Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals: Studies on Architecture, Stained Glass and Sculpture in Honor of Anne Prache 1472440552, 9781472440556

Table of contents :
List of Figures vii
List of Color Plates xv
Notes on Contributors xvii
Foreword by Kathleen Nolan and Dany Sandron xxi
Preface: Anne Prache: A Distinctive Approach to the History of Architecture / Dany Sandron xxiii
Introduction / Kathleen Nolan 1
Part I. Architecture
1. The Thirteenth-Century Foundations of Notre-Dame de Reims: New Evidence for the Construction History of the Cathedral / Walter Berry 7
2. Cathedral, Palace, Hôtel: Architectural Emblems of an Ideal Society / Michael T. Davis 27
3. Ambulatories, Arcade Screens, and Visual Experience from Saint-Remi to Saint-Quentin / Ellen M. Shortell 47
4. Roriczer, Schmuttermayer, and Two Late Gothic Portals at the Cloisters / Nancy Wu 71
Part II. Stained Glass
5. Stained Glass and the Chronology of Reims Cathedral / Sylvie Balcon-Berry 93
6. Joseph’s Dream in the Thomson Collection: Reconsidering the Reconstruction of the Infancy of Christ Window from Suger’s Saint-Denis / Michael W. Cothren 107
7. The West Rose Window of the Cathedral of Chartres / Claudine Lautier 121
8. Out with the New and In with the Old: Jacques Coeur’s Annunciation Window and its Reception in Bourges Cathedral / Philippe Lorentz 135
Part III. Sculpture
9. Teachers, Preachers, and the Good Shepherd at Reims Cathedral: Another Look at the Radiating Chapel Sculptures / William W. Clark 151
10. The Function of Drawings in the Planning of Gothic Sculpture: Evidence from the Archivolts of the Central Portal of Bourges Cathedral / Fabienne Joubert 165
11. Joseph at Chartres: Sculpture Lost and Found / Charles T. Little 179
12. "Filiae Hierusalem": Female Statue Columns from Notre-Dame-en-Vaux / Kathleen Nolan and Susan Leibacher Ward 197
13. A Little-Known Work from the Fourteenth Century: The Façade of the Cathedral of Lyons / Nicolas Reveyron 213
Afterword by Gérard P. Prache 235
Index 237

Citation preview

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

AVISTA Studies in the History of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art is a series produced by AvistA (the Association villard de honnecourt for interdisciplinary study of Medieval technology, science, and Art), and published by Ashgate. the aim of the series is to promote the cross-disciplinary objectives of AvistA by publishing in the areas of the history of science, technology, architecture, and art. the society takes its name from villard (Wilars) de honnecourt, an elusive persona of the thirteenth century whose autograph portfolio contains a variety of fascinating drawings and descriptions of both the fine and mechanical arts.

www.avista.org AvistA President, 2015 vibeke olson volume editors-in-Chief Kathleen Nolan dany sandron

Previous titles in this series: New Approaches to Medieval Architecture edited by robert Bork, William W. Clark and Abby McGehee Working with Limestone The Science, Technology and Art of Medieval Limestone Monuments edited by vibeke olson The Art, Science, and Technology of Medieval Travel edited by robert Bork and Andrea Kann The Medieval Hospital and Medical Practice edited by Barbara s. Bowers Visualizing Medieval Medicine and Natural History, 1200–1550 edited by Jean A. Givens, Karen M. reeds, Alain touwaide

AVISTA Studies in the History of Medieval Technology, Science and Art Volume 9

Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals studies on Architecture, stained Glass and sculpture in honor of Anne Prache

Edited by KAthleeN NolAN Hollins University, USA dANy sANdroN Université de Paris-Sorbonne and Centre André-Chastel, France

ROUTLEDGE

Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2015 by Ashgate Publishing Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © Kathleen Nolan and dany sandron 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Kathleen Nolan and dany sandron have asserted their right under the Copyright, designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British library The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Arts of the Medieval cathedrals : studies on architecture, stained glass and sculpture in honor of Anne Prache / edited by Kathleen Nolan and dany sandron. pages cm -- (AvistA studies in the history of medieval technology, science and art ; 9) includes bibliographical references and index. isBN 978-1-4724-4055-6 (hardcover) 1. Cathedrals--france. 2. Architecture, Gothic--france. 3. Glass painting and staining, Gothic--france. 4. sculpture, Gothic--france. i. Prache, Anne, honouree. ii. Nolan, Kathleen, 1952- editor. iii. sandron, dany, editor. NA5543.A78 2015 726.60944--dc23 2014042344

isBN 9781472440556 (hbk)

Contents

List of Figures List of Color Plates Notes on Contributors Foreword by Kathleen Nolan and Dany Sandron Preface: Anne Prache: A Distinctive Approach to the History of Architecture by Dany Sandron introduction Kathleen Nolan ParT I

vii xv xvii xxi xxiii 1

arChITeCTure

1

the thirteenth-Century foundations of Notre-dame de reims: New evidence for the Construction history of the Cathedral Walter Berry

2

Cathedral, Palace, hôtel: Architectural emblems of an ideal society Michael T. Davis

3

Ambulatories, Arcade screens, and visual experience from saint-remi to saint-Quentin Ellen M. Shortell

47

4

roriczer, schmuttermayer, and two late Gothic Portals at the Cloisters Nancy Wu

71

ParT II

7 27

STaIneD GLaSS

5

stained Glass and the Chronology of reims Cathedral Sylvie Balcon-Berry

6

Joseph’s dream in the thomson Collection: reconsidering the reconstruction of the infancy of Christ Window from suger’s saint-denis Michael W. Cothren

93

107

vi

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

7

the West rose Window of the Cathedral of Chartres Claudine Lautier

8

out with the New and in with the old: Jacques Coeur’s Annunciation Window and its reception in Bourges Cathedral Philippe Lorentz

ParT III

121

135

SCuLPTure

9

teachers, Preachers, and the Good shepherd at reims Cathedral: Another look at the radiating Chapel sculptures William W. Clark

10

the function of drawings in the Planning of Gothic sculpture: evidence from the Archivolts of the Central Portal of Bourges Cathedral Fabienne Joubert

151

165

11

Joseph at Chartres: sculpture lost and found Charles T. Little

12

Filiae Hierusalem: female statue Columns from Notre-dame-en-vaux Kathleen Nolan and Susan Leibacher Ward

197

13

A little-Known Work from the fourteenth Century: the façade of the Cathedral of lyons Nicolas Reveyron

213

Afterword by Gérard P. Prache Index

179

235 237

list of figures

All illustrations appear by the kind permission of the individuals and institutions that own them, with a few exceptions, where every possible effort was made to determine the holders of copyright.

frontispiece 1 2 3 4 5 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10

Anne Prache 1931–2009 (Photo: Gérard P. Prache)

reims, Cathedral of Notre dame: west façade in 2006 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) reims, saint-remi: choir (photo: fonds Anne Prache/Centre André Chastel) Courville, saint-Julien: view pre-1914 (photo: fonds Anne Prache/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west façade (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) Amiens, Cathedral of Notre-dame: timber roof of the choir (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: elevation drawing of the foundations of the nave, by henri deneux ca. 1925 (drawing: henri deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, 9) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: plan by henri deneux of foundations revealed during excavations (drawing: henri deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, frontispiece) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: substructures in the chevet (drawing: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: groundwork in the crossing and choir (drawing: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: foundations of the south arm of the transept (drawing: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: substructures of the south side of the nave and west front (drawing: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: foundations of the north side of the nave and west front (drawing: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: nave north arcade foundations, seen from southwest (photo: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: nave north arcade foundations, seen from northwest (photo: Walter Berry) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: 1944 deneux plan corrected and modified to illustrate the features described in the text (drawing: Walter Berry)

xxii xxiv xxv xxix xxxi xxxiii

8 8 10 12 15 17 19 21 21 24

viii

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

2.5 2.6

2.7 2.8

2.9

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

limbourg brothers, Map of rome, Très Riches Heures. Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms 65, fol. 141 (photo: rené-Gabriel ojéda, rMN-Grand Palais/Art resource, Ny) Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame: plan with list of features and objects mentioned by Guillebert de Mets (drawing: Michael davis) Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame: elevation of west façade with features mentioned by Guillebert de Mets (drawing: Michael davis) interior view of Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame, ca. 1640 by Pierre Aveline, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france, Cabinet des estampes et de la photographie, vA-254 fol (photo: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france) Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame: Job relief, west façade, central portal, interior face of north buttress (photo: Michael davis) Paris, Palais de la Cité: general view from east by Boisseau, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france, Cabinet des estampes et de la photographie, vX 15, p. 271 (1156) (photo: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france) Paris, Palais de la Cité: plan with places included in the description by Guillebert de Mets (drawing: Michael davis) Plan of Paris in 1550 (“Plan de Bâle”) by olivier truschet and Germain hoyau, showing area around rue des Prouvaires, labeled “r. desprouvelles” (photo: Universitätsbibliothek Basel, Kartensig AA 124) limbourg brothers, temptation of Christ, Très Riches Heures, Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms. 65, fol. 161 (photo: rené-Gabriel ojéda, rMN-Grand Palais/Art resource, Ny) saint-Quentin, former collegiate church: interior looking east (photo: ellen shortell) saint-Quentin, former collegiate church: ambulatory (photo: ellen shortell) saint-Quentin, former collegiate church: plan of east end with overlay of design scheme geometry (drawing: ellen shortell) reims, saint-remi: interior, chevet looking east (photo: ellen shortell) reims, saint-remi: ambulatory and radiating chapels looking southeast (photo: Andrew tallon 2008 mappinggothic.org) saint-remi, reims: plan of east end (drawing: ellen shortell, after Georg dehio and Gustav von Bezold, Die kirchliche Baukunst des Abendlande, stuttgaret: J.G. Cotta, 1901 pl. 361) soissons, Cathedral of saint-Gervais-et-saint-Protais: south transept (photo: Andrew tallon 2008 mappinggothic.org) soissons, Cathedral of saint-Gervais-et-saint-Protais: view into lower south transept chapel (photo: ellen shortell) soissons, Cathedral of saint-Gervais-et-saint-Protais: plan (drawing: ellen shortell, after dehio and Bezold, Die kirchliche Baukunst des Abendlandes, 1901 pl. 361)

31 33 34

34 35

36 37

41 42 48 49 50 52 53 55 58 59 60

list of fiGUres

ix

3.10

soissons, Cathedral of saint-Gervais-et-saint-Protais: choir, interior looking east (photo: ellen shortell)

67

4.1

Portal from the Château de la roche-Gençay, ca. 1520–30. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, 40.1473 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art) Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notre-dame. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, 35.3514 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art) Château de la roche-Gençay (photo: Nancy Wu) “salle de Musique” of the Parisian home of George Blumenthal (photo: Notice sur les fragments de monuments anciens ayant servi à construire La Salle de Musique, Paris: Albert lévy, 1930 no plate numbers) Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notre-dame: detail of damaged bases. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection (photo: Nancy Wu) diagrams from Mathes roriczer, Büchlein von der Fialen Gerechtigkeit (drawing: vanessa lee, after lon shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 85, figure 3; 93, figure 11 and 97, figure 14) diagrams from Fialenbüchlein by hanns schmuttermayer: bottom, the eight rotating squares (drawing: vanessa lee, after lon shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 128 figure 35); top: design of pinnacle (drawing: Vanessa Lee after Shelby, 129 figure 36) Design modified after Hanns Schmuttermayer (drawing: Vanessa lee, after lon shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 129 figure 36 and 139 figure 38) Portal from the Château de la roche-Gençay: overlay with four circles determining the ogee arch’s extrados and intrados (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata teresa sasinska) Portal from the Château de la roche-Gençay: overlay with a large square circumscribed by a circle and a √2 rectangle (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata teresa sasinska) Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notre-dame: overlay with four circles determining the ogee arch’s extrados and intrados (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata teresa sasinska)

4.2 4.3 4.4

4.5 4.6 4.7

4.8 4.9

4.10

4.11

5.1 5.2

drawing of Apocalyptic elders from Window 39, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: sylvie Balcon-Berry) drawing made in 1872 of a face from a lower window of reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame, employed as a bouche-trou in 1739 in the rose of the north arm of the transept. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel)

72 73 74

76 78 82

83 84

87

88

89

95

96

x

5.3 5.4

5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8

6.1 6.2 6.3

6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

Panel with the life of saint Nicaise attributed to the cathedral of soissons. the isabella stewart Gardner Museum Boston, MA (photo: isabella stewart Gardner Museum) drawing made in 1872 of two panels of a tree of Jesse from reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame, reemployed in 1739 in the rose of the north arm of the transept, simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel) drawing of two men conversing from Window 39 of reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: sylvie Balcon-Berry) drawing of the face of a bishop, from Window 121 Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel) drawing of the face of a king, from Window 125 reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel) Assemblage of drawings KArolvs from Window 128 reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel; CAd: sylvie Balcon-Berry) Abbey Church of saint-denis: interior of the ambulatory, 1140–44 france (photo: stephen Gardner) Abbey Church of saint-denis: lower two registers of the infancy of Christ window (photo: Michael Cothren) Abbey of saint-denis: reconstruction of the lower two registers of the infancy of Christ window in ca. 1144 two partially original central panels from 6.2, two eighteenth-century drawings of lost panels at left, a lower right panel with the prophet Jeremiah (Burrell Collection, Glasgow), and an upper right panel of shepherds (once at highcliffe Castle, now in the victoria and Albert Museum, london) (photomontage: Michael Cothren) dream of Joseph. thomson Collection, Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: Art Gallery of ontario) Abbey Church of saint-denis: dream of Joseph, from the infancy of Christ window (photo: Michael Cothren) dream of Joseph: detail of the head of Joseph. thomson Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: Michael Cothren) dream of Joseph: detail of the head of an angel. thomson Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: Michael Cothren) Abbey Church of saint-denis: dream of Joseph, from the infancy of Christ window, detail of the head of Joseph (photo: isabelle Baudoin-louw) Abbey Church of saint-denis: dream of Joseph, from the infancy of Christ window, detail of the head of an angel (photo: Michael Cothren)

96

98 99 104 104

105 108 110

111 112 113 115 115 116 116

list of fiGUres

6.10

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6

8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 9.1 9.2

Abbey of saint-denis: reconstruction of the upper two registers of the infancy of Christ window in ca. 1144 lower register has flight into egypt (Glencairn Museum) and upper register has three panels portraying the Arrival in sotine (Wilton, england) (photomontage: Michael Cothren) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, ca. 1205–10 (photo: hervé debitus) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, Bosom of Abraham (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window: cherub (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: interior south wall between the two towers of the west façade, Apocalyptic elder (photo: Patrice Calvel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, hell Mouth (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, dead rising from their tombs (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, saint-Ursin Chapel: Jacques Coeur Annunciation window, 1451 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, hôtel Jacques Coeur: angels on the vaults of the ceiling in the chapel painted by the Master of Jacques Coeur, ca. 1450 (photo: fonds Georges Gaillard/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, hôtel Jacques Coeur: angel on a vault of the ceiling in the chapel painted by the Master of Jacques Coeur, ca. 1450 (photo: fonds Georges Gaillard/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, saint-Ursin Chapel: Jacques Coeur Annunciation window, detail (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, trousseau Chapel, window of Canon Pierre trousseau and his family, between 1404 and 1409 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) Unknown Netherlandish Painter, The Siege of Rhodes, painted in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Épernay, Musée d’archéologie et du vin de Champagne (photo: ville d’Épernay) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet from east (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource Art393811) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet from east, radiating chapels and their sculpture (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource Art393811)

xi

119 122 124 125 127 129 132

136 138 140 141 143 146 152 154

xii

9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7

10.1

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: plan of chevet, with Christ as number seven (drawing: Walter Berry, CAd; david Neiss, AfAN, with William Clark) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet, Christ and angels on the wall buttresses of the chevet seen from southeast (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource Art393828) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet, Christ on the wall buttress, seen from the southeast (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource Art393828) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet, Christ on the wall buttress, frontal view (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource Art144732) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet, Christ on the wall buttress, seen from the north (photo: francis rothier, Archives Jacques doucet, fol est 772 rothier No. 707 iNhA, dist. rMN-Grand Palais/Art resource Art484458)

Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.2 Bourges, Cathedral central portal, inner right archivolt, four lowest seraphim (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.3 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, inner left archivolt, four lowest seraphim (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.4 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, inner left archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.5 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, inner right archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.6 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, second archivolt to the left, third and fourth angels from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.7 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at left, lowest Confessor (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.8 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at right, lowest Confessor (photo: Centre André Chastel) 10.9 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at left, sixth Confessor from archivolt base (photo: fabienne Joubert) 10.10 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at right, seventh Confessor from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel) 11.1 head of Joseph. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.143 (photo: Charles little) 11.2 head of Joseph. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.143 (photo: Charles little)

154 155 158 158

159 167 171 172 173 173 174 176 176 177 177 180 181

list of fiGUres

three Chartres heads as displayed in the 2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition “set in stone: the face in Medieval sculpture” (photo: Charles little) 11.4 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: view of the Chartres choir screen in 1697 detail of Nicolas de larmessin, Triomphe de la Sainte Vierge dans l’église de Chartres. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france, est. vA 430 ft6 (photo: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale) 11.5 reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: head of Joseph from the west façade, reversed (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource) 11.6 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: Nativity relief from jubé (photo: Charles little) 11.7 Photomontage reconstruction of head of Joseph positioned onto the Nativity relief from the Chartres jubé (photo: Charles little; photomontage: thomas vinton) 11.8 Champlevé enamel with Nativity scene, Mosan, ca. 1165 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190418 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art) 11.9 Walrus ivory relief of the holy family, north french, ca. 1160–80 Metropolitan Museum of Art, 40.62 (photo: Charles little) 11.10 Chartres, saint-Père-en-valleé: lintel with the entombment of Christ and Marys at the sepulcher. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 39.82 (photo: Charles little) 11.11 Chartres, saint-Père-en-valleé: lintel with the entombment of Christ and Marys at the sepulcher, detail, head. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 39.82 (photo: Charles little)

xiii

11.3

12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7

Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: ecclesia. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: susan Ward) Châlons-en-Champagne, Notre-dame-en-vaux: south portal (photo: Kathleen Nolan) dijon, saint-Bénigne: engraving of west portal, from Urbain Plancher, Histoire générale et particulière de Bourgogne, 1739 vol. 1, pl. 503 (photo: Kathleen Nolan) Châlons-en-Champagne, Notre-dame-en-vaux: south portal, tympanum and lintel (photo: Kathleen Nolan) Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: Wise virgin. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: Kathleen Nolan) Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: foolish virgin. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: Kathleen Nolan) Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: bride from the Wedding at Cana. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-envaux (photo: G. Garitan/wikicommons)

181

184 186 187 189 191 193 196 196

198 201 204 205 206 206 207

xiv

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

12.8

Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: bride from the Wedding at Cana, detail, head. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: Kathleen Nolan) 12.9 Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: mourning woman (photo: hartill Archive of Architecture and Allied Arts) 12.10 vermenton, Notre-dame: west portal (photo: Kathleen Nolan) 13.1

lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade (photo: JeanPierre Gobillot) 13.2 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: view of nave from the east (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.3 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, arcades seen from the south (photo: Nicolas reveyron 13.4 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, gargoyle from arcade, goat and siren in talons of a beast (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.5 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: north flank of west façade, lovers on lower console face (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.6 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: interior, reverse of the façade (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.7 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, archivolts and embrasures of south side of central door (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.8 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, embrasures of north side of central door, pedestals (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.9 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, central door, trilobe gable with st. Martin at summit of pedestal (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.10 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, tympanum of south door (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.11 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, lintel of south door (photo: Nicolas reveyron) 13.12 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, north door, figures of saints taken during recent restorations (photo: Nicolas reveyron)

207 208 210 214 218 220 221 221 224 228 230 231 232 232 233

list of Color Plates

1 2 3 4 5

6

7 8 9

10 11 12 13

reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: plan by henri deneux of foundations revealed during excavations (drawing: henri deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, frontispiece) reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: 1944 deneux plan corrected and modified to illustrate the features described in the text (drawing: Walter Berry) limbourg brothers, Map of rome, Très Riches Heures. Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms 65, fol. 141v (photo: rené-Gabriel ojéda, rMN-Grand Palais/ Art resource, Ny) limbourg brothers, temptation of Christ, Très Riches Heures, Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms. 65, fol. 161v (photo: rené-Gabriel ojéda, rMN-Grand Palais/Art resource, Ny) Portal from Château de the la roche-Gençay: linear dimensions derived from the basic unit. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, 40.147.3 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata teresa sasinska) Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notre-dame Gimont: width of base block and its multiplications. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, 35.35.14 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata teresa sasinska) Composite panel of heads from the lower windows of reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/ Centre André Chastel) drawing of Apocalyptic elders from Window 39, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: sylvie Balcon-Berry) drawing made in 1872 of two panels of a tree of Jesse from reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame, reemployed in 1739 in the rose of the north arm of the transept, simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/ Centre André Chastel) sainsaulieu Autochrome of saint John the Baptist from Window 118, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. reims, Bibliothèque Municipale, fiC, fonds sainsaulieu, Pdv 219 (photo: Bibliothèque Municipale, reims) Assemblage of drawings of henry of Braine from Window 100, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel; CAd: sylvie Balcon-Berry) Assemblage of drawings KArolvs from Window 128, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/ Centre André Chastel; CAd: sylvie Balcon-Berry) dream of Joseph. thomson Collection, Art Gallery of ontario, Canada. (photo: Art Gallery of ontario)

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dream of Joseph: detail of the head of Joseph. thomson Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: Michael Cothren) dream of Joseph: detail of the head of an angel. thomson Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: Michael Cothren) Abbey Church of saint-denis: dream of Joseph, from the infancy of Christ window, detail of the head of Joseph (photo: isabelle Baudoin-louw) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, ca. 1205–10 (photo: hervé debitus) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, Bosom of Abraham (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window: cherub (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: interior south wall between the two towers of the west façade, Apocalyptic elder (photo: Patrice Calvel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, hell Mouth (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, dead rising from their tombs (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, saint-Ursin Chapel: Jacques Coeur Annunciation window, 1451 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, trousseau Chapel, window of Canon Pierre trousseau and his family, between 1404 and 1409 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel) Unknown Netherlandish Painter, The Siege of Rhodes, painted in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Épernay, Musée d’archéologie et du vin de Champagne (photo: ville d’Épernay) Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, inner left archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel) Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, inner right archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel) head of Joseph. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.143 (photo: Charles little) Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame, detail view of Nativity relief from jubé (photo: Charles little) Champlevé enamel with Nativity scene, Mosan, ca. 1165. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.418 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art) Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: bride from the Wedding at Cana. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: G. Garitan/wikicommons)

Notes on Contributors

Sylvie Balcon-Berry—Maître de conferences in Medieval Art history and Archaeology at the Université de Paris-sorbonne (Paris iv) and member of the Centre André-Chastel, sylvie Balcon-Berry devoted her thesis (under the direction of Anne Prache) to the stained glass of the upper choir windows of the cathedral of troyes. in 2006 she published this work in collaboration with elizabeth Pastan. other than her research concerning medieval stained glass (not only those of the cathedrals of reims and Auxerre but also the origins of the medium), she has directed, with Christian sapin and Walter Berry, the archeological study of the episcopal group of Autun. Walter Berry—Art historian and archaeologist, he has worked in france since the 1970s, notably on sites in southern Burgundy. Between 1993 and 1998 he was responsable d’opération for the reims Cathedral group archaeological research project. Currently chercheur associé with UMr 5594 (CNRS—Université de Bourgogne), he is preparing an annotated database for the documentation of K.J. Conant’s excavations at Cluny. William W. Clark—Professor of Art history at Queens College and of Medieval studies at the Graduate Center, both part of the City University of New york (CUNy)—has published widely on architecture and sculpture of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, especially in france. his current work, on the Abbey of saint-denis, in all its aspects, has been undertaken with thomas G. Waldman. Michael W. Cothren is scheuer family Professor of humanities at swarthmore College and consultative curator at the Glencairn Museum, Pennsylvania. he has published multiple journal articles on Gothic painted glass, as well as the monograph Picturing the Celestial City: The Medieval Stained Glass of Beauvais Cathedral (2006). he is former president of the American committee of the international Corpus vitrearum, and is currently co-author of the textbook volumes Art History (2010–). Michael T. Davis is Professor of Art history and chair of the Architectural studies program at Mount holyoke College, Massachusetts. he has published widely on Gothic architecture. recent publications include “‘fitting to the requirements of the Place’: the franciscan Church of saint-Marie-Madeleine in Paris,” in Architecture, Liturgy, and Identity: Liber Amicorum Paul Crossley, ed. Zoe opacic and Achimtimmerman (2011) and “‘Ci poes vos veir’: technologies of representation from drawing to digital,” in New Approaches to Medieval Architecture, ed. robert Bork, William W. Clark, and A. McGehee (Ashgate, 2011).

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Fabienne Joubert was curator at the Musée national du Moyen Âge (Cluny) from 1978 to 1987, and then served as the museum’s director from 1987 to 1991. she was also Professor of Medieval Art at the Université de Bourgogne from 1991 to 1997, and at the Université de Paris-sorbonne from 1997 to 2011. her principal publications include: La tapisserie médiévale au Musée de Cluny (1994); Le jubé de Bourges (1994); and La sculpture gothique en France: XIIe–XIIIe siècles (2008). Claudine Lautier was until recently a researcher at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and served as vice-president of the international committee of the international Corpus vitrearum. Apart from her studies on Gothic sculpture and architecture, her publications have centered on romanesque and Gothic stained glass, as well as on medieval treatises about the glass arts. since 1986 she has overseen the restoration of all the windows of Chartres Cathedral, and has devoted a score of articles to the iconography, medieval production, and conservation of the Chartrain glass, of which “les vitraux de la cathédrale de Chartres: reliques et images,” Bulletin monumental (2003), is of special relevance to the present volume. Charles T. Little is Curator of Medieval Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New york. he has published, with elizabeth C. Parker, The Cloisters Cross: Its Art and Meaning (1994), and is co-author of Europe in the Middle Ages: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1998). his most recent exhibition is Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture (2006). he is also co-director of the limestone sculpture Provenance Project and is a past president of the international Center of Medieval Art. Philippe Lorentz is Professor of Medieval Art history at the University of Parissorbonne and director of studies at the École Pratique des hautes Études (ePhe)/ Chair of history of Western Medieval Art. Between 2001 and 2011 he was a professor at the University of strasbourg, and prior to that he was a curator in the department of Painting at the louvre. in addition to contributing to multiple exhibitions and their catalogues in france and beyond, he was the organizer and catalogue author for Hans Memling au Louvre (1995); Jost Haller (2001); Grünewald et le retable d’Issenheim. Regards sur un chef-d’oeuvre (2007–08); and Strasbourg 1400 (2008). Kathleen nolan is Professor of Art history at hollins University, virginia. she has produced two volumes on Capetian queens, mostly recently Queens in Stone and Silver: The Creation of a Visual Imagery of Queenship in Capetian France (2009). With her chapter in collaboration with susan leibacher Ward in the current volume, she returns to her earlier interest in statue-column sculpture, on which she has published several articles.

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nicolas reveyron is Professor of the history of Medieval Art and Archeology at the Université lumière-lyon 2, a member of the institut Universitaire de france, and director of the CNrs research laboratory on archeometry and archeology (CNrs-UMr). he studies religious architecture from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries as the iconography of monuments. Dany Sandron has been Professor of the history of Art and Archeology of the Middle Ages at the Université de Paris-sorbonne since 1998. his research and numerous publications focus on the architecture and the arts of romanesque and Gothic monuments, with a particular interest in the iconological aspect of the monuments revelatory of fundamental political and social mechanisms. he was editor, with fabienne Joubert, of the 1999 volume in honor of Anne Prache: Pierre, lumière, couleur. Études d’histoire de l’art du Moyen Âge en l’honneur d’Anne Prache. since 2001 he has served as director of the Centre André Chastel (UMr 8150: research laboratory in history of Art, Paris-sorbonne, CNrs, Ministère de la Culture). ellen M. Shortell is Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture in the history of Art department at Massachusetts College of Art and design. in her work on french Gothic architecture and stained glass, and particularly on the former collegiate church at saint-Quentin, she has explored architectural design and stained glass in relation to visual and spatial experience. she is co-editor of The Four Modes of Seeing: Studies of Medieval Imagery in honor of Madeline H. Caviness (Ashgate, 2009) and is currently preparing a monograph on saint-Quentin. Susan Leibacher Ward is a professor in the history of Art and visual Culture department at the rhode island school of design. she is currently the co-editor of the Census of Gothic Sculpture in America, a multi-volume series sponsored by the international Center of Medieval Art (iCMA). she has written articles on french and english sculpture, including “the south Porch of le Mans Cathedral and the Concept of the ‘follower’ Portal,” in Neue Forschungen zur Bauskulptur in Frankreich und Spanien, ed. Claudia rückert and Jochen staebel (2010). she is currently working on a book on narrative in twelfth-century portals. nancy Wu is Museum educator at the Cloisters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. she has presented and published on various aspects of Gothic architecture, especially reims Cathedral. she is editor of the volume Ad Quadratum: The Practical Application of Geometry in Medieval Architecture (Ashgate, 2002). her recent articles include “le chevet de la cathédrale de reims et le plan du début du Xiiie siècle,” in Nouveaux regards sur la Cathédrale de Reims, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (2008) and “teaching Medieval Architecture at the Cloisters,” in Perspectives on Medieval Art: Learning through Looking, ed. ena G. heller and Patricia C. Pongracz (2010).

foreword Kathleen Nolan and dany sandron

the present volume originated in three sessions sponsored by the Association villard de honnecourt for the interdisciplinary study of technology, science, and Art (AvistA) in memory of Anne Paillard Prache at the international Congress of Medieval studies at Western Michigan University on May 14, 2010, one year after her death. the aim of the sessions, which brought together french and American academics and museum professionals, was to demonstrate the “influence and guidance from the scholarship of Professor Prache.” The organizers of the sessions—William Clark, of Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNy; Charles little, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Nancy Wu, of the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art—realized that the nine papers, all of high caliber, together gave a picture of the vibrant scholarship that is Professor Prache’s legacy and thus merited being published as a group. to make the collection more truly international, several former colleagues and students of Professor Prache in Paris were invited to contribute additional chapters (certain of the participants in the Kalamazoo sessions ultimately did not contribute to the volume). in order to evoke the warm and collegial spirit of the Kalamazoo sessions, the volume opens and closes with two sets of remarks as they were delivered in 2010. first is dany sandron’s characterization of Prache’s career, “Anne Prache: A distinctive Approach to the history of Architecture,” which stands as the Preface to the chapters. And second, Gérard Prache’s “remarks” at the end of the three sessions serve as the Afterword for the volume. sandron’s and Prache’s remarks appear as transcripts of the spoken comments, with only minor editorial changes. the editors are grateful to the organizers of the 2010 sessions for providing the impetus behind this project, and especially to Nancy Wu for guidance on many editorial points. Production costs were underwritten by generous support from the Audrey love Charitable foundation, through AvistA, as well as from the Centre André Chastel, of the Université de Paris-sorbonne. We would like to acknowledge robert Cromwell for valuable technical assistance, and above all John smedley, of Ashgate Publishing, for his counsel and forbearance.

Anne Prache 1931–2009 (Photo: Gérard P. Prache)

Preface

Anne Prache: A distinctive Approach to the history of Architecture dany sandron

From Reims to Reims, for almost 50 years, from her first work in 1958 on the sculptures of the Champagneois cathedral (figure 1) through her last study of the chronology of the monument published in 2008, Anne Prache built a career as a specialist in architecture and the monumental arts.1 In a field where women scholars were rare, she attained an eminent position through both her individual research and her teaching. it was the latter activity that allowed her to shape and advise dozens of art historians and archaeologists, many of whom are here today. i would like to thank our colleagues and friends Nancy Wu, Bill Clark, and Chuck little who have organized these three sessions in honor of Anne Prache and invited us to take part. drawing from only a portion of Anne’s impressive bibliography,2 i will organize my remarks around four themes: saint-remi of reims; Champagne and other regional approaches; Chartres; and the history of architecture and archeology. Saint-Remi de Reims: an Imposing Monograph Anne’s doctoral thesis, devoted to the Gothic portions of the abbey church saint-remi of reims, offered her the opportunity to study a key monument comprehensively (figure 2). the subtitle of the book that she published in 1978 with the société française d’Archéologie (sfA), “the Work of Peter of Celle and its Position in Gothic Architecture,” demonstrates her desire to embrace the totality of saint-remi, from the abbot’s decision to initiate the building project 1 this chapter follows the remarks delivered by the author at the 45th international Congress on Medieval studies, Western Michigan University, on May 14, 2010. the publications that bracket Prache’s work on reims are: Anne Prache, “têtes sculptées du Xiiie siècle provenant de la cathédrale de reims,” Bulletin monumental 116 (1958): 29–40; Anne Prache, “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle. l’apport de l’archéologie et de la dendrochronologie,” in Nouveaux regards sur la cathédrale de Reims, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (langres: Guéniot, 2008), 41–52. 2 the bibliography for Anne Prache through 1999 was published in Pierre, lumière, couleurs. Études d’histoire de l’art du Moyen Age en l’honneur d’Anne Prache, ed. fabienne Joubert and dany sandron (Paris: PUPs, 1999), 3–17.

