INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

 

1. General Objective: Becoming Familiar with Contemporary Art

1.a. The Paradox:

We are very familiar with contemporary technologies. Airplanes, cars, and even digital television, multifunctional mobile phones, computers, the internet, and the most sophisticated software no longer surprise us. We may marvel at such ingenuity and the rapid evolution of these technologies, but they are familiar to us.

By contrast, contemporary art presents itself under the guise of strangeness. It too often appears to us as incomprehensible. Here lies a paradox: we are modern when it comes to technology, but from another era when it comes to artistic production.

1.b. The Way to Familiarize Ourselves:

We must start with an art that is just as unfamiliar to us as contemporary art is. This is the case with Medieval art.

There is a false sense of familiarity with medieval art. It is still around us. There is hardly a village in France without a church from the 12th or 13th century. Medieval castles also populate our countryside, often in its more rugged areas.

Yet, this art is truly steeped in “strangeness.”

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2. Prejudices

2.a. The Middle Ages as a Dark Age

a. Antiquity is familiar to us through the Renaissance. The Renaissance revived both Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture. Mythology came to either replace or at least rival the Bible as a source of artistic inspiration.

b. Our aesthetic foundation is Renaissance art. It's the perspective we were taught in drawing class (before "visual arts" replaced it in school). It’s the thousands of works that decorate our greatest museums. It’s the advertising that borrows from painting (and music) for its models. Our way of seeing is entirely shaped by the aesthetic born during this period and maintained until the late 19th century. Our gaze is from the 15th century.

c. Thus, the Middle Ages are perceived as a cultural chaos, a mere "parenthesis" between Antiquity and the Renaissance.

2.b. The Middle Ages: The True Foundation of Our Culture

Yet, and here is another paradox, Antiquity is in fact a world that is foreign to us. The Renaissance is merely a reshaping of the medieval world.

The "French landscape" is more medieval than Renaissance. Our culture is Christian: our calendar of holidays and saints; our moral values are Christian. Schools originate from the Middle Ages (Charlemagne and Alcuin, his "minister" of education). The layout of some city neighborhoods dates back to the Middle Ages. Many rural villages, seen from afar, still resemble how they looked in medieval times.

2.c. The Romantic Prejudice

The perception of the Middle Ages as a dark era also comes from 19th-century Romanticism. Romanticism drew on “dark forces”: it’s the romantic genius found in the Gothic novel. The Monk by Lewis is a perfect illustration, as is Goethe’s Faust.

The fascination with ruins that characterizes Romanticism focused more on Gothic ruins than on those of Pompeii, Herculaneum, the Roman Forum, or the Athenian Acropolis.

2.d. The “Modern” Prejudice

Another modern prejudice that distances us from the Middle Ages concerns architecture. Since Le Corbusier, architecture has been functionalist: the purpose of a building or its parts should be immediately legible in its form. Medieval churches, we are told, do not meet this standard (which is incorrect, since at the height of classical Gothic style, the cathedral was conceived as a fully embodied architectural treatise).

2.e. The Prejudice of Beauty

One may enter a church and find the vaults beautiful, the capitals or the tympanum over the portal beautiful. But this is an anachronistic judgment. Romanesque sculpture is not “beautiful.” It does not seek to be. Judging it as such is to view it through Renaissance eyes. And this prejudice further hinders our understanding of the art of that time. One might say a sculpture is not beautiful because the body is distorted, poorly proportioned (not conforming to the Greek canon). But once again, the artist's goal was not beauty.

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3. The Effort Required to Understand

Therefore, an effort is needed to understand the Middle Ages — just as an effort is needed to understand contemporary art. The similarity of these efforts justifies why this course begins not with Antiquity but with the Middle Ages. The same work is required to access both.

We will engage in both efforts throughout this course, which will aim to characterize periods and artistic movements more by what distinguishes them than by what connects them — a necessary approach in an introductory phase.

JR

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CHAPTER 1 : ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

ROMANESQUE ART (1)
CHAPTER 1 – ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
By Jacques Rouveyrol

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Before building a church, there is first a plan.

1. The Plan

The 12th century was a time of pilgrimages. The most prestigious — but also the riskiest and most expensive — were, first, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and second, to Rome. More popular and more frequently visited was the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

A pilgrimage is an organized journey to see relics. In ancient Greece, people would go to Delphi to consult the Oracle, given by the Pythia, whenever they had a big decision to make. Why Delphi? Because there stood the Omphalos — the “navel” of the world — a large stone shaped like an egg. Delphi was believed to be the center of the universe.

The Christian world created many “centers”: places where relics of saints were kept, believed to have spiritual power (to save the soul) or physical power (to heal illness).

So the church plan had to meet two needs:

1. To display the relics.

2. To allow pilgrims to move around easily.

Two types of plans appeared:

• The Benedictine plan, which focused on displaying relics in chapels lined up along the transept.

• The radiating chapels plan, which focused on letting pilgrims circulate. In this design, the chapels holding the relics are grouped around the apse, along the ambulatory.
  This second plan became the more common one.

The radiating chapels plan makes it easier for pilgrims to move around by grouping the chapels — where relics are displayed — in the apse, around the ambulatory. This plan generally became more widely used than the other one.

2. The Structure

The structure refers to the building elements and how they are put together.

2.a. The elements : arches
It is commonly believed that the Romanesque arch is always a semi-circular arch. This is not entirely true. Of course, the semi-circular arch is a typical feature, but Romanesque architecture is not limited to that. The pointed arch, as well as many other types of arches, were also used by Romanesque builders.

