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Chartres Cathedral

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The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres <br /> <br /> The nave of Chartres. This photo reveals the the contrast between the restored white stone of the apse and the unrestored areas of the church as of March 2012.
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The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres

The nave of Chartres. This photo reveals the the contrast between the restored white stone of the apse and the unrestored areas of the church as of March 2012.

  • The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres <br><br> The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is located 50 miles southwest of Paris and easily accessible by train. I went on a weekday in March 2012 and the church was not that crowded, a few busloads of tourists and certainly not as jammed as Notre Dame. It is a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral and is in French High Gothic style, mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250 (by comparison Notre Dame was started in 1163). What struck me was how old the outside looked in comparison to Notre Dame; the statues look old because they are old as most are original. Unlike many churches, it was not damaged by the Wars of Religion (1524 to 1648) and French Revolution. Chartres is exceptional based on its state of preservation. <br><br> For some reason, the location was plagued by fire; by my count, there were 4 fires that destroyed previous cathedrals on this site before the current cathedral was built. The stained glass windows are amazing and generally original, covering 26,910 square feet, with most dating from the 12th and 13th centuries. All the glass from the cathedral was removed in 1939 just before the Germans invaded France. See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres_Cathedral">Wikipedia</a>, <a href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral ">Sacred Destinations</a>, <a href="http://mappinggothic.org/building/1107">Mapping Gothic France</a> for more detail. The latter source has 360 panoramas and laserscan images of the cathedral. <br><br> The church survived two death sentences. The first was during the French Revolution when the Revolutionary Committee decided to destroy it using explosives. However, the architect in charge of destroying the church convinced the Committee otherwise because of the congestion that all of the ruble would create by clogging streets. The second threat was an Allied order to destroy the church during World War II; the Allies believed that the Germans were using the church as an observation post and gave an order to take it out with artillery. <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266849/colonel-chartres-jay-nordlinger">Jay Nordlinger</a> and the <a href="http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=6100">Military Times</a> tell the dramatic story of how Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. went behind enemy lines to confirm that the Germans were not using the church. Based on this information, the order to shell the church was lifted. Griffith was later killed in action near Chartres.
  • Chartres North Transept Rose Window <br><br> The North transept rose is stunning, particularly on a sunny day. It is 34.5 feet (10.5m) in diameter, was constructed in 1235 and is dedicated to the Virgin. It is simpler than other rose windows, with larger panels that can be seen from the ground. The central window shows the Virgin and Child and is surrounded by 12 small petal-shaped window. Beyond this is a ring of 12 diamond-shaped openings containing the men that represent the Old Testament Kings of Judah; the blue and yellow windows contain the arms of France and Castille, and finally a ring of semicircles containing Old Testament Prophets holding scrolls. Beneath the rose itself are five tall lancet windows (nearly 25 feet, 7.5m high). The center window shows the Virgin as an infant held by her mother, St Anne. <br><br> From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres_Cathedral">Wikipedia</a>,flanking this lancet are four more containing Old Testament figures with each of these standing figures “…shown symbolically triumphing over an enemy depicted in the base of the lancet beneath them – David over Saul, Aaron over Pharaoh, St Anne over Synagoga, etc.” I captured multiple exposures ranging from 0.4 seconds to 30 seconds (f7.1, 100 ISO). The best and clearest photo of the windows was the image that was 3 stops underexposed (0.40 seconds); I liked the HDR image of the stone surrounding the windows. I used a layer mask to erase the HDR image, exposing the underexposed image for the windows. A bit tedious, but worth the effort.