1 Reims, Cathedral of Notre Dame: west façade in 2006 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel)

2 Reims, Saint-Remi: choir (photo: Fonds Anne Prache/Centre André Chastel)

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through its posterity.3 By emphasizing that Peter of Celle, abbot of saint-remi from 1162 to 1181, was the force behind the construction, Anne Prache established the crucial role of project management in the study of medieval buildings. except for the paradigmatic case of saint-denis and the Abbot suger, no other monument from the early phases of Gothic had ever been investigated from the standpoint of its initiator. for Peter of Celle, Anne considered successively “the circumstances of his life, the man of the Church, the administration of the temporal, the constructor, the loyal and kind friend, the theoretician and the spiritual thinker.”4 Avoiding the pitfall of panegyric, she reconstructed the network of relations and friendships that connected Peter of Celle to the high clergy of the realm and also of rome; to the english prelates and their suite, especially thomas Becket and his secretary John of salisbury; and to the comital circles of Champagne. overall it is an apt portrait of a church dignitary, and one that underscores the conservative elements in his thinking and writings that reflect his attachment to the regular monastic life. The link between Peter’s abundant correspondence and the specific features of saint-remi is less obvious than that of Abbot suger to saint-denis, since suger’s writings are more explicit. in Anne’s words: Peter did not describe the grand vision that shaped the renovations undertaken at saint-remi, but the spiritual treatises he left behind tell us that this imaginative and mystical man could not dissociate the physical form of his abbey church from his own aspirations to monastic perfection. he wished saint-remi to be the visible image, or at least the reflection, of an inaccessible, abstract beauty, and he must have searched for an architect who could give tangible form to the beauty he saw in his imagination.5

the monograph begins with an architectural study of saint-remi, which is delineated in two major phases: the façade and the two first rows of the nave on one hand, and the choir on the other. Anne then turned to the question of the project management, in a chapter called “the Master of saint-remi,” in which she discussed the architectural origins and key features of saint-remi before turning to its influence on other monuments. She began with its contacts with the monuments of the late twelfth century (Cambrai, Canterbury, valenciennes, 3 Anne Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims. L’oeuvre de Pierre de Celle et sa place dans l’architecture gothique (Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques, 1978). 4 Prache, Saint-Remi, 30: “les circonstances de sa vie, l’homme d’eglise, l’administrateur de biens temporels, le bâtisseur, l’ami fidèle et bienveillant, le théoricien et le penseur spirituel.” 5 Prache, Saint-Remi, 41: “Pierre n’a pas écrit à quel dessein profond correspondaient les réfections entreprises à saint-remi, mais les traités spirituels qu’il a laissés font comprendre que cet imaginatif et ce mystique ne pouvait dissocier la réalisation matérielle de l’abbatiale de son aspiration à la perfection monastique. il a voulu que saint-remi fût l’image visible, ou du moins le reflet, d’une beauté inaccessible dans l’abstraction et il a dû se mettre en quête d’un architecte capable de traduire matériellement la beauté que lui suggérait son imagination.”

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soissons—the south transept; Notre-dame-en-vaux in Châlons-en-Champagne, the subject of her dissertation;6 orbais, saint-etienne de Caen and saint-Jacques de reims). Next she considered regional architecture at the beginning of the thirteenth century (Bourgogne and Boult-sur-suippe in the vicinity of reims, Cuis, sainte-Madeleine in troyes, Montier-en-der and Mouzon). she also examined the major building sites of the cathedrals of soissons, Chartres and Bourges, as well as other buildings of the beginning of the thirteenth century (the transept of Châlons Cathedral, saint-Quentin, the cathedrals of troyes, reims and Auxerre, dijon). At the time of its publication in 1978, Anne’s thesis offered the most complete monograph on a key monument of early Gothic architecture. in it she tackled questions such as the sponsorship of the project and the building site, all viewed within a broad context of the historical, economical, liturgical, and intellectual aspects of the monument. straightaway Anne’s book on saint-remi of reims was viewed as comparable to the studies by Charles seymour on Noyon Cathedral or by robert Branner on the cathedral of Bourges.7 it covered a broad spectrum compared to other monographs that were more strictly architectural, such as Peter Kurmann’s on the cathedral of Meaux.8 Anne’s monograph served as a model for many works of this type, including the theses she directed: Philippe Plagnieux’s on the choir of saint-Germain-des-Près or mine on soissons Cathedral.9 Anne returned many times to the case of saint-remi of reims. her multifaceted research examined specific aspects of its architecture and ornament, such as the Crucifixion stained glass.10 she was also interested in archeological

6 Anne Prache, “Notre-dame-en-vaux de Châlons-sur-Marne, campagnes de construction,” Mémoires de la Société d’agriculture, commerce, sciences et arts du département de la Marne 81 (1966): 29–92. 7 Charles seymour, La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Noyon au XIIe siècle (Geneva/ Paris: Droz/Arts et métiers graphiques, 1975); French translation of the first edition: Notre-Dame of Noyon in the Twelfth Century: A Study in the Early Development of Gothic Architecture (New haven: yale University Press, 1939). robert Branner, La cathédrale de Bourges et sa place dans l’architecture gothique (Paris/Bourges: tardy, 1962). Anne Prache translated the text for this french edition and added a bibliographical note for the english edition: robert Branner, The Cathedral of Bourges and Its Place in Gothic Architecture, ed. shirley Prager Branner (Cambridge, MA: Mit Press, 1989). 8 Peter Kurmann, La cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Meaux. Étude architecturale (Geneva/Paris: droz/Arts et métiers graphiques, 1971). 9 Philippe Plagnieux, “Le chevet de Saint-Germain-des-Prés et la définition de l’espace gothique au milieu du Xiie siècle,” Phd diss., Paris-sorbonne, 1991 (Philippe Plagnieux, “l’abbatiale de saint-Germain des Prés et les débuts de l’architecture gothique,” Bulletin monumental 158 (2000): 6–88); d. sandron, “la cathédrale de soissons, étude architecturale,” Phd diss., Paris-sorbonne, 1993 (dany sandron, la cathédrale de soissons, architecture du pouvoir (Paris: Picard, 1998)). 10 Anne Prache, “Le vitrail de la Crucifixion de Saint-Remi de Reims,” in Études d’art médiéval offertes à Louis Grodecki, ed. sumner McK. Crosby, André Chastel, Anne Prache, and Albert Chatelet (Paris: ophrys, 1981), 145–54.

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investigations11 as well as the restoration of the monument, liturgy and the cult of relics, and additionally funerary monuments: the retrospective tombs of the Carolingians,12 the tomb of st. remigius,13 and the tomb of Carloman.14 saintRemi, moreover, was the basis of her impressive study of early flying buttresses published in Gesta in 1976.15 Aware of the rich research potential of the first phases of Gothic architecture, with characteristic generosity, Anne encouraged her students to explore this domain. A resonance was thus created between her own work and that of the students whose theses she directed: from the choir of saint-Germain-des-Prés to the cathedrals of soissons and lyon, and also the churches of lagny, Montier-ender, and dol.16 Champagne and regional Studies: an awareness of Place saint-remi lies at the heart of a region to which Anne dedicated an impressive number of studies. As her bibliography proves, these range from modest rural churches of the Ardre valley17 to highly prestigious monuments, cathedrals and monasteries such as saint-thierry.18 she proposed some stimulating analyses, such as of the architecture of the eleventh century published in Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale of 1979, where she presented the results of several studies

11 Anne Prache, “documents inédits sur les fouilles de henri deneux dans la nef de saint-remi de reims (1931),” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France (1974): 41–3. 12 Anne Prache, “les monuments funéraires des Carolingiens élevés à saint-remi de reims au Xiie siècle,” Revue de l’Art 6 (1969): 68–76. 13 Anne Prache, “les reliques de saint-remi à reims et leur ancienne présentation,” in Hommage à Hubert Landais. Art, Objets d’art, collections. Etudes sur l’art du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance sur l’histoire du goût et des collections (Paris: Blanchard, 1987) 164–7. 14 Anne Prache, “la tombe du roi Carloman à saint-remi de reims,” in Clovis, Histoire et mémoire, ed. Michel rouche (Paris: PUPs, 1997), vol. 2, 777–84. 15 Anne Prache, “les arcs-boutants au Xiie siècle,” Gesta 15 (1976): 31–42. 16 Nicolas reveyron, La cathédrale de Lyon et sa place dans l’histoire de l’art (1170– 1245), Phd diss., Paris-sorbonne, 1992; roselyne Bussière, L’abbaye de Lagny au Moyen Age. Histoire et architecture, Phd diss., Paris-sorbonne, 1988; herveline delhumeau, Les campagnes de construction de la fin du XIIe et du début du XIIIe siècle dans l’ancienne église abbatiale de Montier-en-Der (Haute-Marne), Phd diss., Paris-sorbonne, 1985; Anne-Claude le Boulc’h, La cathédrale de Dol. Étude architecturale, Phd diss., Paris-sorbonne, 1997. 17 Anne Prache, “Églises romanes de la vallée de l’Ardre,” Zodiaque 157 (1988), 3–36. 18 Anne Prache, “Architecture et sculpture romanes à saint-thierry. leur rapport avec le milieu rémois,” in Saint-Thierry, une abbaye du VIe au XXe siècle, ed. Michel Bur (saint-thierry: Association des Amis de l’abbaye de saint-thierry, 1979), 65–71; Pierre héliot and Anne Prache, “l’architecture à reims et dans ses environs entre 1150 et 1300,” in Bur, Saint-Thierry, 457–77.

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3 Courville, saint-Julien: view pre-1914 (photo: fonds Anne Prache/Centre André Chastel)

she had directed with students at the sorbonne.19 other works were intended for a more general public and reveal her broad vision of the subject (figure 3).20 this geographical approach to architecture also characterized Anne’s studies of the Île-de-france. here she began a survey of the art of the romanesque period, a subject long neglected in that region.21 her interest in regional artistic identity culminated in the Picard series, Les Monuments de la France gothique, 19 Anne Prache, “recherches sur l’architecture religieuse rurale dans la Champagne septentrionale au Xie et Xiie siècle,” Cahiers de civilisation médiévale 22 (1979): 113–24. 20 Anne Prache, “l’art dans la Champagne du Nord,” in Congrès archéologique de France Champagne 1977 (Paris, sfA, 1980): 9–51; Prache, “Champagne,” in Enciclopaedia dell’arte medievale 4 (rome: trecani, 1993), 643–51; Prache, “reims,” in Enciclopaedia, 813–20. 21 Anne Prache, Île-de-France romane, la Nuit des temps 60 (la Pierre-qui-vire: Zodiaque, 1983).

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often compared to Zodiaque’s La Nuit des Temps collection transposed from the romanesque to the Gothic. however, Anne’s collection was broader in scope than Zodiaque’s in that it included civil and military structures as well as religious ones. And while the Nuit des Temps volumes were molded by touristic itineraries, Anne’s series allowed the individual authors to shape their studies. Since the first volume was published in 1987, a dozen titles have appeared on several french regions.22 having taken over this enterprise in 2006, at Anne’s suggestion, i can attest to the vast work accomplished under her direction. other volumes will follow—on Paris, Basse-Normandie, languedoc, Bourgogne, touraine, the line of the rhône and Alsace—with most of the authors selected by Anne herself. Chartres Coincidence or not? like Peter of Celle, who left saint-remi of reims for the bishopric of Chartres, after her work on the rémois abbey, Anne concentrated her research on Chartres Cathedral (figure 4). in fact, we are indebted to her for multiple publications on that emblematic Gothic monument. Besides the beautiful book Lumières de Chartres (1989), she also published Notre-Dame de Chartres. Image de la Jérusalem céleste,23 where she presented the monument and its decoration from a symbolic perspective. her work included a study of the sculpture of the portals and the jubé (rood/choir screen), as well as the study of stained glass. At that time, having succeeded louis Grodecki as chair of medieval art history at the sorbonne, she also took on the directorship of the french team of Corpus vitrearum. Anne’s Notre-Dame de Chartres remains the most accessible comprehensive study of the monument. Anne also devoted several in-depth studies to Chartres, including that of the vendôme chapel grafted on the south side of the nave.24 she also took on the 22 Maryse Bideault and Claudine lautier, Île-de-France gothique, 1. Les églises de la vallée de l’Oise et du Beauvaisis (1987); Jean Mesqui, Île-de-France gothique, 2. Les demeures seigneuriales (1988); Marie-Claire Burnand, La Lorraine gothique (1989); Jacques Gardelles, Aquitaine gothique (1992); yves Blomme, Poitou gothique (1993); Claude Andrault-schmitt, Limousin gothique. Les édifices religieux (1997); yves Blomme, Anjou gothique (1998); françoise robin, Midi gothique de Béziers à Avignon (1999); yves Bottineau-fuchs, Haute-Normandie gothique (2001); dany sandron, Picardie gothique. Autour de Laon et Soissons. Les édifices religieux (2001); Anne Courtillé, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Velay gothiques. Les édifices religieux (2002); Bruno Phalip, Auvergne et Bourbonnais gothiques. Le cadre civil (2003); Jacques thiébaut, Nord gothique. Picardie, Artois, Flandre, Hainaut. Les édifices religieux (2006). two further volumes have been published since that date: Philippe Bonnet and Jean-Jacques rioult, Bretagne gothique (2010); and lucien Bayrou, Languedoc-Roussillon gothique. L’architecture militaire de Carcassonne à Perpignan (2013). 23 Anne Prache, Notre-Dame de Chartres. Image de la Jérusalem celeste (Paris: CNMhs-CNrs, 1993; rev. 2008); in english as Chartres Cathedral: Image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, trans. Janice Abbott (Paris: CNMhs-CNrs, 1993. 24 Anne Prache, “La chapelle de Vendôme à la cathédrale de Chartres et l’art flamboyant en ile-de-france,” Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte 46–7 (1993–94): 569–75.

4 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: west façade (photo: Christian Lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel)

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thorny question of the relative chronology of the building, revisiting the conflict between Paul frankl and louis Grodecki around 1960—frankl defending the anteriority of the choir and Grodecki that of the nave.25 it was Ann who realized that dendrochronology could be applied to the question, and her analysis of the ends of the wooden rods preserved beneath the pillars supported Grodecki’s thesis.26 thus we now understand that the side aisles of the nave were probably in place in 1200 and those of the choir were finished around 1210. Construction began in the nave, the part of the cathedral that could be built more easily after the cleanup of the elements damaged in the fire of 1194. art history and archeology Anne’s innovative use of dendrochronological evidence offered more than a solution to a specific problem of chronology. It also introduced a method of investigation that might be considered archeometry, as in the application of scientific techniques to archeology. Anne next applied dendrochronological analysis to Amiens Cathedral. Her findings suggested that the wooden framework should be dated not to the end of the fifteenth century, as Violletle-duc had believed, but rather to the end of the thirteen and beginning of the fourteenth centuries (figure 5).27 The wood for the choir’s roofing was cut around 1284–85; that of the transept around 1293–98; and that of the nave around 1300–05. While not contradicting a completion date of 1269 for the masonry shell, the new chronology suggests that provisional roofing must have been in place for the nave, the oldest part of the building, in order to protect the vaults. this assumption is confirmed by the presence of notches in the upper side of the vaults that correspond to the beams supporting the timber roof.28 the presence of drainage holes at the summit of the side walls of the nave also indicates that there was temporary roofing, perhaps sheets of lead either attached directly to 25 Paul frankl, “the Chronology of Chartres Cathedral,” Art Bulletin 39 (1957): 33– 47; louis Grodecki, “la chronologie de la cathédrale de Chartres,” Bulletin monumental 116 (1958): 90–119; Paul frankl, “reconsiderations on the Chronology of Chartres Cathedral,” Art Bulletin 43 (1961): 51–8. 26 Anne Prache, “remarques sur la construction de la cathédrale de Chartres à la lumière de la dendrochronologie,” in Monde médiéval et société chartraine, ed. Jeanrobert Armogarthe (Paris: Picard, 1997), 75–80. 27 Anne Prache, “les récentes datations de monuments gothiques par la dendrochronologie,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France (1995): 303–5. see also stephen Murray, Notre-Dame Cathedral of Amiens: The Power of Change in Gothic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 177–8 (Annex h). 28 Anne Prache, “remarques sur les parties hautes de la cathédrale d’Amiens,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 127 (1996): 55–62; Patrick hoffsummer and Georges-Noël lambert, “les tirants et les charpentes de la cathédrale Notre-dame d’Amiens,” in Les charpentes du XIe au XIXe siècle. Typologie et evolution en France du Nord et en Belgique, ed. Patrick hoffsummer (Paris: Monum, 2002), 122–35.

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the vaults or by means of wooden plaques, as was the case at reims Cathedral at the end of the Middle Ages. this drainage system was carefully constructed in the nave and transept, indicating that the provisional roof was intended to be in use for some time and was not an “accident” of construction. in the choir, by contrast, the drainage holes were roughly hewn, using pikes, after construction. We can thus infer that when the exterior of the choir was built, a drainage system and temporary roof were not deemed necessary, presumably because construction of a permanent roof was thought to be imminent. for reasons that we cannot know, financial or other, this project was delayed for around 15 years, and the same temporary solutions were employed as in the nave and transept. When work resumed around 1284–85 (based on dendrochronological evidence), it began with the choir. Anne was responsible for writing this new chapter in the building history of a key Gothic monument because of her ability to reconstruct lost phases of construction from hidden evidence in the timber roof. i recall her describing a visit to study the timber roof of Beauvais Cathedral accompanied by the architect Jean-louis taupin, who showed her the break points of the carpentry that dated from 1284.29

29 Prache, “les récentes datations de monuments gothiques par la dendrochronologie,” 303; Jean-louis taupin, Patrick hoffsummer, “la cathédrale saint-Pierre à Beauvais,” in Les charpentes du XIe au XIXe siècle, 108–21.

5 Amiens, Cathedral of Notre-dame: timber roof of the choir (photo: Christian lemzaouda/ Centre André Chastel)

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Without Anne, dendrochronological studies of the medieval monuments of france would not have advanced as they have in the past 20 years; nor would the laboratories of Besançon and liège have developed as they did. she inspired the teams of the inventaire of the Ministère de la Culture (the Bishop’s Chapel at laon, soissons Cathedral)30 and the curators of the Monuments historiques to follow in her footsteps. the works of Patrick hoffsummer at liège31 and of frédéric Épaud in Normandy32 also benefitted from her support. Anne’s interest in the potential of archeometry for the study of medieval architecture was demonstrated in several ways, including her use of photogrammetry to explain the vaulting of the nave of Noyon.33 Moreover, Anne was eager to encourage the teaching of the methods of l’archéologie du bâtiment alongside an historical approach to medieval architecture. thus she promoted the appointment of Nicolas reveyron as maître de conferences at the University of Paris-sorbonne in 1994, a position he held until he became chair of medieval archaeology at the University of lyons in 2000. Anne’s approach to romanesque architecture and sculpture also relied heavily on archeology. I would like to conclude by emphasizing Anne’s enduring influence within the domain of medieval architecture. Within the university community in france, her disciples are many: we count among their numbers Nicolas reveyron, Bruno Phalip at Clermont-ferrand, Philippe Plagnieux at Besançon, and myself in Paris. But Anne’s positive influence affected all the professions that support the French patrimoine—curators and architects as well as academics. the generous welcome she provided to foreign students and researchers, especially Anglo-saxon ones, explains the homage that we all pay her today. on behalf of our international academic community, i wish to thank her family for being here with us today—her husband Gérard and her son olivier, accompanied by friends. i also thank our American friends who have invited us and thus given us the chance to share the memories of those important moments we have spent alongside an exceptional scholar, mentor, and friend.

30 Patrick hoffsummer and Martine Plouvier, “sous les toits, les charpentes,” in Laon. Une acropole à la française, ed. Martine Plouvier (Amiens: AGir-Pic, 1995), 95–116; Martine Plouvier and Christiane riboulleau, Les richesses artistiques de la cathédrale Saint-Gervais Saint-Protais de Soissons (Amiens: AGir-Pic, 2004). 31 hoffsummer, “la cathédrale saint-Pierre à Beauvais.” 32 frédéric epaud, L’évolution des techniques et des structures de charpenterie du XIe au XIIIe siècle en Normandie. Une approche des charpentes par l’archéologie du bâti (Phd diss., rouen University, 2002); epaud, De la charpente romane à la charpente gothique en Normandie. Évolution des techniques et des structures de charpenterie aux XIIe–XIIIe siècles (Caen: CrAhM, 2007). 33 Anne Prache, “l’architecture de la cathédrale de Noyon à la lumière de la photogrammétrie,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France (1986): 180–87.

introduction Kathleen Nolan

dany sandron’s overview of Anne Prache’s career, delivered in May of 2010 and included as the Preface to this volume, gives a sense of the breadth of Prache’s research interests and of her intellectual legacy, which inspired this volume. sandron notes that early in her career, Prache’s work on saint-remi at reims broadened the scope of an architectural monograph by contextualizing the building as a whole, giving the same weight to liturgical and civic history as to archeological evidence. A theme that stands out in the monograph, as sandron observes, is Prache’s highlighting of the all-encompassing role of the sponsor of the construction project, Peter of Celle, in what sandron called the “project management” over the two decades of his abbacy. Prache’s prodigious body of scholarship demonstrates her activity across media and across methodologies. Always a meticulous observer of the nuts and bolts of construction history, Prache embraced as well broad questions of meaning and message, as her study of Chartres Cathedral as an image of the heavenly Jerusalem so eloquently attests. Prache was also open to applying new tools to medieval art history, notably dendrochronology, the use of which she pioneered for the study of Gothic buildings. Apart from her own research interests, Prache was a bridge-builder, constructing links between the academic community in france and the United states. Professor Prache’s relationship with the Us began when she was a focillon fellow at yale University in 1950; she taught at the University of Pennsylvania in 1982, and she was active as an advisor to the international Center of Medieval Art. the most important bridges she built were those of friendship, as she welcomed American scholars to france and facilitated their access to monuments, resources, and professional opportunities. the franco-American collaboration that Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals represents is testament to Prache’s generosity of spirit as much as to her academic brilliance.1 the dozen or so chapters that comprise the present AvistA volume, Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals, provide a map of the key avenues of study of medieval monuments in the early twenty-first century: from technology-based and geometry-centered studies of architecture, to the interweaving of stained glass and building chronology, to speculations about the message of portal sculpture, to the homecomings of missing elements from sculptural and stained glass ensembles. the contributors include senior scholars and museum professionals 1 A similar international spirit is evident in the earlier collection of essays in Prache’s honor: Pierre, lumière, couleur. Études d’histoire de l’art du Moyen Âge en l’honneur d’Anne Prache, ed. fabienne Joubert and dany sandron (Paris: PUPs, 1999).

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in france and America who were Prache’s contemporaries as well as midcareer and younger scholars who were her students in france, or American researchers whom she befriended. several of the chapters in Part i, “Architecture,” dovetail with Prache’s interests and are close to AvistA’s core mission. Appropriately, the collection begins with reims itself, in Walter Berry’s study of the thirteenth-century foundations of the rémois cathedral. Berry is as committed as Prache to the meticulous reading of complex archeological findings. His observations challenge, as Prache’s often did, earlier understandings of the chronology of a monument, and have broad implications for the entire building history of the cathedral. ellen shortell’s chapter likewise ties directly to reims, as her study of saintQuentin evaluates the relationship of that monument to Prache’s saint-remi. like Prache, shortell merges architectural analysis with an apprehension of aesthetic qualities. the core of shortell’s project is the medieval use of practical geometry in generating the design matrix for the building, a preoccupation for a group of architectural historians today who scrutinize buildings with Prache-like intensity. Another representative of this important direction is Nancy Wu. Wu has done extensive work on reims, especially on the cathedral, but her contribution to the current volume has a different locus, centering on two examples of architectural sculpture now in the United states. Wu examines two sixteenth-century french portals in the Cloisters collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to uncover the geometry of their overall design and many interlocking elements. Wu links the geometrical matrices of these two portals to two fifteenth-century German instructional texts by Mathes roriczer of regensburg and hanns schmuttermayer of Nuremberg for the design of pinnacles and gablets. Wu, in a manner that recalls Prache’s work, uses concrete architectural features to test broad principles of architectural design.2 Michael davis, focusing Paris, also uses a written text as his source, but in this case not a didactic booklet, but rather a fifteenth-century description of the city by Guillebert de Mets. davis infers meaning from the choice of monuments described or ignored by Guillebert, and posits a hierarchy of significance from the degree of elaboration of the description of structures. davis argues that the description, far from simply recording visual experience, constructs an idealized vision of the past glory of Paris and a promise of a brighter future. the chapters that form Part ii, “stained Glass,” discuss three touchstones of Gothic glazing: saint-denis, reims Cathedral, and Chartres Cathedral, all of 2 Prache, although she did not work directly with generative geometries, acknowledged its value, as several of her later publications that reference Wu’s research on the cathedral demonstrate: “New dendrochronological and Archaeological evidence for the Building Chronology of reims Cathedral,” in Archaeology in Architecture: Studies in Honor of Cecil L. Striker, ed. Judson emerick and deborah deliyannis (Mainz: von Zabern, 2005), 167–72; “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France (2002): 334–46; and “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle. l’apport de l’archéologie et de la dendrochrnologie,” in Nouveaux regards sur la cathédrale de Reims, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (langres: Guéniot, 2008): 41–52.

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which were studied by Prache. sylvie Balcon-Berry links her project on reims glass to Prache’s insistence on reading the cathedral’s medieval windows as an essential part of the building’s history. Balcon-Berry’s study brings to light new sources of evidence for an old problem (echoing this method in Prache and other of her students), calling attention to collections of Autochromes, a form of early twentieth-century color photographs, and newly digitalized early watercolor drawings that together allow her to reconstruct lost or badly deteriorated portions of the glazing program. Balcon-Berry’s careful reading of this newly accessible evidence has, like Walter Berry’s archeological findings, important implications for the chronology of the cathedral. Claudine lautier’s subject is the west rose of the cathedral of Chartres, the monument that ranks second only to reims in Prache’s scholarly oeuvre. like Balcon-Berry, lautier brings something new to our attention: the results of the restoration efforts to the west façade, both to the stained glass and the interior wall surfaces. lautier notes that restoration has revealed much of the original character of the west rose, allowing her to situate the glass iconographically and stylistically within the program of the cathedral. remarkably, cleaning has revealed traces of mural painting on the side walls of the two western bays of the nave, which, as Lautier observes, extends the themes of the rose window in fictive glass. Michael Cothren is an example of the collaboration between American and french scholars encouraged by Prache, since he works closely with french glass specialists. his contribution to this volume revisits his earlier efforts to reconstruct the original character of the ambulatory windows of saint-denis, a process begun by louis Grodecki, Prache’s own teacher. Cothren brings stylistic knowledge and technical expertise to bear in investigating a hitherto unknown panel of the dream of Joseph. the panel exhibits intriguing formal similarities with the glass associated with the infancy of Christ in and from saint-denis, but Cothren observes that its provenance is a complicated matter. Philippe lorentz, in turn, examines stained glass that lies beyond the usual chronological scope of Prache’s research, but in which she took a direct interest. Lorentz discusses the fifteenth-century Annunciation window in the cathedral of Bourges. he considers its famous patron, Jacques Coeur, its artistic inventiveness, and its reception by the contemporary clerics of the cathedral. The chapters in the final section of Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals, “sculpture,” relate to Prache’s interests in multiple ways. three of the contributions concern monuments where Prache did important work. William Clark links his study to Prache’s key contributions to the chronology of reims Cathedral. he revisits the subject of an earlier article: the sculptures of Christ and 11 angels on the exterior of the radiating chapels of the cathedral choir. Clark calls attention to scholarship that has appeared since his first work on the subject to expand his reading of the processional liturgy of Reims Cathedral and its ties to the figures of the radiating chapels. Charles little turns his attention to Chartres, which he calls “Anne’s cathedral.” little’s project concerns a sculptural fragment, a small male head, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. little argues that the head belongs

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to one of the great sculptural ensembles of Chartres, the dismantled thirteenthcentury choir screen. Based on style, relative size, and ultimately the use of a plaster cast, little concludes that the fragment is the missing head of Joseph from the Nativity in an otherwise well-preserved panel of the jubé. the chapter by Kathleen Nolan and susan Ward was directly inspired by Prache’s early work on another sculpture divorced from its original context, an isolated female column figure that Prache determined had come from Notredame-en-vaux, in Châlons-en-Champagne, and from its then only partially known cloister. Nolan and Ward continue the discussion, begun by Prache, of the symbolic role of female column figures with the cloister. They compare the program of the reconstructed cloister to that of the badly damaged south portal of Notre-dame-en-vaux and explore the messages that these two sculptural ensembles relay about the identity and affiliations of the resident canonical community. Nicolas reveyron also analyzes sculpture that is exceedingly battered, the west façade of the cathedral of lyons. reveyron scrutinizes the traces of remaining sculpture in a process he terms l’archéologie de l’image. the results allow him to reconstruct the iconographic sculpture and draw conclusions about the date of this all-but-lost ensemble. fabienne Joubert also engages in a very close reading of façade sculpture, the well-preserved central portal of Bourges Cathedral. Joubert’s interest lies with the question of the design process for the portal sculpture. she sorts through subtle stylistic variants in sculptural style and compositional motifs, and argues that the variants imply the use of two-dimensional sketches in the carving of the archivolts. the range of themes and methodologies covered by the chapters in Arts of the Medieval Cathedrals speaks to the wide range of Prache’s interests. the contributions also reflect the longue durée of her engagement with the life of the mind, for they draw inspiration from every stage of her career: from her first writings on Reims Cathedral in the 1950s, to her articles in the 1960s on Notre-dame-en-vaux at Châlons-en-Champagne; through her magisterial 1978 monograph on saint-remi at reims, to her work from the 1990s on saint-denis, Chartres, and soissons. in his Preface, dany sandron drew analogies between the career of Anne Prache and that of Peter of Celle at saint-remi. And indeed Prache’s stature in the study of Gothic monumental art is akin to that of Peter de Celle, because of the breadth of her vision and the comprehensiveness of her scholarship.

PArt i Architecture

Chapter 1

the thirteenth-Century foundations of Notre-dame de reims: New evidence for the Construction history of the Cathedral Walter Berry

in her reassessment of the date at which work began on the present cathedral of reims, Anne Prache made use not only of innovative dendrochronological data drawn from the elevations, but also incorporated new evidence for the building’s substructures available from the mid-1990s.1 Previously, knowledge of the foundations had depended mainly on henri deneux’s 1944 lecture summarizing the results of his post-World War i excavations.2 his text furnished limited information,3 but was complemented by a transverse section across the nave north aisle and, more importantly, a general plan showing the substructures of 1 Anne Prache, “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France (2002): 334–46, and “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle: l’apport de l’archéologie et de la dendrochronologie,” in Nouveaux regards sur la cathédrale de Reims: actes du colloque international des 1er et 2 octobre 2004, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (langres: Guéniot, 2008), 41–52. 2 henri deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, 1919–1930: conférence donnée à la Société des Amis du Vieux Reims le 1er juin 1944 (reims: Matot Braine, [1944]). 3 deneux was essentially correct in recognizing four basic structural types: the broad “platform” below the chevet; the major linear foundations bearing the outer walls of the transept and nave as well as the supporting members in the interior of the transept, crossing, and nave; the transverse chain walls of the westernmost bays of the nave; and two “temporary walls,” also in the nave. overall, deneux’s conclusions have most often been viewed through the filter of Hans Reinhardt’s La cathédrale de Reims (Paris: Presses Universitaires de Paris, 1963) and his not always accurate general plan and reconstructions. the most complete analysis of the influence of the twelfth-century elements on the construction program is Peter Kurmann, La Façade de la cathédrale de Reims. Architecture et sculpture des portails, étude archéologique et stylistique, 2 vols (Paris/lausanne: CNrs/Payot, 1987), 1: 41–62 and 117– 20. in general, see also sheila Bonde, Clark Maines and robert Mark, “Archaeology and engineering: the foundations of Amiens Cathedral,” Kunstchronik 42/7 (1989): 341–8, and Bernard honoré, “fondations gothiques du Nord et de Picardie,” Cahiers archéologiques de Picardie 2/2 (1975): 85–100.

1.1 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: elevation drawing of the foundations of the nave, by henri deneux ca. 1925. the drawing was not updated in 1944 to reflect changes in interpretation (drawing: Henri Deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, 9)

1.2 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: plan by Henri Deneux of foundations revealed during excavations (drawing: henri deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, frontispiece). see also Plate 1

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the present cathedral and those of the earlier buildings below it (figures 1.1 and 1.2 = Pl. 1). the situation changed in 1995 when, as the accessible foundations were being recorded during renewed archaeological work on the site, additional documents from the earlier excavation became available.4 these provided the kind of detailed data lacking earlier and made possible the partial reconstruction of the archaeological record through their integration with information drawn from computer-assisted analysis of the excavation photographs in the Médiathèque de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine and the study of those features still accessible in the sous-sol of the cathedral.5 The Substructures of the east end The Chevet in 1944, deneux postulated the existence of an immense substructure underlying the present chevet (figure 1.3).6 observing that although one might have expected the foundation there to have been of no great depth,7 he states that in fact a test pit revealed the foundation continuing down some 8m.8 in this context, he speaks of a large number of twelfth-century moldings recovered from the present ambulatory originating from the dismantling of the early Gothic choir.9 the resulting image of the cathedral’s east end reposing on a uniform massive foundation built using materials from the twelfth-century chevet has raised little comment. there is reason, however, to question its soundness. first, concerning the depth of the foundation, deneux’s intervention in the chevet was restricted to a single trench around the ambulatory excavated to only 2.5m, so that his direct knowledge of the deeper chevet substructures was incomplete. further, the test pit he cites was actually dug inside the first north radiating chapel of the twelfth-century chevet, so that it was not indicative of groundwork lying outside

4 the project of 1993–98 was realized at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and the City of reims: maîtrise d’œuvre, Jean-Michel Musso, architecte en chef des Monuments historiques; responsable scientifique, robert Neiss, drAC ChampagneArdenne; responsable d’opération, Walter Berry, AfAN. the 72 previously unavailable plans and drawings became available through a donation to the Bibliothèque Carnegie in reims. 5 roughly half of the foundations exposed by deneux are still accessible; see Prache, “le début,” figures 1 and 2. 6 this “a permis d’y enfouir tout le chœur et les chapelles rayonnantes ajoutés au Xiie siècle à la cathédrale d’ebbon” (deneux, Dix ans, 29), i.e., east of the arms of the Carolingian transept. 7 that is, a “vaste plateau de peu d’épaisseur destine à répartir la charge sur une plus grande surface, afin d’éviter de creuser jusqu’au sol ferme” (Deneux, Dix ans, 28–9). 8 deneux, Dix ans, 28–9. 9 deneux, Dix ans, 29.