2.b. Composition : the vaults

The most common type of vault is, naturally, the barrel vault with a semi-circular shape. But again, the pointed vault is also fully part of Romanesque architecture.

Where two barrel vaults intersect, they form a groin vault, which must later be clearly distinguished from the ribbed vault (typical of Gothic architecture).             

3.The wall

3.a. Elements: columns and piers

Churches with wooden roofs (timber frames) generally use piers.

Churches with vaulted ceilings use columns. But things are not so simple. A pier can be attached to pilasters (giving rise to the quadrangular pier, for example) or half-columns (giving rise to the quadrilobe pier). The column can consist of half-columns. Sometimes, the number of elements becomes quite significant.

3.b. Engagement in the Wall

However, these piers and columns are generally embedded in the wall, so they have only a very secondary load-bearing function. It is as if this grouping of pilasters and half-columns around the pier and column, which themselves are attached to the wall, is meant to express the subordination of the small to the large and the organized solidarity that results from it, reflecting the social order of feudalism (lord, vassals, peasants).

Below is the terminology related to the column topped with a capital and the drawing of a half-column embedded in a pier, which in turn is embedded in the wall.

(in order : abaque, basket, astragale, shaft, torus, base)

3.c. The Portal

The portal is an essential element of the church. It is not simply the point of passage from the outside to the inside, because the church has a whole perimeter around it that contributes to its sanctity (often including the cemetery as part of its "space"); rather, it is the place of opening.

(in order : arch moulding, tympanum, lintel, corbel, trumeau, abutments)

3. d. The Romanesque wall.

The Greek wall (below, left)is abstract. Whatever the stone extracted the quarry and then cut, we can put it where we want, we can put another stone in the same place without difficulty. The Greek wall is homogeneous.

The Romanesque wall (below, right) is concrete. Each stone is unique and wants that another stone joins it perfectly. As in a living organism where each organ is (more or less), adapted to the variations of all the other organs, the Romanesque stone responds at all the others.

4. The Rejection of Perspective in Painting

The wall is the essential element of Romanesque art and spirit. It takes precedence. It will shape both the painting and sculpture of the 12th century.
In painting, for example, it was not possible to "pierce" the wall with an illusion of depth. Thus, the linear perspective, which the Renaissance would later develop, was not accepted. There could be no more than one plane, and everything had to be depicted on the same plane (see next chapter).

5. The Locations of Decoration

The places for sculpted decoration are therefore determined by the architecture. These are the points of junction:

• The capital at the junction of the column and the vault.

• The base at the junction of the column and the floor.

• The archivolts at the junction of the inside and outside (portal).

• Finally, the corbels at the junction of the wall and the roof.

6. The Chevet.

The chevet is the external eastern part of the church, which includes the apse, around which, like the half-columns around the column, the small apses are grouped, again evoking the subordination of the small to the large.
Viewed from the outside, the church appears as a gigantic sculpture, carved directly from the space, forming in this profane space an architectural block of sacred space. The gaze, flowing from the small apses to the apse, gradually rises toward the Sky, passing through the spire. 

7. The Problem of Sculpture

a. In the Egyptian scheme, "technical" and "objective" dimensions coexist. The statue of the pharaoh respects the proportions of the human body. However, when scaled to a gigantic size, visual distortions occur that are not corrected. The top of the statue appears smaller because it is farther away, while the base looks larger because it is closer. Similarly, the foreshortening that makes the arm farther back appear shorter than the one extending forward is ignored. The two arms are always the same size.

b. In the Greek Scheme, "Objective" Dimensions Prevail Over "Technical" Dimensions

In the Greek scheme, "objective" dimensions take precedence over "technical" dimensions. Visual correction is applied, ensuring that, regardless of the height of the statue, the impression given is that of the preservation of the human body's objective proportions, which have been canonized.

c. In the medieval scheme, objective dimensions are simply abandoned, and human or animal figures are subjected to "deformations," the reasons for which will need to be explained (in the next chapter).

CHAPTER 2 : ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE

ROMANESQUE ART

Chapter 2: Romanesque Sculpture

Jacques Rouveyrol

1. Color:

It is everywhere in Romanesque churches: on the walls, in the sculptures.

2. Iconography:

It reflects a "terrified" faith: the Apocalypse on the tympanums.
The man of the 12th century believes. He believes in a God who is completely foreign, transcendent, and has nothing in common with man. A terrifying God whose will is incomprehensible to the human mind. The Byzantine figure of God on the tympanum of Moissac is meant to create this impression of overwhelming power.
He also believes that the end of the world is near, that it could concern him directly, that the Apocalypse could come tomorrow, if not today.
The Gothic God will draw closer to man. His will, clearly distinguishing good from evil, will become understandable, and the Last Judgment will replace the Apocalypse on church tympanums.
The God of the late Gothic period, in the 14th and 15th centuries, will become even more "human": it will be the Crucified One — God touched by death: the Christ of pity.

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3. Characteristics: the rejection of "realism."

Romanesque sculpture is not inspired by "nature."
The representation of man appears "distorted."
We must understand the reasons for this distortion. They are mainly due (cf. Focillon) to the subordination of sculpture to the architectural framework — to the domination of architecture over sculpture, a domination that would only begin to loosen during the Gothic age and would be fully overcome during the Renaissance.

