Amiens Cathedral

            Amiens Cathedral is a fine example to represent Gothic architecture. It is located in Amiens, France. The master architect responsible for the project was Robert Le Luzarches. Before the construction of the cathedral, there once stand a Romanesque basilica, but unfortunately it was burn down by a great fire in 1218 and marks the beginning of Amiens Cathedral. Construction of Amiens Cathedral was from 1218 to 1269, unlike other Gothic cathedrals, construction did not begin with the choir, instead the west façade and the nave was constructed first. 

              The cathedral took a lot from Norte Dame of Paris, for example the west façade takes on a similar layout. The façade was tremendously decorated with sculptures that show a linkage with Norte Dame of Paris and Chartres. For example, Virgin’s Portal was shown on the west façade of Norte Dame and following this example Amiens had the Death, Assumptions and Coronation of the Virgin on the south portal. 

              The cathedral is about 145 meters long by 75 meters wide. The cathedral has the longest nave throughout France with a length of 133.5 meters.  While the height of the walls of the nave reached about a little over 42 meters. It was designed as a three aisled basilica with transept with a five aisled choir with seven ambulatory chapels. The walls of the cathedral were modeled out of Chartres cathedral. Usually it is seen in Gothic cathedrals that the walls were painted to draw attention, however Amiens is different because the walls were shown grey while the vaulting of the nave and capitals were painted red and ochre. Similar in Chartres cathedral, Amiens also have the labyrinth pattern on the floor of the nave, back in the days, believers would trace the maze lines with their knees in a symbolic journey to salvation. 

                During the Gothic era, architects had become so skilled at the ribbing of the vaulting that in the case of Amiens, the extra transverse rib across the center of the bay allowed the architect to build higher than other cathedrals. Amiens was so well designed that it influenced many later Gothic cathedrals such as the Cologne Cathedral of 1248.  

Works Cited

      1.       Binding, G. 2002. High Gothic The Age of the Great Cathedrals. Cologne, Taschen.

      2.       Bony, J. 1983. French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London. University of California Press.

      3.     Branner, Robert. Gothic Architecture. New York: George Braziller, 1961. Print.

Notre Dame de la Grande

Notre Dame de la Grande is a Roman Catholic church in Poitiers. The plan of the building is in accordance with typical plans of churches of romanesque architecture of the region. It had a central nave with aisles, but no transept due to the fact that the buildings were to the north and the principal street passes to the south. The barrel vault has a slightly flattened silhouette, while the aisles were covered by a groin vault. This silhouette was removed with a gothic remodeling. During the 12th century a bell tower in the front of the church was removed and the church was increased in size. It now has a celebrated facade. Private vaults were built during the 15th and 16th centuries by the middle class of the town who were merchants since the middle ages. They were built in flamboyant gothic style.

On the interior of the building there are many unusual detailings all over the church. The columns have patterns on them that don’t really have a uniform order to them. There were romanesque frescos that did not manage to survive other than the ones in the apse vault and above the choir. The capitols on the columns are all detailed with thick foliage, however there is just one column that tells a narrative of Jesus ascending to the heavens with angels. There are paintings at the top of the arches of the twelve apostles seated. Historians think the facade was made to resemble these paintings in the way the apostles are situated.

The west front of Notre Dame de la Grande has one of the best romanesque facades in France. It is lined with sculptures from top to bottom. There are three tiers of sculpture on the top middle, and bottom. The top depicts an oval medallion with a statue of Christ in Glory standing on the sun and moon, surrounded by symbols of the four evangelists. The middle tier depicts the twelve apostles spreading the word of God and local bishop saints on either end. Eight of the twelve apostles are seated and the other four are not. Finally the bottom tier tells the story of Christ according to a fifth century sermon known as The Drama of the Prophets.

There is a legend in the church’s history that goes as follows: in 1202 the English attacked the town of Poitiers and asked for the town keys and in exchange they would provide the city with money. The mayor handed over the keys, but later tried to retrieve them from the captain’s quarters. He found that they key wasn’t there. The captain found out and went to the church for a miracle only to find that a statue of the virgin Mary was holding the keys. This legend hasn’t actually been confirmed with any historical evidence, however, so it’s legitimacy is questionable at best.

In 1996 the church was cleaned and restored, and is now the bright white color that it is. Damage from salt from local markets made its way up to the walls, causing it to discolor. The church is now a popular site in the town of Poitiers, France.

"Sacred Destinations." Notre-Dame-La-Grande - Poitiers, France. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
Tcherikover, Anat. High Romanesque Sculpture in the Duchy of Aquitaine, C. 1090-1140. Oxford: Clarendon, 1997. Print.

Strasbourg Cathedral

As an important trade crossroads, Strasbourg benefited to the greatest extent from the increase in exchanges occurring in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The city grew rapidly and was equipped with new defending walls. It was a stake in the struggles for the Empire and was politically transformed by the emergence of a burghers’ council as a counter-weight to episcopal power. Its rise in power was accompanied by an artistic transformation and a rapid opening out towards new trends. 


Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame is known as one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in Europe. The Cathedral stands on the exact site of a roman temple built on a little hill above the muddy ground. The first version of the church was starting to be built during 1015 by proposal of Bishop Werner von Habsburg, but fire destroyed most of the original Romanesque building. By the time that cathedral was being renovated (at the end of the 12th century, this time with red stones carried from the nearby mountains of Vosges), the gothic architectural style has reached Alsace and the future cathedral was starting to develop all characteristics of gothic aesthetics. The project of the first cathedral in Alsace was handed to craftsman and stonemasons who had already worked on the also famous gothic cathedral in Chartres.

