Sainte-Chapelle, 1242-1248

Sainte-Chapelle, 1242-1248
• 36 m long
• 17 m wide
• 42,5 m high
Analysis of the Sainte-Chapelle
Introduction
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Built by Saint Louis (Louis 9th) mid 13th cent. to house the Relics of the Passion purchased by the king from Constantinople in the 1239
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Part of the Royal Residence in Paris, île de la Cité = Royal Chapel
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Constructed Example of High Gothic French architecture.
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Restored and partially « rebuilt » in the 19th cent. by Duban, Lassus and Boeswillwald advised by Viollet-le-Duc
Analysis
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Outside – southern façade
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Dominated by stone
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Pier buttresses which counteract the the force of the vaulting system inside
Western façade – entrance
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Open porch – three vertical main sections (holy trinity) with a pointed gable above flanked two thin towers crowned by pinnacles
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No bell tower
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Inside
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Two levels: lower « basse » chapel and upper high chapel
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Both levels quatripartite rib vaulting system
Low chapel basement (support) for the upper chapel, thus much more massive.
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Low chapel three wessels – one central and two lateral aisles that are very narrow
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This level for the servants of the Royal residence
Acces to upper chapel – direct for the king from his appartments/ or by spiral stairs in the towers
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Upper elevation in two levels: arcades –clerestory ; 15 stained-glass windows that achieve a sence of weightlessness
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Two niches in the lateral walls – one for the king and one for the queen
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In the apse – altar and originally the relics of the Passion
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In the Western façade entrance door for the king with a broad rose-window above with a flamboyant design (29 feet in diameter, from the
15th cent.)
Conclusion
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Master piece of the radiant Gothic architecture – the Sainte-Chapelle is a symbol of Christianity, the French Royal Power and Culture; the height of
the research to transpose the idea of divine light (lux continuat) into architecture
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The scale is much different from other contemporary buildings- it became the model for the holy chapels built by St Louis or his descendants
(Vincennes & Versailles for example)
The context of the construction: Who’s constructing and
for whom?
• The social conditions and origins of a building or an urban
program, based upon:
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the person or institution that commissioned the construction
the culture of the building contractors
original function of the building.
Was the building constructed during an unique
construction campaign or did several architects shape it?
– But also: technical conditions such as the climate, geographical
and geological situations and conditions
• The volumetric analysis: description of the structure: plan
and elevations ; outside and inside.
• The ornamental analysis: description of : sculpted
decorations, paintings, colours, stained glasses ...
Field Research Project
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Choose a subject –
Field study
– first contact with the selected « structure »
Collect references /sources (libraries, web-sites …)
– Read books, articles …
– View films, photographs, exhibitions …
Write an outline-draft with a thesis:
– how and why this study?
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do you need to narrow down or extend your project?
do you have enough sources?
– Write a draft and send it to your professor
If necessary extend or narrow down your project, finalize your approach
New field study & essay
• Detailed study: photographs, drawings, readings on-site …
• More readings
Send your final paper to your professor by e-mail and give a hard-copy of it in class
« les guerres des Religions » 1562-1599
end of the Valois dynasty – first generation of the Bourbon dynasty
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Eight conflicts between Catholics and
Protestants in the second half of the 16th
century: political conflict from the death of
Henry II in 1559.
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Struggle between three important families:
Montmorency, Guise and Bourbon
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August 18 1572, Royal wedding : Henry of
Navarre (protestant) and Marguerite of Valois
(Henry II daughter and catholic).
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August 22 1572 « Missed » assassination of
the Duke of Coligny (Protestant) in Paris
followed by the night of Saint-Barthelemy on
August 24 1572.
July 1593: converted to Catholicism
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Saint-Bathelemy, August 24 1572,
Giorgio Vasari
1594: Henry IV enter Paris. 1600 married
with Marie de Medicis in Lyon.
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1601 birth of future Louis XIII.
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May 14,1610, assassinated rue de la
Ferronnerie by François Ravaillac
Henry 4th born Henri de Bourbon
(1553-1610)
King of Navarre 1572-1610 &
king of France 1589-1610.
First Bourbon king
Henry 4th
Paris
1594-1610
Late 16th century Louvre
Project by Henry 4th for the Louvre
The Louvre in 1610
Place Dauphine and Pont Neuf
(map Mérian, 1615)
Place Royale
(today Place des Vosges)
Place Dauphine
Place Royale/des Vosges
Louis XIII
1601-1643
Born at Fontainebleau in 1601
Crowned king in 1610
Regency directed by his mother
Queen Marie De Medicis with Concini
and Galigaï
May 1615 married in Bordeaux with
the Spanish princess Anne of Austria
April 1617 assassination of Concini –
M. de Medicis exiled at Blois – Louis
XIII rules the country
Richelieu: 1622 cardinal 1624-42
minister
Portrayed by Rubens
Il Gésu in Rome plan byNanni di Baccio redesigned by
Michel Angelo in 1554 and by Vignola in 1568.
Façade and cupola by Giacomo della Porta
Model for many classical churches in Paris
Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais,
building started in 1494
Façade 1616 - 1621,
architects:
S. de Brosse
C. Metezeau
Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis,
architects : Martellange and Durand
1627-1641
Val-de-Grâce
1643-1660’s
architects:
François Mansart
Pierre Le Muet
Jacques Lemercier
Escorial, Spain
Val-de-Grâce
Louis Dieudonné, 1638-1715
Louis XIV from 1661
also called the sun-king
Projects for the Western façade of the Louvre
Bernini
François Mansart
Perrault, Le Brun and Le Vau
The Louvre,
end of the17th century
In the will of Mazarin, in 1661, the
allocation of an important sum of
money for the creation of a “Collège
des quatre nations” to receive
students from the new French
territories after the traités de
Westphalie (1648) et des Pyrénées
(1659) : Pignerol, Alsace, Flandre,
Artois, Hainaut, Roussillon,
Cerdagne.
Architect: Louis Le Vau
Building finished in 1667
Interior decoration by François d’Orbay
from 1670 to 1688
Paris an open city with
gate-ways designed as triumphal arches
Porte Saint-Martin
Porte Saint-Denis
Place des Victoires,
architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1685
Place Vendôme, 1698,
by Jules Hardouin-Mansart
Hôtel des Invalides
1670-1691
architects:
Libéral Bruant
Jules Hardouin Mansart
Nicolas Fouquet - Vaux-le-Vicomte
Architect: Louis Le Vau
Interior decoration: Charles Lebrun
Garden: André Le Notre
Versailles for Louis 14th
1668
1670
1668
Jules Hardouin Mansart
The hall of mirrors