  • Chartres Appollinare Window <br><br> The brilliant blue and red glass in one window in the south transept stunned me. This was my favorite window and I stared at it for 15 minutes, trying to figure out the story without success. Also, there is an inscription at the bottom that I couldn’t read. <br><br> At home, I found a great website that describes the windows and statues at Chartres from <a href="http://digital.library.pitt.edu/c/chartres/">Alison Stones</a>, a Professor of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh with a detailed discussion <a href="http://www.medart.pitt.edu/image/France/Chartres/Chartres-Cathedral/Windows/Nave-windows/36-Apollinaire/CHARTRES-36Apoll-main.HTM">of this window.</a> From the website, this window is Apollinare and the Choirs of Angels depicting the life of Apollinare. Saint Apollonaris (Apollinare in Italian), a native of Antioch became the first bishop of Ravenna and Classe and who was martyred for his faith. On the left side, fourth full square from the top shows Apollinare being beaten and the next square depicts the funeral. The panels above represent the Choirs of Angels. Christ in Majesty is the very top center panel. The website provides a photo of each of the panels along with rich detail. <br><br> I made several exposures from -2 to 2 stops, ranging from 0.8 seconds to 10 seconds, f7.1, 100 ISO. For the walls, the image that best captured the dirt and grime from 800 years was the property exposed image. The best image of the window came from the photo that was one stop underexposed. I cut and pasted the window from that version onto the other image. I then used PTLens to pull the top of the image forward, eliminating barrel distortion.
  • Chartres Royal Portal <br><br> From <a href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral">Sacred Destinations,</a> the West Portal is known as the Royal Portal because of the statues of king, queens, and figures from the Old Testament. It was carved by 1150. The Central Portal depicts the Last Judgment. Christ in the tympanum is surrounded by symbols of the Four Evangelists. Christ raises his right hand in blessing and holds the Book of Line in his left hand. The lintel (sculptures above the entrance) shows the 12 Apostles while the archivolts (an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch) show the 24 elders of the Apocalypse. The jamb statues are not identified in any source that I could find, simply statues of people holding a book, scroll, unidentified object, etc.
  • Chartres Cathedral Our Lady of the Pillar <br><br> This is the Chapel of Notre Dame de Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar) in the north ambulatory. According to <a href="http://professor-moriarty.com/info/section/sculpture/gothic-sculpture-black-madonna-chartres-cathedral">Professor Moriarty,</a> the statue in the center is of Madonna and child and was commissioned in 1508 as a black wooden copy of the 13th century silver Madonna that once stood on the main altar at Chartres Cathedral. “This statue was later given to the Cathedral in about 1540. The statue currently sits on top of a pillar in the North aisle of the cathedral and is commonly known as "Our Lady of the Pillar". Chartres was a centre for the Marian cult and, in addition to the Blue Virgin stained glass window in the south ambulatory, also had another 11th century wooden Madonna statue in the crypt. That statue was burned during the French revolution, and for some time this Madonna was put there, until a copy of the original was made in 1857.” Professor Moriarty also has close-up photos of the Madonna.
  • Chartres West Rose Window <br><br> Chartres cathedral is currently undergoing a renovation that started in 2008 and will continue through 2015 at a cost of $350 million. As of 2011, two major chapels-Martyrs and the Apostles have been restored. One source says that 160,000 square feet of original plasterwork is now visible, returned to its 13th century glory. This photo shows the contrast between the newly renovated walls and the walls with 800 years of dirt, grit, smoke, soot. The West Rose window from the 13th century depicts the Last Judgment. The Jessee Window is at bottom right, the Passion Window is at bottom left, and the Life of Christ Window is bottom center. The bottom windows date from around 1150.
  • The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres <br /> <br /> The nave of Chartres. This photo reveals the the contrast between the restored white stone of the apse and the unrestored areas of the church as of March 2012.
  • Chartres Organ <br><br> This photo is the massive Chartres organ, installed in 1969, which sits on the side of the church. Nothing is known about the original Chartres organ made in 1349; it was reconstructed in 1475, 1542, 1614-1615. During the French Revolution, the organ was barely used. It was restored again in 1844 and a major renovation began in 1911. See <a href="http://pleasuresofthepipes.info/Chartres-NotreDame.html">Pleasures of the Pipes</a> for more detail and sound clips from the organ.
  • Chartres Cathedral<br /> <br /> I couldn't find anything on the web on this window.
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