  The building of the south arm of the cathedral transept was the first expression of the Gothic style in German lands. The sculptural work that it gave rise to, including the famous statues of the Church and the Synagogue, was not a provincial variant of French art but one of the great moments in the history of art as such. 

Among the works that were witnesses to this artistic revolution, the exhibition will feature all those that it is currently possible to bring together. Now widely dispersed, their importance is often equal to their lack of visibility. This exhibition will be a revelation to the general public, not least to the inhabitants of Strasbourg themselves, and the catalogue will offer the  first general study of art in Strasbourg in the opening decades of the 13th century.

sources: 

- Bruzelius, Caroline. "The Construction of Notre-Dame in Paris." The Art Bulletin 69.4 (1987): 540-69. JSTOR. Web. 05 Dec. 2016. 

-"The Cathedral of Notre-Dame." Office De Tourisme De Strasbourg Et Sa Région, Alsace. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

-Doumato, Lamia. Strasbourg Cathedral: A Bibliography. Monticello, IL: Vance Bibliographies, 1990. Print.

Cathedral of Beauvais, Beauvais, Northern France, 1225

The Cathedral of Beauvais is actually an incomplete cathedral located in Beauvais in Northern France. It sets as one of the most important examples of Gothic Architecture especially during its time. The construction had started in 1225, with everyone’s expectation for this cathedral to be the best. Unfortunately, the construction of this cathedral had met many structural problems and has experienced many collapses.

Beauvais Cathedral

The the choir vault of the cathedral had collapsed in 1284, and many believed this was due to the result of resonant vibrations (or basically, failed buttresses). The cathedral was constantly built and rebuilt because different parts were constantly collapsing.

Floor Plan of Beauvais Cathedral (Black is existing, and grey is designed but not constructed)

I imagine this cathedral’s finished product would’ve honestly looked super beautiful, as I can already tell from the facade of the building that already exists. The interior of the cathedral is incredibly spacious because of the ceiling height, but the curve inside is extremely narrow.  

Interior of Beauvais Cathedral

But, let’s focus on the positives for this building. This cathedral had pushed many limits structurally and design-wise but had faced many failures with collapses as mentioned above. Nonetheless, what actually stands tall today is actually quite beautiful and bold, especially with its gothic style exterior that makes you stand there and wonder how it was even done. Granted, this building had not reached its full potential to be finished, but what currently stands now is enough to understand the ambitions the builders and designers had during that time period.

Works Cited:

"Falling Buttresses: Beauvais Cathedral and the Limits of Gothic Architecture." Ferrebeekeeper. N.p., 15 June 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

Palace of the popes at Avignon, France, 1364

Name: Xiaoyu Zeng

ARCH161 – M21 LEC(2587)

Palace of the popes at Avignon, France, 1364

Palace, castle, Cultural, Gothic

Architect(s): Jean de Louvres, Raymond Guitbaud, Pierre Obreri, Pierre Poisson

[Introduction]

Palace of the popes at Avignon is located in the town of Avignon ancient city at the south of France. Pope Benedict XII and Clement VI ordered the construction which is one of the most magnificent castle in the middle ages. It built from fifteenth Century until 1906. Since the Imperial Palace has repeatedly repaired, it is a rare treasure house of architecture and oil painting in Fourteenth Century.

Palace of the popes at Avignon is located in the Rhone River. It is a castle style building that was built in 1334 and it covered an area about 15 thousand square meters. There have been seven popes lived in here. The palace divided two parts which are the old temple and the new temple. The old house is normal and the style is Roman architectural. In the other sides, the new house is magnificent house that is a typical Gothic architecture.  

The Palace stands at the highest point of the ancient city, with a dominating attitude that watching this area. The inside of the building looks luxury building. The peripheral of castle is grand tower to defense, and with a large number of troops stationed. It has 10 towers around the palace.

During the French revolution, interior decoration was almost completely destroyed and looted. However, we still can image it from the beautiful Pope’s bedroom ceiling and conference.

[The house buildings]

1.    Chambre du Cerf

It is located in the second floor of Royal Palace, formerly Clement Las (Clement) study room. It is recognized as the most beautiful room in the whole palace. The elegant murals painted in 1343, however, now except for pond fishing and hunting season pattern, it just has a dog bite the deer’s leg. It means the complete picture about bucks disappeared any more. The animal pattern of the Bucks was a pioneering significance in the late Middle Ages, and it also became the popular object in the imperial court of Europe.  

2.    Chambre du Pape

When you enter the palace, you will be attracted from the ceiling to four walls even the tiles. It is full of the blue line and colorful murals painted decoration. You will feel humane with warm in here of the whole palace. France has a joke: it said that if the Pope insomnia can’t sleep, not counting sheep but counting birds to sleep.

3.    Chambre de parement

This room is the private room of Pope palace, because the soldiers had been stationed during nineteenth Century, that the extent of the damage is great.

4.    Chapelle du Consistoire

It is located on the first floor. Also, it is the same as the main room(Chambre du Cerf) which has the exquisite murals painting from Italian painter at the fourteenth Century. However, it was burned in the early fifteenth Century. The ceiling rebuilt in the twentieth Century.

First floor plan

Reference: 

1. Sylvain Gagiere Visitor's Guidebook: The Pope's Palace (Avignon)  RMG Palais de Papes (2004) print

2. http://dianasketch.blogspot.com Website