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1.3 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: substructures in the chevet (drawing: author)

Notes: (1) early Gothic chevet foundations; (2) zone covered by the “platform” as described by deneux; (3) location of the nid de morceaux moulurés; (4) location of test pit.

the bounds of the earlier east end.10 second, deneux’s reference to an “énorme quantité” of twelfth-century remploi seems not to pertain to the chevet generally but to what deneux termed a “nest of mortared molding fragments” uncovered on the south side of the ambulatory.11 Photos show two to three layers of these blocks lying just below floor level across the ambulatory opposite the first radiating chapel, while a final later photograph clearly shows these lying over a deep rubble fill apparently not containing such material.12 this implies that the moldings were employed in the final leveling operation prior to the installation of the ambulatory 10 this does not preclude the possibility that the high Gothic chevet foundations were indeed as deep. An additional factor to be considered here is that ground level east of the Carolingian transept and twelfth-century chevet was 2–3m lower than the present east end floor; thus the purpose of the corresponding part of the “platform” was to raise the level of the thirteenth-century chevet to that of the older east end. 11 A “nid de morceaux moulurés maçonnés” (deneux, Dix ans, 26). 12 An impression confirmed by the inventory of lapidary finds prepared by Deneux’s collaborator, Charles sarazin, and analyzed by Bruno decrock, “inventaire de la fouille de henri deneux et essai d’interprétation” (“Annex d” of the unpublished 1998 preliminary archaeological report).

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pavement, which lay a meter above the temporary chantier floor.13 therefore it appears quite plausible that this material was used—or more correctly, became available for use—not only subsequent to the completion of the foundations but also likely after work on the radiating chapels in elevation was well advanced.14 if true, these blocks cannot serve as a criterion for dating the substructures of the present chevet, per se. At the same time, their “late” appearance in the ambulatory building sequence also strengthens the case for the maintenance of the early Gothic chevet until work on the new east end was well underway. Moreover, the available evidence tends to support the contention that construction of the present chevet progressed in the same manner as in the rest of the building, beginning with the foundations of the envelope, followed by those of the interior supporting elements and the in-filling of intervening spaces, recalling that here this also included the addition of an ample fill to attain the level of the existing floor level in the chevet. Crossing and Choir it appears that work here began with the southeast crossing pier, which was built directly over its Carolingian predecessor, reinforced on the north, where it overlapped the former crypt, with reemployed large blocks of Carolingian date (figure 1.4).15 The builders seemed quite confident in the solidity of the older structures, as evidenced by the maintenance of the crypt’s west wall as a chain wall between the southeast pier and that planned at the northeast. Partly dismantled in the 1930s, information is more limited for the remainder of the crossing’s south side. The finds catalogue records a concentration of Carolingian materials, suggesting these foundations were of the same build as the southeast pier, a unity borne out by the consistent irregularity of its north edge on the plan of 1944. deneux noted a “rupture” between the foundation of the southwest pier, positioned over that of the Carolingian crossing, where it abutted that of the nave south arcade apparently already in place just to the west.16 A later unfinished sleeper wall containing twelfth-century remploi was uncovered extending north 13 At the height of the summit of the surrounding foundations; see below, note 19. 14 Chaplaincies were established in the first south chapel in 1220; see, for example, Jean-Pierre ravaux, “les campagnes de construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin Monumental (137) 1979: 9–10 [7–66]. the fact that the twelfth-century materials found in the ambulatory originated from the interior elevations of the older chevet may provide insight into the demolition process and the progress of construction. 15 the archaeology of this portion of the building is discussed in detail in an article by the present author, “lost horizons: the floors in the Crossing of reims Cathedral,” in Les sols construits, Actes de la table ronde, Auxerre, octobre 2012—Strasbourg, novembre, 2013, ed. Christian sapin and Jean-Jacques schwien (forthcoming). 16 the interface has been destroyed. Note that the easternmost part of the thirteenthcentury nave arcades replaced those of the final Carolingian nave bay in what is now the western part of the transept; see note 21. the fact that these stop short of the Carolingian crossing suggests that the west side of the old transept may have still been standing when the eastern bays of old nave were removed.

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1.4 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: groundwork in the crossing and choir (drawing: author)

Notes: (1) former crypt; (2) foundations crossing south side; (3) added footing for choir first south pier; (4) foundation for second south pier; (5) foundation for second north pier; (6) construction break east of choir first north pier; (7) foundations choir first north pier and crossing north side; (8) interfaces with presumed earlier nave arcade foundations; (9 and 10) later transept arm chaînages abutting crossing foundations.

from the southwest crossing pier. reinhardt judged this as proof that work had begun on the south.17 overall, a possible inference is that the south side of the crossing, using material coming from the demolition of part of the Carolingian building, could have been begun prior to the availability of stone from the early Gothic chevet. in conversation with Mme Prache in 1997, the author asked if the peculiar character of the foundations here could possibly suggest a date anterior to the supposed fire of 1210,18 but this now seems unlikely. East of the crossing, the first pier of the choir’s south side was installed directly above the destruction interface of the twelfth-century choir hemicycle, except along the south, where a narrow footing was added along the outside of the older foundation (figure 1.4: 3). farther east, this element broadened to carry the choir’s second south pier. there it was bounded by likely early Gothic moyen appareil arranged in “steps” to retain the rubble constituting the bulk of the foundation. An analogous substructure was added to support the choir’s second north pier. farther east, less is known of the foundations below the stepped plinth carrying the six cylindrical piers of the head of the choir hemicycle, which straddles the razed twelfth-century chevet. thus, the piers on the south side of the crossing and most of those in the choir—like those of the ambulatory rectangular chapels, probably established 17 reinhardt, La cathédrale, 101. 18 see Prache, “le début,” (2008), 45.

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concurrently—were established over Carolingian or twelfth-century substructures, with new foundations added only where absolutely necessary, an approach that would seem to be a mixture of reliance on the older foundations’ structural integrity and a desire to economize building materials, perhaps driven by a need to advance work in this part of the building as rapidly as possible. the abandonment of this pragmatic method is marked by a major construction break midway between the choir’s first and second north piers. From that point westward, the foundations of the twelfth-century choir hemicycle and the north side of the crypt were robbed out and replaced by a substantial longitudinal foundation continuing westward to abut the apparently already completed foundation of the nave’s north arcade just west of the crossing’s northwest pier.19 this change in method provides a probable chronological indicator useful for deciphering the later construction sequence within the transept arms. Whatever the reasons for this shift in technique, it must be kept in mind that other than seeking solidity, the major aim of the builders of the foundations, whether before or after this change, was to establish a horizontal surface (arase) at the proper predetermined level below the planned floor and on which the basement levels of the elevations would then be laid out and built in a separate operation.20 The Transept arms for the transept arms, deneux’s published remarks are brief and his excavation documents patchy, complicating interpretation. the focus here is on the south arm as the complex problem on the north will be treated in a separate study. The South Arm the south transept arm enveloped its Carolingian counterpart and the southwestern bays of the early Gothic chevet (figure 1.5).21 the terminal wall was laid out 19 this foundation is remarkable in not being of customary masonry facing and rubble fill type, but instead where visible composed throughout of reemployed material “stacked” within the construction trench. the 1944 plan (figure 1.2) shows the contour of the foundation narrowing toward progressively before reaching the nave arcade, suggesting construction from east to west. the north end of the crypt’s west wall was also destroyed, showing that its reuse as a sleeper wall was no longer considered necessary; the abandonment of the chain wall north of the crossing southwest pier was probably related. 20 the height of the arase also marked the level of the construction surface associated with the mounting of the elements in elevation, which would continue to exist until the achievement of that part of the building, when, with the lowest portion of the walls and piers, it would disappear below a final fill level prior to the installation of the floor. See honoré, “fondations gothiques,” 91–100. 21 of the Carolingian transept arm—narrower than reconstructed by hans reinhardt (La cathédrale, figures 3 and 4)—the west and terminal walls remained, while its east side had probably been dismantled when the twelfth-century chevet was grafted onto it. the two twelfthcentury buttresses at the west end of the Carolingian terminal wall suggest that renovation of

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between these and the north wing of the archiepiscopal palace.22 the foundation’s depth is unknown, though in places it reposes on earlier features, recalling practice in much of the east end prior to the foundations of the north side of the crossing. the eastern half of the foundation is largely obscured by modern revêtement.23 toward the west, it is known on the exterior, where irregular courses of large, roughly hewn sandstone and rubble were employed, resembling work in the nave north outer wall at the level of the eighth buttress. the footing of the terminal wall’s southwest buttress, which initially extended a meter farther south, may not have been of the same build. yet the meaning of this singular feature is clouded by a lack of knowledge of its relation to the south arm’s west wall. it is known only from a “window” left by deneux in the modern interior facing, where it can be seen to consist of roughly cut blocks arranged in a series of “steps,” a characteristic of the inner faces of the nave’s outer walls.24 in the south arm’s interior, the Carolingian and early Gothic foundations were razed to as little as 0.5m below floor level (Figure 1.5).25 the intervening space between these and the terminal wall, “empty” on deneux’s plan, was filled with mortared rubble laid over intact Roman levels.26 The finds inventory shows little twelfth-century material in this fill at the east, but in increasing quantity toward the west, with a marked concentration at the southwest. this would be consistent with construction of the terminal wall from east to west. North of the older foundations, the two north–south chaînages carrying the central piers of the south arm extend to join the earlier foundations on the south side of the crossing. that on the east, aligned over the interface between the old transept arm and the early Gothic chevet, consisted of “stacked” ashlar the south arm had taken place or was underway. It is not clear if the floor level in the south arm had been raised in the twelfth century, as it had been in the crossing and east end. 22 the latter had already been shortened in the twelfth century (Walter Berry, “the domus ecclesiae of reims: the state of the Question in the light of recent research,” in Des “domus ecclesiae” aux Palais épiscopaux: actes du colloque tenu à Autun du 26 au 28 novembre 2009, ed. sylvie Balcon-Berry, françois Baratte, Jean-Pierre Caillet, and dany sandron (turnhout: Brepols, 2012), 38–40 [29–41]), which supports robert Branner’s interpretation of magnam partem domus sue in the 1218 obit of Aubry de humbert as “a small gift of land”, in fact limited to a terrain now below and just south of the ambulatory south rectangular chapel. see Branner, “historical Aspects of the reconstruction of reims Cathedral, 1210–1241,” Speculum 36 (1961): 26 [23–37]. 23 twelfth-century remploi has come to light not far below floor level on the inside at the southeast. Rather than a part of the substructure itself, this may be a vestige of fill lying above the final arase of the foundation and that once stretched across the interior, as in the ambulatory. 24 though this distinguishes the west wall from the rest of the south arm, its relation to the two transept corner buttresses and the nave south outer wall remains unclear. 25 the conservation of the older foundations could be advanced as further evidence for the maintenance of the existing building as work proceeded on the envelope of the new east end. 26 Rather than filling the construction trench for the new terminal wall, this fill may have been needed to raise the level south of the old transept, where the existing ground level was considerably lower, as around the twelfth-century chevet.

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1.5 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: foundations of the south arm of the transept (drawing: author)

Kind Notes: (1) Carolingian transept terminal wall, still partly in elevation; (2) pre-twelfth-century “stair turret” (Carolingian transept west wall under west chain wall “8”); (3) substructures early Gothic chevet; (4) thirteenth-century terminal wall; (5) initial state of southwest buttress foundation; (6) thirteenth-century transept west wall; (7) east chain wall; (8) west chain wall; (9) chaînage between nave south outer wall and west chain wall.

alternating with courses of rubble.27 the foundation on the west, apparently built from south to north over the emplacement of the Carolingian transept’s west wall, appears to have been composed instead of a mass of mortared rubble containing early Gothic material. finally, once again the “empty” zone between the two north–south foundations on the 1944 plan was actually filled with 2m or more of mortared rubble, including twelfth-century materials.28 the construction history of the groundwork in the south arm was complicated and understanding of it remains somewhat problematic. that the foundations of the terminal wall were built westward from the chevet seems likely.29 Meanwhile, as will be seen, the ninth bay of the nave south outer wall had been completed early on as far as its planned juncture with the transept. But whether the foundations of the west wall were built straight away—as the stepped construction of its inner face suggests—or were completed later remains uncertain.30 however, it seems clear that the existing structures remained standing for some time. demolition of the Carolingian transept appears to have occurred as the south terminal wall foundations were being completed; dismantling of the early Gothic chevet could have taken place earlier. 27 this stonework is comparable to that of the foundations of the north side of the crossing. 28 Mortared rubble fill is a shared characteristic of the chevet and the transept interiors, but was used neither inside the choir nor in the nave. Apparently distinct from the ambulatory, early Gothic materials in the transept arms seem distributed throughout the fill. 29 Construction of the easternmost section of the transept terminal wall may have been contemporaneous with work on the chevet’s south side. 30 related is the uncertain purpose of the initially larger size of the southwest corner buttress.

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Generally, there seems to be a closely shared history between the foundations of the present chevet and the eastern bays of the south arm, with the remainder of the transept’s terminal wall foundation possibly completed afterward, following which the central and western bays were laid out in the interior.31 The nave and West Front the exterior of the north outer wall, the uppermost inner courses of the arcades and parts of the north aisle at the west can be accessed for study, while knowledge of the rest of the substructures of the nave and west front depends on deneux’s documentation, including a fairly complete series of plans and sections supplemented by photos. the foundations of the nave outer walls and arcades will be discussed separately, from east to west, before addressing the west front. In regard to the recent consensus that the fire of 1207/10 took place in the still timber-roofed nave, it must be noted that apart from the supposed damage to the pierre tombale of Archbishop Gervais in the ninth bay32 and deneux’s description of “dalles incendiées” reused on the west side of the crossing,33 the sections of pre-thirteenth-century pavement preserved in situ below the present liturgical choir show no trace of burning. South Exterior Wall Between the ninth and fourth bays, the masonry of the inner face of the south outer wall foundations are noted by Deneux as built chiefly of medium to large sandstone rubble with thick mortar beds (figure 1.6). the alignment of the construction trench—very wide in the ninth bay, then tapering gradually to terminate below the southwest corner of the fourth bay—seems to have resulted from having served initially for the demolition of the south wall of the Carolingian nave and western massif.34 from the fourth bay into the middle of the second, deneux uncovered the remains of the south side of the older twin-towered façade attributed to samson.35 31 the relation of the short chain wall between the western north–south foundation and the nave south outer wall is difficult to assess (Figure 1.5: 9), other than to note that a similar chain in the north arm was left unfinished. 32 deneux, Dix ans, 14. 33 on Minute C209 in the Fonds Deneux (Bibliothèque municipale de reims), deneux notes they “doivent être celles provenant de l’ancienne cathédrale carolingienne, elles sont calcinés à la surface.” 34 the narrowing of the trench corresponds to the orientation of the ninth-century nave, i.e., about 3–4° southwest of the axis of the present cathedral as established by deneux (Fonds Deneux, Minutes C179 and 180, confirmed for the massif occidental in 1994). 35 Not shown on the 1944 plan, this included the south wall of the intermediary bay between the Carolingian massif and the south tower. deneux also noted that this foundation doubled a second, older one on roughly the same axis, a facet of the unresolved problem of the relationship between the twelfth-century façade and the probable aisles with tribunes of the ninth-century massif.

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1.6 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: substructures of the south side of the nave and west front (drawing: author)

Notes: (1) Carolingian west massif, central bays removed 976; (2) thirteenth-century south outer wall foundation, ninth to third bays; (3) south arcade foundation, “tenth” to sixth bays; (4) three successive breaks in arcade, sixth to fourth bays; (5) coupure tourneur; (5a) breaks in the outer wall and arcade foundations in advance of the coupure tourneur; (6) façade and south tower attributed to samson (latter incorporated in outer wall); (7) continuation of the south outer wall foundation into south tower; (8) south portal foundation; (9) continuation of the south arcade foundation and transverse chain between second and first bays; (10) added transverse chains between third and second bays, incomplete on north; (11) eastern “temporary wall”; (12) western “temporary wall”.

Left in place to just below present floor level, this masked the thirteenth-century work “behind” it. When the outer wall “reappears” in the middle of the third bay,36 the stonework was altered, now using large roughly squared sandstone blocks in alternation with multiple courses of smaller material. in addition, the foundation narrows and becomes irregular in contour. Also beginning in the third bay, the summit of the foundation begins to slope increasingly downward, necessitating the addition of an extra upper course of ever larger remploi to rectify the discrepancy. Significantly, Deneux noted that this collection of features continues without change into the present south tower bay. the change in masonry technique appears clearly posterior to the demolition of the twelfth-century west front, which was otherwise quarried out to a depth of over 7m. South Arcade this differs distinctly from the groundwork of the outer wall. the construction trench was quite narrow and the foundation’s lower two-thirds were laid flush against it. from a depth of 3.5m, the base receded in a series of steps before leveling out to carry a wall-like upper foundation consisting of heterogeneous, mostly medium-sized remploi with unpointed joints. At a depth of 1m, this supported a narrower final level with dressed joints on the surface of which the plinths of the nave piers were positioned. this supplanted the Carolingian arcade from the transept—where, as noted above, it seems to be anterior to the chaînage extending 36 the change in construction occurred at a point between the third nave pier and the middle of the third bay, i.e., from 3 to 7m west of the coupure Tourneur.

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from the southwest crossing pier—to the center of the sixth bay (figure 1.6).37 over this distance it appears uniform in character. however, from the middle of the sixth bay to the fourth (that is, where it replaced the presumed south arcade of the former Carolingian massif) 38 there exists a succession of changes in building technique and materials indicative of a series of “interruptions” in construction. More important is the conspicuous rupture just west of the third nave pier. lying 3m west of the coupure Tourneur in the nave south wall, this corresponds to the edge of the demolition trench for the twelfth-century façade. Beyond this point, the documents show a major change in the character of the arcade foundation; in section the stepped profile became a jagged gradient, while it became irregular in plan.39 that this was posterior to the south outer wall is seen in the second bay, where the arcade foundation widened and turned to form a transverse chain built against the exterior wall. A similar chain wall between the second and third aisle bays was added later, laid between the completed outer wall and arcade foundations; and an unfinished sleeper wall, absent on the 1944 plan, also existed on the north side of the arcade, testifying to the initial intention to link the second nave piers. thus from beginning to end, construction of the substructures on the south side of the nave did not advance in concert. North Outer Wall Both sides of the north aisle wall foundation can be analyzed to a considerable depth, directly in the archaeological crypt along the north side of the nave as well as on the interior below the second and third aisle bays, the remainder of the south side being known from the deneux documents (figure 1.7). on the exterior, construction in the eighth and seventh bays was in a broad trench cut through earlier structures, employing large squared blocks of sandstone, with smaller stones used to level off between some courses. Also built largely of sandstone in a wide trench, the foundation’s interior face in these two bays descends in a series of steps before becoming a sheer vertical face (figure 1.7). A short section of masonry at the eastern extremity on the north, corresponding to the seventh aisle buttress, can be differentiated. Built with irregular sandstone and rubble, it appears to mirror walling visible in photos on the south face in the ninth bay, where an earlier longitudinal structure (the Carolingian nave north wall?) 37 the lapidary catalogue lists a concentration of Carolingian material in the eighth and ninth bays, with twelfth-century blocks appearing from the middle of the eighth bay into the seventh. this is indicative of construction from east to west, work in the eastern bays going forward prior to the availability of early Gothic materials. Additionally, in the outer wall twelfth-century remploi appears first farther west (seventh and sixth bays), perhaps an indication that its construction was in advance of the arcade. 38 the central vessel of the massif was probably removed by Adalbero in 976, but the vaulted aisles carrying tribunes seem to have been left in place; see Walter Berry, “le massif occidental de la cathédrale carolingienne de reims reconsidéré,” in Actes du colloque du 8e centenaire de la cathédrale de Reims, Patrick demouy and Marie-hélène Morell, eds (forthcoming). 39 the nature of the stonework here was not recorded by deneux.

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Notes: (1) Carolingian west massif, central bays removed 976; (2) façade and north tower attributed to samson (latter incorporated in outer wall); (3) twelfth-century gallery below aisle fourth and fifth bays; (4) nave outer wall foundations, ninth into sixth bays (possibly pre-1221); (5) nave outer wall foundations, sixth to third bays (possibly post-1221), incorporating gallery and old north tower; (6) north arcade foundation, “tenth” to fourth bays; (7) coupure Tourneur; (8) continuation of the arcade after demolition of the old west front; (9) completion of the nave outer wall in the second bay; (10) completion of the arcade; (11) chain wall left unfinished.

was incorporated. At the east, the whole width of the foundation continued a short distance into the transept. however, if this was intended to continue to the east as a sleeper wall, as in the south transept arm, it was never completed. A notable change in construction is evident on the north in the sixth bay, that is, in the vicinity of the boundary between the canons and treasurer’s properties, as supposed from a document of 1221 and borne out by excavation in 1995.40 the use of large sandstone blocks continued, but was limited to the three upper courses and rested on a bed of trench-laid rubble fill, decidedly unlike the south outer wall foundation. In the fifth bay, Roman period walls and floors were incorporated within the foundation. the trench then became irregular, wider than the sandstone walling above it, and began to slope upward. this continued into the fourth bay, where the rising slope of the trench fill left room for only two courses of sandstone. the western half of the fourth bay and easternmost part of the third are hidden behind a late Medieval cellar built against an older structure of uncertain date, itself integrated into the thirteenth-century foundation. West of 40 the shift in the mode of construction might signal a reprise of work following acquisition of a part of the treasurer’s garden necessary for the continuation of the nave, which was agreed to in 1221 after protracted discussions beginning around 1215. for the document, see ravaux, “les campagnes de construction,” 10 and note 33, 60–61; and the remarks of Anne Prache, “le début” (2008), 44 and 48. Note that from the seventh to the ninth bays, including the three adjoining “sacristies,” the north side of the nave lay within the canons’ property. incidentally, this boundary corresponded to the eastern limit of the Carolingian massif in the sixth bay.

1.7 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: foundations of the north side of the nave and west front (drawing: author)

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this, the same kind of construction continued across the third bay, but now with a single course of sandstone above the still rising trench-laid fill, coming to an end at the level of the first nave buttress and at what may have been the western boundary of cathedral property.41 on the south face, no changes are apparent in the upper stepped levels of sandstone in the seventh bay, but in the sixth a wider base can be discerned, signaling a possible modification. From the fifth into the third bay, the foundation was built up over the north side of the enigmatic twelfth-century subterranean gallery, still accessible today, below the aisle (figure 1.7: 3). in the third and second bays, well beyond the coupure Tourneur, the north side of the older north tower was razed to just below the planned floor level and also incorporated within the foundation of the aisle wall. In the final segment of the outer foundation as seen on the north (from the middle of the first aisle buttress across the second bay), the upper course of sandstone disappears and construction consists entirely of trench-laid, mostly very small-sized rubble. Clearly posterior to work in the third bay, this not only fills the space between the first aisle buttress and the new north tower but also, skirting the northwest corner of the old tower, continues south to form the foundation’s inner face in the second bay (figure 1.7: 9). North Arcade from the northwest crossing pier to the fourth nave bay, the foundations resembled generally those of the south arcade, with a similar mix of remploi,42 comparable coursing and a narrow construction trench cut through earlier structures, including the gallery below the fifth and fourth aisle bays (Figure 1.7). However, the uppermost courses do not “step back” in the same manner as on the south side of the south arcade,43 and the discontinuities observed in the south arcade between the sixth and fourth bays are absent. A significant break is evident at the level of the third nave pier, that is, on the edge of the demolition trench for the twelfth-century façade (figure 1.8). When construction resumed on the arcade, work proceeded in a particularly complex manner. in the third and second bays, a very different masonry was employed (figure 1.9). Unlike the south arcade, a second break occurred at a point just east of the first nave pier, the foundation beyond that point being comprised entirely of small-sized rubble, exactly as in the second bay of the outer wall. this supported the southeast pier of the north 41 the character of the outer wall from the sixth bay into the third manifests every indication of rapid construction, possibly the result of an attempt after the 1221 agreement to “catch up” with the south outer wall. But the modification of materials and technique might also point to changes in provisioning and financing(?). 42 the lapidary catalogue records isolated Carolingian materials reused in the ninth and eighth bays, with twelfth-century finds between the eighth and seventh bays, much as in the south arcade; see n. 12, above. 43 Also, the upper part of the foundation is consistently composed of rough blocks of sandstone, as in the north outer wall but infrequent in the south arcade.

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1.8 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: nave north arcade. Break in the foundations below the third pier seen from the southwest: sandstone walling of the fourth bay at the right (1); subsequent rubble construction of the third bay at the left (2); the brick support is modern (photo: author).

1.9 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: nave north arcade. Walling in the second bay seen from the northwest (see figure 1.7) Notes: (1) wide rubble base built in two phases beginning to curve northwest; (2) body of the arcade foundation in the third and second bays, consisting of rough courses of reused grand appareil and rubble; (3) masonry entirely of mortared rubble (as in the second bay of the nave outer wall) supporting the first nave pier, laid against “1” and over “2” (photo: author).

tower and continued to the façade. from it an apron-like extension, built in three separate phases, linked the pier with the foundations of the inner face of the new north tower at the level of the first engaged pier.44 The West Front deneux’s intervention here was restricted to the tower bays.45 Work at the south was superficial, bringing to light only the upper courses. As mentioned, the inner face of the south lateral wall shared similar characteristics with the final bays of the nave outer wall, implying continuity (figure 1.6: 8). of interest in this regard is deneux’s indication of the join of the south wall and the substructures of the south portal as if both were of the same build while indicating plainly that completion of the south arcade was posterior to the façade foundations. 44 Evidence for the sleeper wall between the first nave piers is very limited. It is not known if it was built from the south and then joined from the north, as the incomplete chaînage in the second bay might suggest. 45 deneux, Dix ans, 21.

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At the north, Deneux tunneled below the floor along the bay’s inner faces to disclose that the thirteenth-century tower was laid directly over the only partially dismantled apse and south wall of the twelfth-century saint-Nicholas chapel (figure 1.7).46 the exact sequence of the peculiar short section of foundation between the chapel and the northwest corner of the twelfth-century façade remains to be established, but is of certain interest. the eastern half of this is probably to be connected with the foundation for the final bay of the nave outer wall, which, as seen above, was built against the substructures of the thirteenth-century tower. however, the western half, built in a distinctly different manner, continues across the tower’s inner face as far as the first engaged pier, where it was built against the foundation over the chapel prior to the construction of the transverse chain against it. the complexity of the foundations in this area may be linked to the unresolved question of the foundations of the north flank of the tower itself. The decision to build over the only partly demolished chapel recalls construction in the east end prior to the change in method seen on the north side of the crossing and is also contrary to the general approach to earlier structures elsewhere in the nave. further, unlike the foundations of the south tower, it does not constitute a continuation of the nave but was anterior to the construction of the final bay of the outer wall. the convergence of these factors leads one to ask if the foundations of the tower’s north flank should not be placed quite early in the overall construction process—the chapel acquired and pulled down, the foundations built, and lower part of the elevation begun but then left unfinished and in isolation until integrated in the new façade at a later date.47 Such a chain of events might find its origin in the builders’ interest in both the setting out of the intended limits of the chantier and the public affirmation of the scale of the future building.48

46 deneux, Dix ans, 24. the chapel had belonged to the hôtel dieu. 47 such a scenario might help to explain the difference in orientation of the two northern buttresses, and perhaps could be applied to the south tower buttresses as well; see the discussion in Kurmann, La Façade, 118–20. 48 As in the cases of the cathedrals of lyons and Auxerre: Chantiers Lyonnais du Moyen Age (Saint-Jean, Saint-Nizier, Saint Paul) Archéologie et historie de l’art, ed. Nicolas reveyron, Ghislaine Macabéo, Christian le Barrier, hervé Chopin, and JeanPierre Gobilloted (lyon: AlPArA, 2005), 104–7; and especially reveyron, “À l’ouest du nouveau,” in Avant-nefs et espaces d’accueil dans l’Église entre le IVe et le XIIe siècle, Actes du Colloque international d’Auxerre, juin, 1999, ed. Christian sapin (Paris: Cths, 2002), 204–7; and Götz echtenacher, heike hansen, and sylvain Aumard, “Construction et chronologie,” in Saint-Étienne d’Auxerre. La seconde vie d’une cathédrale, 7 ans de recherches pluridisciplinaires et internationales, ed. Christian sapin (Auxerre/Paris: Centre d’études médiévales saint-Germain/Picard, 2011), 117–55 [127–9]. An early acquisition of the chapel, situated strategically just outside the cathedral precinct (and the disputed treasurer’s garden), would have been a potent statement of the chapter’s authority.

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The “Temporary Walls” in the Nave Deneux identified a pair of what he termed “clôtures provisoires” (Figures 1.6 and 1.7). The first separated the central vessel and aisles from the transept at the level of the ninth nave piers.49 deneux indicated this as coming up and over the foundations of the south outer wall, then traversing the liturgical choir between the tombs of archbishops ebles and renaud du Bellay, before crossing the north aisle.50 At its center, he noted this as 2.1m wide and built over a dry masonry wall.51 re-excavation in 1997 disclosed that the latter, 1m below the present pavement, consisted of large sandstone blocks dry-laid in a trench measuring 3m in width and of unknown depth. the upper courses were of mortared mixed rubble. the second “temporary wall” was laid across the fourth nave bay just east of the coupure Tourneur observable in the outer walls. less substantial than the first, this was 1.7m wide and laid over a thin layer of mortar above a single shallow course of medium rubble that partially overlapped the razed façade of the Carolingian massif and continued across both aisles. this would thus seem to have been inadequate for supporting a masonry wall of any height, possibly pointing to lighter construction, perhaps in timber and shingle, between the exterior elevations already raised to a certain height. discovery of this wall has been taken to confirm the coupure Tourneur as evidence of a lengthy halt before the recommencement of work westward.52 But it must be emphasized that the coupure is not consistent with the foundations, which, as noted above, continued around the towers of the older façade, possibly indicating the imminence of its destruction and possibly suggesting only a short pause in construction, in which case the temporary wall in the fourth bay thus becomes an interim worksite structure rather than a provisional façade.53 Conclusion Accessible along a length of more than 350m and with much of the remainder well recorded by henri deneux, the cathedral of reims offers the rare opportunity for extensive study of the foundations of a major Gothic monument. though the interpretations advanced above are open to revision, the rapid overview presented here demonstrates the real complexity of the substructures and raises 49 deneux, Dix ans, 17. he believed this occurred “au moment de la prise de possession du chœur par le clergé.” 50 deneux, Dix ans, 11, plan and section. 51 deneux terms this a “mur maçonné en terre” (Fonds Deneux, Minutes C181 and 214). 52 for example, subscribing to the then-current view that the west front was of late date, Deneux wrote that the wall was placed “là où s’accuse dans l’édifice actuel, la reprise des travaux pour l’allongement de la nef” (Dix ans, 20). 53 if the connection between the 1221 agreement and the rapid construction of the north outer wall foundations proposed above were accepted, the demolition of the old façade could conceivably have occurred from as early as the mid-1220s, implying that the decision to remove it was reached very early in the planning process.

24

1.10 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: deneux 1944 plan corrected and modified to illustrate impressionistically the actual complexity of the thirteenth-century foundations. see Plate 2 for detail of the color shading (drawing: author)

WAlter Berry

Kind

Kind

Kind

Kind new questions regarding the organization and conduct of the building operation (figure 1.10 = Pl. 2). how this is to be related to the documentary evidence— other than (apparently) the 1221 agreement—or to historical events (such as the 1233 insurrection) remains to be seen, but there are important implications for chronology. A provisional sequence in the east end includes five main building phases: (1) construction of the envelope of the chevet, contemporary with the start of work on the transept terminal walls (first on the south, then on the north, and from east to west?) and the nave eastern bays, followed by the laying of the “platform”; (2) start of the crossing south side (built west to meet the nave south arcade) as demolition of the older transept and chevet was underway, and work on the new transept terminal walls continued; (3) laying of the major part of the choir foundations (more or less west to east) and those of the rectangular ambulatory chapel piers; (4) change in construction method in establishing the remainder of the choir and the crossing north side (built westward to meet the nave north arcade), possibly concurrent with the south transept arm chains (east, then west); (5) building of the chain walls of the transept north arm (east, then west), its northwest angle and west wall being finished later in separate subphases (apparently after much of the nave substructures had been completed). Work on the nave was more complicated, especially at the west: (1) the two outer wall foundations were begun roughly at the same time as the chevet, being built on the south straight through to the third bay, on the north very rapidly to the second bay following a pause until 1221 in the sixth, in both cases incorporating the lateral sides of the old twin-towered facade; (2) the arcade foundations, lagged behind, started in the ninth bay and extended into the “tenth” across the fourth, halting at that on the south showing three interruptions in building beginning in the sixth bay; (3) following the erection of the western “temporary wall” and demolition of the old facade, the south outer wall foundation continued into the new south tower, apparently of the same build, the south arcade foundation and its transverse chains being built after the outer wall and new west front substructures had been laid; (4) possibly later, the north arcade was continued

the thirteeNth-CeNtUry foUNdAtioNs

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into the second bay, while certainly later, the final bay of the north outer wall was completed to abut the north tower, at least partially already in place, followed by the completion of the arcade and chain wall foundations. Much more can and should be done on site, including the application of geophysical techniques to map areas where deneux’s documentation is wanting or in need of verification. Especially needed is more thorough study of the elements lying in the intermediary zone between the arases of the foundations and the present pavement, and their relation to the masonry and moldings of the walls and supports in elevation. in doing so, the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach has already been prefigured by the work of Anne Prache.