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3.a. First principle: Subordination to the architectural framework (Architectural factor).

The capital, the arch, constitute formal frames within which sculpture must fit and, to do so, must adapt itself.
Thus, the trapezoidal man (shown below) owes his shape to the voussoir in which he is set.

(Aulnay. The Trapezium Man)

3.b. Second principle: Space as "place" (Metaphysical factor)

The Aristotelian theory, dominant in the Middle Ages, did not conceive of space as homogeneous, like Euclid did, but rather as made up of places that are strictly distinct and independent from one another.
It matters whether a body is located at the bottom, at the top, on the left, or on the right. Proof of this lies in the fact that a flame rises because the top is its natural place; and that a stone falls because the bottom is its natural place.
Several consequences follow from this conception:

a. Each figure occupies a place — and occupies it completely.
This leads to distortions, which are the only way for the figure to fully fill the place assigned to it.

b. Each place is independent of every other (by its content):
The capitals of the cloister at Moissac follow one another without any logical sequence, even though, given their succession, one might expect them to tell a story — starting from Genesis, for example, and leading to the Resurrection.
But this is not the case. They succeed one another in a purely historical "disorder."

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c. Each place is dependent on every other (by its form):
Thus, each figure must adapt to the shape of the neighboring figure — just as the uneven stones of a Romanesque wall adjust their forms to one another — and in doing so, undergo distortions.
Below, at Moissac, the figures of the Tetramorph are adjusted to the shape of the divine space, and the figures of the seraphim are adjusted to the shapes of the Tetramorph spaces.

3.c. Third principle: Hierarchical perspective (Symbolic factor)

The Middle Ages rejected linear perspective, which would later be developed during the Renaissance.
This was because it refused to create an illusory (as much as real) sense of depth in the "wall," which remains the essential support of Romanesque architecture.
However, it did not ignore the concept of perspective. Instead, it established a hierarchical perspective:
— In the center, at the top, and in the largest space, the most important figure is placed (for example, God).
— To the right and higher up is the next most important figure — for example, the evangelist closest to the divine: Saint John (symbolized by the eagle, the creature who can look directly at the sun).
— To the left and higher up: Saint Matthew (the angel), to whom an angel directly dictated his Gospel.
— To the right but lower down: Saint Mark (the lion), representing the Resurrection of Christ.
— To the left and lower down: Saint Luke (the ox, the sacrificial animal), representing the Crucifixion.
— At the very bottom, the least "noble" figures: the Elders of the Apocalypse.

*(Renaissance : Visual perspective : (left : visual perspective : behind = smaller, in front of = bigger ;

 Middle Age : hierarchic perspective, From left to right : back = smallest = less important ; front = biggest = more important)

3.d. Fourth principle (1): Submission to the framework (Plastic factor)

The Romanesque capital is inherited from the Corinthian capital: the figures sculpted onto it reproduce the underlying structure — the framework — of this type of capital: rosettes, double rows of acanthus leaves, and hooks.
As a result, the figures are deformed to fit into this underlying framework.

3.e. Fourth principle (2): Submission to the ornamental framework (Plastic factor)

Symmetry or metamorphosis.
Geometric demands, inherited from the Corinthian framework — especially symmetry — create further deformations, and, above all, give rise to hybrid figures born from metamorphoses.

There are, in addition, consequences from a particular conception of Nature.
God created the world and gave form to the beings that inhabit it, but the infinity of His power cannot be summed up by the familiar creatures alone.
Nature itself is the expression of divine power and is constantly generating new forms.
This is certainly not Darwinism or Lamarckism of the 19th century, because in the 12th century there was no idea of evolution or adaptation.
Nature does not create to improve, but because it is an active force.
Thus, on the borders of illuminated manuscripts and on the walls of churches, there appear "monstrous" chains of creatures — devouring each other or transforming into one another in endless metamorphoses.

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4. Ornaments

Here, there is no deformation.
Especially on the abacus of capitals or on the archivolts of tympanums, we find geometric figures — and it is worth noting that interlacing patterns (the geometric forms of the monstrous chains mentioned earlier) are likely the most common designs.

5. Tradition

In contrast to the contemporary artist, the Romanesque artist was not oriented toward invention but toward tradition.
His task was to transmit.
This reflects a fundamental idea of the Middle Ages: all knowledge was considered already given, already revealed.
The Church Fathers were responsible for explaining this knowledge; artists were responsible for illustrating it.
In monasteries, monks copied manuscripts; similarly, artists reproduced sacred stories and teachings on the walls of churches.

However, the sculptor’s role was not limited to simple reproduction.
He immersed himself in the model and created an adaptation of it in stone.
The tympanum at Moissac, for example, may have been inspired by the Apocalypse manuscript from Saint-Sever.
Liturgical dramas also served as important models for sculptors.

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6. Painting

Its characteristics are very similar to those of sculpture.

6.a. Wall Painting

• a. Rejection of depth illusion:
  The depiction must avoid any illusion of three-dimensional depth.

• b. Submission to the frame:
  The figures must conform to the same constraints as sculpture, adapting to the architectural framework.

• c. Submission to the underlying geometric structure:
  Just as in sculpture, painting follows an internal, often geometric organization.

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6.b. Manuscripts

• a. Background color:
  A stony tone is often used for the parchment on which monks wrote or created illuminated manuscripts.
  All attempts at representing depth through perspective are excluded (though it is worth noting that by the 15th century, the first experiments with linear perspective appear in illuminated manuscripts).

