of height can be gained.

The most magnificent part of Notre Dame de Paris is its west facade, which basically maintains its original appearance except for the sculpture. This sculpture was severely damaged during the French Revolution and has now been basically restored. All the details of the west facade are combined into an orderly whole.

Gothic art in the heyday of France

/kloc-In the third century, France maintained a stable political and economic environment, which provided an ideal environment for promoting the growth of large-scale buildings with important carvings and decorations. The post-fire reconstruction of chartres Cathedral marks another milestone in the development of Gothic architecture. Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral in France emphasize verticality and permeability, and they are also outstanding examples of Gothic art in its heyday.

Reconstruction of chartres Cathedral

1 194 After the fire, the reconstruction of chartres Cathedral marked another stage of the development of Gothic architecture. The new project was basically completed in only 26 years. This underground church contains the most important property of chartres Cathedral: the fragments of the legendary robe worn by the Virgin Mary when Jesus was born. This cathedral in chartres is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This sacred object miraculously survived the fire of 1 194, attracting pilgrims from all over Europe.

The worshippers entered the church from the original west gate and passed through the relatively low front porch. It took their eyes some time to adjust to the darkness in the church. The noise of daily life was shut out, and the building was surprisingly quiet at first. When they recover from this psychedelic effect, they will see a faint light and lead them into the huge cave-like church. This transition is subtle and profound, which emphasizes the great significance of proselytizing.

The reconstructed nave of chartres Cathedral is the first masterpiece of Gothic architecture in its mature or prosperous period. Notre Dame de chartres designers removed the gallery and adopted a three-story facade structure on the wall. The pile attached to the pier emphasizes the extension of the vertical line, just like a soft net, stretching on the slender arch rib.

The buttresses of chartres Cathedral can only be seen outside the building. Above the wing hall, these piers were transformed into flying cribs, which are arch bridges extending upward to the critical point between high side windows, and also to resist the great pressure of strong winds on the pointed roof. This method of strengthening the vault is a typical Gothic architectural feature, which must be based on functional considerations at first. Flying crib is also an indispensable part of architectural aesthetics and performance characteristics.

Colored glass window painting

Among all the important Gothic cathedrals, only chartres Cathedral still retains more than 180 original stained glass windows. The luminous flux of windows is far less than people expected, and its main function is to filter light, thus changing the nature of sunlight. Jewelry-like light enters from the high side window, giving it poetic and symbolic significance. The agility of light dispels the sense of material volume of the church, thus narrowing the distance between the secular and the kingdom of heaven. This "supernatural light" has achieved a highly mysterious experience as the core of Gothic art spirit.

Chartres Cathedral's solemn "Window of Our Lady of China" seems weightless, floating gently in a vague space. This window is the only window on the west facade that survived the 1 194 fire. It is made up of hundreds of small pieces of colored glass connected by lead bars.

The Ear Hall and its Sculpture The Ear Hall at both ends of chartres Cathedral has three doors deeply recessed into the wall and decorated, a pentagonal window (a long and narrow window with a pointed arch at the top) and a huge rose window, which is a big round window with flowers in the center of the facade. The rose window glass of the North Ear Hall is embedded in the network structure. The prism pane of the rose window in the ear hall creates complex decorative patterns and enlarges the area of glass relative to the window frame and wall.

The North Wing was built for the Virgin Mary. Her image has appeared on the right door of the west facade, showing the traditional image of the Virgin Mary, sitting on the throne symbolizing the wisdom of God. Since the Romanesque period, the church has been actively promoting this worship. As we all know, the development of oceanography is closely related to the re-emphasis on divine love. As a part of the increasingly popular theory of human nature in Gothic period, it is easily accepted by believers.

About 1204 chartres Cathedral acquired Santa Anna's skull, and the worship of the Virgin Mary is also of special significance in chartres. This relic, together with the Madonna robe that survived the fire a few years ago, makes chartres Cathedral have a special position among all the churches dedicated to the Madonna.