Chapter 2

Cathedral, Palace, hôtel: Architectural emblems of an ideal society Michael t. davis1

in 1434, Guillebert de Mets completed the “description of the City of Paris and of the excellent Kingdom of france,” a detailed account of europe’s largest city. Composed in two parts, it traces Paris and the french kingdom from their foundation by ancient trojan refugees to the reign of louis viii in the thirteenth century (Part i, i–xix), then enters the contemporary metropolis “when the city was in its flower” to catalog its physical, spatial, and human resources (Part ii, xx–xxix).2 Just as Augustan rome’s paved streets and public works advertised its position as capital of the empire, the urban fabric of Paris materializes french greatness. lists of churches, colleges, palaces, bridges, and gates convey overwhelming physical density; inventories of streets guide the reader through the Cité, the left Bank, and the right Bank. But more than an insulated collection of structures and spaces, the city becomes a stage animated by the artistic, commercial, intellectual, political, and religious life of its population of kings, “the beautiful herb seller,” and 80,000 beggars. Within the staccato of names and places, Guillebert slows to describe the Cathedral of Notre-dame, the royal palace, and the mansion of Jacques duchie. like homer’s ekphrasis of Achilles’ shield in Book 18 of The Iliad, Guillebert’s architectural portraits interrupt the action of moving through the city, producing, as Ruth Webb writes, “an intensification of the narrative … which would involve the audience both imaginatively and emotionally.”3 1 i am honored to offer this contribution in memory of Anne Prache whose scholarly and personal hospitality has made Paris a second home. 2 Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België/Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (hereafter KBr) Ms 9559–64. the original manuscript has rubrics, and does not have the chapter numberings added by Antoine Jean victor le roux de lincy in his edition, Description de la ville de Paris au XVe siècle, par Guillebert, de Metz [sic] (Paris: Aubry, 1855), and maintained in Antoine Jean victor le roux de lincy and lazare-Marie tisserand, Paris et ses historiens aux XIVe et XV siècles (Paris: imprimerie impériale, 1867), 131–236. i follow Nicole Grévy-Pons, “Jean de Montreuil et Guillebert de Mets,” Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire 58 (1980): 565–87, esp. 568, in eliminating Chapter 27, “Concerning the walls,” which is not separate in the manuscript. 3 ruth Webb, “Ekphrasis Ancient and Modern: the invention of a Genre,” Word and Image 15/1 (1999): 14 [7–18] addresses the effect of homer’s extended description of the shield and similar ekphrastic passages; Webb, Ekphrasis, Imagination and Persuasion in Ancient Rhetorical Theory and Practice (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2009).

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this chapter considers the logic behind Guillebert’s choice of these three structures out of the thousands that composed the city’s built environment. often, they are read as transparent accounts through which to view late medieval interiors or to glimpse daily life. to the contrary, Guillebert judiciously selects and orders features and furnishings to cast the cathedral, the palace, and the mansion as urban icons that represent Paris as the locus of a society of faith, justice, and prosperity at a moment of political violence and foreign occupation. his verbal constructs not only capture these buildings’ material character and the sensibilities that informed their making, but they also evoke the intangible meanings that invested them with significance.4 author and Context Before turning to Guillebert’s words, let me set the “description of the City of Paris” in its authorial and manuscript context. Born in the flemish city of Geraardsbergen (Grammont) around 1390, Guillebert gravitated to Paris to work as a professional scribe and bookseller, a transcripvain and libraire. Although the “description” mentions events ranging from Queen isabeau of Bavaria’s entry into the capital in 1389 to the construction of houses on the pont Notredame in 1422, Guillebert’s residence in Paris is likely bracketed between 1407, the year he began his text, and 1419–20 when he married in Geraardsbergen.5 he was certainly in Paris in 1414 when he copied laurent de Premierfait’s french translation of Boccaccio’s Decameron (Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal ms 5070) and by 1419 he had also written Livre de Sidrac et Lucidaire (the Hague, Royal Library ms 133 A 2), in which he qualified himself as the “libraire de Mons. le duc Jehan de Bourgoingne.”6 from 1420 to 1436, Guillebert is documented continuously in Geraardsbergen as an alderman, a sworn councilor, the commune’s receiver, a bookseller, copyist, translator, and the owner of an

4 ruth Webb, “the Aesthetics of sacred space: Narrative. Metaphor, and Motion in Ekphrasis of Church Buildings,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 53 (1999): 59–74; Webb, “ekphrasis of Buildings in Byzantium: theory and Practice,” Byzantinoslavica 3 (2011): 20–32. 5 sophie somers, “the varied occupations of a Burgundian scribe: Corrections and Additions relating to Guillebert de Mets (c. 1390/1–after 1436),” in “Als Ich Can.” Liber Amicorum in Memory of Professor Dr. Maurits Smeyers, ed. Bert Cardon et al. (Paris/ leuven: Peters, 2002), 1227–46, at p. 1232. this study expands the biography presented by victor fris, “Guillebert de Mets,” Annales de l’Académie Royale d’Archéologie de Belgique 64 (1912): 336–66. 6 in addition to somers and fris, as in note 4, see also Miniatures flamandes 1404–1482, ed. Bernard Bousmanne, thierry delcourt, and ilona hans-Collas (Paris/ Brussels: Bibliothèque nationale de france/Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, 2011), 104, 148–54. the Sidrac may have been executed as early 1410, for which see somers, “the varied occupations,” 1231.

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inn, the “Arms of france” (Den Scilt van Vranckerike).7 Meanwhile in 1434, he brought the “description” and its accompanying texts to a close.8 The “Description” was actually the final component of a manuscript composed of Christine de Pizan’s Epistre Othea; Jean de Courtecuisse’s french translation of pseudo-seneca’s On the Four Virtues (De quatuor virtutibus); letters from the debate of the Roman de la Rose by Christine de Pizan, Jean de Montreuil, and Gontier Col; a french translation of Albertano da Brescia’s treatise on “the Art of speaking and Being silent” (Ars loquendi et tacendi); and a poetic elaboration on “the five letters of the Name of Paris” possibly by eustache deschamps or Jean Munier.9 despite the attenuated relationship of these selections to one another, together they constitute an instructive anthology, favored by aristocratic readers, that presents a kind of meta-narrative connecting ancient troy to contemporary Paris. learning from the education of hector by the goddess of wisdom, othea, schooled in the classical virtues and guided by a chivalric humanism, the princely reader finally enters the crown jewel of the kingdom, Paris.10 in addition to its journey from past to present, Guillebert’s text links moral instruction to the built environment. here, Albertano’s treatise is the bridge that connects the didactic and urban selections that compose the manuscript. As chapter 2, point 8 of Ars loquendi advises: Be warned not to say anything seditious, anything which would bring the city to ruin. Where there is sedition, there is a divided city. the lord says: “every kingdom divided against itself is ruined and a household divided against itself collapses.”11

these words might be read as an epigram for the decades during which Guillebert wrote the “description,” years scarred by clashes between Burgundian and Armagnac factions, urban riots, and english occupation that, at times, threatened to dismantle the city.12 Brutal reality hovers behind 7 Consult fris, “Guillebert de Mets,” 361–6, and somers, “the varied occupations,” 1233–9 for the Geraardsbergen years of Guillebert’s life. in 1431 or 1432, he sold two more books to Philip the Good. Guillebert died by 1439. 8 the “description” begins with the statement, “la description de la ville de paris et de lexcellence du royaume de france transcript et extrait de pluseurs aucteurs par guillebert de mets lan mil iiii (cents) (et) xxxiiii.” KBr 9559–64, fol. 118r. 9 KBr, Ms 9559–64; Miniatures Flamandes, 153–4. 10 Miniatures Flamandes, 153 draws attention to the “Parisian thread” that runs through these texts. two, “the five letters of the Name of Paris” and the “description,” concern the city itself; the others were written and translated there. 11 Ars loquendi et tacendi, trans. Angus Graham, http://freespace.virgin.net/angus. graham/loquendi.htm, 101–2 (accessed 23 october, 2013). 12 the Journal d’un Bourgeois de Paris, ed. Colette Beaune (Paris: livre de Poche, 1990), in english as A Parisian Journal, trans. Janet shirley (oxford: Clarendon, 1968), chronicles the years 1405–49. Also r.C. famiglietti, Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420 (New york: AMs, 1986); Jean favier, Paris au XVe siècle (Paris: hachette, 1974); and Musée du louvre, Paris 1400. Les arts sous Charles VI (Paris: fayard/réunion des musées nationaux, 2004).

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Guillebert’s verbal mirage of a pristine peaceful city, but his manuscript offers a prescription for recovery through disciplined and cultivated government of this Paris-paradise lost. Although the intended recipient remains unknown, the carefully adjusted tone of the text and Guillebert’s service to the duke of Burgundy, as well as the inclusion of the book in the inventory of Philip the Good’s library in 1464, build a circumstantial case that the project was aimed at a member of the ducal family.13 the familiar tropes of the “praise of cities” (laudes urbium) literature appear in the “description”: redoubtable founders, a fertile site, abundant resources, industrious citizens, and impressive buildings. But instead of a collection of separate categories, Guillebert weaves them together to convey a pictorial sense of Paris as a complex whole composed of a multiplicity of parts, framed by walls and internally connected by networks of bridges and streets.14 to craft an encomium that was vivid and immediate, Guillebert likely drew upon inventive literary and visual strategies encountered in his professional life. during his sojourn in Paris, Guillebert operated in the same elite bourgeois and aristocratic circles as laurent Premierfait, Christine de Pizan and the limbourg brothers, all mentioned at the conclusion of the “description,” “in Which the General excellence of the City is explained.” At the same moment that Guillebert began his ekphrasis of Paris, the Boucicaut Master and the limbourgs were pioneering a new approach to architectural representation by placing keenly observed buildings within a unified spatial field.15 like the limbourgs’ “map” of rome in the Très Riches Heures (figure 2.1 = Pl. 3), Guillebert’s view of the city integrates general setting with specific detail shifting perspectives between airborne panoramas that pick out the churches of each district and ground-level itineraries that take us down the rue de Glatigny “where the girls are,” past the rue des Anglois where “good cutlers live,” or into the cemetery of the innocents to marvel at paintings of the danse Macabre.

13 As Grévy-Pons has shown in “Jean de Montreuil,” 565–87, Guillebert excised anti-Burgundian polemics from passages borrowed from Jean’s A toute la Chevalerie for Part i of the “description.” for the possibility of the manuscript as a ducal project, Miniatures Flamandes, 153. 14 for the “praise of cities,” John Kenneth hyde, “Medieval descriptions of Cities,” Bulletin of the John Ryland Library 48 (1960): 308–40; hartmut Kugler, Die Vorstellung der Stadt in der Literatur des deutschen Mittelalters (Munich/Zurich: Artemis, 1986). Compare Bonvesin della riva’s De magnalibus Mediolani/Meraviglie di Milano, trans. Paolo Chiesa (Milan: libri scheiwiller, 1998), written in 1288, which presents Milan in terms of distinct categories. for example, Chapter 2, “de commendatione Mediolani ratione habitationis,” lists numbers of doors, roofs, ditches, city gates, churches dedicated to the virgin Mary, bell towers, and bells; Chapter 3, “de commendatione Mediolani ratione habitantium,” includes numbers of laymen, canons, chaplains, and notaries. 15 erik inglis, Jean Fouquet and the Invention of France (New haven: yale University Press, 2011), 148–64.

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notre-Dame Guillebert introduces Paris by mapping the city—and the structure of his description—as a whole of five parts: The first contains the middle part called the Cité, between the two arms of the river seine. the second is about the high part of the city where the schools of the university are. the third speaks of the low part of the city toward saintDenis in France. The fourth is about the gates of all the city. The fifth part discusses the all-encompassing excellence of the city.16 16 KBr, Ms 9559–64, fol. 132r. this follows the rhetorical practice of describing context and surroundings before moving on to describe the interior, as in Webb, “ekphrasis of Buildings,” 27–8.

2.1 Limbourg brothers, Map of rome, Très Riches Heures. Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms 65, fol. 141v (photo: rené-Gabriel ojéda, rMNGrand Palais/Art resource, Ny). see also Plate 3

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from this sweeping bird’s-eye view, we alight at the Cathedral of Notre-dame, sketched out in four terse sentences: there is the cathedral church of Notre-dame which inside is 200 feet long and 80 feet wide. there are 40 columns beyond the three main entrances on the west façade that one can walk around; also, there are 20 columns, each by a chapel that one cannot walk around. Around the choir of the church there are also as many columns and chapels. the space in the middle of the church, that is to say between the choir and the entrance, is as large as 12 columns and there are six chapels.17

Unlike Jean de Jandun, whose 1323 Tractatus de laudibus Parisius presents the great church in a series of evocative cuts between individual features— chapels, vaults, rose windows, tracery details—Guillebert offers little sense of the architecture’s character or style.18 Notably, his words never rise above eye level: he does not mention windows or vaults. Nevertheless, he lays out a vast basilica, entered through a triple portal façade, composed of the nave, a transept placed at the center of the plan, and a choir. Multiples of 20 for interior dimensions and structural supports reveal the unity of plan and structure, but also may suggest a deeper symbolic link to the temple of solomon whose plan unfolded from a 20-cubit unit.19

17 KBr, Ms 9559–64, fol. 132r–v: “la est leglise cathedrale de n(ost)re dame qui par dedens a de long iic pies et de large iiiixx pies. si sont es trois premieres entrees xl colombes que on puet environner, (132v) aussi y a xx colombes dont il a a chascune une chappelle que on ne puet environner. entour le cuer de leglise se sont aussi autant de coulombes et de chappelles. la place qui est ou milieu de leglise cest entre le cuer et lentree contient autant despace comme de xii colombes et y a vi chapelles. entour le cuer sont entaillies de pierre les fais des apostres, et listoire de joseph le patriarche de plaisant ouvrage, et maistre pierre du coingnet. A lentree est limage de saint xpristofle (Christofle) de merveilleuse haulteur et noble ouvrage. En ceste eglise est le chief saint philippe lapost(re) et le chief saint marcel evesque de paris, et diverses reliques pluseurs. la table du g(ra)nt autel dessus, et celle de desoubz sont dargent dorez. il y a deux clochiers ou il a autant de degrez comme il a de jours en lan. en lun est une cloche que len puet a paine p(ar) iiii fois avironner, les bras estendus. il y a une chappelle de coste com(m)e len va au chapitre de merveilleuse facon, et y est la legende job entaillee. et par dehors leglise sont belles ymages.” 18 the Tractatus de laudibus Parisius was published by le roux de lincy and tisserand, Paris et ses historiens, 3–79. Also Jacques verger, “thèmes majeurs, lieux communs et oublis dan le Tractatus de laudibus Parisius (1323), in Retour aux sources. Textes, études et documents d’histoire médiévale offerts à Michel Paris, ed. sylvain Gouguenheim (Paris: Picard, 2004), 849–57; and erik inglis, “Gothic Architecture and a scholastic: Jean de Jandun’s Tractatus de laudibus Parisius (1323), Gesta 42 (2003): 63–85. 19 stefaan van liefferinge, “the Choir of Notre-dame of Paris: An inquiry into twelfth-Century Mathematics and early Gothic Architecture” (Phd diss., Columbia University, 2006), 188–95.

CAthedrAl, PAlACe, hôtel

1. Columns that one can walk around -

,.~

33

2. Columns that one cannot walk around

Nonjudgmental Nonjudgmental

OOOOoo OOOooD -

7. Head of St. Marcel

-

8. High altar

9. two towers

(}oOoooooooo

o'

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

c;]Q~ 6. Image of St. Christopher

S.Master Pierre du COignet

reaching the “middle of the church,” Guillebert shifts his attention from architecture to objects. first, he notes the sculpted “deeds of the apostles” and “story of Joseph” of the eastern section of the choir enclosure. he picks out “master Pierre du Coignet,” a brutish figure in the Descent into Limbo on the choir screen named for an anti-ecclesiastical councilor of Philip vi.20 returning to the western bays of the nave, Guillebert mentions the statue of saint Christopher against the second pier on the south side, then darts back to the choir and relics of the head of Philip the Apostle and saint Marcel displayed behind the high altar, and concludes at the high altar itself. finally, exiting Notre-dame, Guillebert marvels at the façade with its two towers, “in which there are as many steps as there are days in the year,” that house the great bells, the chapel of saint-JeanBaptiste at the northwest corner, and a relief of Job among the “beautiful images” of the exterior (figures 2.2, 2.3, 2.4). these points of interest plot a relay race from one end of the cathedral to the other. Clearly Guillebert did not place them as way stations in a methodical tour of the monument, but are they more than a rhetorical device? in fact, their sequence, moving from the narrative reliefs of the jubé and choir enclosure to free-standing votive sculpture to saints’ relics and the high altar, locus of the host, constructs a ladder leading from material representation to direct encounter with the divine, a spiritual experience perhaps embodied in the ascent of the tower. our last glimpse of the cathedral settles surprisingly on the Job relief, an unobtrusive footnote to the central portal’s last Judgment (figure 2.5). if this scene carries an association similar to Jean fouquet’s later miniature in the Chevalier hours in which Job lies on the dung heap in 20 for “Pierre du Coignet,” see le roux de lincy and tisserand, Paris et ses historiens, 153–4; Jacques Krynen, L’Empire du roi: idées et croyance politiques en France XIIIe–XIVe siècle (Paris: Gallimard, 1993), 256–8 discusses Pierre de Cuignières’s argument to limit ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

2.2 Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame: plan with list of features and objects mentioned by Guillebert de Mets (drawing: author)

"As many steps

as days in the

year"

"chapel of wondrous construction"-St-Jean-Baptiste

Kind

2.3 Paris, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: elevation of west façade with features mentioned by Guillebert de Mets (drawing: author)

2.4 Interior view of Paris, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, ca. 1640 by Pierre Aveline, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france, Cabinet des estampes et de la photographie, vA-254-fol (photo: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france)

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front of the royal château of vincennes, then Guillebert may be reminding the reader of france’s present humiliation and suffering.21 embedded in the buttress of the soaring and unscathed west façade of Notre-dame, the relief, nevertheless, offers hope for restoration of the city’s fortunes through faith and endurance. Consider too Guillebert’s omissions. the equestrian statue of Philip iv, ecclesiastical figures and tombs, and the statue of the donor of st. Christopher, Antoine des essarts, counselor and chamberlain to Charles vi, are deleted from the interior; royal figures of the west façade portals and the famous gallery of kings are ignored. in effect, Guillebert’s ekphrasis “de-politicizes” Notre-dame by detaching it from the french monarchy and its high officials, save for the Pierre du Coignet jibe at Philip vi. followed by a list of the 15 parish churches in the Cité and the priory of saint-eloi, this description portrays Notre-dame as a universal symbol that, in Jean de Jandun’s evocative phrase, “shines at the summit as the sun amid the other stars” to identify Paris as “the privileged sanctuary of the Christian religion.”22 The royal Palace from Notre-dame, Guillebert moves west to the royal palace that “extends from the Grand Pont where the clock is to the Pont Neuf” (figure 2.6). Navigating the complex in a methodical clockwise loop, he enters through the Grand’salle; measures out the hall’s vast space, 120 feet in length and 50 feet wide; counts its eight “columns”; points out the “table de marbre” made of nine pieces of stone; and notes the “statues of the kings who have ruled in france.”23 he then makes his 21 inglis, Jean Fouquet, 194–6. 22 le roux de lincy and tisserand, Paris et ses historiens, 44–5. 23 herveline delhumeau, Le Palais de la Cité: du Palais des rois de France au Palais de Justice (Paris: Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, 2011), 50–67. the indispensable history of the palace remains Jean Guérout, “le Palais de la Cité des origins à 1417,” Mémoires de la Fédération des sociétés historiques et archéologiques de l’Ile-de-France,

2.5 Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame: Job relief, west façade, central portal, interior face of north buttress (photo: author)

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2.6 Paris, Palais de la Cité: general view from east by Boisseau, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france, Cabinet des estampes et de la photographie, vX 15, p. 271 (1156) (photo: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france)

way down the Galerie des Merciers, where luxury objects are sold, to the sainteChapelle, with its relics and “griffin’s foot” that evidently was of greater interest than the biblical cyclorama of stained glass. After surveying the royal apartments, ennobled by towers and sculpture inside and out, as well as the garden, Guillebert wends his way into the “legislative zone” of the Parlement, located in the GrandChambre on the north side. Continuing on, he passes the “Chambre des requêtes” on the second floor of the gallery, the royal financial bureaus facing the west porch of the sainte-Chapelle, and the Maison de l’Audience that abuts the chapel’s northern side. exiting the palace by the Grande Cour, he glances back at the craft shops along the east wall, home to a pewter smith “who kept nightingales that sang in the winter” (figures 2.6 and 2.7).24 1 (1949): 52–212; 2 (1950): 21–204; 3 (1951): 7–101. the actual dimensions of the Grand’salle were 63 × 27 meters (206.75 × 88.5 feet). 24 Brussels, KBr, Ms 9559–64, fol. 132v: “le palais royal dure des le grant pont ou est lorologe jusques a pont neuf. la salle du palais a de long vixx pies et de large l pies, il y a viii colombes, la est la table de marbre de ix pieces, la sont les ymages des roys qui ont regne en france, la sont procureurs de parlement et advocas, la sale des merchiers a de long iiiixx pies, la vent on divers joyaux dor dargent de p(ier)res precieuses et autres. en la sainte chappelle est grant partie de la sainte croix de la sainte couronne et autres benoites reliques a merveilles. et y a ung grant pie dun griffon. Au palais sont salles et chambres, pour logier le roy et les douze pers, si est de bel edifice a tours et ymages dedens et dehors, et y a beau jardin. Au palais sont les seigneurs de parlement ou les roys de france ont acoustume de seoir en jugement. la sont les seign(eu)rs des requestes qui ont cognoissance des causes (133v) des officiers du roy. La est la chambre des seigneurs des comptes, des tresoriers, des receve(ur)s, du concierge et dautres officiers. La est laudience, et devant le palais demeure ung pottier destain, bon ouvrier de merveilleux vaisseaux destain, et tenoit des rossignols qui chantoient en yver.”

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Accepting ~

1. Great Hall 2. Marble table 3. Statues of kings

Accepting Accepting 12. Audience chamber 7. Garden - - - - -

Accepting Accepting Accepting Accepting Accepting Accepting 10. Chambre des comptes

Again, compare Guillebert’s treatment of the Palais de la Cité with that of Jean de Jandun. to the author of the Tractatus, the palace “was marvellously adapted to the … care of our wise monarchs who seek continually to increase the public well-being by their ordinances” and his observations center on the communal spaces of the Grand’salle and the Grand-Chambre of Parlement.25 in contrast, Guillebert takes us through the entire complex, private as well as public areas, enacting the french tradition that gave citizens of all ranks the right to enter the king’s residence to present their petitions in person.26 these audiences and other events reveal the surprising accessibility of the palace and, by extension, the benefits of royal government.27 25 le roux de lincy and tisserand, Paris et ses historiens, 48–9; an english translation, In Old Paris: An Anthology of Source Descriptions, 1323–1790, ed. r. Berger (New york: italica, 2002), 9–10. 26 for the cérémonial ordinaire, see Mary Whiteley, “Ceremony and space in the Châteaux of Charles v, King of france,” in Zeremoniell und Raum. 4. Symposium der Residenzen-Kommission der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, ed. Werner Paravicini (sigmaringen: thorbecke, 1997), 189–98; and Whiteley, “the Courts of edward iii of england and Charles v of france: A Comparison of their Architectural setting and Ceremonial functions,” Fourteenth Century England, ed. Nigel saul (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2000), 153–66. Charles v’s day is recounted in detail by Christine de Pizan, Le Livre des Faits et Bonnes Moeurs du roi Charles V le Sage, trans. eric hicks and thérèse Moreau (Paris: stock, 1997), 67–70. 27 As Christine describes it, Le Livre de Faits, 68–9, when Charles v left morning Mass in the chapel, “une foule de gens … l’attendaient: c’est là que chaque personne pouvait faire entendre son cas.” in the Palais de la Cité, if the chapel in question was the Oratoire du Roi, adjacent to the royal apartments, then this ceremony may have taken place in the Galerie des Prisonniers. After lunch, Charles received ambassadors, lords, foreign princes, and knights in the royal lodgings, since Christine remarks that, “il y a

2.7 Paris, Palais de la Cité: plan with places included in the description by Guillebert de Mets (drawing: author)

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Although the king’s presence is seen and felt—in the statues of the Grand’salle, his apartments, or the “lit de justice” of Parlement—the palace transforms into something more than a one-man show, “a superb testimony to royal magnificence.” Instead, it becomes the headquarters of the machinery of government. the 12 peers of the kingdom, members of Parlement, lawyers, administrators, accountants, and collectors of the treasury join the king in a collective enterprise that creates a responsive and just regime, one that also nurtures lucrative commerce and unrivaled crafts. in reality, the government of Charles had unraveled, splintering into rival factions, accused of profligate spending, corruption, and nepotism.28 during the years that Guillebert wrote the “description,” the palace, rather than the noble seat of the monarchy, became a stage for chaos and violence: in August 1413 during the Cabochien uprising the concierge’s residence was sacked; Burgundian partisans broke down the gates in June 1418 to slaughter Armagnac prisoners, including the Constable and Chancellor of france; and the banquet in the Grand’salle following the consecration of henry vi at Notre-dame in december 1431 deteriorated into a dishonorable scrum of stumbling onlookers, busy thieves, and bad food.29 the palace, too, had seen better days. Although maintenance work continued throughout the reign of Charles vi, by 1408 the structure was dilapidated: vaults were held together by emergency ties, walls buckled, and roofs leaked.30 None of this figures in Guillebert’s description of the “bel edifice” sheltering “reliques à merveilles,” with its “beau jardin.” he, like the artists of the June page in the Très Riches Heures and foreshadowing Jean fouquet’s later architectural portraits, presents the Palais de la Cité as an emblem of french glory, the microcosm of a beautiful, just, and prosperous kingdom.31 its symbolic importance as the seat of legitimate government, a secular equivalent of reims Cathedral, can be read in the remarks of the Bourgeois who reports:

une telle foule … que l’on pouvait à peine bouger dans les magnifiques appartements et salons de réception du Palais.” An assembly, attended by Charles vi, princes of the blood, nobles, bourgeois, and clergy, at which bulls of Benedict Xiii were torn to pieces, was held in the Grand Préau in May 1408, for which see Guérout “le Palais de la Cité,” 2 (1950), 124. Whiteley, “Ceremony and space,” 188 and Whiteley, “deux escaliers royaux du Xive siècle: les ‘grands degrez’ du palais de la Cité et le ‘grande viz’ du louvre,” Bulletin monumental 147 (1989): 133–54, discuss the public processions and receptions staged in the Grande Cour. 28 famiglietti, Royal Intrigue, 112–13, for the speech on 13 february 1413 by eustache de Pavilly in the presence of the king and high nobility attacking governmental dysfunction; also favier, Paris au XVe siècle, 154, 159. 29 these events are related in A Parisian Journal, 78, for the sacking of the concierge’s house; 116–18, for the massacre of 1418; and 271–2, for the post-consecration banquet, about which “no one could find a good word to say.” 30 Guérout, “le Palais” (1951), 13–27, for work on the palace during the reign of Charles vi. 31 For early fifteenth-century representations of the palace, Inglis, Jean Fouquet, 164–72; and Camille serchuk, “images of Paris in the Middle Ages: Patronage and Politics” (Phd diss., yale University, 1997), 135–49.

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on thursday, st. Andrew’s eve, trumpets were sounded and proclamations made announcing that King Charles’s Parlement, which had sat at Poitiers since the King left Paris (and his Chambres des Comptes at Bourges in Berry), should sit in future at the royal Palais in Paris in the same form and manner as it had done under his predecessors the kings of france and they would begin on st. eloi’s day, 1 december 1436.32

The hôtel of Jacques Duchie to this point, despite the gulf in style and sensibility, Guillebert de Mets singles out the same architectural nodes, the cathedral and royal palace, as Jean de Jandun. When Jean composed his encomium to Paris in 1323, Notre-dame was, in many respects, a modern building brightened by a necklace of new chapels, ornate flying buttresses, and a sumptuous interior enclosure, while finishing touches were bringing Philip the Fair’s palace to completion. By the early fifteenth century, neither Notredame nor the Palais de la Cité was novel, the palace long replaced as the royal residence by the louvre, vincennes, or the hôtel saint-Pol. Clearly Guillebert’s criteria of architectural significance were not defined by modernity or innovation. Were his choices then automatic appropriations of established local topoi? the third building accorded special attention, the hôtel of “Master Jacques Duchie” takes us into the fifteenth-century present.33 A “maître des comptes” in the government of Charles vi, duchie, for all of his professional and worldly success, left remarkably few historical traces save for this record of his new mansion on the rue des Prouvaires near les halles (figure 2.8).34 its gate is carved with marvelous skill; in the courtyard were peacocks and various other birds for entertainment. The first room is decorated with various panel paintings and didactic inscriptions attached to and hanging from the walls. Another room is filled with all manner of instruments, harps, organs, viols, citterns, psalteries and others, all of which the said master Jacques knew 32 A Parisian Journal, 313. 33 for the duchie mansion, david thomson, Renaissance Paris: Architecture and Growth 1475–1600 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), 159–60; Philippe Contamine, “Peasant hearth to Papal Palace: the fourteenth and fifteenth Centuries,” A History of Private Life. II: Revelations of the Medieval World, ed. Georges duby, trans. A. Goldhammer (Cambridge, MA: harvard University Press, 1988), 469–70; and simone roux, Paris in the Middle Ages, trans. J. McNamara (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009), 71–4, who mentions that the site of the hôtel was still occupied in 1399 by three houses in a censier of the bishopric of Paris. 34 the most complete discussion of “Jacques duchie” remains le roux de lincy and tisserand, Paris et ses historiens, 347–9. As they point out, and as I verified in 2011, there is no accent aigu in the name. henri Jassemin, La Chambre des Comptes de Paris au XVe siècle (Paris: Picard, 1933), 337, lists a Jacques de dussy among the persons attached to the Chambre. serving as a clerc from october 1376 to April 1396, a maître extraordinaire in 1398, and a maître lai in November 1412, he is certainly to be identified with Guillebert’s “Jacques duchie.”

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how to play. Another room was furnished with chess games, checkers and other kinds of games in great number. Also a beautiful chapel in which there were lecterns to put books on top, skillfully crafted, which one could move to different seats far and near, to the right and to the left. Also a study where the walls were covered with precious stones and with sweet-smelling spices. Also a chamber where there were several kinds of furs. Also several other chambers richly equipped with beds, and with ingeniously carved tables and bedecked with rich cloths and embroidered rugs. Also in another upper chamber were a great number of crossbows, some of which were painted with beautiful figures. there too were standards, banners, pennants, bows, pikes, billhooks, spears, battleaxes, guisarmes, chain mail of iron and lead, large shields, small shields, escutcheons, cannons, and other (military) engines, and plenty of armor; and in short there was all sorts of military equipment. Also, there, was a window made with such amazing skill that one could push to the outside a hollow head of iron plates through which one looked at and talked to those who were outside, if needed, without fearing a shot. Also, on top of the entire hotel there was a square chamber in which there were windows on all sides to look over the whole city. And when one ate there, one hoisted and lowered wines and meats with a pulley because it was too high to have them carried. And on top of the pinnacles of the hôtel were beautiful gilded statues. this master Jacques duchie was a handsome man, of honest conduct, and very important; also he kept well a trained and educated staff, of pleasing bearing, among whom there was a master carpenter who continually worked on the hôtel.35 35 KBr, Ms 9559–64, fol. 136v: “la porte duquel est entaillie de art merveilleux, en la court estoient paons et divers oyseaux a plaisance. la premiere salle est embellie de divers tableaux et escriptures denseignemens atachies et (137r) pendus aux parois. Une autre salle remplie de toutes manieres dinstrumens harpes orgues vielles, guiternes psalterions et autres, desq(ue)lz le dit maistre jaques savoit jouer de tous. Une autre salle estoit garnie de jeux deschez, de tables, et dautres diverses manieres de jeux a grant nombre. item une belle chappelle ou il avoit des pulpitres a mettre livres dessus de merveilleux art, lesquelx on faisoit venir a diverses sieges, loings et pres, a destre et a senestre. item ung estude ou les parois estoient couvers de pieres precieuses, et dispices de souefve oudeur. item une chambre ou estoient foureures de pluse(ur)s manieres. item pluseurs autres chambres richement a doubez de lits de tables engigneusem(en)t entaillies, et pares de riches draps et tapis a orfrais. item en une autre chambre haulte estoient grant nombre darbalestes, dont les anciens estoient pains à belles figures, la estoient estendars banieres pennons arcs a mai(n) picques, faussars planchons haches guisarmes mailles de fer et plonc, pavais, targes escus canons et autres engins, avec plente darmeures, et briefment il y avoit aussi comme toutes manieres dappareils de guerre. Item la estoit une fenestre faite de merveillable artifice, par laquele on mettoit hors une teste de plates de fer creuse, parmy laquele on regardoit et p(ar)loit a ceulx dehors se besoing estoit, sans doubter le trait. item par dessus tout lostel estoit une chambre carree, ou estoient fenestres (137v) de tous costes pour regarder par dessus la ville. et quant on y mengoit, on montoit et avaloit vins et viandes a une polie, par ce que trop hault eust este a porter. et par dessus les pignacles de lostel estoient belles ymages dorees. Cestui maistre jaques duchie estoit bel hom(m)e, de hon(n)este habit et moult notable, si tenoit serviteurs bien morigines et instruis davenant contenance. entre lesquelx estoit lun maistre charpentier, qui continuelment ouvroit a lostel.”