• b. Submission to the frame:
  As with sculpture, figures in manuscripts — particularly in decorative capital letters — must adapt to the "architecture" of the page or the margins.

CHAPTER 3 : GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

GOTHIC ART

Chapter 3: Gothic Architecture

Jacques Rouveyrol

Romanesque art was about the wall. Gothic will be the negation of the wall. It replaces the wall with partitions of glass: stained glass windows.

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1. The Ribbed Vault

The invention of the ribbed vault was designed to ensure that, at the point of greatest pressure in the vault, there was a way to redirect the forces outward. The ribbed vault defines a point where two arches meet. The vault exerts pressure at this point, but instead of pushing directly downward, perpendicular to the ground, it pushes outward. The crossing arches at this point receive this pressure and disperse it in four directions.

2. The Ribbed Vault

The Gothic cathedral is a treatise on architecture. To look at it is to understand the interplay of forces at work in the vault and on the pillars.

It borrows two forms: the dome-like vault, which resembles a series of domes, and the ribbed vault, which rises higher than the summit of the arcs formerets or doubleaux.

dome-like vault

The segmental vault is achieved by raising the arcs formerets and doubleaux to align them with the height of the ribbed vault, in order to create a regular vault.

                                                                                          segmental vault

3. The Elevation of the Wall

Several solutions were implemented, either separately or together, to allow for the elevation of the church. First, the arc formeret.

a. The Arc Formeret
Embedded in the wall, parallel to the large arcade that runs along the nave at each bay and opens to the aisle, it reinforces the structure according to the principle explained earlier: to deflect the forces to either side, thus halving them, instead of receiving them perpendicularly.

b. The Thinning of the Supports
The reinforcement of the wall is also based on another method of construction. The original technique, which used stone as it was taken from the quarry — with horizontal layers accumulated over time, making the stone "elastic" — is replaced by a construction method known as délit, in which the stone is turned so that the layers are oriented vertically. As a result, this creates a rigidity (opposed to the earlier-mentioned elasticity) in the support, allowing it to be thinned and, consequently, to weigh less.

c. The First Gothic (12th century): Saint-Denis, Noyon, Laon, Notre-Dame de Paris.

(Saint-Denis, in the 19th century)

c.1. Marienval: A Romanesque church with the first ribbed vaults.

c.2. Laon: Typical of the Early Gothic style: the four levels: large arcades, tribune, triforium, and clerestory.

The early Gothic often gives, on the exterior, the appearance of perfect Romanesque (as seen in Noyon, for example). It is primarily characterized by the development of the ribbed vault, naturally, the arc formeret, and the tribune. The tribune consists of adding a level above the aisle that supports the nave wall, allowing the nave to rise higher.

(From top to bottom : high windows, triforium, galleries, great arches)

4. The Flying Buttress and the Classic Gothic (First Half of the 13th Century)

The appearance of the flying buttress made it possible to dispense with the tribunes. The vault "pushes" against the walls on either side. Previously, the tribune reinforced the sides. The flying buttress now takes on the forces and channels them outside the wall into the buttress, and from there, down into the ground.
Freed from the tribunes, the wall could be opened up even more and replaced by partitions of glass: stained glass windows.

(From top to bottom : flying buttress with double span, gutter wall, load of the buttress, abutment, collateral, nave)

-         Chartres, Reims, Amiens, Bourges, Le Mans.

(Extract of Le défi des Bâtisseurs - La cathédrale de Strasbourg  Arte 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/feature=player_embedded

5. The Arch of Glass and the Rayonnant Gothic (Second Half of the 13th Century)

With the wall having disappeared, only the "ribs" remain, and between them, stained glass windows. The Sainte-Chapelle, on the Île de la Cité in Paris, is a building made of glass (similar to those still built today).
Here we are at the complete opposite of Romanesque architecture, which was centered around heavy stone walls.
The rose window (a sun radiating outward — hence the name given to this style: Rayonnant) is without doubt one of the most beautiful and convincing expressions of this very elegant architecture (elegant in the way one might describe a mathematical demonstration as elegant).

6. The Stained Glass Window

a. General Characteristics: its Symbolism:
The cathedral is undoubtedly like an ark, a refuge for those who wish to be saved. But it is also the prefiguration of the City of God.
As such, it must present itself as a precious casket overflowing with gems. The colors of the stained glass give the incoming light the appearance of such precious stones.
Moreover, since the windows often depict saints, they are like the Court of Lords seated with God, on either side of the tabernacle where He Himself resides.

b. Its Evolution:
The evolution of stained glass also teaches us something crucial about its meaning.
Small in size and with muted colors during the Romanesque period, stained glass then allowed only a little light to enter the church — and even so, it transformed that light through its colors.
As the walls receded and were replaced by glass, the stained glass intensified its colors (often "dark" colors like blue and red), so that no more light entered the church than before.
Thus, glass walls were not built to bring in more light.
The purpose of stained glass was not so much to brighten the interior, but to transmute earthly light into heavenly light. In the House of God, sunlight has no place. What is needed is divine light. Stained glass is the philosopher’s stone that achieves this transmutation.

