presented by Mansi Verma Faculty of Architecture & Planning

1. Gothic
Ar c hitec t u r e
CHARTRES CATHEDRAL
Presented To: Prof . Priyanka Rastogi
Presented by :Mansi Verma

2. CONTENTS OF THIS PRESENTATION
1
)
INTRODUCTION
2) HISTORY
3) ARCHITECTURE OF CHARTES CATHEDRAL
4) WHY IS CHARTES CATHEDRAL SO SPECIAL…
5) WHAT IS CHARTES FAMOUS FOR…?
6) FLYING BUTTRESS
7) FIRE AND CONSTRUCTION (1194 - 1260)
8) ARCHITECTURE OF CHARTES CATHEDRAL

3. INTRODUCTION
● Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady
of Chartres, is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France,
about 80 km southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop
of Chartres.
● Address: 16 Cloître Notre Dame, 28000 Chartres,
FranceArchitectural
● styles: Gothic architecture, Romanesque architecture, French
Gothic architecture, High
● GothicConstruction started: 1194
● Architect: Master of Chartres
● Height: 113 m

4. HISTO RY
● Architects began constructing the first Gothic cathedral
at Chartres after its Romanesque predecessor was
destroyed by fire in 1020. Unfortunately most of the
new church, except for its crypt and western facade, was
also gutted by fire in 1194, whereupon construction
began on the present structure, which was largely
completed in 1220.In fact the present cathedral is in an
excellent state of preservation. The majority of its
32,292 square feet of stained glass has survived, while
the overall architecture has witnessed only minor
changes since the early 13th century, notably the 16th
century addition of a flamboyant-style 113-metre spire.

5. ARCHITECTURE OF
CHARTES CATHEDRAL…
The cathedral represents the true prototype of the Gothic cathedral
characterized by a longitudinal body with a nave and two aisles and
an elevation on three levels - arcade, triforium, clerestory - crossed
by a short transept and ending in a deep presbytery with ambulatory
and radiating chapels.The cathedral is roughly 130 metres (430 ft) in
length, and its nave is 16.5 metres (55 ft) wide. Its cruciform design
plan - typical of French Gothic Basilicas, and similar to those of
Amiens and Reims - includes a two bay vestibule (narthex) at the
western end leading into a seven bay nave up to the crossing with its
three-bay transepts. The heads of the transept end in a richly
decorated projecting atrium above which a series of fine lancet
windows connects to rose windows, creating an extraordinary
luminous surface that opened the way for the later transepts of St
Denis and Paris

7. • WHY IS CHARTES
CATHEDRAL SO SPECIAL…
● Image result for CHARTRES CATHEDRAL Because of the
unity of its architecture and decoration, the result of
research of the first Gothic era, its immense influence on
the art of Middle Age Christianity, Chartres Cathedral
appears as an essential landmark in the history of
medieval architecture.

8. • WHY IS CHARTES CATHEDRAL FAMOUS FOR…?
● Chartres is best known for its cathedral, the Cathédrale
Notre-Dame de Chartres, which is considered one of the
finest and best preserved Gothic cathedrals in France and
in Europe. Its historical and cultural importance has been
recognized by its inclusion on the UNESCO list of World
Heritage Sites

9. FLYING BUTTRESS
● The use of buttresses led to the abandonment of the graduated external
profile in favour of an elevation on two levels, simple but majestic.
● The composition of the volumes is repeated in the sequence of the tall,
massive buttresses that repeat on the exterior the rhythm of the internal
bays.
● The weight of the vaults is passed to the buttresses by way of double arches
and arcades of radial colonettes.
● The greater liberty made possible by the buttressing of the vaults thanks to
rampant arches and the consequent abolition of tribunes permitted the
master of Chartres to organize the interior spaces of the nave in a highly
original way.
● He made a building that seems classical in the harmony of its proportions,
as is clear in the elevation, where the arcade and the clerestory are given the
same value.

10. FIRE AND RECONSTRUCTION(1194-1260)
● On the night of 10 July 1194, another major fire devastated the cathedral. Only the
crypt, the towers, and the new facade survived.
● The cathedral was already known throughout Europe as a pilgrimage destination,
due to the reputed relics of the Virgin Mary that it contained.
● A legate of the Pope happened to be in Chartres at the time of the fire, and spread
the word. Funds were collected from royal and noble patrons across Europe, as well
as small donations from ordinary people.
● Reconstruction began almost immediately. Some portions of the building had
survived, including the two towers and the royal portal on the west end, and these
were incorporated into the new cathedral.

11. ● The nave, aisles, and lower levels of the transepts of the new
cathedral were probably completed first, then the choir and
chapels of the apse; then the upper parts of the transept.
● By 1220 the roof was in place. The major portions of the new
cathedral, with its stained glass and sculpture, were largely
finished within just twenty-five years, extraordinarily rapid for
the time.
● The cathedral was formally re-consecrated in October 1260, in
the presence of King Louis IX of France, whose coat of arms was
painted over the entrance to the apse