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2.8 Plan of Paris in 1550 (“Plan de Bâle”) by olivier truschet and Germain hoyau, showing area around rue des Prouvaires, labeled “r. desprouvelles” (photo: Universitätsbibliothek Basel, Kartensig AA 124)

Without the physical matrix of the house, it is not clear how its atoms were organized. Guillebert mentions in order, the portal, a courtyard, and eight rooms including a chapel, plus an unspecified number of bedrooms. Apparently, some of these were on an upper level, since he mentions “another upper chamber” where duchie’s collection of arms and armor were exhibited, complete with a window equipped with an ingenious movable helmet protecting communication to the street below. Were these interior spaces gathered into a corps de logis and laid out in an en filade arrangement that resembled the hôtel de Cluny? Were they wrapped around the courtyard as at the palace of Jacques Coeur in Bourges or the later hôtel le Gendre in Paris?36 the presentation of the duchie hôtel is not unlike a condensed version of Christine de Pizan’s treatment of the “chastel de fortune” in Le Livre de la Mutacion de Fortune that begins with an exterior view of the edifice perched on its rocky outcrop and ends nearly 20,000 lines later in the sale merveilleuse high 36 various layouts of late Gothic and renaissance houses are discussed by thomson, Renaissance Paris, 38–71.

2.9 Limbourg brothers, Temptation of Christ, Très Riches Heures, Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms. 65, fol. 161v (photo: rené-Gabriel ojéda, rMN-Grand Palais/Art resource, Ny). see also Plate 4

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in the donjon.37 Moving from the street entry, Guillebert ascends through the mansion to the fabulous glass belvedere from which a panorama of the city can be enjoyed accompanied by wine and snacks served by a dumbwaiter. rising above the gables, pinnacles, and sculptural acroteria of the roof, this pavilion created the kind of magical silhouette seen at Jean de Berry’s Mehun-sur-yèvre represented in the Très Riches Heures that more than justified the nickname “little great royals” that Guillebert gave Jacques and his wealthy bourgeois peers (figure 2.9 = Pl. 4).38 If Jacques Duchié’s house was grand, it was a just reflection of its owner’s virtues that equipped him to play his role in contemporary Paris. As vitruvius wrote in Book vi, Chapter 5 of the Ten Books on Architecture: for the most prominent citizens, those who should carry out their duties to the citizenry … vestibules should be constructed that are lofty and lordly, the atria and peristyles at their most spacious … as befits their dignity. In addition to these there should be libraries, picture galleries, and basilicas …39

yet, key elements of the hôtel architecture are missing. No mention of kitchens or stables, and such prestige features as the staircase along with the great hall are passed over in silence, all the more surprising since Guillebert admires double-helix stairs at both the Petit-Châtelet and the Bernardins.40 this private residence belongs to a different architectural world than the aristocratic palace.41 And as well furnished as it is, duchie’s possessions are not mere display objects,

37 Christine de Pizan, Le Livre de la Mutacion de Fortune, ed. suzanne solente (Paris: Picard, 1959) 3 vols; also Kenneth varty, “Christine’s Guided tour of the Sale merveilleuse: on reaction to reading and Being Guided round Medieval Murals in real and imaginary Buildings,” in Christine de Pizan 2000: Studies on Christine de Pizan in Honour of Angus J. Kennedy, ed. John Campbell, Nadia Margolis, and Angus J. Kennedy (Amsterdam/Atlanta: rodopi, 2000), 163–73. 38 Jean Guillaume, “le legs du Xive siècle: conclusion,” in Le Palais et son décor au temps de Jean de Berry, ed. Alain salamagne (tours: Presses universitaires françoisrabelais, 2009), 215–18. 39 vitruvius, Ten Books on Architecture, trans. ingrid d. rowland (New york: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 81. 40 KBr Ms 9559–64, fol. 133v for the staircase of the Petit Châtelet and fol. 134v for that at the Bernardins: “et y est une vis merveilleuse, ou il a doubles degrez que ceulx qui montent ou descendent par lun des degres, ne scevent riens des aut(re)s qui vont par les autres degres.” 41 Compare the picture of the hotel Bourbon offered by simone roux, “résidences princières parisiennes: l’exemple de l’hôtel de Bourbon, fin XIVe–milieu XV siècle,” in Fürstliche Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Europa, ed. hans Patze and Werner Paravicini (sigmaringen: thorbecke, 1991), 75–101; or Mary Whiteley, “royal and ducal Palaces in france in the fourteenth and fifteenth Centuries: interior Ceremony, and function,” in Architecture et vie sociale: l’organisation intérieure des grandes demeures à la fin du Moyen Age et à la Renaissance: actes du colloque tenu à Tours du 6 au 10 juin 1988, ed. Jean Guillaume (Paris: Picard, 1994), 47–63.

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but reflect the character of a man who was pious, educated, cultured, prudent, and practical—exactly the qualities that defined the ideal councilor.42 through the description of the duchie mansion, Guillebert also showcases the prosperity of Paris and the kingdom. he literally moves the cornucopia of les halles and the products of its artisans “without which the integrity of the political order is not complete”—pictures, sculpture, weapons, cloth, fur, luxury goods, books, and food—into the house where they are put to use.43 rather than Jean de Jandun’s generic “domus” of the market and craftsmen scattered across the city, Guillebert constructs a memorable architectural setting to incarnate the flourishing commerce and material plenty that results from prudent government. Guillebert’s portrait of the duchie hôtel poignantly recalls happier days. Likely confiscated after the Burgundian rout of the Armagnacs in 1418, the house belonged to Guillaume le tur before being given by henry vi to Jean de thoisy, bishop of tournai, on 26 october 1424.44 reading between the lines, this cordial recollection of a good life swept away by vicious partisan politics reminds his reader that effective and virtuous government was assured by the loyalty and experience of men such as Jacques duchie, “bel hom(m)e, de hon(n) este habit et moult notable.” Conclusion seen together, the descriptions of Notre-dame, the Palais de la Cité, and the hôtel of Jacques duchie suggest that Guillebert de Mets articulated an ideal society through the architecture of the city. details of each building lead imaginatively into spaces inviting the audience to circle the columns in the cathedral, to admire the king’s garden, or look out from the rooftop pavilion of the duchie 42 Jacques Krynen, Idéal du prince et pouvoir royal en France à la fin du Moyen Âge (1380–144) (Paris: Picard, 1981), 144–54; Krynen, L’Empire du roi, 219–24, who draws on the writings of Jean Gerson and Jean Juvenal des Ursins. Also Norbert elias, The Civilizing Process: State Formation and Civilization, trans. e. Jephcott (oxford: Blackwell, 1982), 174–90 for the rise of the “third estate,” the bourgeoisie, in royal government service. 43 Krynen, L’Empire du roi, 220, for the ideal of economic prosperity that Christine de Pizan attributed to Charles v’s reign in her Livre des fais. for Jean de Jandun’s visit to les halles and his discussion of manual artisans, see Chapters 3 and 4 of Tractatus de laudibus Parisius, le roux de lincy and tisserand, 50–54; also Berger, In Old Paris, 11–14. 44 Paris pendant la domination anglaise (1420–1436), ed. Auguste longnon (Paris: Chancellerie, 1878), 143–44: “à icellui evesque de tournay, par l’advis de nostredit oncle regent [John, duke of Bedford], avons donné … l’ostel ou maison ensemble ses appurtenances assis à Paris, en la rue des Provoires, aboutissant part devant à icelle rue et par derriere à la rue du four … lequel hostel ou maison appartenoit n’agaires à maistre Guillaume le tur et par avant à maistre Jacques d’Ussy.” the document notes that the bishop was a councilor in the service of the administration of Bedford and the duke of Burgundy.

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mansion, thus making the city vivid and accessible. in addition, these structures were vessels, the objects and people within revealing their unseen dimensions: spiritual fortitude embodied by Notre-dame, capable government found within the palace, moral rectitude and prosperity materialized in the rooms of the mansion. turning away from the gloomy present of civil war, plague, and economic crisis, Guillebert offers a glimpse of what Paris was and could be again through its emblematic buildings: a place “of prelates and princes living regularly, the nobility, the estates, the rich and diverse wonders, ceremonies, and novelties that no one would be able to fully relate.”45

45 KBr, Ms 9559–64, fol. 141r.

Chapter 3

Ambulatories, Arcade screens, and visual experience from saint-remi to saint-Quentin ellen M. shortell

the ambulatory of the former collegiate church of saint-Quentin (Aisne, Picardy), with its undulating wall, low clerestory, and arcaded chapel openings, is a complex composition of light, shadow, and color. As one moves through the space, the architectural elements alternately reveal and conceal a series of spaces and images—creating what Paul frankl, speaking of saint-remi of reims, termed “a great wealth of changing views.”1 this complex view contrasts with the relative openness and clarity of the central vessel of the choir, where a Chartreslike main arcade and triforium are surmounted by tall bar-traceried windows (figures 3.1 and 3.2). scholarship has tended to focus on the overall effect, relegating the ambulatory and chapels to the position of a curious art historical footnote. Because of the scholarly focus on the choir as a whole, saint-Quentin’s lower chevet has been omitted from the literature on Gothic architecture leading up to the year 1200, and its relationship to other monuments of the later twelfth century has gone largely unexamined. this chapter will attempt to place it in its proper artistic context and highlight its importance. The east end of Saint-Quentin the high Gothic and rayonnant elements of the choir of saint-Quentin dominate the visitor’s first view of the interior (Figure 3.1). The character of the chevet, however, is only fully appreciated as one moves east (figure 3.2). the straight choir of saint-Quentin is separated from the turning bays by a second, narrow transept (Figure 3.3). The spatial division of the double aisles that flank the choir is matched across the transept, the inner aisle extending to form the ambulatory, and the outer aisle ending with a diagonally planted chapel of the same height as the aisles and ambulatory. A visitor moving from west to east first sees the ambulatory after crossing the transept. 1 Paul frankl, Gothic Architecture (Baltimore: Penguin, 1962), rev. ed. Paul Crossley (New haven: yale University Press, 2000), 81.

3.1 Saint-Quentin, former collegiate church: interior looking east (photo: author)

3.2 Saint-Quentin, former collegiate church: ambulatory (photo: author)

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3.3 SaintQuentin, former collegiate church: plan of east end with overlay of design scheme geometry (drawing: author)

the most distinctive feature of the ambulatory is surely its undulating eastern wall, which appears scalloped in plan and recalls the combined space of ambulatory and shallow chapels of early Gothic monuments such as saintMartin-des-Champs (Paris, c. 1130–40) or suger’s saint-denis (1144), or, closer in time and geography, of the high Gothic choir of the cathedral of soissons (c. 1190–1212). While the scalloped wall is an exterior one at the latter buildings, at Saint-Quentin five radiating chapels open from the outer ambulatory wall. the radiating chapels at saint-Quentin are vaulted independently, and are lower than the ambulatory and diagonal chapels, allowing space for a clerestory to illuminate the ambulatory (figure 3.2). Autonomous, circular spaces, the chapels are covered, to dome-like effect, with a 10-part rib vault radiating from a central keystone, and are separated from the ambulatory by a triple arcade supported on thin, monolithic columns. the spatial experience of the ambulatory is distinctly different from that of the choir, and has proved disconcerting to a number of visitors. After visiting saint-Quentin in the late nineteenth century, Édouard fleury declared the lower chevet “shocking to the least trained eye” because its juxtaposition with the Chartrain clarity of the lower choir “sins against the laws of unity and taste.”2 2 “choquante pour l’oeil le moins exercé et … pèche contre les lois de l’unité et du goût.” Édouard fleury, Antiquités et monuments du département de l’Aisne, 4 vols (Paris: Claye, 1877–82), vol. 4, 43.

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Although fleury’s belief that the ambulatory was built after the choir is clearly untenable, the emphasis he placed on its aberrant nature and its incompatibility with the choir is echoed in later scholarship. discussions of saint-Quentin have focused on the east end as a totality and tried to define its style, but offered little if any analysis of the ambulatory and chapels. in fact, major surveys of Gothic architecture written in the later twentieth century by Jean Bony, robert Branner, and dieter Kimpel and robert suckale included saint-Quentin as an example of mid-thirteenth-century architecture.3 some, inspired by the architectural drawings of villard de honnecourt, believed that the combination of an early Gothic ambulatory, Chartrain choir, and rayonnant clerestory was conceived all at once by a master who used such a collection of drawings to juxtapose quotations of retardataire styles.4 villard is no longer thought to have been a builder, and, similarly, the chronology of construction at saint-Quentin has been revised to place each stylistic phase within a more likely time frame. recent studies place the beginning of construction of the radiating chapels and ambulatory around 1190, with slow progress toward the completion of the threestory choir in the 1260s.5 the ambulatory and eastern chapels of saint-Quentin are now recognized as a product of the late twelfth century, when the chevet of 3 Jean Bony, French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 281–8, for example, included saint-Quentin and Beauvais Cathedral in a single section; dieter Kimpel and robert suckale, Die gotische Architektur in Frankreich: 1130–1270 (Munich: hirmer 1985), 350, followed suit, citing saint-Quentin and Beauvais as examples of rayonnant in Picardy; and robert Branner, Saint Louis and the Court Style in Gothic Architecture (london: Zwemmer, 1965), 82, believed the building was a creation of the second quarter of the thirteenth century. other major surveys of french Gothic architecture, including frankl’s, Gothic Architecture, do not include saint-Quentin at all. 4 The name of Villard de Honnecourt was first proposed by Pierre Bénard, “recherches sur la patrie et les travaux de villard de honnecourt,” Travaux de la Société Académique des sciences, arts, et belles lettres de Saint-Quentin 13 (3rd ser. 6) (1864–65): 260–80, and the idea remained attractive to scholars for more than a century, last debated among Pierre héliot, La Basilique de Saint-Quentin et l’architecture du Moyen âge (Paris: Picard, 1967); robert Branner in his review of the latter in Speculum 43 (1968): 728–32; françois Bucher, “A rediscovered tracing by villard de honnecourt,” Art Bulletin 59 (1977): 315–19; and Bony, French Gothic Architecture, 286–7. it was soundly refuted by Carl f. Barnes, Jr., “le ‘problème’ de villard de honnecourt,” in Les Bâtiseurs des cathédrales gothiques, ed. roland recht (strasbourg: Musée de l’art modern, 1989), 209–23, and in Barnes, The Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Fr 19093): A New Critical Edition and Color Facsimile (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2009). 5 Bony, French Gothic Architecture, 281, uses the consecration date of 1257 as an indication of completion, while héliot, La Basilique, 39–40, suggests that only the easternmost bay of the straight choir was vaulted at that time, the tracery of the three western bays bearing traits of the 1260s. for a detailed chronology of the architecture see ellen shortell, “the Choir of saint-Quentin: Gothic structure, Power, and Cult,” Phd diss., Columbia University, 2000, 150–235; and additional contributions by Mathieu tricoit, “la collégiale de saint-Quentin (Aisne) et sa place dans le paysage architectural du Xiiie siècle,” Phd diss., Université de Picardie, lille, 2011.

3.4 Reims, Saint-Remi: interior, chevet looking east (photo: author)

3.5 Reims, Saint-Remi: ambulatory and radiating chapels looking southeast (photo: Andrew tallon/mappinggothic.org)

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the abbey church of saint-remi of reims (Champagne) and the cathedrals of soissons and laon (Aisne, Picardy) were under construction nearby. Although Kimpel and suckale described saint-Quentin as “a singular epigone with no significant progeny,” the builders of the early campaigns in the chevet seem, in fact, to have worked in productive dialogue with these and other worksites in northern france.6 Both the self-contained circular chapels and the triple arcade screening them from the ambulatory were clearly inspired by the chevet built at the abbey church of saint-remi in reims under the abbacy of Peter of Celle (1162–81), for which Anne Prache’s work remains an essential and authoritative source (figures 3.4 and 3.5).7 Prache herself argued that saint-Quentin’s chapels were inspired by those of saint-remi; as this chapter will demonstrate, the builders of saint-Quentin continued to work with design problems posed at saint-remi.8 The Chevet of Saint-remi of reims The chevet of Saint-Remi is the first known example in Gothic architecture of radiating chapels with arcaded entrances (figure 3.5). Architectural historians have highlighted the importance of the arcade as an alternative response to the vaulting problem posed by the double ambulatory of the Cathedral of Notre-dame of Paris, where the progressively widening bays of the inner and outer ambulatory necessitated the addition of intermediate piers between the main bay divisions.9 While this resolved the technical problem of supporting an irregularly shaped vault, the added pier centered in each bay at Notre-dame of Paris obstructs what would otherwise have been an open vista from the center point of the hemicycle toward the unfolding spaces of the outer ambulatory. Architectural historians have surmised that such a vista, achieved earlier in the century at saint-denis, was a deliberate goal of Gothic architectural designers.10

6 Kimpel and suckale, Die Gotische Architektur, 350. 7 Anne Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims: l’oeuvre de Pierre de Celle et sa place dans l’architecture gothique (Paris: Bibliothèque de la société française d’Archéologie, 8, 1978). 8 Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 118. 9 Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 91–2; frankl, Gothic Architecture, 79–81. frankl began with eugène-emmanuel viollet-le-duc’s analysis of the rib vaults in the ambulatory at Paris, in the Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècles, 10 vols (Paris: Bance, 1858–68), vol. 9, 512. 10 see especially Peter Kidson, “Panofsky, suger, and st-denis,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 50 (1987): 1–17; and robert Bork, “Geometry and scenography in the late Gothic Choir of Metz Cathedral,” in Nancy y. Wu, ed., Ad Quadratum: The Practical Application of Geometry in Medieval Architecture (Aldershot/ Burlington, vt: Ashgate 2002) 243–67; and “Ground Plan Geometries in suger’s stdenis: A Prototype for Altenberg,” in Julian Jachmann and Astrid lang, eds, Aufmaß und Diskurs. Festschrift für Norbert Nußbaum zum 60. Geburtstag (Berlin: lukas verlag für Kunst- und Geistesgeschichte, 2013), 57–70.

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3.6 Saint-Remi, reims: plan of east end (drawing: author, after dehio and Bezold, Die kirchliche Baukunst des Abendlandes, 1901, pl. 261)

like Notre-dame of Paris, saint-remi has double aisles in the straight choir; but instead of continuing around the ambulatory, the outer aisle at saint-remi, like saint-Quentin, gives way to a ring of deep radiating chapels (figures 3.3 and 3.6). As Prache noted, the supports of the hemicycle and ambulatory walls do fall along concentric circles like those of Paris. the solid walls between the chapels continue along the same radii as the hemicycle piers, presenting a widening space with a vaulting challenge comparable to that of the outer ambulatory of Paris. the chapels at saint-remi, quite unlike the outer ambulatory at Paris, are discrete spaces, vaulted separately with ribs that radiate from a central keystone. two thin, freestanding columns in each chapel entrance take the place of the larger single pier between ambulatories at Notre-dame, and support ribs of both the ambulatory and chapel vaults. Unlike the added piers at Notre-dame, the freestanding supports and ambulatory wall responds at saint-remi are spaced unequally, creating a wider central arch flanked by two narrower ones, thus avoiding the visual obstruction of the bay center as in Paris. the columns are placed so that they receive the ribs of a rectangular vault in the center of each ambulatory bay and a triangular cell on either side (figure 3.6).11 While the configuration of rectangular and triangular bays was used in the vaulting of earlier medieval buildings, Saint-Remi is thought to be the first building to adapt it to Gothic rib vaulting.12 in her early work on saint-remi, Anne Prache acknowledged the relationship to the cathedral of Paris, but also underlined the differences between the Parisian cathedral and saint-remi. in contrast to the Parisian tendency toward planar walls, 11 frankl, Gothic Architecture, 80–81. 12 Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 91–2.

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saint-remi tends toward a more plastic effect—essentially, this is the thin wall/ thick wall dichotomy as defined by Jean Bony.13 Prache called attention instead to the importance of workshops in Champagne and Picardy as the immediate inspiration for the building techniques and aesthetic concepts found at saintremi.14 In doing so, she affirmed the importance of the northern route between Lausanne and Canterbury, described by Jean Bony in his influential article “The resistance to Chartres in early thirteenth-Century Architecture” as a channel for the communication of ideas among builders.15 While Bony’s title posits a now outdated dichotomy that privileges Chartres as the first “classic” Gothic cathedral and the inspiration for high Gothic, his work opened the way for an evaluation of the importance of some of the northern monuments of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries on their own terms.16 Bony focused on the various ways that masons tried to resolve the structural and visual problems of joining the turning and straight bays with combinations of transept arms, ambulatories, and diagonally planted chapels, mapping out variations among sites in northern france and flanders.17 Although the configuration of radiating chapels and ambulatory was not part of his argument, the progression of ambulatory plans and vaulting schemes is equally important to this picture, and similarly suggests creative conversations among regional builders. Successors of Saint-remi: notre-Dame-en-Vaux, Soissons, and Saint-Quentin in addition to saint-Quentin, two other examples of arcaded chapel entrances seem to follow from saint-remi: the chevet of the former collegiate church of Notredame-en-vaux in Châlons-en-Champagne, and the south transept of soissons Cathedral.18 the former, started around 1190, is thought to have been a direct and 13 Jean Bony, “the resistance to Chartres in early thirteenth-Century Architecture,” Journal of the British Archaeological Association 20–21 (1957–58): 35–52. 14 Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 92, also draws on ernst Gall, Die gotische Baukunst in Frankreich und Deutschland (leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1925); Jean Bony, “the resistance to Chartres,” 35–52. 15 Jean Bony, “the resistance to Chartres,” 35–52; Anne Prache, “l’art dans la Champagne du Nord,” Congrès archéologique (Champagne) 1977 135 (1980): 9–51, Paris: société française d’Archéologie, 28–31; Anne Prache, “l’église Notre-dame-envaux de Châlons,” Congrès archéologique (Champagne) 1977 135 (1980): 279–97, Paris: société française d’Archéologie, 292–4. 16 Bony, “the resistance to Chartres,” 35–52. 17 Bony, “the resistance to Chartres,” 36–9. 18 the axial chapel of Auxerre Cathedral is also sometimes brought into discussions of arcaded chapel entrances. As harry titus has noted, however, the Auxerre chapel is too far separated from saint-remi, chronologically as well as geographically, to allow us to draw direct connections. similarly, previous comparison of Auxerre to saint-Quentin was based on an erroneous dating of the latter to about 1220; thus the possible connections to Auxerre are beyond the scope of this study and will not be examined here. see harry titus, “the Auxerre Cathedral Chevet and Burgundian Gothic Architecture,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 47 (1988): 45–56, esp. 49–50.

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deliberate copy of the recently completed saint-remi.19 Notre-dame-en-vaux’s new construction was squeezed between two preexisting eastern towers, leaving room for only three chapels in comparison to Saint-Remi’s five, but the scheme is otherwise very similar to that of saint-remi. in both buildings, the chapels are based on a circular plan, with eight vault cells; freestanding colonnettes receive the ribs of the ambulatory and chapels at Châlons in a vault scheme that is virtually the same as that of saint-remi. Notre-dame-en-vaux is essentially a compressed and slightly rough copy of saint-remi. soissons and saint-Quentin, however, demonstrate a continued rethinking of the form. the chevet of saint-remi, the south transept of soissons Cathedral (figures 3.7 and 3.8), and the ambulatory of saint-Quentin were built within a span of about 20 years. Anne Prache estimated that the lower story of the chevet of saintremi was well underway by 1175, and complete by 1180; construction of the south transept at soissons is believed to have started in about 1176, and a chapel foundation is recorded at the gallery level in 1190.20 formal and documentary evidence suggests that saint-Quentin was begun in the early 1190s, with at least two chapels in use by 1197.21 the three buildings thus represent a succession of experiments over a short period of time. Parallels between the chevet of saint-remi and the south transept of soissons have long been noted (figures 3.5–3.9).22 the chevet of saint-remi is composed of a series of distinct masses that build up and inward from the broad base of radiating chapels to the progressively narrower upper stories, while the first two stories in the elevation of the south transept of Soissons are confined to a single cylinder. Nonetheless, the four-story elevations of the two hemicycles betray similar sensibilities in the articulation of walls and passageways. While they also both bear comparison to the cathedrals of laon and Noyon, soissons’s use of triple lancet windows in the clerestory and a support system of tripartite openings in the main arcade recall the rémois abbey in particular. two chapels open from the east side of the south transept at soissons, one at the level of the main arcade and the 19 Prache, “Notre-dame-en-vaux de Châlons,” 291–4; Katharina Corsepius, NotreDame-en-Vaux: Studien zur Baugeschichte des 12. Jahrhunderts in Châlons-sur-Marne (stuttgart: steiner 1997), 143–76. 20 Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 62–74; Carl f. Barnes, Jr., “the twelfth-Century transept of soissons: the Missing source for Chartres?” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 28 (1969): 9–25, 10; dany sandron, La cathédrale de Soissons: architecture du pouvoir (Paris: Picard 1998), 73–9. 21 ellen shortell, “saint-Quentin, Chartres, and the Narrative of Gothic,” in New Approaches to Medieval Architecture, ed. robert Bork, William W. Clark, and Abby McGehee (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate 2011), 35–44; “the Plan of saintQuentin: Pentagon and square in the Genesis of high Gothic design,” in Ad Quadratum, 123–48, 123–6; and “the Choir of saint-Quentin,” 150–235 and 352–78, provides documentary and physical evidence for these dates. Also see tricoit, “la collégiale de saint-Quentin,” 105–15 and 181–96. 22 dany sandron, La cathédrale de Soissons, esp. 73–9 and 154–9; Prache, SaintRemi de Reims, 107–8; eugène Amédée lefèvre-Pontalis, L’Architecture religieuse dans l’ancien diocèse de Soissons (Paris: Plon, Nourrit, 1894–96) vol. 2, 190.

3.7 Soissons, Cathedral of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais: south transept (photo: Andrew tallon/mappinggothic.org)

3.8 Soissons, Cathedral of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais: view into lower south transept chapel (photo: author)

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3.9 Soissons, Cathedral of saint-Gervaiset-saint-Protais: plan (drawing: author, after dehio and Bezold, Die kirchliche Baukunst des Abendlandes, 1901, pl. 361)

other directly above it at the gallery level. Both are separated from the ambulatory by a triple arcade, an idea clearly informed by the ambulatory of saint-remi.23 the south transept of soissons, which gives access to both chapels, has a single ambulatory around its perimeter, with trapezoidal rib vaults in the turning bays (figures 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9). Compound piers alternate with pairs of slender columnar supports, creating a rhythm of triple arcades similar in visual effect to those in the ambulatory of Saint-Remi. The single chapel opens from the first turning bays on the east side (figures 3.7 and 3.8). the builder created a succession of three triple openings, voiding the wall beyond the triple opening of the main 23 excellent photographs of these chapels and of all the buildings discussed here may be viewed at http://www.mappinggothic.org, developed by stephen Murray, Andrew tallon, and rory o’Neil, © Media Center for Art history, Columbia University, and Art department, vassar College; sponsored by the Mellon foundation.

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arcade and then inserting the chapel, with its own triple opening, directly beyond that. thus, behind the slender supports of the ambulatory of the soissons transept are two compound piers that echo the wall responds in the rest of the transept; behind those are two more columnar supports at the opening of the chapel. rather than opening directly from the ambulatory as at saint-remi, then, the chapels at soissons are separated from it by a transitional space that allows four-part rib vaults in trapezoidal bays; two of the ten chapel ribs meet these at the freestanding supports at the entrance, and the transition from ambulatory to chapel does not require a change in the vaulting pattern of the ambulatory (figure 3.9). the effect is to retain a unified rhythm around the hemicycle of the transept, but the passage into the chapel is dark and heavy, removing it from the main arcade both visually and spatially. the upper story chapel, on the other hand, is constructed on the same plan, but with narrower supports that make it relatively open to the space and a distinct part of the visual experience of traversing the gallery. the chapels at soissons and saint-Quentin seem closely linked. in both buildings, the chapels are circular as at saint-remi, but have ten-part vaults rather than eight. saint-Quentin’s proportions are more attenuated than those of the lower chapel at soissons, but closer to the upper chapel. Both the upper chapel at soissons and the radiating chapels at saint-Quentin have beaked capitals, while those in the groundlevel soissons chapel are square. At both levels of soissons, the foliate sculpture of the capitals is so similar to that at saint-Quentin that they could well have been carved by the same sculptors.24 At soissons, the vaults of the lower chapel rest on banded en-délit colonnettes around the entire perimeter; the upper chapel also uses en-délit colonnettes, but with a passageway behind them, much like the upper transept chapels at laon Cathedral. the interiors of the saint-Quentin chapels are relatively simple, employing responds that are coursed with the walls, without the banding, dado arches, or the formerets found throughout the chapels of saint-remi and soissons. Curiously, these elements are present at saint-Quentin in the saint Michael chapel in the western tower, built just before the radiating chapels, and in the upper ambulatory wall, built immediately after; but there is no sign of their having been removed from the chapels, either in the masonry itself or in images that predate the destruction of twentieth-century wars.25 thus, the articulation of the chapel walls at saint-Quentin seems to have been relatively simple, embellished perhaps with paint and furnishings that have been lost in time. 24 John James, The Template Makers of the Paris Basin: Toichological Techniques for Identifying the Pioneers of the Gothic Movement (leura, NsW: West Grinstead, 1989), 50, and The Creation of Gothic Architecture. An Illustrated Thesaurus: The Ark of God (hartley vale, NsW: West Grinstead, 2002), 485–90, placed the radiating chapels of saintQuentin, on the basis of their capital carvings, in the 1180s, a date that seems too early to most scholars, but is not inconceivable. 25 see shortell, “Choir of saint-Quentin,” 175–90; William W. Clark has proposed a reconstruction of the chapel interiors at saint-remi, bringing forward evidence that the window openings were embellished with formerets and the lights divided, “Notes on the original design of the Choir and Chevet of saint-remi at reims,” in Pierre, lumière, couleur: Études d’histoire de l’art du Moyen Âge en l’honneur d’Anne Prache, ed. fabienne Joubert and dany sandron (Paris: Presses de l’Université de Paris-sorbonne, 1999), 67–75, 67–73.