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7. Flamboyant Gothic (Late 14th – 15th Century)

In classical Gothic, one could, at a glance, follow the ribs of the columns and arches and understand the architecture of the cathedral.
In Flamboyant Gothic, however, the eye gets lost in the maze of ribs, most of which serve no structural purpose but are purely decorative — even spectacular.
This Gothic is called Flamboyant because the columns and arches, using counter-curves, mimic the grace (which would later be called mannerist in the 16th century) of a rising flame.
It is an exotic and extremely light style, which some have seen as a "decadence" of the Gothic style.

(Oxford Divinity School)

CHAPTER 4 : GOTHIC SCULPTURE

GOTHIC ART

CHAPTER 4: GOTHIC SCULPTURE
Jacques Rouveyrol

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I. CHARACTERISTICS

The gradual disappearance of the wall progressively frees sculpture from the grip of architecture and leads it toward nature.
The Gothic age in sculpture will be one of balance between the demands of the architectural framework and the model of nature, which the Renaissance will later fully embrace.

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1. Framing

The sculpture is not free.
It is framed from above and below: by a canopy (dais) and a pedestal.
It remains subject to architecture.

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2. Attachment to the Wall

The "statue" gradually frees itself from the wall.
It is still attached to the wall by its back.
But being attached only at the back, it frees itself laterally and forward.

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3. Faciality

The statue is neither fully frontal nor completely axial. It is facial...

a. Frontality: archaic — Egyptian sculpture, Greek kouros, Romanesque Virgin, and the very first Gothic (column statues of Chartres).

The frontal presentation of the Egyptian Pharaoh, the Greek Kouros, and the Romanesque Virgin gave these figures a hieratic aspect.
They are fixed in a symmetrical posture for eternity and convey, on earth, the idea of divinities coming from another world.

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b. Faciality is typical of Classical Gothic.
The Gothic statue, thanks to its faciality, begins to show movement, giving it a sense of "life."
While the frontal statue could only be viewed properly from the front — seen from a single perspective — the facial statue can be viewed from multiple angles, except from the back (see: the Annunciation, Reims).

c. Axiality: typical of Greek, Roman, Renaissance, and later sculpture.

A vertical axis runs through the sculpture, around which it can rotate. Completely freed from architecture, the statue has become autonomous.

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4. Expressiveness

Thus, relatively freed from the constraints of architecture, sculpture ceases to be low or high relief and becomes a statue. It gains a certain autonomy that allows it to achieve expression. This expression does not yet come through the face but through posture.

5. Balance between Architecture and "Nature"

Still partly subject to architecture, sculpture must accept certain "deformations."
The column statues of Chartres elongate vertically as required by the columns to which they are attached.
However, in a sense, freed from the wall they tend to advance from, they resemble more closely the human beings they represent.
The balance between architecture and nature defines Gothic sculpture.

6. The Human Type

The possibility of resembling a natural being allows the statue not yet to embody an individual (tall or short, bald or with hair, etc.) but, at least, the human type — the very essence of humanity, what is universal and common to all individuals: their humanity.

7. The Correspondence between the Old and New Testament

a. The "Disorder" of the Romanesque Portal Iconography

We have seen the cloister of Moissac align its capitals in an obvious iconographic disorder. The porch of the same church evokes scenes from the New Testament in a disorder almost as significant: Annunciation / Visitation (this one is still manageable), Adoration of the Magi, Presentation at the Temple, Flight into Egypt, Death of Lazarus, Death of the Miser, Lust.

b. The "Chronology" of the Gothic Portal (The Portal of the Precursors)

The Gothic portal unfolds Sacred History. From the Patriarchs and prophets to the Saints of the Gospels, one progressively moves toward the Nativity (represented by the Virgin Mary).
Gothic art introduces order, either chronological or symbolic (the correspondences between the Old and New Testaments. See further below).

II. ICONOGRAPHY: THE FORM

1. The New Themes:

From the Apocalypse on the Romanesque tympans, we move on the Gothic tympans to Christ in glory, the Last Judgment, and the Glory of the Virgin. God ceases to be this terrifying being unrelated to humanity. He becomes the Father, the one who separates good from evil, rewards or punishes. This shift occurs because His Son has a Mother, like humans. God has "humanized" Himself. He remains a severe Judge, but one whose actions can be influenced by the prayers of the Saints or His Mother.

2. Gothic Grammar

a. Signs, Not Symbols

Images (sculptures, paintings) together create a writing made up of signs, not symbols as is often repeated. A sign is a difference. A sign only takes its meaning when distinguished from the signs to which it is attached. The relationship between the signifier (for example, the cruciform halo around Christ’s head) and the signified (Christ) is arbitrary (one could have given Him a non-cruciform halo, as is done with other saints). In contrast, in a symbol, the relationship between the signifier (the cross, for example) and the signified (Christians) is "justified" (in the sense that Christians cannot be represented by just anything, such as a balance or a sword, which represent justice). Therefore, the fact that Jesus inherits the cruciform halo has only one meaning: He is not interchangeable with those who inherit the simple halo. However, the opposite could have been possible. The mandorla or glory surrounding a body designates it as being that of God or the Virgin. Bare feet, God, Jesus, angels, and apostles. This distinguishes them from the Virgin, other saints, and ordinary mortals (who are not provided with a halo and thus distinguished from the Virgin and other saints, who share with them the common feature of having their feet shod).

b. The Types

Gradually, types begin to emerge that can be found in works of the 17th, 18th, and even 19th centuries. For example, there is a type for Saint Peter, recognizable by specific features of his physiognomy, independent of the keys that are another distinguishing sign. Similarly, there is a type for Saint Paul, independent of the sword that also distinguishes him. There is also a type for Saint John the Baptist, though this type is less independent, as it is closely linked to the lambskin that he wears.

