Is Saint-Denis the cradle of Gothic structure? We inform you all in regards to the origins of this emblematic type of the Center Ages, which gave rise to such iconic monuments as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
We frequently consider Notre-Dame de Paris because the epitome of Gothic structure, however it was within the north of the Paris area that all of it started. Within the twelfth century, Abbot Suger initiated an architectural revolution at Saint-Denis, in Seine-Saint-Denis. It is a little-known story… but one among nice significance!
The origins of an architectural revolution
At a time when Europe was nonetheless dominated by the Romanesque type of huge church buildings with small home windows, an upheaval was going down in the Île-de-France area. Within the 1130s-1140s, the influential and visionary Abbot Suger determined to rebuild the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the necropolis of the kings of France.
Saint-Denis Basilica, the necropolis of the Kings of France in Saint-Denis (93), discover its history
How about (re)discovering the Basilique Saint-Denis? Categorized as a historic monument, this non secular edifice in Saint-Denis (93) is dwelling to the necropolis of the Kings of France, and is a must-see for historical past buffs and people curious in regards to the area’s heritage. We inform you all about it! [Read more]
His purpose? To create a religious house the place divine gentle might move freely. To attain this, he used progressive strategies akin to pointed arches, cross vaults and buttresses. These improvements made it attainable to boost the partitions and insert massive, colourful skylights. The impact is placing: the stone appears to provide approach to the sunshine.
This primary section of labor (the ambulatory and the western façade) marks one of many earliest expressions of the Gothic type. On the identical time, the same venture was underway in Chartres, the place the Romanesque cathedral was partly reworked alongside the identical strains.
A mode born of sunshine
What distinguishes the Gothic type, as seen at Saint-Denis, is at first the concept that structure can serve spirituality by gentle. The construction of the church turns into a veritable theological device: each ray that passes by the coloured stained-glass home windows is meant to hold the divine presence.
Saint-Denis Basilica
The Gothic type additionally permits for a brand new narrative. Stained glass home windows and sculptures multiply on facades and interiors, like an open ebook on Scripture. This modification isn’t just about approach, but in addition a couple of extra open, dynamic and vertical imaginative and prescient of the world.
Saint-Denis, cradle of European artwork
What started in Saint-Denis and Chartres quickly unfold to Sens, Paris, Soissons, Reims… The Gothic type turned the norm for main non secular initiatives, and regularly unfold all through Europe. It went by a number of phases, from the primitive Gothic to the more and more ornamental Flamboyant Gothic.
Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral
Paradoxically, the basilica of Saint-Denis has lengthy been overshadowed by Notre-Dame de Paris. But, with out Abbé Suger and his daring constructing venture in Seine-Saint-Denis, the historical past of European structure would have been very completely different.
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