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the lower transept chapel of soissons was no doubt begun a few years before the radiating chapels of saint-Quentin, but the latter could have been under construction simultaneously with the upper chapel of soissons.26 Given the similarities in spatial arrangement and sculptural detail, along with close chronology and geographical proximity, it seems an unavoidable conclusion that the builders of these chapels were in communication with one another. As Anne Prache noted in comparing the transept of Noyon Cathedral with the chevet of saint-remi, “the essential fact is that … they reveal a commonality of creative ideas.”27 While soissons retained features of saint-remi in its ambulatory vaulting, the ambulatory at saint-Quentin represents an important rethinking of the form. in contrast to the triangular and trapezoidal vault cells at soissons and saintremi, the ambulatory at saint-Quentin creates an open and spacious effect. the designer of saint-Quentin resolved the problem of vaulting the transition between ambulatory and chapel by making the ambulatory bays circular spaces like the chapels themselves, with vault ribs radiating from their centers (figure 3.2). Plan and Vaulting at Saint-Quentin Analysis of the ground plan of the east end of saint-Quentin reveals a very well thought out and sophisticated geometric matrix. the plans of hemicycle, ambulatory bays, and chapels can be described as three tangential circles: the first, passing through the centers of the hemicycle piers, has a diameter of 14.04 meters, while the outermost circle, centered around the keystone of the chapel vault and passing through the centers of the outer wall responds, is exactly half the hemicycle, or 7.02 meters. the middle circle, tangential to both of these, defines the curve of the ambulatory wall and has a diameter of 8.36 meters, the length of a side of a pentagon inscribed within the hemicycle. that is to say, the ratio of the diameters of these key circles is a factor of the golden section.28 Although there may be several ways to arrive at these proportions, the importance of inscribed pentagons to the design concept seems confirmed by the fact that key points for the placement of supports lie on the corners of star pentagons inscribed in the circular ambulatory bays and extending from the center of the hemicycle (figure 3.3).29 26 sandron, La cathédrale de Soissons, 79. 27 Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 93: “il ne servirait à rien de vouloir démontrer que l’une des constructions a precede l’autre … le fait essential est que les mêmes tendances se mainfestent au même moment dans les deux églises … qu’elles révèlent une communauté d’idées créatrices.” 28 these measurements, which were taken in the process of my construction of a measured ground plan in 1991–93, have been verified by a recent laser-based point cloud plan made by Andrew tallon. My sincere thanks to Professor tallon for sharing his plan with me. 29 there are several possible ways to lay out this plan on the ground, but of course we do not really know how the builders would have proceeded. see shortell, “the Plan of saint-Quentin,” 123–48; tricoit, “la collégiale de saint-Quentin,” 188–91 and figure 178,

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there is no doubt that pentagonal geometry, or, to put it differently, operations that produce 36° angles, underlies a ground plan where a semicircular hemicycle is divided into five segments; elements similar to those of the plan design of saint-Quentin appear in another building often compared to saint-Quentin—the choir of reims Cathedral—as Nancy Wu has demonstrated.30 At saint-Quentin the precision with which pentagonal relationships seem to define the turning bays is truly striking. since we have little hard evidence for the practical process of designing and laying out a large-scale building before the late thirteenth century, and since it is clear that medieval builders did not have a simple formula for constructing perfectly symmetrical pentagons, some caution is warranted in interpreting the apparent use of geometrical forms here. surviving architectural drawings from the thirteenth century and later provide some insight into medieval design. robert Bork has used these drawings to make the case that many Gothic architectural drawings and buildings were based on quadrature and octagonal constructions.31 Although the shapes are different, the process of repeating and extending regular polygons is also relevant to the pentagonal constructions that have been extrapolated for saint-Quentin and for reims Cathedral. Bork suggests that builders in the second half of the thirteenth century turned to the use of squares, hexagons, and octagons—regular polygons with an even number of sides—instead of pentagons and heptagons, precisely because of the relative ease of laying out both a small-scale design and a full-scale building.32 the geometrical analysis of Saint-Quentin’s east end is not intended to be a definitive map of the master’s thought process; it must remain speculative. however, the interlocking circles and pentagons share a fundamental approach to the conceptualization of architectural space with the better-documented squares and octagons of the next century. they also call into question any theory that the chapel, ambulatory, and hemicycle of saint-Quentin were separately conceived of or constructed piecemeal.33 Whatever means were used to set out the ground plan at saint-Quentin, the builder created an expansive, light-filled space that contrasts with the ambulatory and transitional spaces at saint-remi and the soissons south transept. the ambulatory of saint-Quentin not only spans a broader space without intervening supports, it is also taller than the radiating chapels, allowing low windows to be inserted above the chapel entrances, further lightening the walls and illuminating the space, but also complicating the elevation of the choir, so that it compares visually to the earlier Gothic four-story type. states that the builders created a 20-point star whose diagonals served as “traces directeurs”—effectively the same as inscribing pentagons offset by 18°—but does not explain how this star would have been measured out. 30 Nancy y. Wu, “the hand of the Mind: the Ground Plan of reims as a Case study,” in Ad Quadratum, 149–68. 31 robert Bork, The Geometry of Creation: Architectural Drawing and the Dynamics of Gothic Design (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate 2011). 32 Bork, Geometry of Creation, 32–3. 33 this assumption lies behind fleury, Antiquités, vol. 4, 43, but more recently John James, The Template Makers, 50–53, used saint-Quentin as a prime example of his theory of the “add-a-chapel” technique of expanding a Gothic church building.

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one cannot go so far as to say that the design was a good structural solution, however. the designer must have thought that the radiating vaults of the ambulatory bays distributed weight sufficiently, but this was just one of several miscalculations at saint-Quentin. Within a few decades of the consecration, experts were called in to save the chevet and eastern transepts from collapse, as cracks in the vaulting grew alarmingly, and saint-Quentin remains a famously crooked building.34 the inelegant wood and iron braces that span the ambulatory today are one of several reminders of the church’s instability. the structural trouble, however, was clearly not foreseen at the end of the twelfth century, and would not have stopped someone from adapting the idea. taken in the context of saint-remi and soissons Cathedral, saint-Quentin’s ambulatory might be seen as an experimental step toward a more visually satisfying transition between hemicycle and chapels. Saint-Quentin and Soissons in Dialogue The three-story choir of Soissons Cathedral, likely the first place to unite chapel and ambulatory under a single vault, was begun before the completion of its fourstory south transept, and was also under construction at the same time as the chevet of saint-Quentin.35 The integrated vaulting of Soissons creates the unified, open space that architectural historians have traditionally defined as one of the characteristics of “high” Gothic; it has for this reason been seen as a critical step in the development of Gothic ambulatory design. Comparison with the chevet of saint-Quentin reveals a continuing dialogue between the two sites as the builders of soissons moved from the south transept arm into the choir. Although their dimensions and proportions differ, there is a clear resemblance between the plans of the soissons chevet and the ambulatory at saint-Quentin, as if the radiating chapels of saint-Quentin were removed and the cusps of the scalloped ambulatory turned into chapels. Where the keystone of each ambulatory vault at saint-Quentin is centered in the ambulatory bay, however, at soissons it is set further to the east, at the center of the chapel entrance. further, at soissons the chapels are the same height as the ambulatory, eliminating the ambulatory clerestory seen at saint-Quentin. While the shallow soissons chapels have only three window openings in comparison to saint-Quentin’s seven, the windows are taller and closer to the ambulatory; thus, both solutions serve to span a wide space and to provide direct illumination in the ambulatory. 34 shortell, “the Choir of saint-Quentin,” 211–13. Master mason Gilles largent submitted his expertise on the separation of the high vaults in 1394; see héliot, “la Chronologie de la Basilique,” 13 and note 8; Charles Gomart, ed., Extraits originaux d’un manuscrit de Quentin de la Fons intitulé Histoire particulière de l’Église de Saint-Quentin, 29–30. regarding the fifteenth-century construction, see Jules Hachet, L’oeuvre de Colard Noël, architecte du roy Louis XI à la collégiale de Saint-Quentin: 1477–1500 (saint-Quentin: impr. moderne saintQuentinoise, 1924); laon, Archives départementales de l’Aisne, G 784, 659–63. 35 Carl f. Barnes, Jr., “the twelfth-Century transept of soissons: the Missing source for Chartres?” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 28 (1969): 9–25, 14; sandron, La cathédrale de Soissons, 88–102 and 212–13.

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other construction details show that builders at both sites must have been aware of each other’s work. in both buildings, the hemicycle and eastern choir piers are circular, with a single attached en-délit shaft facing the center of the choir. triple shafts rise above each pier to the clerestory wall in the turning bays. Capitals in the hemicycles and ambulatories are closely comparable as well, while the capitals in the lower, deeper chapels at saint-Quentin are more like those in soissons’s south transept chapels. in short, comparison of the two buildings suggests that they were constructed in tandem. the radiating chapels of saint-Quentin were begun while the south transept of Soissons was underway, and both adopted similar modifications of the saint-remi chapels. the lower transept chapel at soissons, with its heavier supports, preceded the radiating chapels at saint-Quentin, while the upper transept chapel seems to be a close contemporary of the saint-Quentin chapels. Construction then seems to have continued for a time at a similar pace in both buildings. At saint-Quentin the upper ambulatory wall and hemicycle piers immediately followed the chapels, while construction moved east from the south transept to the chevet at soissons. the south transept and choir aisle bays next to the crossing at soissons reveal that the builders had decided on a new three-story elevation just as the four-story transept was being completed; as construction moved east beyond the previous choir, the builders could fully implement this new idea, while at Saint-Quentin the plan had already been fixed with the radiating chapels.36 the canons began to use the new choir at soissons in 1212. At saint-Quentin at least one chapel—and thus by necessity the ambulatory—was in use by 1197, but the choir proper was not ready for use until at least 1228, and possibly as late as the 1240s.37 Progress had clearly slowed, resulting in the tall rayonnant clerestory that dominates the interior of saint-Quentin. While an exact chronology remains a matter of speculation, the similarities in these parts of soissons and saint-Quentin are too many to be coincidental, and it is only logical that builders in such close proximity would encounter one another and share ideas, or indeed that some of the same masons might have worked at both sites at one time or another. if soissons Cathedral represents a critical moment in the development of Gothic architectural design, if the transition from four-story transept arm to three-story choir preserves some of the steps that led to that moment, then the companion experiments of saint-Quentin’s chevet should be seen as part of this story.

36 Both Barnes, “the twelfth-Century transept of soissons,” 10–14, and sandron, La cathédrale de Soissons, 79–84 present convincing archaeological evidence of the planned changes in design. 37 A 1228 agreement between the canons and treasurer referred to activities “in the new building as well as the old” (“infra terminos ecclesie Beati Quintini tam novi operis quem veteris”), Cartulary of Saint-Quentin, Paris, Arch. Nat. ll 985 B; the choir of saintQuentin was consecrated on september 2, 1257 in the presence of louis iX, according to Paris, Archives nationales, G 739, no. 53. for other documents see shortell, “Choir of saint-Quentin,” 209–26.

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Scenography and Style the progression of forms from saint-remi to soissons and saint-Quentin seems to affirm two assumptions of modern scholarship: first, that the designers were working toward technical solutions for problems of vaulting and support; and, second, that they were concerned with the visual experience of a person standing in the choir or walking through the aisles and ambulatory. Both buildings present a variety of changing views, and the nature of those views is worth considering further. in adapting the circular chapels with triple-arched entrances from the early Gothic chevet of saint-remi, both soissons and saint-Quentin changed the shape of the chapels from octagonal to decagonal. this change makes the chapels seem more fully enclosed, as the open arcades fill only 3/10 rather than 3/8 of the circumference. Where the chapel walls at Saint-Remi flare open next to the arcade, the walls continue, closing the polygonal shape, at soissons and saint-Quentin. the scheme of arcaded chapel entrances may have created a more open vista from the center of the hemicycle of saint-remi than at Notredame of Paris, but it also separated the chapels from the ambulatory and from one another; the change of shape from octagon to decagon increases this effect at soissons and saint-Quentin. At the same time, the chapels at soissons and saint-Quentin seem designed to allow more light into their interiors; where the radiating chapels at saintremi are glazed in only the three central bays, those at saint-Quentin and soissons had seven lights (figures 3.2, 3.7, 3.9, and 3.10).38 the destruction of stained glass at soissons leaves us little information concerning the glazing of the south transept chapels, but there is some evidence at saint-Quentin to suggest an arrangement similar to that found in the radiating chapels of the cathedral of troyes, which have a similarly enclosed polygonal shape without the arcade screen.39 in each chapel the center light, and in some cases the two windows flanking it, were filled with colored, historiated glass, while the rest of the openings were filled with grisaille glass.40 this glazing arrangement allowed 38 At soissons, a passageway from the south choir aisle into the chapel was added later, reducing the effect. see Prache, Saint-Remi de Reims, 107–8; sandron, La cathédrale de Soissons, 73 and 141, n. 403. Because they abut the diagonally placed chapels where the transepts meet the hemicycle, the two outermost chapels at saintQuentin have only six lights. 39 An explosion in a powder depot in 1815 destroyed glass at soissons; françois de Guilhermy’s description of the cathedral (Bnf Ms n. acq. fr. 6109, fol. 255), written between 1828 and 1862, included sculpted keystones in the south transept chapels, but no glass. see Madeline h. Caviness, Sumptuous Arts at the Royal Abbeys in Reims and Braine (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990), 79–80 and 148–80; Marilyn M. Beaven, “the legendary stained Glass from the 13th-Century Choir of soissons Cathedral,” master’s thesis, tufts University, 1989. 40 on the radiating chapels of troyes Cathedral and their glass, see Norbert Bongartz, Die frühen Bauteile der Kathedrale in Troyes, architekturgeschichtliche Monographie (stuttgart: hochschul, 1979), 44–57 and 178–90; elizabeth Carson Pastan, “the early

3.10 Soissons, Cathedral of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais: choir, interior looking east (photo: author)

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more light into the chapels than would have been the case with a complete array of colored glass. it also privileges the central lights, those most visible from outside the chapel, as a place for important images. from any standpoint along the east–west axis of the interior of saint-Quentin, the central light in the window of the axial chapel—originally most likely a tree of Jesse—glows against the relative darkness surrounding it; it is the only window visible at that level, framed by the center lancet of the arcade screen at the front of the chapel (figure 3.1).41 even from the high altar, this remains the only fully visible window, while the hemicycle piers and chapel arcades block the view of all the chapel windows from the choir stalls. thus, the scenographic openness presumably sought at saint-remi with the introduction of arcade screens is fundamentally changed. only by walking around the hemicycle can one view all of the chapel windows at saint-Quentin. At saint-remi, as Madeline Caviness observed, the double arches in the gallery conceal parts of the images in the stained glass behind them. in particular, the central column in the axial bay blocks the view of the body of Christ on the cross if one approaches directly along the central axis of the building (figure 3.4). Caviness found a reflection of this in the writings of Abbot Peter of Celle, the patron of the new chevet at saint-remi.42 While no similar writings exist for saintQuentin, the use of architectural metaphors, and particularly of the progression through architectural space, was a common rhetorical device; it is easy to imagine that an educated viewer, like the monks of saint-remi or the canons of saintQuentin, would associate real spaces with philosophical and spiritual ones.43 the play of shadow and light, and the phenomenon of concealment and revelation, is a characteristic of Gothic architecture that seems especially appropriate for religious buildings. it was further elaborated in the thirteenth century with the development of the delicate sculptural effects and complex overlapping screens of tracery in the rayonnant phase of the style. returning to the long view down the axis of saint-Quentin—with its once-bright ambulatory and stained Glass of troyes Cathedral: the Ambulatory Chapel Glazing c. 1200–1240,” Phd diss., Brown University, 1984; and elizabeth C. Pastan and sylvie Balcon, Les Vitraux du choeur de la cathédrale de Troyes (XIIIe siècle), Corpus vitrearum france ii (Paris: Cths, 2006), 34–7, 95–142. 41 shortell, “Choir of saint-Quentin,” 289–351. 42 Caviness, Sumptuous Art, 44–6. 43 this aspect of ancient and medieval rhetoric has been studied extensively by Mary Carruthers; see, for example, “Mechanisms for the transmission of Culture: the role of ‘Place’ in the Arts of Memory,” in Translatio, or the Transmission of Culture in the Middle Ages: Modes and Messages, ed. laura hollengreen (turnhout: Brepols, 2008), 1–26; and The Book of Memory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed. 2008). Also see frances yates, The Art of Memory (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966). Michael t. davis, “frames of vision: Architecture and stained Glass at Clermont Cathedral,” in The Four Modes of Seeing: Approaches to Medieval Imagery in Honor of Madeline Harrison Caviness, ed. evelyn staudinger lane, elizabeth Carson Pastan, and ellen M. shortell (farnham, UK, and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2009), 196–216, presented the idea in the context of Clermont Cathedral.

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clerestory windows hovering above the single lancet framed by the entrance to the axial chapel—the inclination of modern scholars to place this building among the rayonnant monuments of france is understandable. the early Gothic forms of the lower chevet and the rayonnant bar tracery of the hemicycle clerestory share similar concepts of the use of light, darkness, color, and image. the choir of saint-Quentin unfolded over several decades, responding to the new ideas and challenges of other buildings under construction in the region; the successive phases that seem to the modern viewer to juxtapose disparate styles are held together by a common thread of visual complexity, variety, and changing views.

Chapter 4

roriczer, schmuttermayer, and two late Gothic Portals at the Cloisters Nancy Wu1

two imposing portals from the sixteenth century are on display at the Cloisters. one (figure 4.1) came from the Château de la roche-Gençay (vienne), near Magné, south of Poitiers, the other (figure 4.2) from the Cistercian monastery of Notre-dame in Planselve (Gers), near Gimont, between toulouse and Auch. together, they provide some of the most characteristic elements of flamboyant architecture: ogee arch, fleshy crockets, whimsical branch work, and buttresses topped by pinnacles. At first glance, they look quite similar to the ogee arches and pinnacles illustrated in the late fifteenth-century booklets written by Mathes Roriczer of regensburg and hanns schmuttermayer of Nuremberg. With a preliminary analysis of the design of the two portals, this chapter compares their geometrical matrix with the instructions of the two German booklets, to explore any possible relationship between theory and practice in the waning decades of the Middle Ages. The Portals Château de la Roche-Gençay listed as a historical monument since 1981, the château was begun by Briand d’Appelvoisin in about 1520 (figure 4.3).2 five bays of windows, each stacked on three levels, run across the massive façade; the latter, in turn, is flanked by two circular towers. the mixture of flamboyant and renaissance idioms evident on the façade might have resulted from the prolonged construction caused by the 1 i wish to thank vanessa lee, Beata teresa sasinska, henry Chapman and stefaan van liefferinge for helping me with the illustrations; Michelle taylor for assisting with measuring; and imanuel Willheim for translating some of the German text. Karin Willis of the Photo studio, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, photographed the two Cloisters doorways and removed optical distortions. 2 for the listing and portions of the château under protection, see the relevant entry at http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/merimee_fr. roland sanfaçon, “A flamboyant Gothic Portal from Poitou at the Cloisters,” Metropolitan Museum Journal 42 (2007): 83–94. the early history of the Château is sketchy at best and has been summarized by sanfaçon, citing as his source an unpublished dissertation by Jean Guillaume; see sanfaçon, “A flamboyant Gothic Portal,” 89–90 and 93, n. 8.

4.1 Portal from the Château de la Roche-Gençay, ca. 1520–30. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, 40.147.3 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

4.2 Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notre-Dame, late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection, 35.35.14 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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death of Briand and continued under his brother Guillaume.3 over the centuries, the château has changed hands many times, “often through the female lines.”4 the portal in question adorned the second door counting from the façade’s proper left, its original appearance documented in old photographs and drawings.5 in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, a restoration campaign, which included a freestanding chapel opposite the façade, seemed to have perpetrated the removal of the portal from its original location (a copy of the doorway has replaced the original). the portal resurfaced nearly half of a century later, when it was purchased by J.d. rockefeller, Jr., in 1916 for the family’s estate in Westchester County, New york, approximately 20 miles north of the Cloisters.6 in 1940 rockefeller gave the portal to The Cloisters, where one year later it was installed, fittingly, as an entranceway to the newly reconfigured Unicorn Tapestries Gallery.7 3 sanfaçon, “A flamboyant Gothic Portal,” 90. 4 these are the words of Marie-Ange de Pierredon-Callaud, the current owner, who met with me in october, 2012. the cumulative family papers are kept in the attic, in multiple stacks and obviously not touched for a very long time. 5 sanfaçon, “A flamboyant Gothic Portal,” 88, figure 15; and 89, figures 16 and 17. 6 sanfaçon, “A flamboyant Gothic Portal,” 90. 7 it was then curator James rorimer’s idea to replace a modern doorway at that location with the Gothic portal. see letter from James J. rorimer to John d. rockefeller, Jr., July 12, 1940, Medieval Art and The Cloisters departmental file, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. see also James J. rorimer, “recent Accessions at the Cloisters,” Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 36/5 (1941), 106.

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Measuring 14ft 7in in height and nearly 9ft at its widest, this limestone doorway is covered with all the quintessential idioms of the flamboyant style (Figure 4.1). The entire portal is elevated from the floor with a two-coursed, undecorated base: circular in plan toward the exterior, and faceted toward the interior. the pointed arch opening is surrounded by embrasures, each consisting of three courses of filleted moldings on plinths. Two square buttresses, one on either side, flank the portal. They rise to about the springer level of the arch, their ascent interrupted by a pinnacle. Continuing from the pinnacles the buttresses turn by 45 degrees, with the corner of the square facing the viewer. An archivolt decorated with deeply cut branch work hugs the outline of the filleted moldings, before turning into an ogee arch. The upward thrust of the arch’s fleuron finial intersects a horizontal lintel of more branch work and inverted trefoil design. the vegetal motifs in general—whether the branch work interspersed with fleshy foliage or the cabbage-like crockets with enormous curly leaves—are animated, organic, even dramatic. Notre-Dame de Gimont (Planselve) founded in 1142 as a daughter of Morimond, the Cistercian abbey in Planselve is located just 2 kilometers from the commune of Gimont near the river Gimone, in the Gers region of southwestern france.8 Notre-dame de Gimont (a name used interchangeably in most literature with Planselve) was a prosperous monastery with considerable land holdings, farms, granges, and later bastides.9 Unfortunately, like so many other monasteries the abbey was severely damaged in the aftermath of the french revolution.10 Much of the monastery was demolished over the course of the nineteenth century; today, only remnants of some of the former structures remain in elevation.11 the flamboyant portal from Planselve was purchased around 1920 for the music room (salle de Musique) of the Parisian home of George Blumenthal (1858–1941), trustee and eventually President of the Board of trustees of

8 the name of the river is sometimes spelled Gimonne. for the early history of the monastery, see r. dubord, “essai historique sur l’abbaye de Gimont,” Revue de Gascogne 11 (1870): 427–31 and 12 (1871): 93–101; Ch. Marboutin, “Gimont,” Congrès archéologique de France (XCiie session in toulouse, 1929), 1930, 165; and Jacques lajoux, L’Abbaye cistercienne de Planselve ou N-D de Gimont (Gimont: Association sauvegarde de l’Abbaye Cistercienne de Planselve et des Chemins de saint-Jacques, 2002). for an examination of the economic history of the abbey see Constance h. Berman, The Cistercian Evolution: The Invention of a Religious Order in Twelfth-Century Europe (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009), 175–89. Based on her readings of the monastery’s cartulary, Berman argues that Gimont was in fact founded in 1147, not 1142. Berman, The Cistercian Evolution, 176–7. 9 Berman, The Cistercian Evolution, 179 and dubord, “essai historique,” 95–9. 10 dubord, “essai historique,” 427. 11 lajoux, L’abbaye cistercienne, 21–2, 34, and 43. since 2010 there has been an active movement to restore what remains of the monastery; see note 18 below.

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4.4 “Salle de Musique” of the Parisian home of George Blumenthal (photo: Notice sur les fragments de monuments anciens ayant servi à construire La Salle de Musique)

Note: the Gimont portal stood on the exterior of the “apse,” between a large tracery window from saint-Brieuc (Côtes-du-Nord) and a set of windows from the refectory of the dominican abbey in sens (now at the Cloisters).

the Metropolitan Museum of Art.12 it was installed on an exterior wall of the polygonal “apse” of this oblong structure which was attached to the main house by a covered gallery and was designed to house a custom-made organ (figure 4.4).13 An anonymous author who wrote the 1930 catalogue listing the contents of the music 12 for the salle de Musique see Notice sur les fragments de monuments anciens ayant servi à construire La Salle de Musique de l’hotel du 15 Boulevard de Montmorency à Paris (Paris: Albert lévy, 1930). According to a note dated february 28, 1936 by former curator William forsyth, the Gimont portal was purchased in situ in 1920. Medieval Art Department file, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 13 the three-manual, 36-stop organ was built by the Casavant brothers. see http:// www.casavant.ca/new_temp/anglais/history/early/0976.pdf.

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room dated the portal to ca. 1500, during the powerful abbacy of Pierre de Bidos (1482–1510).14 the author of the catalogue did not disclose the original location of the doorway within the Planselve abbey, even though it had been purchased “in situ.”15 After the death of his wife florence in 1930, George Blumenthal decided to move back to New york, and offered to give any or all of the contents of the salle de Musique to the future Cloisters Museum.16 the Gimont doorway arrived in New york in 1935, along with many other architectural fragments that helped create the medieval ambience of the Cloisters. since 1938 it has stood at the northeast corner of the Gothic Chapel, giving access to the adjacent Glass Gallery. initially described to have been “used in a court,” the doorway appeared in an undated photograph with the caption “Porte de la tour.”17 More recently, Jacques lajoux suggested that it stood on the north face of a brick tower that was part of the abbatial quarters.18 in october of 2009 Pierre Cadot, Architecte du Patrimoine, took measurements of the Gimont portal at the Cloisters which has since been reproduced and installed in its original location.19 the portal measures over 18 ft in height and nearly 8 ft in width (figure 4.2). The opening of the portal is capped by a flattened lintel (resembling, but not quite, an anse de panier) which in turn is surmounted by a tympanum decorated with two angels holding possibly an escutcheon.20 surrounding the tympanum is an ogee arch; its faceted moldings terminate at the top with a spectacular fleuron finial. Lush, leafy crockets accentuate the extrados of the arch. Behind the fleuron is a rectangular field filled with a screen of four blind arches with flamboyant tracery motifs. A pair of square buttresses flanks the portal, each rising into pinnacles then turning by 45 degrees to terminate in a second set of pinnacles. As a result the overall design of the doorway appears to be a colossal rectangle with the ogee arch as its centerpiece. despite its damaged condition (figure 4.5), the size of the portal and surviving decoration make it an important example of doorway design around the turn of the sixteenth century. 14 Notice, 13. 15 see note 11 above. 16 letter from Joseph Breck to John d. rockefeller, Jr., April 11, 1933. folder B6273, “Blumenthal, George. Gifts-Art-Arch-sculp for Cloisters, 1933–1935.” the Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives. 17 James J. rorimer, The Cloisters (New york: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938), 52. The undated photograph is in the departmental files. 18 lajoux, l’abbaye cistercienne, 63. 19 images of the replica, part of a campaign to restore the abbatial quarters at Gimont, can be viewed at http://www.histoiredepierres.com/galerie.php?page=83. recent archeological discoveries at Gimont have been published (as of yet inaccessible to me); see Jean-Michel lassure and thomas Poiraud, “découvertes récentes à l’abbaye de Planselve,” Isle Était 24 (2011). 20 A typical anse de panier requires three center points to construct, resulting in a slightly curved arch. The Gimont portal’s lintel is flattened into a straight line with no detectable curve. for the construction of an anse de panier arch see linda Neagley, “A late Gothic Architectural drawing at the Cloisters,” in Reading Medieval Images: The Art Historian and the Object, ed. elizabeth sears and thelma thomas (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002), 91–9, Plate 4.

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4.5 Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notredame: detail of damaged bases. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection (photo: author)

The Booklets in the second half of the 1480s, Mathes roriczer, master mason of regensburg Cathedral, and hanns schmuttermayer, a silversmith in Nuremberg, independently wrote instructional booklets on the design of pinnacles and gablets.21 the exact dates of their publication are not known; nor are the circumstances under which they were written.22 only a handful of copies have survived, and the booklets received no recognition in the ensuing centuries until the middle of the nineteenth century, during the height of the Gothic revival Movement.23 Known today as the Büchlein von der Fialen Gerechtigkeit (Booklet on the Correct Pinnacle design) and Wimpergbüchlein (Booklet on the Gablet) by roriczer and the Fialenbüchlein (Booklet on Pinnacles) by schmuttermayer, these practical know-hows are part

21 Many scholars have discussed these booklets over the years, but lon r. shelby’s translation and commentaries remain the primary source to this day: lon r. shelby, Gothic Design Techniques: The Fifteenth-Century Design Booklets of Mathes Roriczer and Hanns Schmuttermayer (Carbondale/edwardsville: southern illinois University Press, 1977). for a recent survey on the late medieval master masons of regensburg, see Peter Morsbach, Die Erbauer des Doms. Die Geschichte der Regensburger Dommeisterfamille Roriczer-Engel (regensburg: schnell & steiner, 2009). for the latest monograph devoted to roriczer’s booklets, see Wolfgang strohmayer, Matthäus Roriczer. Baukunst Lehrbuch (hürtgenwald: Pressler, 2009). 22 shelby dated the roriczer writings to between 1486 and 1490, while suggesting that schmuttermayer wrote his booklet in 1486 or soon after. shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 33–7. 23 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 40–44.

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of a tiny corpus of late medieval texts providing an invaluable window into the world of architectural design otherwise transmitted only orally.24 in his dedicatory opening of his Booklet on the Correct Pinnacle Design, roriczer acknowledged that the art of geometry—and by extension the frequently used procedures for the design of architecture—had been known to “the oldtimers … namely the Junkers of Prague.”25 schmuttermayer also acknowledged a debt to architects of the previous generations for codifying, as it were, “a high art of building construction which has its original true basis in the level, set square, triangle, dividers, and straightedge.” the basic premises of this art, according to schmuttermayer, derived from “the center of the circle, together with its circumference, correct rules, points and settings out.”26 indeed, the sophisticated, complex, and often gravity-defying designs of architectural elements such as openwork towers, pierced gables, and soaring pinnacles had appeared before the fifteenth century, with the workshop of the Parler family as one of its most distinguished practitioners. In fact, the influence of the Parlers in much of central europe has prompted robert Bork to suggest that the well-known regensburg façade drawings, created around the turn of the fifteenth century, might have demonstrated the regensburg workshop’s desire to build an elaborate façade that would rival “the highly ornamental approaches by the Parler family.”27 That Hanns Schmuttermayer, a silversmith, felt confident enough to write a booklet on the design of pinnacles “for the improvement and refinement in the building of holy Christian churches [and] for the edification and instruction of our fellowmen and all masters and journeymen who use this high and liberal art of geometry” proves that design principles of monumental architecture had become common knowledge not only among masons, but also among artists of other media.28 there are abundant examples of widespread familiarity with geometric formulae, as demonstrated by the intricate designs of exuberant liturgical furnishings—including pulpits, choir screens, and sacrament houses— or of small yet exquisitely architectonic vessels such as monstrances, tabernacles, and chalices.29 Given that the content of the booklets by both roriczer and 24 for a survey on another important author of this genre, see Anneliese seeligerZeiss, Lorenz Lechler von Heidelberg und sein Umkreis (heidelberg: Winter, 1967). 25 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 82–3. 26 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 136–7. 27 robert Bork, The Geometry of Creation: Architectural Drawing and the Dynamics of Gothic Design (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2011), 307. Bork dates the two regensburg façade drawings to ca 1380–1400. As is well known, none of the two drawings was realized. on the regensburg drawings see Bork, The Geometry of Creation, 305–20. 28 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 136–7. 29 shelby discussed in great length the cross-disciplinary contacts between artists of different media, Gothic Design Techniques, 58–9 and 172, nn. 144, 146–7. he also cited a text from dürer to suggest that schmuttermayer’s intended readers need not have been limited to those in the building trade. shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 58 and 171, n. 42. for micro-architecture, see the oft-cited article by françois Bucher, “Micro-Architecture as the ‘idea’ of Gothic theory and style,” Gesta 15 (1976): 71–89. for more recent

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Schmuttermayer reflected “a technique that every apprentice master architect already knew, and had known, for years,” and obviously no secret even to nonmasons, the authors’ motivations for writing them is an intriguing question for which answers have been sought from a large historical context.30 it is perhaps no accident that the roriczer and schmuttermayer booklets appeared in the pivotal decade of the 1480s. in 1481, following the death of his father, Conrad, Mathes roriczer became the dommeister of regensburg Cathedral—a post he would hold until around 1495, when his brother Wolfgang replaced him.31 the year 1482 saw the completion of the regensburg pulpit, followed by that of the west gable (1486–87).32 Around this time, schmuttermayer’s name began to appear in Nuremberg’s city records, identifying him as a “goldschmid.”33 Perhaps of equal importance is the 1488 regensburg City ordinances for masons and bricklayers (not to be confused with the so-called regensburg ordinance created in 1459 without members of the regensburg Cathedral lodge). this local ordinance required any aspirant master mason to know “how to solve and execute a cross-ribbed vault, a gateway, a cornice, a garderobe, and the foundation for a wall of specified height.”34 lon shelby, a forceful voice against the notion of masonic secrets in the Middle Ages, pointed out that in this city ordinance “nowhere does it contain [any clause] which forbade masons to teach to anyone but masons the techniques of taking the ground plan out of the elevation.”35 in short, both roriczer and schmuttermayer reached the apex of their respective careers in the 1480s, each thriving in his own city during the decade in which it was finally permissible to disseminate in written form design techniques long known to masons.36 scholarship on the subject see Achim timmermann, Real Presence: Sacrament Houses and the Body of Christ, c. 1270–1600 (turnhout: Brepols, 2009). 30 Paul Crossley, “the return to the forest: Natural Architecture and the German Past in the Age of dürer,” in thomas W. Gaehtgens, ed., Kunstlerlicher Austauch (Artistic Exchange). Akten des XXviii. internationalen Kongresses für Kunst (Berlin: Akademie verlag, 1993), vol. 2, 71–80, especially 73. Bork also points out the admirable continuity of design techniques in northern europe, where “the same geometrical relationships that govern the thirteenth-century drawings in villard’s portfolio can still be traced in the tower and vault designs from early sixteenth-century Germany and Austria.” Bork, The Geometry of Creation, 25. 31 Extant documentation does not provide sufficient information to reconstruct roriczer’s career. he was born between 1430 and 1440; his name and occasional mason’s marks appear to suggest his presence at construction sites, from the late 1450s on, in Weissenburg-im-Breisgau, Nödlingen, Nuremberg, esslingen, eichstätt, Munich, and regensburg. shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 9–26 and Morsbach, Die Erabauer des Doms, 99–101. 32 Morsbach, Die Erabauer des Doms, 101. 33 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 28–30. 34 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 51–2. 35 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 53. 36 the history of the various ordinances from this period has been thoughtfully recounted by shelby: see “the Geometrical Knowledge of Medieval master Masons,” Speculum 47 (1972): 395–421; and “the ‘secret’ of the Medieval Masons,’ in

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By far the most frequently discussed influence on the architectural scene of central Europe in the late fifteenth century is the introduction of classical and contemporary (that is, renaissance) architectural treatises. Most notable among them were those by vitruvius (translated into German in 1486) and Alberti, as well as De Germania that reveals—not necessarily to the delight of the Germans—the perception of northern europe by the roman historian tacitus.37 Bishop Wilhelm of eichstätt, to whom roriczer dedicated his Büchlein von der Fialen Gerechtigkeit, has been described as a passionate lover of the liberal arts who commissioned roriczer to record design principles long practiced in northern europe in order to counter the “emergent renaissance critique of Gothic architecture” or “to lay bare the classical geometric principles underlying even the tiniest details of German Gothic construction.”38 the latter motivation is particularly true for roriczer’s brief though flawed Geometria deutsch of the same period. in a careful analysis of roriczer’s demonstrations, Peter Kidson suggested that roriczer might have been aware of heron of Alexandria’s Metrica of the first century CE. The most illustrative example of this familiarity is perhaps the rotating square, made known in the famous dialogue between socrates and Meno’s slave in Plato’s Meno.39 the rotating square became one of the most prominent and persistent features underlying geometrical formulae used in medieval design (and one that serves as the leitmotif in both roriczer and schmuttermayer). this awareness of the practical arts from Antiquity is, of course, not surprising: enough ground plans of late Romanesque and Gothic buildings have been analyzed to confirm the ease with which many medieval architects manipulated classical geometry. it is no wonder that Peter Kidson declares “almost everything [the medieval architects] knew in the way of numbers came to them from antiquity.”40 The Square Roriczer’s instructions are notoriously tedious to read and difficult to understand, involving no fewer than 234 steps to design a pinnacle. he derived his process from three rotating squares: square a-b-c-d being the largest, followed by square On Pre-Modern Technology and Science: A volume of Studies in Honor of Lynn White, Jr., ed. Bert s. hall and delno C. West (Malibu, CA: Undena, 1976), 201–19. for the purpose of this chapter it is worth reminding ourselves that for decades following the creation of the regensburg ordinance in 1459, the knowledge of design techniques was not allowed to be taught to non-masons. shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 47–50. 37 Crossley, “the return to the forest,” 73–4; Morsbach, Die Erbauer des Doms, 120. 38 Bork, The Geometry of Creation, 5; Crossley, “the return to the forest,” 74. 39 for a careful survey tracing the theorems of Greco-roman geometricians and their influence in medieval architecture, especially how the number-based knowledge was transmitted, see Peter Kidson, “roriczer’s iceberg,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 71 (2008): 1–20, especially 17–20. 40 Kidson, “roriczer’s iceberg,” 20. for a general survey on the use of the square in medieval architectural design, see Ad Quadratum: The Practical Application of Geometry in medieval Architecture, ed. Nancy Wu (Aldershot and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2002).