.

Other figures are constant elements of Gothic iconography. For instance, the Church (depicted as the crowned Virgin, holding the Grail that collected Christ's blood) is contrasted with the Synagogue (a woman crowned with a pointed bonnet, blindfolded—this is a symbolic representation). The Church directly and clearly conveys the message of Christ, delivered by God Himself in the form of His Son. The Synagogue, on the other hand, carries the message that is distorted and veiled by the prophets, and she is unable to recognize the divinity of Jesus.

c. The hierarchy of places: top/bottom, right/left. The value of a figure changes depending on where it is placed. For instance, in the depiction of the Tetradymorphic figures, Saint Matthew is positioned at the top right (from Christ’s perspective), while Saint John is on the left. On the other hand, Saint Mark and Saint Luke are placed at the bottom, on the left and right respectively (from Christ’s perspective).

This positioning emphasizes their respective levels of importance, as well as their symbolic relationship to Christ. For example, Saint Matthew and Saint John, placed higher, are seen as closer to the divine, while the figures at the bottom represent a more grounded, earthly connection.

(Saint-Loup de Naud)

d. The Order of Detail:
The bases of statues convey something about the statue they support. For example, the basilisk and the asp (symbols of death and sin) are positioned beneath Christ's feet, symbolizing His triumph over death. The saints stand above the kings who persecuted them, signifying their eventual victory over these earthly powers.

The placement within the church also carries significance. The north side, associated with darkness and cold, holds scenes from the Old Testament, while the south side, symbolizing daylight and warmth, depicts scenes from the New Testament. Additionally, numbers are symbolic: the twelve apostles are significant, as "4" represents the material world (the four elements), and "3" symbolizes the spiritual realm (the Holy Trinity). Thus, "4x3=12" represents the apostles as those who bring the spirit into the material world, connecting God with the Earth.

(Chartres, Central Portal)

(Chartres)

(Arles)

5. Symbols:

The five wise virgins represent the five contemplations, while the five foolish virgins stand for the five senses and concupiscence. The lion symbolizes the Resurrection. Various attributes are also symbolic: the lamb is associated with Saint John the Baptist, Moses is represented by the bronze serpent or the tablets of the law, Abraham by a young child (Isaac), and Isaiah by the tree of Jesse

(Chartres, Central Portal :From right to left: Saint Peter. He wears a crown shaped like a conical tiara, similar to the tiara worn by 13th-century popes. He carries a key that opens the gates of paradise. He stands on the stone on which Jesus built his Church. Next to Saint Peter is Saint John the Baptist. He wears a sheepskin (or camel skin) coat. He holds a lamb that carries the flag of the Resurrection. Beneath his feet is a dragon. Then comes Simeon, who holds the Christ child. Simeon became so old that he was able to see Jesus. Following him is Jeremiah, the prophet of the Passion, with a cruciform halo symbolizing the Crucifixion. Beneath his feet, a curious figure listens to the prophet's words. Finally, Isaiah, the author of the prophecy about Jesse (Jesse lies beneath Isaiah's feet), holds a rod symbolizing the famous Jesse Tree, the Family Tree of Christ.

6. Painting:

Gothic painting is most clearly represented in stained glass. Illuminated manuscripts merely imitate the light and texture of stained glass, which was considered the true medium for light-filled painting in this period.

(Staines-glass                                 Illumination)

III. L'ICONOGRAPHIE : LE CONTENU

The cathedral is not only an ark or a prefiguration of the Heavenly Jerusalem (the City of God), it is also a book. Not, once again, a Bible for the illiterate, because one must know how to read (as we have just seen) to understand its iconography, but rather an encyclopedia that recaps and presents all the knowledge of the time (see Émile Mâle). The source is Speculum Maius (The Great Mirror of the World) by Vincent of Beauvais, which is divided into "four mirrors.

1. Le miroir de la Nature (Speculum naturale)

Nature is nothing more than the incarnation of the Thought of God. He conceived it, He created it according to His plans, and it therefore perfectly expresses His Thought. However, one must know how to read it. All the work of "science" will be to decipher this "text." Take, for example, a walnut (nothing more common), the walnut of Saint-Victor. First, there is the shell. It has two meanings: it represents either the humanity of Christ or the World. Then there is the husk, which has two possible meanings in relation to the shell: it symbolizes the wood of the cross or sin. Finally, there is the fruit, which represents either the hidden divinity of Christ or the Thought of God. Thus, everything is contained in each thing, and God is everywhere.

There are also the animals. Not all of them are symbolic, of course. The most important ones represent the four Evangelists, forming the Tetramorph. These are the Eagle (Saint John, but also the Ascension of Jesus, and among the virtues, contemplation), the Angel or Man (Saint Matthew, but also the Incarnation of Jesus, and the virtue of wisdom), the Lion (Saint Mark, but also the Resurrection of Jesus, and the virtue of courage), and the Ox (Saint Luke, but also the Crucifixion of Jesus, and the virtue of temperance). The serpent (or dragon) represents the devil. The elephant symbolizes the Fall. The asp represents sin, and the basilisk symbolizes death, as we have seen.

Again, not all animals are symbolic. The oxen of Laon are a tribute to the work these animals performed during the construction of the cathedral. Elsewhere, they express the creative power of God (see, for example, the Creation of Animals on the north portal of Chartres).