The half-moon lintel of the North Gate was built around 12 10, and the theme was related to the Virgin ascensiontide. It described the scene of the Virgin's ascension (including Rest of the Virgin, Ascension of the Virgin, Coronation of the Virgin, and Notre Dame), which is the most common theme to express the life of the Virgin. They equate the virgin Mary with the church, which is called the bride of Christ and the entrance to heaven. In addition, the Virgin Mary also plays the role of its traditional sacred mediator. She is not only the companion of Christ, but also the queen of Christ.

Amiens Cathedral

12 18, a fire destroyed the original cathedral. Two years later, Amiens Cathedral began to be rebuilt on the original site.

The amazing height of the nave is the most important achievement of Amiens Cathedral in architectural technology and aesthetics. By comparing the facade of Notre Dame de Paris in early Gothic style, chartres Cathedral in its heyday and Amiens Cathedral, we can clearly see that the French Gothic Cathedral has developed relatively rapidly and its verticality has been continuously strengthened. The arcade of Amiens Cathedral is very tall, which is proportional to the overall height of the surrounding walls, resulting in a towering effect.

reims cathedral

Reims Cathedral is the coronation place of the French king, while Paris is the seat of the palace, and there is a close relationship between them. The two churches have a lot in common, for example, the wide auditorium only slightly protrudes from the main body of the church, but their overall appearance is very different.

The gate of the west facade of Reims Cathedral is not recessed into the wall like Notre Dame de Paris, but protrudes out of the wall, and the half-moon lintel above the entrance is also replaced by a window. Every detail except the rose window is taller and thinner than before. Numerous spires (sharp corners added to the tops of piers, buttresses and other building components) reinforce the endless upward movement trend. The carvings and decorations here are more luxurious than before. They are not only located in some areas, but also extend to many new locations, including not only the west facade of the building, but also its two sides. The whole exterior of the church began to look like a pigeon house for statues.

West gate sculpture

Some statues in Reims Cathedral are works at the peak of Gothic classicism. One of the most famous sculptures is "The Virgin Mary comes to see", which was created between 1230 and 1233, showing that Maria went to see her cousin Elizabeth and told her that she was pregnant.

In the early Gothic sculpture, it is impossible to realize the side wall statue with descriptive scenes as the main body, because even in the unified design, it is an isolated single figure. Now, there is obvious interaction between the characters in the "Virgin Mary" group, which shows that the column has retreated behind the scenes.

The transverse folds of women's abdomen highlight their sense of body mass. Mary and Elizabeth immediately remind people of female statues in ancient Rome. Two of them appear in the sculpture of the Virgin Mary, which is obviously different from the classicism in the Virgin Mary.

Differences in styles of this group of statues: The Angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary were not originally designed as a pair, but now they are put together. The Madonna is carved between 1240 and 1245, and the portrait follows a strict vertical axis. Their small round faces, set off by curly hair, have obvious smiling expressions on their faces, their slender bodies show strong S-shaped curves, and their pleats are also rich in changes, forming the so-called "elegant style", which spread to many areas in the following decades and soon became the standard style of Gothic sculpture.

The group sculpture Melchizedek and Abraham in the Old Testament is a mature example of the above elegant style. It was carved shortly after the middle of13rd century A.D., and is the western wall decoration in Reims Cathedral. The theme choice of these sculptures may be related to the royal coronation ceremony held in the cathedral. Melchizedek and Abraham were chosen because they were both sacred kings in the Old Testament. This scene emphasizes that secular power comes from religious ceremonies held by the church.

The growing realism of Gothic sculpture needs some conditions, because this style of sculpture has never been systematic. More accurately, it is a kind of accurate truth, which pays more attention to specific details than the overall structure. His most typical works are not only the side wall statues and half-moon lintels with classicism tendency in the early and middle of13rd century, but also small sculptures, such as "Working in the Mid-Moon" and "Zodiac" in the four-leaf decorative frame on the west facade of Amiens Cathedral.

The Gothic Cathedral in the heyday of France shows that people's efforts at that time were almost unprecedented. The huge funds needed for these representative national buildings are donated by all regions and classes in the country. This cathedral shows the fusion of religious fanaticism and patriotic enthusiasm.

Thanks for reading!