About the Notre Dame and Gothic Paris Walk in Paris
Soaring vaults, intricate stonework and shimmering expanses of jewel-like stained glass form the essence of the Gothic heart of Paris. The Ile-de-la-Cité, which houses the principal masterpieces of Gothic Paris: the famous Notre-Dame cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie (the only remnants of the Medieval palace of the king), will be our visual textbook for a 3-hour voyage through the evolution of French Gothic art and architecture.
Born in 1144 at Saint-Denis to the north of Paris, Gothic became the architecture of Europe for the next four centuries. The Gothic wonder of Paris is, of course, the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Commissioned by Bishop Sully in 1160 with the aim of building the largest church in Europe, Notre Dame showcases the development of Gothic architecture over its first hundred years. Our docent will help us trace the evolution of the Gothic style, unravel the elaborate symbolism of the sculptural decoration, understand the development of the world-famous
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Soaring vaults, intricate stonework and shimmering expanses of jewel-like stained glass form the essence of the Gothic heart of Paris. The Ile-de-la-Cité, which houses the principal masterpieces of Gothic Paris: the famous Notre-Dame cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie (the only remnants of the Medieval palace of the king), will be our visual textbook for a 3-hour voyage through the evolution of French Gothic art and architecture.
Born in 1144 at Saint-Denis to the north of Paris, Gothic became the architecture of Europe for the next four centuries. The Gothic wonder of Paris is, of course, the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Commissioned by Bishop Sully in 1160 with the aim of building the largest church in Europe, Notre Dame showcases the development of Gothic architecture over its first hundred years. Our docent will help us trace the evolution of the Gothic style, unravel the elaborate symbolism of the sculptural decoration, understand the development of the world-famous rose windows, and appreciate the other artistic treasures. This will be followed by an exterior tour of the fanciful gargoyles and slender flying buttresses that represent the height of medieval engineering.
We will also visit the gothic gem of the Ile-de-la-Cité: La Sainte-Chapelle. This magnificent chapel still takes one’s breath away as a unified composition of architecture, stained glass, painting, and sculpture. Built in just three years as the personal chapel of King Louis IX to house the holiest relics of Christianity, it is an impressive example of Rayonnant, or third-generation Gothic. A veritable bible in stained glass, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the most intact medieval monuments in Europe. Its thirteenth-century windows and stunning fifteenth-century rose window provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on the different phases of medieval stained glass. Our docent will spend considerable time on St. Chapelle, going over it's design and architecture. Due to strict rules to maintain the sacredness of the chapel that prohibit group lecturing in the upper part of the chapel, we will do most of our structured discussion of Sainte-Chapelle from the exterior before immersing ourselves in the interior spaces.
Louis’ chapel was but a small portion of the sprawling palace built by the medieval kings at the tip of the Ile de la Cité. We will further explore the vestiges of the royal residence at the neighboring Conciergerie. Here, we will focus on the impressive hall designed for the royal guard, a feast hall that could hold the palace’s entire 2,000-member staff, which is the largest surviving Gothic hall in Europe. Abandoned as a royal residence after 1357, the Conciergerie went on to play an important role in the history of French justice. Time permitting, we will take a break from the Middle Ages, with a brief visit of what was the prison building, particularly favored by the revolutionaries, and from where Marie Antoinette and countless others were sent to the guillotine.
We will come away from this walk with an understanding of the role that Notre-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie played as representatives of religious and secular authority in the great medieval capital of France.