2 . Le miroir de la Science (Speculum doctrinale)

The cathedral is thus a mirror of Nature. It is also a mirror of science. On its walls, all that science holds as knowledge is displayed.

a. Practical science: Work. These are the "calendars" that describe the occupations of each month in relation to the zodiacal chronology.

(Chartres, North Portal: Left: Human beings, already present in the thought of God when He created the animals: fish and birds (right).)

2. The Mirror of Doctrine (Speculum doctrinale).

Thus, the cathedral is a Mirror of Nature. It is also a Mirror of "Science." On its walls, everything known by science is displayed.

a. Practical science.
Work. These are the "Calendars" that describe the activities of each month, linked to the zodiacal chronology.

(Amiens: From left to right: June (Cancer, mowing); July (Leo, harvesting hay); August (Virgo, threshing); September (Libra, grape harvest); October (Scorpio, pressing of the grapes).

b. Speculative Science: Medieval science is not, like ours, an instrument for dominating nature (through science, "we make ourselves masters and possessors of nature," as Descartes stated in the 17th century); it is its interpreter. And it is taught in a precise order. Hence the organization of studies: the trivium (grammar, dialectic, rhetoric) and the quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, music), and finally philosophy (or theology). These disciplines are often personified, frequently through reference to an authentic scholar (Aristotle, Pythagoras, Boethius, etc.).

(Notre-Dame-de-Paris : Geometry and Rethoric)

(Notre-Dame-de-Paris : Philosophy)

c. The Exclusion of Laziness: 

If science manifests itself in work, one must also consider among the figures that represent it, the antinomic figure of laziness, which is depicted through the Wheel of Fortune. Relying on chance to provide for our sustenance is laziness, the mother of all vices.

(Herrade de Landsberg. Wheel of Fortune in Hortus Deliciarum, 1159-1175)

3. The Mirror of Morality (Speculum morale):

The third great dimension of knowledge is morality, the science of behavior.

a. The Roman Model: There is a Roman model of morality: Psychomachia by Prudentius, the battle between virtues and vices, which decorates many capitals. It is an inner struggle that would inspire Roman sculptors. The Gothic sculptors, however, sought inspiration elsewhere and from different models, depending on whether they were illuminators or sculptors.

b. Gothic Models for Illumination: The Tree of Virtues and Vices (below) by Hugh of Saint-Victor and the Ladder of Virtues by Honorius of Autun.

c. The Sculptors: They do not adopt any of these models and instead oppose virtues and vices in pairs.

Along with the theologians of the time, three categories of virtues are highlighted:

• The Theological Virtues: Faith (vice: idolatry), Hope (vice: despair), Charity (vice: greed). These are the virtues without which there is no hope of Salvation.

• The Cardinal Virtues: Chastity (vice: intemperance), Prudence (or Wisdom; vice: folly), Fortitude (or courage; vice: cowardice), Justice (or obedience; vice: rebellion).

• Other virtues such as humility (vice: pride), patience (vice: anger), gentleness (vice: harshness), concord (or peace; vice: discord), etc.

4. The Mirror of History (Speculum historiale):

Finally, the cathedral will be the mirror of History. Not of secular history, which has little meaning, but of the only History that matters: Sacred History as it is narrated by the Old and New Testaments. This History must be understood, meaning that since the Old Testament announces the New, one must find the correspondences between the two. The lives of saints, on one side, and the history of the Jewish people, on the other, resonate throughout History. These resonances must be grasped and explained.

Thus, the Sacrifice of Isaac prefigures that of Christ. The water drawn from the rock by Moses, the blood that pours from the wound in Christ's side by Longinus. Jonah coming out of the mouth of the whale, the resurrection of Christ. And so on. The stained glass windows of the cathedrals are subtle commentaries on the Bible.

Take, for example, this fragment of stained glass from Lyon. It establishes correspondences between the Old Testament, the New Testament, and symbols. This is presented from bottom to top:

1. Isaiah, the prophet who announced the birth of Jesus by a Virgin; The Annunciation, the angel announcing the birth of Jesus to the Virgin; The unicorn, a pure animal that can only be approached by a virgin.

2. The burning bush that burns without being consumed; the Virgin giving birth without having "consummated"; Gideon’s fleece covered with dew for no natural reason.

3. Abraham is ready to sacrifice Isaac to obey God; Jesus sacrifices himself on the cross for the salvation of mankind; The brass serpent is lifted up by Moses in the desert to save the Jews from the burning serpents sent as punishment.

4. Jonah spat out by the whale returns to the world; Jesus, on the third day, rises again; the lion cubs, which appear dead the first three days, seem to come back to life on the third day by their father's breath.

5. The kladrius is a bird capable of determining whether a sick person will live or die; The Ascension of Christ, who will live after death; the eagle is the bird that rises the highest and, to teach its young to fly, carries them on its wings.

(Amiens : from left to right : Charity/Avarice ; Temperance/Intemperance ; Concord/Discord).

4. The Mirror of History (Speculum historiale).

Finally, the cathedral will be the Mirror of the History. Not of the profane history which is the place of the nonsense, but the only valuable history : the Holy History, reported in the Old and the New Testaments. The point is to understand this History, that is (because of the Old Testament is the announcement of the New) to find the connections between the two. The saints life on one hand and the Jewish people life on the other hand resonate across all the History. We have to grasp and to make explicit those resonances.