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4.6 Diagrams from Mathes roriczer, Büchlein von der Fialen Gerechtigkeit (drawing: vanessa lee, after lon shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 85, figure 3; 93, figure 11, and 97, figure 14)

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e-f-g-h and square i-k-l-m (figure 4.6-1). these squares, or portions thereof, were used to construct the “body of a pinnacle” comprising a base and a shaft.41 the base ensemble—the width and height of the base block, plus a slight chamfered step above—is in effect square a-b-c-d whose side, when multiplied six times, determines the length of the shaft (figure 4.6-2). square a-b-c-d also determines a good deal of the distances in the design of the “finial on the cap of the pinnacle” (figure 4.6-3).42 essentially, the side of the square (c-d) determines the baseline of the outer triangle that defines the roof-like “cap” at the bottom of the diagram, as well as the sides of the smaller triangle enclosed within. When multiplied seven times (marked i–vii in figure 4.6-3) the side of square a-b-c-d determines the total height of this elongated finial from the base of the triangles to the very tip of the fleuron. The location of mark V determines the top edge of the third fleuron counting from the top, and the location of mark II would determine the top of the finial’s cap (see Figure 4.7-3).

41 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 95. 42 shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 100–106.

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4.7 Diagrams from Fialenbüchlein by hanns schmuttermayer: bottom, the eight rotating squares (drawing: vanessa lee, after lon shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 128, figure 35); top: design of pinnacle (drawing: vanessa lee after shelby, 129, figure 36)

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Elsewhere in the design process we find squares e-f-g-h and i-k-l-m used for key components as well. the articulation of the base ensemble supporting the pinnacle shaft, for example, is determined by the distance between these squares when nestled in “layers,” without rotating any of them. thus, the distance c-g between the outermost and the middle squares defines the chamfered step just above the base block; and g-l between the middle and innermost squares provides the recessed chamfer near the bottom of the “body of the pinnacle” (figures 4.7-1 and 4.7-2). in addition, g-f of the middle square and l-m of the innermost square determine respectively the width of horizontal elements decorating the upper portion of the finial (Figure 4.7-3).43 if not for the unnecessarily cumbersome steps and redundant instructions, the idea of using the same basic dimensions taken from the three rotating squares to determine different parts of the design is in fact quite elegant. the tenet of this process is easy to understand, is quick to execute, and conforms to our understanding of the proportional nature of design so prevalent in the Middle Ages. 43 It is difficult to describe these abstract horizontal elements. The widest one (second from top) probably represents a sprouting fleuron, while the top one an onion-like bud at the tip of the finial. See Roriczer’s drawing in Shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 143, Plate i.

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Kind Kind

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Kind Kind 4.8 Design modified after hanns schmuttermayer (drawing: vanessa lee, after lon shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 129, figure 36, and 139, figure 38)

to turn to our second source, the instructions of hanns schmuttermayer called for eight rotating squares a through h (see bottom of figure 4.8-1). At first glance this may seem complicated, until we consider them not as eight disparate squares but rather a set of proportionally interlinked ones. in so doing, square a and square b function as the basic units for the overall design, each square with its respective “derivatives.” the “square a group” thus includes the following: square c (= ½ square a), square e (= ¼ square a), and square g (= ⅛ square a). the “square b group” constitutes the following: square d (= ½ square b) and square f (= ¼ square b). seen in this light, schmuttermayer’s pinnacle design can be interpreted as utilizing simply a series of square a’s and b’s, like variations on a set theme.44 As illustrated in figure 4.8-2 the width of the square base, the width of the sprouting fleuron near the top of the pinnacle, and the three sides of the triangular aedicule at the center all derived directly from square a. other square a-related dimensions include the distances between each small crocket, as well as the width of the top knop, all of which are determined by square c—in other words, ½ of square a 44 for the translations of the instruction, see shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 128–34.

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(figure 4.8-2). elsewhere we see other square a “derivatives” such as square e (¼ of a) for a horizontal molding directly below the fleuron, and square g (⅛ of a) for the chamfered step directly above the base block (figure 4.8-2, bottom detail).45 square b often plays equally important roles in the design of the pinnacle. its side determines the height of the base, as well as the width of the shaft itself (figure 4.8-2, bottom detail). the same dimension multiplied twice determines the height of the triangular cap (figure 4.8-2, top detail), multiplied 8 times determines the height of the shaft itself, or 16 times to obtain the total height of the pinnacle including the shaft (figure 4.8-2). square b “derivatives” can be observed in the design as well, notably the height of the sprouting fleuron near the top (square d, or ½ of square b) and the height of small crockets throughout (square f, or ¼ of square b). here we witness methodical as well as streamlined manipulations of squares a and b and their fractions, obtained easily by means of the rotating square method.46 With regard to his instructions for designing gables, schmuttermayer seemed to have privileged square b and its variations (figure 4.8). for longer distances of the gable, he multiplied b nine times for the height of the ogee arch, and seven times for the remaining portion above. the side of square b also determines the overall thickness of the archivolt of the ogee arch. for other details, he devised interestingly a unit l by deducting square g from square b; as a result l equals 5/6 of b. the distance l was used to determine many components of the gable, including the height of the small crockets and knops. The sprouting fleuron is essentially four l’s times one l. the coexistence of b, l, and their variations provides the design with a subtle coherence and unity, a visual effect felt palpably but not apparent intellectually. An analysis of the instructions of roriczer and schmuttermayer demonstrates that they relied very much on a handful of basic units for their design. in roriczer’s case, his often redundant and repetitive instructions obscured the simple, easy-to-obtain basic squares with which the pinnacles were designed. for schmuttermayer, the essence of his design derived from merely two squares and their fractions, though he chose to refer to them as individual squares. None of this should surprise us, for medieval masons are known to explore, perhaps even exploit, just a few modules in their design process. in addition to geometric shapes such as circles, squares, pentagons, and triangles, square roots (especially of two, three, and five) were also part of the arsenal allowing masons to achieve complex, and often daring, structures.

45 schmuttermayer was a superb draftsman. see related drawings by him reproduced in shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 144–5, Plates ii and iii. 46 schmuttermayer admitted as such in his text: “where i should have written a whole shoe [measure] of the a [square] or the b [square], i have taken a half-shoe and have written to you that you place on end [of the half-shoe] on the middle construction line and set out on each side horizontally. thus you will have the whole shoe.” shelby, Gothic Design Techniques, 134.

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The Portals Mindful that the two flamboyant portals at the Cloisters come from france of the early sixteenth century, a few decades later than the German booklets just discussed, a preliminary examination of these doorways nevertheless yields sufficient information to affirm the ubiquity of a number of methods—including some explained in the booklets—that were practiced by masons over a large area of europe. take the portal from la roche-Gençay, for example (Pl. 5). the width of the square block near the foot of the slightly filleted buttress flanking either side of the portal (above the considerable hefty circular base) measures 18.7cm (black horizontal line). Multiplied by 5, the measurement of 93.5cm approximates the combined height of the undecorated base of the portal and the faceted block directly above (blue vertical line).47 double this new dimension, or 10 times the basic unit of 18.7cm, defines the height of the door opening from the floor to the springer of the arch (green vertical line).48 Most amazingly, when the base unit is multiplied by 15, the total width of the portal, 282cm, is accounted for (red horizontal line).49 here we see indisputably the instructions of roriczer and schmuttermayer realized in stone: in roriczer’s case, the base unit a-c (figures 4.6-2 and 4.6-3) is multiplied by 5 and 7 to achieve the body and the pinnacle, respectively; in schmuttermayer’s case, the base unit b is multiplied by 16 to obtain the total length of the pinnacle ensemble, while the individual components themselves are varying multiplications of the same unit b (figures 4.8-2 and 4.8-3). the practicality of this technique is easy to understand: in their effort to plot out the large doorway, the relatively small dimensions of the base unit make it easy for the stonemasons to manipulate, and the single module method would have helped reduce potential errors that might occur during the process. the advantage of this approach is manifold: a pleasing, streamlined design with minimal base modules. While the vertical elements of the portal from the Château de la roche-Gençay can be explained by a series of multiplications of the base unit, the curvatures required to design the ogee arch is more complex. the ogee arch, also known as the double curve arch, is constructed with four center points: two within and two outside of the arch (figure 4.9). the prominent archivolt decorating the portal of la roche-Gençay is accentuated with a deep-cut foliage motif, framing three courses of filleted moldings which are otherwise unadorned. Two circles, their center points well outside of the arch, define the upward arcs of the extrados. Another two define the lower intrados of the same arch. The first (external) set of circles is smaller than the second (internal) set.50 47 18.7cm × 5 = 93.5cm. 48 18.7cm × 10 = 187cm. 49 18.7cm × 15 = 282cm. the actual measurement of the total width, from exterior face to exterior face, is 280.5cm. 50 the radius of the external circle to the portal’s proper right measures 85.8cm, the one to the portal’s proper left measures 86cm. the radii of the internal circles are 92.4cm and 88.8cm, respectively.

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4.9 Portal from the Château de la rocheGençay: overlay with four circles determining the ogee arch’s extrados and intrados (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection; drawing: author and Beata teresa sasinska)

The identification of the underlying matrix for the linear elements and the ogee arch does not quite allow us to understand how the portal might have been conceived as a whole—how it was put together, geometrically, so to speak. the answer may lie in another set of measurements; when looking at the portal in its entirety, it appears that the main portion—encompassing the ogee arch and almost all of the embrasures below—constitutes a large square, each of its four sides 266cm long. When the diagonal of the square, measuring 376cm, is made into the long side of a new rectangle, the resultant √2 rectangle (266cm × 376 cm) approximates the entire decorated area of the portal: from the carved plinths supporting the embrasures to the branch work framing the top border (figure 4.10). seen in this light, we begin to appreciate the interconnected factors linking different components of this portal: the modest base unit taken from the bottom of the square buttress is multiplied to determine certain linear dimensions; two sets of circles define the double curves of the ogee arch above; finally, the overall organization that gives the portal its solemn, stately

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4.10 Portal from the Château de la roche-Gençay: overlay with square and a √2 rectangle. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection (drawing: author and Beata teresa sasinska)

character contributed by the large square and √2 rectangle that provide the general composition. in the process, we recognize the indispensable square as a leitmotif throughout, but also other elements and means of manipulation that have become common knowledge of the masons. the Gimont portal presents a more complex picture, although some familiar features can be detected (Pl. 6, figure 4.2): the base block of the portal, functioning as the basic unit of the overall matrix, helps to determine other dimensions of the portal. shaped almost as a perfect cube, the block measures about 0.287m in width and 0.292m in height—see square box overlaid over the base in Pl. 6. (Exact measurements are difficult to ascertain due to the mutilated condition of the two bases; see figure 4.5.) three other linear measurements obtained from this doorway approximate five times the mean dimensions of this basic block (0.29m): 1.49m, which is the height of the door opening from the floor to the lintel; 1.47m, which is the distance from the lintel to the tip of the first pinnacle; and 1.48m, from the tip of the ogee arch to the top of the wall

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4.11 Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notredame: overlay with four circles determining the ogee arch’s extrados and intrados (drawing: author and Beata teresa sasinska)

field (see three vertical lines in Pl. 6).51 the three numbers 29.8cm, 29.4cm, and 29.7cm are tantalizingly close to 29.6cm, the length of the roman foot.52 the Gimont portal attests to the use of an ancient measuring unit that never completely disappeared from medieval europe. Without knowing his identity, we can only imagine the mason responsible for this portal to be someone familiar with the design techniques practiced by his peers, while having access to vestiges of an ancient tradition which he, consciously or unconsciously, included in his design.

51 Specifically, 1.49m/5 = 0.298m; 1.47m/5 = 0.294m; 1.48m/5 = 0.297m. 52 for the romans, a term passus is often used to denote the 5-foot unit. the literature on metrology is too vast to include here. see, for example, A.J.P. Paucton, Métrologie ou traité des mésures, poids et monnoies (Paris, 1780); eric fernie, “historical Metrology and Architectural history,” Art History 1 (1978): 383–99; and Peter Kidson, “A Metrological investigation,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 53 (1990): 71–97.

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similar to the portal from la roche-Gençay, the opening of Gimont surmounts an ogee arch articulated with filleted moldings and recessed fields. Above the arch, on the level of the sprouting fleuron, is a field decorated with four blind tracery arches. Including the torus molding framing its upper border, the field approximates a square.53 three circles of almost equal size intersect here: the center one is circumscribed by the square, while the other two provide arcs necessary to define the extrados of the ogee arch (Figure 4.11).54 Two additional circles define the intrados of the ogee arch.55 Like the two sets of circles defining the ogee arch of the roche-Gençay portal, no detectable metrological correlations are observed between the two sets of circles of the Gimont doorway. Nevertheless, the Gimont doorway serves as another example attesting to the ubiquitous application of the system described in roriczer and schmuttermayer, a system that utilizes one basic unit to give rise to longer distances interrelated with one another. the design of the Gimont portal also allows us to witness the legacy of roman measuring units, a legacy preserved throughout central and western europe despite the subsequent codification of many local foot units and the so-called royal foot in France. Conclusion By comparing the underlying geometric matrix in the fifteenth-century booklets by roriczer and schmuttermayer and as revealed by the two early sixteenthcentury doorways at the Cloisters, the current exercise is an ongoing attempt of assigning to something of relatively modest scale as the design of doorways principles that we have come to associate with the design of monumental structures of the later Middle Ages. Although preliminary, the study allows us to grasp the universality of the principles of design—the manipulations of basic modules, the persistent reliance on squares, for example—employed in the spatial organization of comparatively minor designs such as doorways. the discovery of similar design techniques enunciated by a German master mason in regensburg and a goldsmith in Nuremberg, and uncovered in the french provinces, dramatically demonstrates the communality of design principles as they suffuse every aspect of the design and construction processes of the later Middle Ages. indeed, the two french doorways illustrate in stone some of the most important design principles that the German mastered penned in ink.

53 the side of the square measures 1.76m. 54 the radius of the central circle measures 0.83m, identical to that of the circle on the left. the radius of the circle on the right measures 0.85m. 55 the radius of the circle on the left is 0.71m, and that of the circle on the right is 0.70m.

PArt ii stained Glass

Chapter 5

stained Glass and the Chronology of reims Cathedral sylvie Balcon-Berry

In her final research projects, Anne Prache focused particular attention on the chronology of the cathedral of reims.1 her interdisciplinary approach, which looked beyond architectural analysis, opened a new window onto the vexed question of the initial construction phases of this emblematic building that she knew so well.2 Prache also integrated stained glass into her thinking, recognizing that recent discoveries, especially concerning the lower windows, might shed light on the inception of the entire construction project, given that glass and architecture are closely related. two kinds of resources now make it possible to analyze the entirety of the cathedral’s medieval glass, including portions that are lost or no longer in situ. one key resource is the collection of Autochromes, examples of an early color photographic process, taken in 1914 by Max sainsaulieu at the request of henri deneux, architecte en chef des Monuments Historiques.3 Another great aid to analysis is the recent digitalization of the drawings made by the simon-Marq workshop in reims, peintres verriers responsible for the restoration of the cathedral’s glass since the eighteenth century. these invaluable drawings, made between 1840 and 1914, are faithful representations and are 1 Anne Prache, “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France (2002): 334–46; and Prache, “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle: l’apport de l’archéologie et de la dendrochronologie,” in Nouveaux regards sur la cathédrale de Reims, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (langres: Guéniot, 2008), 41–52. 2 Prache took into consideration the written sources, the results of dendrochronological analysis, the work of Nancy Wu on the crossing, of Walter Berry on the foundations, and of Nathalie Manoury and Patrick demouy on the canons’ cloister, as well as Peter Kurmann and Willibald sauerländer’s studies of the sculpture. see Prache, “le début de la construction … dendrochronologie,” 42, note 5. 3 sylvie Balcon, “les vitraux de la cathédrale d’après les documents du fonds deneux conservés à la bibliothèque municipale de reims,” in Mythes et réalité de la cathédrale de Reims de 1825 à 1975, ed. david liot (Paris: somogy éditions d’art, 2001), 47–55, and Balcon, “Nouvelles appréciations sur les vitraux de la cathédrale de reims comportant des représentations architecturales à partir de documents d’archives,” in Les représentations architecturales dans les vitraux, Actes du colloque international du Corpus Vitrearum, Brussels, August 22–27, 2002, Dossier de la Commission royale des Monuments, Sites et Fouilles, 9 (2002): 67–72.

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often in color.4 they include all of the cathedral’s glazed decoration, both extant glass and that destroyed in 1917. the drawings make possible a comprehensive archaeological and stylistic analysis of the glass of the cathedral, an analysis that can be linked to recent critique of the chronology of the architecture itself.5 the analysis of these documents is a work in progress, although it is clear that the findings will challenge certain current theories about the cathedral glass.6 the initial results are offered here as a tribute to the scholarship and vision of Anne Prache. The Lower Glass and the Beginning of Gothic Construction Until quite recently, almost nothing was known about the lower glass of the cathedral, except for a few difficult to read elements assembled in the westernmost rose in the north aisle (Window 39).7 Almost all the rest was destroyed during the eighteenth century, although a few panels remained in situ at the beginning of the twentieth century, while other elements, detached in the eighteenth century, were reused in borders. of these survivors, a few badly damaged fragments were recovered after the bombardment of 1917 and deposited in the Palais du tau in reims, where they were rediscovered in 1996.8 other vestiges—principally individual heads, or even fragments of faces— were removed by the simons during their many interventions on the glass. these are conserved today in the simon-Marq workshop, where they are installed in two panels created about 1978 (Pl. 7). invaluable information also comes from older workshop drawings illustrating the glass that originally decorated the cathedral’s lower windows. for example, a drawing of the rose of the north arm of the transept made at the time of the restoration of 1872 records the presence of heads and even whole panels from the lower windows, integrated in 1739 as bouches-trous (stopgaps) following a particularly devastating storm.9 the workshop archives 4 for a presentation of the fonds, see sylvie Balcon-Berry, “Un apport essentiel à la connaissance des vitraux de la cathédrale de reims: le fonds de l’atelier simon-Marq,” in Patrick demouy, Peter Kurmann, and dany sandron, eds, Actes du colloque consacré aux 800 ans de la cathédrale de Reims (forthcoming). 5 the study by Alain villes, La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. Chronologie et campagnes de travaux (Joué-lès-tours: simarre, 2009), includes a critical review of previous work. 6 for example, the tentative results of this study often differ from the views put forth by Meredith Parsons lillich, in her important monograph The Gothic Stained Glass of Reims Cathedral (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011). 7 the numbering system follows that laid out in Les vitraux de Champagne-Ardenne. Inventaire général des monuments et richesses artistiques de la France. Recensement des vitraux anciens de la France, IV, Corpus Vitrearum (Paris, CNrs, 1992), 383, figure 368. 8 sylvie Balcon, “Cathédrale de reims, découverte de vitraux du début du Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin monumental 156 (1998): 179–81. 9 sylvie Balcon-Berry, “les vitraux du Moyen Age,” in Reims. La grâce d’une cathédrale, ed. thierry Jordan (strasbourg: la Nuée Bleue, 2010), 231–52, 234–5; and Balcon-Berry, “de l’église aux collections: histoires de panneaux champenois des

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5.1 Drawing of Apocalyptic elder from Window 39, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: author). see also Plate 8

also increase our knowledge of the glass from the lower windows that survives today as part of the rose of Window 39. the precise drawings and watercolors aid in the reading of this now badly deteriorated glass (figure 5.1 = Pl. 8). documentation from the simon-Marq workshop also enhances our understanding of the style and chronology of the lower glass. several stylistic groups can be discerned among the elements that we can now associate with the lower windows, known from vestiges in situ (Window 39) and fragments in the Palais du tau, as well as from fragments and drawings in the simon-Marq atelier. some elements clearly show characteristics of the years around 1210 or even a little earlier, since close comparisons can be made with the saint eustace window in the nave of Chartres Cathedral, the rose and central lancet in the chevet

Xiie–Xiiie siècles,” in Collections of Stained Glass and their Histories: Transactions of the 25th International Colloquium of the Corpus Vitrearum in Saint Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, 2010, Les collections de vitraux et leur histoire, ed. tim Ayers et al. (Bern: lang, 2012), 59–72; 59–64.

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5.2 (left)  drawing made in 1872 of a face from a lower window of reims, Cathedral of Notredame, employed as a bouche-trou in 1739 in the rose of the north arm of the transept. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel) 5.3 (right)  Panel with the life of saint Nicaise attributed to the cathedral of soissons. isabella stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA (photo: isabella stewart Gardner Museum)

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at laon,10 or even with glass attributed to soissons.11 the resemblance between the head of a tonsured male figure in the Saint Nicaise panel—attributed to Soissons and now preserved in the isabella stewart Gardner Museum in Boston—and a head from reims seen in a simon-Marq drawing of the rose from the transept’s north arm is very striking (figures 5.2 and 5.3). the two heads were probably created by the same painters, who moved from one chantier to the other. the visual record supplied by the simon-Marq drawings also helps resolve questions of the cathedral’s construction history. it is important to note Anne Prache’s argument, based on dendrochronological evidence, that work was well underway at several different locations in the cathedral in 1211, the date traditionally accepted for the beginning of construction. Analysis of the wood from the tie beam of the ninth engaged pier on the south, at the junction of the nave and the transept, furnished a date of 1208/09 for this support.12 the same date applies to a putlog in the engaged pier between the first and second north radiating chapels of the chevet, as well as to a tie beam from the engaged pier in the north nave aisle between the fourth and fifth bays. This date of 1208 for the beginning of construction corresponds to a reference in the Annals of 10 Claudine lautier, “les vitraux du chevet de la cathédrale de laon. Première approche,” Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege, 54/2–3 (2000): 257–64. 11 louis Grodecki, “les vitraux soissonnais du louvre, du Musée Marmottan et des collections américaines,” La Revue des Arts, 4–5 (1960): 163–78; and Madeline Caviness, elizabeth Pastan and Marilyn Beaven, “the Gothic Window from soissons: A reconsideration,” Fenway Court (Boston: isabella stewart Gardner Museum, 1983): 6–25. 12 Prache, “le début de la construction … dendrochronologie,” 46.

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Saint-Nicaise to an eclipse occurring the same year as the fire at the cathedral, which in turn preceded by one year the start of work on the new building. Anne Prache was able to show that this eclipse had taken place in 1207.13 one could thus conjecture that Alberic of humbert had undertaken the rebuilding of the cathedral at the very beginning of his archiepiscopacy (1207–18).14 these new sources of evidence, accepted by Alain villes in his recent study of the cathedral’s building history and also supported by the study of the foundations, demonstrate that construction began in the ambulatory chapels, the lower parts of the eastern bays of the nave, and the south arm of the transept at nearly the same time.15 the inception of work in three locations simultaneously points to the resolve of the chapter and archbishop to have new liturgical spaces ready, not only for daily offices but also for an eventual royal coronation, which would have required the crossing and the eastern part of the nave.16 it is probably for one of the ambulatory chapels, perhaps even the axial chapel, that the figures from the Tree of Jesse window—reemployed in the north rose in 1739 and seen in drawings by simon-Marq made before the restoration of 1872 —were created (Figure 5.4 = Pl. 9). The panel’s composition finds parallels in the second decade of the thirteenth century, in the monumental glass of the upper choir of soissons Cathedral and in much smaller scale in a window in the chapel of the château of Baye (Marne).17 figures and medallions from the 1220s—in particular a roundel with two men conversing, reused in the rose of Window 39 and most easily viewed through the workshop drawing (figure 5.5)—could come from the aisles of the eastern half of the nave. this part of the church may have been under construction in 1215– 20, and perhaps even earlier, if one accepts the dating from dendrochronology 13 Calculated by the institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides de l’observatoire de Paris; see Prache, “le début de la construction … dendrochronologie,” 47. It has been supposed that the fire originated in the timber-roofed Carolingian nave; see villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 234. 14 obituary of Alberic of humbert; see Jean-Pierre ravaux, “les campagnes de construction de la cathédrale de reims,” Bulletin monumental 137 (1979): 7–66, 8, note 10. 15 Alain villes, “la construction d’un chef-d’oeuvre gothique,” in Reims, ed. Jordan, 51–71; also note the discussion of the substructures by Walter Berry in the present volume, which also points to possible work in the area of the north tower bay of the present west façade at an early date. 16 Willibald sauerländer, “observations sur la topographie et l’iconologie de la cathédrale du sacre,” in Cathedrals and Sculptures, 2 vols (london: Pindar, 1999), 1: 254– 69, and villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 226–31. 17 one can also mention the tree of Jesse of ca. 1210–20 for the axial chapel in the choir of troyes Cathedral; elizabeth Pastan, “l’Arbre de Jessé,” in elizabeth Pastan and sylvie Balcon, eds, Les vitraux du chœur de la cathédrale de Troyes (XIIIe siècle) (Paris: Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques/CTHS, 2006), 102–6. For the soissons tree of Jesse (before 1223), see louis Grodecki and Catherine Brisac, Le vitrail gothique (Fribourg: Office du Livre, 1984), 35–6, Figure 25, and for Baye, 44, Figure 32. Concerning the latter, see also dominique daguenet, “la chapelle du château de Baye et ses vitraux,” Congrès archéologique de France, 1977 (Champagne): 629–46.

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5.4 Drawing made in 1872 of two panels of a tree of Jesse from reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame, reemployed in 1739 in the rose of the north arm of the transept. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 9

and study of the foundations.18 A text of 1221 mentioning the purchase of part of the treasurer’s property located north of the church—“from the angle of the ‘sacristy’ to the wall towards the hôtel-dieu”—seems to indicate that construction of aisle bays seven to nine was well under way at that time.19 the upper parts of the choir, the transept, and the eastern bays of the nave would have followed quickly. If this supposition is true, it would confirm the report by the chronicler Alberic of trois fontaines, written around 1230, that work on

18 Villes, “La construction,” 54–5, places the first construction campaign in the nave in 1215–20. Berry’s study of the foundations confirms an early date for this part of the nave. one recalls that hamann-Maclean had also proposed such a date for the beginning of work in the nave; see richard hamann-Maclean and ise schüsser, Die Kathedrale von Reims (stuttgart: steiner, 1993), vol. i/1, Die Architektur (text), 335–7. 19 Archives départementales de la Marne, Annexe de reims, G 390, n°1, and the capitular Cartulary G, fol. 80: “ab arista videlicet muri cujusdam officine ecclesie in latum et in lungum usque ad murum oppositum ejusdem jardini versus hospitium Remensem” (ravaux, “les campagnes,” 10, note 33, and villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 234).

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5.5 Drawing of two men conversing, from Window 39 of reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: author)

the cathedral had advanced rapidly over a period of 20 years.20 the architectural and archaeological studies here merge with the analysis of the stained glass. The upper Windows the same sources, the simon-Marq documents and the sainsaulieu photographs, also illuminate another aspect of the cathedral glazing: the glass of the upper windows, which are partly still in place. following others,21 the present author 20 dieter Kimpel and robert suckale, L’architecture gothique en France, 1130–1270 (Paris: flammarion, 1990), 289, have rightly emphasized this point; see also the restitution of the building’s state ca. 1230 following Alberic in villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 305 and figure 330. 21 hans reinhardt, La cathédrale de Reims, son histoire, son architecture, sa sculpture, ses vitraux (Paris: Presses Universitaires de france, 1963), 185–6, was the first to identify the reemployment of figures coming from an earlier program. This idea was notably taken up by Brigitte Kurmann-schwarz and Patrick demouy, “les vitraux

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assumes that a first project for the upper windows of the choir began towards the end of the 1220s or perhaps shortly after 1230.22 Belonging to this initial ensemble would be the figures that now occupy Window 118 in the southern arm of the transept and illustrated by a sainsaulieu Autochrome (see Pl. 10). these were probably intended to decorate windows narrower than those which they currently occupy, because their reemployment in larger lancets required the addition of lateral bands of grisailles. Other figures in the upper choir windows that share stylistic features could also belong to this hypothetical first glazed program of the choir. these would include the bishop of Beauvais and saints James the less and John the evangelist in Window 104; saints Philip and thomas associated with the haloed bishop of Châlons in Window 103; and the Apostles and prelates in Windows 109 and 110 at the entry to the choir, also with bands of grisailles. John the evangelist (Window 104), the only protagonist represented standing, raising his right hand, seems to constitute the pendant to the John the Baptist of the transept (Window 118).23 Archaeological study of the choir and transept windows based on the simon-Marq documents and stylistic analysis should clarify these assumptions.24 Additionally, particular attention must be paid to the interesting relationship between the figures of Window 105 and certain fragments from the Reims lower windows, with their associations with laon, soissons, and Chartres, implying that there was relatively little variance in date among these works. for these upper windows of the choir and transept, other interpretations were proposed recently by Meredith Parsons lillich. first, she rejects the assumption of an initial glazed program of the choir that was subsequently altered. instead, she sees the glass of the haut-chœur as the fruit of a coherent project carried out in the 1230s.25 in addition, lillich believes that the glass of Window 118 was designed about 1220 to decorate the upper windows of the mid-twelfth-century west front associated with Archbishop samson, traces of which were brought to light in the 1920s by henri deneux.26 lillich’s ideas echo the theories of Peter Kurmann, who du chevet de la cathédrale de reims. Une donation de l’archevêque henri de Braine,” in Fasti Ecclesiae Gallicanae. Répertoire prosopographique des évêques, dignitaires et chanoines des diocèses de France de 1200 à 1500, 3. Diocèse de Reims, ed. Pierre desportes (turnhout: Brepols, 1998), 47–8; and Peter Kurmann, “l’archevêque henri de Braine: son rôle à la cathédrale de reims,” Mémoire de Champagne. Actes du IIe mois médiéval, 2 vols (langres: Guéniot 2000), 1: 119–35. 22 Balcon-Berry, “les vitraux du Moyen Age,” 241–6. 23 For hypotheses concerning the iconographic content of the first glazed program, see Balcon-Berry, “les vitraux du Moyen Age,” 241–7. 24 for the application of this method to analyze the choir upper windows of Auxerre Cathedral, see sylvie Balcon-Berry, “les vitraux du haut-chœur,” in Saint-Etienne d’Auxerre. La seconde vie d’une cathédrale, ed. Christian sapin (Auxerre/Paris: Centre d’etudes Médiévales/Picard, 2011), 478–86. 25 lillich, Gothic Stained Glass, 68–9. 26 lillich, Gothic Stained Glass, 143–7. see also Meredith Parsons lillich, “the stained Glass spolia in the south transept of reims Cathedral and rémois ecclesiastical seals,” Gesta 46 (2007): 1–18.