So, the Sacrifice of Isaac prefigures the Crucifixion of the Christ. The water extracted of the stone by Moses prefigures the blood of Jesus, escaped out of the wound made by the Longin's

 lance. Jonas, coming from the stomach of the whale, prefigures the Resurrection of the Christ. And so on. The stained-glasses of the cathedral are a skilled commentary of the Holy Bible.

Look at the stained-glass of Lyon (below). It introduced some connections between the Old Testament, the New Testament and symbols. From the bottom up :

                       

- Isiah (OT), who has prophesied Jesus birth from a Virgin ; the angel (NT) who has informed the Virgin of the Jesus birth ; the unicorn (Symbol) which is a pure animal, that only a Virgin can approach.

- The Burning Bush (OT) which is burning without consuming itself ; the Virgin who gives birth without  "consuming" (NT) ; the Gedeon fleece which is covered by the dew without a natural reason (Symbol).

-Abraham (OT) who is ready to sacrifice his son to obey God ; Jesus (NT) who is sacrified on the cross in order to save the humanity ; the Serpent of brass (Symbol) which is raised by Moses in the desert to save the Jewish people threatened by the burning snakes sended as a punishment.

- Jonas (OT) who is spited out by the whale ; Jesus (NT) who is resurrected the third day ; the lion cubs (Symbol) which seem dead the first three days and seem coming back to life, the third day, under the breath of their father.

The kladrius (Antiquity), a bird which is able to tell if a patient will live or die ; the Ascent of Christ (NT) who will live after death ; the eagle (Symbol) which is the bird which rises more high than the others and which, in order to teach how to fly to its young, loads it on its wings.

( The stained-glass)

 (First detail : Isaïe, Annunciation, Unicorn)

 (Second detail : Burning bush, Nativity, Gedeon fleece)

 (Third detail : Abraham, Crucifixion, Serpent of brass)

 (Fouth detail : Jonas, Resurrection, Lion cubs)

(Fith detail : Kladrius, Ascent, Eagle)

Each text, in fact, carries three meanings:

1. The literal or historical sense (a fact is reported: Abraham existed);

2. The moral or tropological sense (the immediate meaning of this fact: Faith. Abraham, despite God’s hesitations—who gives him a son and then takes him away—obeys, never doubting for a second that it is God who commands him. He does not know that God is testing his faith, of course; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a trial, but he believes);

3. The mystical or allegorical sense (the Crucifixion of Christ prefigured by the sacrifice of Isaac).

But the life of Christ (The New Testament) must also be interpreted. And the legends attached to it, even if they are not mentioned in the text. For example, the legend of the two wise women, Zélémie and Salome. One is astonished that Mary is still a virgin after childbirth, and the other doubts. When she checks with her hand, it dries up. It is only by asking forgiveness from the Child Jesus and through an act of faith that she regains the use of her hand. One of the main sources of inspiration, apart from the New Testament, will be The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine.

5. The Evolution of Representations.

We see the content of Gothic sculpture and its sources. We must also consider, finally, its form. Not the general characteristics studied above, but its particular characteristics. Especially the evolution of certain figures, such as, for example, that of the Virgin.

a. Romanesque: The Virgin in Majesty. Frontally, hieratic, seated on her throne with the Child on her lap, she is the throne of God. Nothing feminine or maternal about her.

b. Early Gothic: The beginning of the humanization of the Virgin. In the 13th century, the Virgin begins to "humanize." The child slides onto her knee and turns his face towards his mother or plays with her.

c. Classical Gothic: The Virgin Mother. Here she is, standing, carrying the Child on her arm and smiling at him. The Virgin has become a mother.

d. Late Gothic: The Woman. In the 15th century, it is the Virgin of Sorrows, the mother who has just lost her child. The woman who suffers. Thus, as God "humanizes" himself, as we saw earlier, the Virgin undergoes a similar humanization.

e. La Vie de la Vierge :

La vie de la Vierge devient un thème essentiel de l'écriture dans les portails et sur les façades des cathédrales. Les scènes les plus représentées sont naturellement l'Annonciation, la Visitation, la Mort et l'Assomption.
Un thème apparemment très fréquent au tympan est celui dit du Couronnement de la Vierge. Cette façon d'envisager les choses étant par ailleurs contestable. En effet le fait de déposer une couronne sur la tête d'une vierge équivaut de la part d'un homme à une demande en mariage. Il est évident que ce n'est pas sa mère que le Christ demande en mariage. Par ailleurs, on se souvient qu'une femme portant couronne caractérisait l'Eglise par opposition à la Synagogue aux yeux bandés. Ainsi, le Couronnement de la Vierge, ne serait en fait que le Mariage mystique de Dieu avec l'Église.
Cette représentation évolue au cours du temps. Dans la formule la plus ancienne, la couronne est déjà sur la tête de "la Vierge". Puis, il reviendra à un ange de déposer la couronne. Dans la formule finale, vers 1250 (la plus explicitement matrimoniale) c'est le Christ qui dépose la couronne sur la tête de l'Eglise.

La cathédrale n’est pas qu’une arche dans laquelle l’humanité peut se réfugier, pas que la préfiguration de la Jérusalem céleste, elle est un livre. Une encyclopédie ou se reflète tout le savoir du Moyen-Âge. Lorsque, dans Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo intitule le chapitre où il évoque l'invention de l'imprimerie et la fin de l'architecture médiévale : Ceci tuera cela, il exprime parfaitement la réalité de la sculpture gothique.