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suggested that the intention at the beginning of thirteenth century was to retain the older west façade—as was the case at Chartres and saint-denis—and to ornament it with a new sculptural program.27 Kurmann’s proposal thus offers an explanation for the presence of sculpture in an antiquated style (reused) on the right side of the south portal of the present west façade.28 one must also consider the possibility that the older west façade itself included glazed decoration. traces of this lost glass ensemble may survive in the form of two fragments of large twelfth-century figures discovered in the reserves of the Palais de tau, as well as in faces and borders reemployed in the great western rose, the subjacent gallery, and even in a high window of the nave.29 in addition, lillich’s hypothesis does not explain the existence of the other figures evidently reemployed in the upper choir windows, in particular saint John the evangelist and the haloed bishop (Window 103) that appear to have served as pendants for (respectively) saint John the Baptist and the haloed prelate (saint-remi?) now in Window 118. Moreover, recent scholarship on the chronology of the upper choir suggests that there was an initial glazing program that was later restructured.30 indeed, even if the authors who discuss chronology do not agree on the exact sequence of construction, they all conclude that the lower level of the choir (including the radiating chapels and the straight bays) was in place at the beginning of the 1220s. the eastern bays of the nave were also erected to the height of the triforium and the transept in large part. Just before the serious civil unrest of 1233, which almost certainly interrupted construction, the upper parts of the choir were being built, up to the height of the springing of the vaults. it was the same for the upper parts of the south arm of the transept. from the resumption of work in 1236 until 1241, the upper parts of the eastern nave bays were built and vaulted. Completion of the upper levels of the choir and transept also took place during this period, but the vaults of these spaces were modified so that their height and 27 Peter Kurmann, La façade de la cathédrale de Reims, 2 vols (Paris: CNrs, 1987), 1: 46–59. this hypothesis has been taken up recently by Alain villes, “la cathédrale de samson,” in Reims, ed. Jordan, 42–9. 28 Peter Kurmann, La façade de la cathédrale de Reims, 1: 46–59. 29 on the two fragments found in the reserves of the Palais de tau, see Balcon-Berry, “les vitraux du Moyen Age,” 232, figure 3a and 3b. study of the simon-Marq drawings makes it possible to identify another twelfth-century frontal face reemployed in the western rose in either the sixteenth or the eighteenth century. it is equally possible that a head of a king in the western gallery and a face from the upper nave (Window 124) reused as bouche-trous are of twelfth-century date. these fragments would have belonged to rather large windows—perhaps those of the upper parts of samson’s façade or the contemporary choir, or even of the Carolingian transept—which may have been renovated (and vaulted?) in the twelfth century, as the addition of buttresses suggests. from a formal point of view, these fragments are very close to the royal figures of the upper nave windows of Saintremi, being built in the mid-twelfth century. the simon-Marq documents also include a drawing of a beautiful twelfth-century border as well as two figurative panels, including a Crucifixion on a clear ground. 30 this includes the studies by hamann-Maclean, Kurmann, Kimpel and suckale, and villes mentioned in preceding notes. this research constitutes a revision of hypotheses advanced earlier, in particular that of ravaux “les campagnes.”

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profile would agree with the vaulting adopted in the nave. At the time of the cathedral’s restoration after the first World War, deneux indeed showed that the choir vaults were subsequently raised, the tas de charge (lower courses of ribs) of the first project displaying a curve unlike that actually carried out.31 the same observation can be made for the south arm of the transept.32 The modification of the height of the choir vaults must have led to a change in the dimensions and form of the windows.33 the glass conceived of at the end of the 1220s and the beginning of the 1230s was intended for openings endowed with lancets of somewhat different design. The glass was then modified to be integrated in the new openings. several authors have demonstrated that stained glass is often created during the course of a building’s construction, and not afterwards, as was formerly assumed.34 thus the date of the stained glass must very often have been in phase with that of the architecture. historical arguments, particularly those of Peter Kurmann and Brigitte Kurmann-schwarz, also explain the impetus behind the reorganization of the upper choir glazing program when construction resumed in about 1236.35 one can suppose that in order to mark his authority after the conflict which divided him from both bourgeoisie and chapter, Archbishop henry of Braine had himself represented in the axial window (Pl. 11)—immediately under the virgin and the crucified Christ, and perhaps in place of the haloed archbishop (probably Saint remi), which was relegated to the southern arm of the transept (Window 118). Henry, who perhaps financed the new axial window, was accompanied by a representation of his church, the old figuration of the church being moved to the transept (also Window 118). Among the associated suffragan bishops, one finds prelates created for the first program, though slightly modified. In order to fill all the windows several Apostles were also added. Most scholars agree that a large part of the church must have been completed— or at least ready for worship and a possible coronation—by 1241, the date the canons took formal possession of the choir.36 Contrary to Jean-Pierre ravaux’s 31 Henri Deneux, “Des modifications apportées à la cathédrale de Reims au cours de sa construction du Xiiie au Xve siècle,” Bulletin monumental, 106 (1948): 121–40. 32 Kurmann, La façade de la cathédrale de Reims, 1: 66, and villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 312. in this chapter, i do not tackle the complex issue of the dating of the grisailles and the transept roses, a question Meredith lillich addressed in Chapter 4 of The Gothic Stained Glass of Rheims Cathedral and discussed at the 2013 international Congress on Medieval studies at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. 33 villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 218–24. 34 one can mention especially the views of Peter Kurmann and Brigitte KurmannSchwarz, “Chartres Cathedral as a Work of Artistic Integration: Methodological Reflections,” in Artistic Integration in Gothic Buildings, ed. virginia Chieffo raguin, Kathryn Brush, and Peter draper (toronto: University of toronto Press, 1995), 131–52, 136–7. villes, Notre-Dame of Reims, 316, citing the examples of Chartres and Amiens, points out that the installation of the glass can sometimes precede vaulting, the presence of a wooden roof being sufficient. 35 Kurmann-schwarz and demouy, “les vitraux du chevet,” 45–51, and Kurmann, “l’archevêque henri de Braine,” 1: 130–35. 36 Annales of Saint-Nicaise for 1241: “hoc anno in vigilia nativitatis beate Marie virginis, intravit capitulum remense chorum suum novum” (ravaux, “les campagnes,” 11, n. 43).

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assertion,37 the completed portions must have included the three eastern bays of the nave (that is, the liturgical choir).38 As seen above, the studies by richard hamann-Maclean, Anne Prache, and Alain villes show that the lower portions of the eastern half of the nave (bays five to ten) indeed belong to the first phases of construction.39 the central vessel in these bays may have been vaulted by ca. 1236, as mentioned above.40 the stylistic study of the glass of the nave upper windows appears to corroborate these assumptions about chronology. thanks to the simon-Marq documents and the sainsaulieu Autochromes, we now have a good idea of the ensemble of the nave’s glazed decoration before the bombardments of 1917 which destroyed two-thirds of the glass in the nave. As in the upper choir, several quite distinct but nevertheless contemporary styles coexist in the five eastern bays (Windows 121–130). in the nave, as in the choir, the employment of several glass-painters with differing stylistic tendencies probably reflects the desire to synchronize production of the glazed decoration with the advancement of construction. study of the glass shows, moreover, that the faces of several figures (kings and bishops/ archbishops) in some of the upper windows of the eastern nave (Windows 121, 123, 125, 126; figures 5.6 and 5.7) are in fact entirely comparable with the vestiges from the cathedral’s lower windows related to laon and soissons (Figure 5.3). For these figures, one can also establish bonds with the monumental personages of the tree of Jesse at soissons, which belongs to the 1220s.41 this would corroborate a dating for this glass as anterior to 1240. it must be noted, however, that the stylistic analysis needs further development. the stained glass of the sixth and seventh bays (Windows 128 and 129), partly destroyed in 1917, can be seen to have received special treatment. the kings and archbishops of Window 129 were haloed.42 the famous KArolvs of Window 128—still preserved but illustrated here in a composite of simon-Marq drawings— 37 ravaux, “les campagnes,” 39–43, for whom the eastern bays of the nave would have been completed after 1241, even though he feels the aisle walls were erected after 1221. Alain erlande-Brandenburg, La cathédrale de Reims. Chef-d’œuvre du gothique (Paris: Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine/Actes sud, 2007), 43–6, has recently reiterated this hypothesis, which had been rejected in the interim by other authors. 38 Kurmann, La façade de la cathédrale de Reims, 1: 64, 68. this hypothesis has been accepted by Kimpel and suckale, L’architecture gothique en France, 289, and most recently by villes, Notre-Dame de Reims, 290–93. 39 Study of the foundations shows perhaps two phases, moving east to west, first in bays nine to seven, then in bays six to four; see the contribution of Walter Berry, Chapter 1 this volume. 40 Kurmann, La façade de la cathédrale de Reims, 1: 66, considered that “à partir de la coupure tourneur, la nef est, à l’est, une construction homogène.” 41 louis Grodecki, “les vitraux soissonnais du louvre, du Musée Marmottan et des collections américaines,” La Revue des Arts, 10 (1960): 163–78, reprinted in Grodecki, Le Moyen Age retrouvé, 2 vols (Paris: flammarion, 1986) 1: 495–519; and Madeline harrison Caviness, Sumptuous Arts at the Royal Abbeys in Reims and Brain, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990), figure 184. 42 lillich, The Stained Glass, 199, figure 202, showing Window 129 before 1914. See also Sylvie Balcon-Berry, “Les figures royales de la cathédrale de Reims,” Dynastische

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5.6 (left) drawing of the face of a bishop, from Window 121, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel) 5.7 (right) drawing of the face of a king, from Window 125, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel)

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also initially may have been nimbed, judging from the semicircle of glass pieces that encloses the head and crown (figure 5.8 = Pl. 12).43 These figures occupied an important location, situated as they were at the level of the throne raised on a podium where, during the coronation, the king sat after receiving his insignia.44 Thus to the viewer the significance of the king’s coronation was reinforced by the glazed figures who flanked him. KAROLVS exhibits stylistic characteristics very close to the figures of the adjacent window to the west (130), destroyed in 1917 but known from the workshop drawings. Accordingly, it seems likely that the upper glass of the five eastern nave bays (Windows 121–130 between the tenth and sixth bays) were in place by 1241. in an article published in 1912, Paul simon stated that the glass of the western nave bays were different from those of the east.45 he observed that the windows of the western nave employed relatively large pieces of glass as well as a welldifferentiated choice of colors. indeed, photographs from 1914 as well as the Simon-Marq drawings make it possible to confirm these statements. But one should note especially that a change in style is perceptible starting from the fifth bay, that is, a span farther east than the famous masonry break observed in the elevation Repräsentation in der Glasmalerei. Akten des 26. Internationalen Colloquiums des Corpus Vitrearum, Osterreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege, 66/3–4 (2012): 248–59. 43 lillich, Gothic Stained Glass, 185–90, has recently proposed to see in KArolvs a remploi originating from the twelfth-century nave. however, in view of the stylistic connections that one can establish with the figures of Window 130 and the absence of a twelfth-century nave—other than the bay presumably added between the old massif occidental and samson’s façade, conserved until ca. 1225 or later—this assumption does not seem viable. 44 sauerländer, “observations sur la topographie,” 263, and lillich, Gothic Stained Glass, 199. 45 Paul simon, “Notes sur les vitraux de la cathédrale de reims,” Congrès archéologique de France 78/2 (1912): 298–9.

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5.8 Assemblage of drawings KArolvs from Window 128, reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame. simon-Marq workshop, reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel; CAd: author). see also Plate 12

by victor tourneur in 1861.46 As seen above, the aisle walls of the fifth bay were probably built by 1241, but the glass (Windows 131 and 132) is later, like those of the adjacent bays to the west.47 in the glass of the western bays (Windows 131– 138), destroyed in 1917, one can distinguish at least three different styles using the workshop documents. One distinguishes first faces with markedly fixed eyes, nonaligned, with strong and asymmetrical noses and rather thick lips, which bring to mind the virgin and Christ of the tree of Jesse from Gercy of the 1250s, now at the Musée du Moyen Âge in Paris.48 Another group of faces is characterized by 46 victor tourneur, “Mémoire,” Congrès archéologique de France 28 (1861): 211–31, 219. 47 Note here the discontinuity evident in the laying of the south arcade foundations between the sixth and fourth bays, perhaps indicating delays in the erection of the south arcade in these bays. 48 sophie lagabrielle, Vitraux. Musée national du Moyen Âge—thermes de Cluny (Paris: réunion des musées nationaux, 2006), 27–9.

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a great firmness in handling through the use of powerful and broad brush strokes. Parallels with the stained glass of Amiens and Beauvais cathedrals of the second half of the thirteenth century seem possible, but must be considered further. the simon-Marq drawings also make it possible to establish a correspondence between faces of certain figures in Windows 131–138, from the lost glass of the western bays of the nave, and those of the figures decorating the gallery of the western façade, badly restored and perhaps participating in a coronation. Likewise, one finds in the borders of these two ensembles supple and highly naturalistic motifs. the difference in date between these works does not seem very large. The vegetal ornament in the grisailles of the first nave bay (Windows 139 and 140), destroyed in 1917 but recorded in the workshop drawings, is also treated with much subtlety and attention to detail. here again the analysis is far from complete, but one can suggest interesting parallels between this work and the grisailles of saint-Urbain at troyes, Chartres (Window 48), and villeneuvesur-yonne—all from the 1260s and 1270s.49 Although unfinished, this study of the glazing program at Reims Cathedral affirms Anne Prache’s methodology of integrating stained glass into the broader question of the building’s construction history. in addition to the continued study of the simon-Marq documents and the Autochrome plates of the Fonds Deneux, research that clarifies the chronology of this important monument would be of great value. to this end, a detailed archaeological analysis of certain elevations would be very useful, especially one based on a complete three-dimensional laser scan of the interior and exterior of the building.50 observations relating to the sculpted decoration of the church would also be essential. only a multidisciplinary approach, such as Anne Prache initiated and scholars such as Peter Kurmann have continued,51 would be capable of addressing the many questions still raised by the cathedral’s chronology.52

49 Michael Cothren, Picturing the Celestial City: The Medieval Stained Glass of Beauvais Cathedral (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006), pl. 121, for the panels at troyes, Chartres, and villeneuve-sur-yonne. 50 to serve as the basis of an archaeological study of the building as was done recently for Auxerre Cathedral; see Götz echtenacher, heike hansen, and sylvain Aumard, “Construction et chronologie,” in Saint-Etienne d’Auxerre. La seconde vie d’une cathédrale, ed. Christian sapin (Auxerre/Paris: CeM/Picard, 2011), 117–55. 51 Peter Kurmann, “du ‘rémocentrisme’ à l’approche pluridisciplinaire,” in Nouveaux regards sur la cathédrale de Reims, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (langres: Guéniot, 2008), 193–203; and also villes, “la construction,” 71. 52 such an archaeological approach—combining analysis of the architecture, window tracery, stained glass, and sculpture—is underway for the level of the great west rose of reims Cathedral with support of a 3d scan. this research, which is being carried out by dany sandron and the present author, has been made possible by agreement between the Centre André Chastel (research center of the Université Paris iv-sorbonne) and the direction régionale des affaires culturelles (drAC) of Champagne-Ardenne in charge of the current restoration of the rose. i wish to thank Jonathan tuillet, conservateur regional des Monuments Historiques at drAC Champagne-Ardenne, for his support in this project.

Chapter 6

Joseph’s dream in the thomson Collection: reconsidering the reconstruction of the infancy of Christ Window from suger’s saint-denis Michael W. Cothren

the stained-glass windows incorporated into Abbot suger’s reconstruction of the choir of the Abbey Church of saint-denis during the 1140s are among the most important monuments of the genesis of Gothic architecture in the ilede-france. the desire to showcase stained glass was a critical factor in the skeletalization of structural systems that streamlined stonemasonry around the perimeter and opened up the interior spaces not only of saint-denis, but also of the spectacular series of buildings constructed in its wake that established Gothic as a trans-european style by the end of the twelfth century. But whereas the architecture of suger’s spacious ambulatory (figure 6.1), though restored, survives well enough to bear witness to the new style of stone construction, only meager fragments of the glowing expanses of colored glass that formed its walls remain, many of them alienated from the building and dispersed among museums, churches, and collections around the world. fortunately, the glazing is unusually well documented.1 Abbot suger himself includes a discussion of stained-glass windows within the report on church reconstruction highlighted in his written account of his administration.2 He cites some—but not all—of the windows specifically, recording complicated inscriptions that are still visible.3 the thirteenth-century reconstruction of the abbey church preserved the windows of the ambulatory, 1 the best general source for that documentation remains louis Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis. Études sur le vitrail au XIIe siècle, Corpus vitrearum Medii Aevi. Études 1 (Paris: CNrs, 1976). for more recent scholarship on the stained glass of saintdenis, see the thorough summary in Claudine lautier, “les vitraux de saint-denis au Xiie siècle. État des recherches,” in Le vitrail roman et les arts de la couleur. Nouvelles approches sur le vitrail du XIIe siècle, ed. Jean-françois luneau (Clermont-ferrand: Alliance universitaire d’Auvergne, 2004), 99–115. 2 suger, Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis and its Art Treasures, ed. and trans. erwin Panofsky, 2nd edition, ed. Gerda Panofsky-soergel (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979). 3 suger, Saint-Denis, ed. Panofsky, 72–7.

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6.1 Abbey Church of saintdenis: interior of the ambulatory, 1140–44 (photo: stephen Gardner)

and they escaped destruction in the french revolution when Alexandre lenoir, in 1799, obtained permission to appropriate them for his Musée des monuments français.4 A contemporary account claims that some of the glass rescued by lenoir was destroyed by an accident in transit, and we know that some panels he chose not to exhibit found their way into the art market and are now distributed widely.5 the panels he used in the museum, however, seem for the most part to have been returned to the church in 1817–18 and were subjected to two heavy-handed nineteenth-century restorations. the second of these, supervised by henri and Alfred Gérente beginning in the late 1840s, created the windows now installed in the church.6 But more and better preserved panels from suger’s glazing are conserved elsewhere. 4 Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 39–46. for a more thorough treatment of lenoir’s appropriation and use of stained glass in his museum, see Mary B. shepard, “Medieval stained Glass and Alexandre lenoir,” in The Four Modes of Seeing: Approaches to Medieval Imagery in Honor of Madeline Harrison Caviness, ed. evelyn staudinger lane, elizabeth Carson Pastan, and ellen M. shortell (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2009), 497–512. 5 Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 45–6; Jean Lafond, “The Traffic in Old stained Glass from Abroad during the 18th and 19th Centuries in england,” Journal of the British Society of Master Glass-Painters 14 (1964): 61 [58–67]. 6 Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 47–56.

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it was french scholar louis Grodecki (1910–82)—a founder of modern stained-glass studies, and Anne Prache’s teacher—who discovered or identified many of these dispersed panels from saint-denis and laid the groundwork for coordinating them with existing documentation to expand our understanding of suger’s glazing.7 this is especially the case with the infancy of Christ window, where Grodecki not only assessed the primary artistic and documentary evidence, but also proposed during the 1960s and 1970s a series of reconstructions of the window’s original appearance, subjecting the evolving ensemble to developing stylistic and iconographic investigations.8 suger does not mention the infancy of Christ window, although he does cite the Jesse tree installed adjacent to it to form a stained-glass diptych in the axial virgin Chapel.9 But the donor portrait of suger, prostrate at the bottom of the lancet as he witnesses the Annunciation (figure 6.2), seems to document the place of the infancy window within the original program. Grodecki determined that only three panels in the lower two registers of the current window contain medieval stained glass: the Annunciation (lower center), the dream of Joseph (lower right), and the Birth of Christ (upper center). in these three panels, original fragments were incorporated within nineteenth-century pastiche, but the window as a whole was designed by henri Gérente and his workshop. fortunately, Grodecki discovered a drawing in a sketchbook of architect Charles Percier (1764–1838) that documents portions of the twelfth-century glazing in 1794 or 1795, including the bottom left corner of the infancy window before it was dismantled by lenoir.10 By using this drawing, in conjunction with the remains within the current window, Grodecki was able to establish the basic parameters of the original design (figure 6.3). Within this format, extended upwards, he arranged the surviving panels, discovered primarily in Great Britain, where the burgeoning Gothic revival had created a ready market for them very early in the nineteenth century.11 7 for the place of louis Grodecki within the history of modern french stained-glass studies, see Michael W. Cothren, “Some Personal Reflections on American Modern and Postmodern historiographies of Gothic stained Glass,” in From Minor to Major: The Minor Arts in Medieval Art History, ed. Colum hourihane (University Park: Pennsylvania state University Press, 2012), 257–9 [255–70]. 8 see principally louis Grodecki, “les vitraux de saint-denis. l’enfance du Christ,” in De Artibus Opuscula XL: Essays in Honor of Erwin Panofsky, ed. Millard Meiss (New york: New york University Press, 1960), 170–86 (republished in Grodecki, Études sur les vitraux de suger à saint-denis (XIIe siècle), preface by Anne Prache, ed. Catherine Grodecki, in collaboration with Chantal Bouchon and yolanta Zaluska (Paris: Presses de l’Université de Paris-sorbonne, 1995), 29–45; and Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 81–92. 9 suger, Saint-Denis, ed. Panofsky, 72–3. 10 Percier’s sketchbook is now in the Bibliothèque Municipale of Compiègne. for his trip to saint-denis, on a mission to draw the tomb of dagobert, see Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 40–41, pls. 10, 66; and Georges huard, “Percier et l’abbaye de saintdenis,” Les monuments historiques de la France 1 (1936): 134–4, 173–82. 11 Grodecki’s reconstructions evolved as new panels were discovered: Grodecki, Études sur les vitraux de Suger, 43, figure 15 (1961); and 26, figure C (1976).

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6.2 Abbey Church of saintdenis: lower two registers of the infancy of Christ window as installed at the Abbey Church of saint-denis, panels and fragments of ca. 1144 incorporated into a neo-Gothic window produced by henri Gérente in 1848–49 (photo: author)

since Grodecki’s pioneering work, a series of important discoveries have been made, and they have brought greater focus to our understanding of the design and meaning of the twelfth-century window. Using the evidence provided by three new panels—(1) the flight into egypt from the raymond Pitcairn collection, now in the Glencairn Museum;12 (2) the dream of the Magi in the collection of lord 12 Michael W. Cothren, “A re-evaluation of the iconography and design of the infancy Window of the Abbey of saint-denis,” Gesta 17 (1978): 74–5; Cothren, “the infancy of Christ Window from the Abbey of saint-denis: A reconsideration of its design and iconography, Art Bulletin 68 (1986): 398–420.

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Barnard at raby Castle, near durham;13 and (3) a photograph of a still-missing panel portraying three women marching in procession at the Presentation in the temple14—i proposed a revised reconstruction of the window in 1986.15 But, as with Grodecki’s work, my own must be revised and reworked in the light of new discoveries, and the recent appearance of a previously unknown panel related to the window has reopened the question. the new panel—depicting the dream of Joseph (figure 6.4 = Pl. 13)—appeared on the art market in 2007, at that time in the possession of sam fogg in london, who made it available to me for examination before it was acquired for the thomson Collection and placed on view in the Art Gallery of ontario.16 it is an unusual panel in several respects. 13 david o’Connor and Peter Gibson, “the Chapel Windows at raby Castle, County durham,” Journal of Stained Glass 18/2 (1986–87): 125–8; and Cothren, “infancy of Christ Window,” 399. 14 this panel was part of the savadjian sale at the hôtel drouot on June 10, 1932. dealer lucien demotte acquired it, reportedly bidding for an unknown client. fortunately, demotte took excellent photographs of the front and back of the panel, copies of which were in the files of collector Raymond Pitcairn, who had himself been interested in the panel. see Cothren, “infancy of Christ Window,” 408–9, and notes 47–9. 15 Cothren, “Infancy of Christ Window,” figs 16, 18, 20. 16 i am grateful to sam fogg, who allowed me to examine the dream of Joseph in a New york gallery in August 2007, while it was still in his possession; and to Paul Williamson of the victoria and Albert Museum, who suggested to fogg that i be invited to study it. i was only able to spend a few hours with the panel on this one occasion,

6.3 Abbey of saint-denis: reconstruction of the lower two registers of the infancy of Christ window from ca. 1144; two partially original central panels from figure 6.2, two eighteenth-century drawings of lost panels at left, a lower right panel with the prophet Jeremiah (Burrell Collection, Glasgow), and an upper right panel of shepherds (once at highcliffe Castle, now in the victoria and Albert Museum, london) (photomontage: author)

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6.4 Dream of Joseph. thomson Collection, Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: Art Gallery of ontario). see also Plate 13

first, there is already a partially medieval panel of this subject within the current window at saint-denis, at the far right on the lowest register (figure 6.5). Grodecki evaluated this panel as a product of Gérente’s restoration, although he maintained that the restorers incorporated within it significant twelfth-century fragments, concentrated in the figure of the standing angel. He expressed doubts, but during that time i examined both interior and exterior surfaces in detail, using both transmitted and reflected light.

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however, concerning whether these fragments actually originated from a scene of the dream of Joseph, since the authentic angel could have been a part of another scene from Christ’s infancy, and he believed the figure of Joseph to be totally modern.17 from the moment i saw a photograph of the thomson panel, its strong relationship with the panel in the current window (figure 6.5) was obvious. The figures are almost identical in pose, costume, and painted articulation. the format, however, is significantly different. In the window, the panel is rectangular, and the scene is set under an architectural canopy, whereas in the thomson panel—whose irregular shape suggests that it is a substantial fragment of a larger whole—the figures almost completely fill a semicircular compositional field. the tapering ends of the semicircle have been cut off or reserved, presumably for the quadrants of an ornamental boss. the color scheme of the two panels is also distinct in significant ways. At Saint-Denis the background is red; in the thomson panel it is blue. the mantle of Joseph is brownish purple against the blue ground of the thomson panel, but it is blue against the red ground in the panel in the window. the relationship is clear, but which panel, if either, is “authentic,” and how might we explain the nature of the relationship? is one a copy based on the other? or were the medieval fragments of the original panel partitioned into two separate panels during the mid-nineteenth-century Gérente restoration, each partially medieval and partially modern? What do we learn from the combined evidence they contain about the original appearance of this seminal window in the history of medieval stained glass? My examination of the thomson panel itself began with an assessment of its relationship—in terms of style, design, and size—to the other surviving panels from the infancy of Christ window, and most especially to the arrangement and design of the reconstruction i had proposed for the window in 1986, well before the thompson panel had come to light. one of the things i had uncovered in my earlier work was the clear division within the window of two, easily distinguishable, artists or hands, who had collaborated in its production.18 A clear 17 Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 84. 18 Cothren, “infancy of Christ Window,” 416–47; Cothren, “suger’s stained Glass Masters and their Workshop at saint-denis,” in Paris: Center of Artistic Enlightenment, ed. George l. Mauner (University Park: Pennsylvania state University Press, 1988), 48–51. for the extension of the collaborative work of these two painters in the Crusading window,

6.5 Abbey Church of saintdenis: dream of Joseph, from the infancy of Christ window (photo: author)

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pattern had emerged: one artist—whom i named the Jeremiah master (after a panel now in the Burrell Collection)—had taken responsibility for the lower four registers of the window, and the other—my Simeon master (named after a figure in a panel now in twycross)—painted the upper three. since the iconography of the thomson panel—like the related panel now in the window—situates it in the upper three registers of my reconstruction of the window,19 I first sought to determine if its painting style was that of the simeon master. it is. the face of the sleeping Joseph (figure 6.6 = Pl. 14) is stylistically comparable to faces of older men in the other scenes in the upper part of the window.20 Notable and distinctive features of the Simeon master’s style are the configuration of the brows over the eyes, which dip down and curl up over the bridge of the sturdy, substantial nose; the flowing arrangement of the beard, which always includes a set of three alternating curves making up the mouth within the hair and the dimple in the upper lip just under the bulbous termination of the nose. each of this painter’s long-haired males has ropes of hair, swinging around the head, perpendicular to the downward cascade of the tresses, lending a strong sense of contour to the bold three-dimensionality of the forms. Much more than his colleague who painted the lower part of the window, this painter thought in three-dimensional terms rather than concentrating on the creation of crisp surface patterns; and this predilection is evident not only in Joseph’s head but also in the complex twist of his pose (figure 6.4), the way the described form of his lower body is set off against the straight flatness of the strip of two-dimensional ornament forming the side of his bed, the way he overlaps the position of the angel messenger, and the way the angel reaches out to cradle the contour of Joseph’s shoulder. the head of this angel (figure 6.7 = Pl. 15) also conforms to a facial formula employed by this artist—spiked brow, bulging eyes, solid chin, bold nose.21 see Cothren and elizabeth A.r. Brown, “the twelfth-Century Crusading Window of the Abbey of saint-denis: ‘Praeteritorum enim recordatio futurorum est exhibitio,’” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 49 (1986): 33–7. 19 three dreams of Joseph, stepfather of Jesus, are cited in the Bible, all three in Matthew’s gospel: (1) Joseph is reassured that he can marry the virgin Mary because her child is conceived by the holy spirit (1:20–21); (2) he is directed to take Jesus and Mary to egypt to avoid the massacre of boy babies ordered by herod (2:13); (3) he is informed of herod’s death and directed to take his family home from egypt (2:19–20). Gérente, and those who advised him in the restitution of fragments of the twelfth-century infancy window within his nineteenth-century pastiche window, chose to place the fragments of Joseph’s dream early in the story as Joseph’s first dream; but during the twelfth century, it is Joseph’s dreams associated with the flight into egypt that are most popular, notably in the west window at the cathedral of Chartres, which has a strong iconographic and stylistic relationship with the saint-denis window. finally, a dream of Joseph in the lower register of the window at saintdenis is not a possibility, since the Percier drawing documents a prophet on the left side of the Annunciation, and another prophet from the window survives in the Burrell Collection. see Cothren, “infancy of Christ Window,” 413–16, which cites the earlier literature. 20 especially close are the heads of simeon from the Presentation in the temple (twycross) and Joseph himself from the flight into egypt (Glencairn): Cothren, “infancy of Christ Window,” fig. 8. 21 Cothren, “Infancy of Christ,” fig. 7.

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But the medieval portions of the dream of Joseph from the saint-denis window are also painted in the style of the simeon master (figure 6.8 = Pl. 16 and figure 6.9). Stylistic assessment, therefore, confirms the logical placement of the scene within the upper three registers of the reconstructed window, as part of the extended interlude around the flight into and Arrival in egypt, but it does not help sort out the questions of authenticity posed by the relationship of the two panels. those must be decided on the basis of material factors involving the quality of glass and paint. Parts of the thomson panel are composed of modern painted glass. the entire upper torso and wings of the angel are modern, and obvious interventions are the strip of red glass at the curving top edge, the strip of blue under Joseph’s bed, and several of the blues in the background. But there are perplexing problems with physical properties throughout the panel. the materials—both glass and paint—comprising the surviving twelfth-century stained glass from saint-denis are very distinctive. some features of the thomson panel relate it to surviving glass from saint-denis—marks of iridescence and characteristic straw marks on the blues, small surface bubbles that pockmark the surface of other colors. As in panels of stained glass from saint-denis, the painted articulation uses two tones of vitreous enamel—one reddish, the other a duller and darker sepia brown, and most of the toning washes are in the reddish paint, not the dull paint.

6.6 Dream of Joseph: detail of the head of Joseph. thomson Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: author). see also Plate 14 6.7 Dream of Joseph: detail of the head of an angel. thomson Art Gallery of ontario, Canada (photo: author). see also Plate 15

6.8 Abbey Church of Saint-Denis: Dream of Joseph, from the Infancy of Christ window, detail of the head of Joseph (photo: isabelle Baudoin-louw). see also Plate 16

6.9 Abbey Church of Saint-Denis: Dream of Joseph, from the Infancy of Christ window, detail of the head of an angel (photo: author)

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But the painting of the thomson panel lacks the three-dimensional, relief-like, “fried” quality characterizing authentic panels from saint-denis, especially those painted by this particular artist. And the appearance of the corrosion on interior and exterior surfaces is not only inconsistent with what is seen on other surviving panels; the entire panel seems to have been overzealously cleaned or intentionally textured by aggressive intervention, perhaps through the use of acid or through re-firing or over-firing repainted or scrubbed pieces of glass in the kiln.22 Also odd is a white deposit or crust that covers paint and glass in areas spread across the panel. No piece of painted glass in this panel is unambiguously twelfth century in character. With the gracious assistance of a group of french colleagues, in september 2012 i was able to examine the dream of Joseph from the window at saintdenis in close detail, under laboratory conditions.23 As with the other twelfthcentury panels from the abbey church, this one was relatively recently removed from the building and placed into storage in a controlled environment because of the alarmingly rapid deterioration of glass and paint. scientists and restorers are currently studying these precious works to develop a conservation plan. As part of this process, restorer isabelle Baudoin-louw has reevaluated Grodecki’s restoration chart of 1976 and expanded the core of authentic, twelfth-century glass to include almost all of the figure of the standing angel (only the yellow halo is modern) and the entire upper body of Joseph, including his head, which Grodecki had believed was modern. My examination of the panel completely confirmed the validity of her conclusions. since the nature of the glass, the quality of the paint, and the character of the style argue that these portions of the saint-denis panel are original to the twelfth-century scene of the dream of Joseph, the corresponding portions of the thomson panel seem to be copies of these originals, created to scale (that is, at exactly the same size) and with an unusually scrupulous attention, both to reproducing every detail of the original painting and to simulating the irregular quality of medieval glass.24 Based on the available evidence, therefore, the thomson panel is most likely a nineteenth-century copy of the original twelfth-century panel from saint-denis, 22 the conservator who cleaned and consolidated this panel for sam fogg noted signs of what he called “over-firing” that softened the grozed edges of some pieces of glass that he considered medieval. this may, i believe, be the result of modern repainting and re-firing instead. 23 i am deeply grateful to Claudine lautier and isabelle Pallot-frossard, who arranged permission and coordinated schedules so that i could examine the panel with them; and to Claudine loisel and isabelle Baudoin-louw, who brought their expertise to the conversation that developed around the examination itself. 24 i believe that the only piece of glass within the thomson panel that could be original to the twelfth-century panel is the mantle that covers the lower part of Joseph’s body. the color, and in certain respects the physical quality, of this glass is related to that used in authentic panels from the glazing of saint-denis; but, if original, it has clearly been over-painted, re-fired, and reworked significantly. The possibility remains that this is a modern attempt to simulate the appearance of medieval glass rather than medieval glass subjected to a series of modern interventions.

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probably produced in the late 1840s by glass painters in the Gérente atelier before the original panel was dismantled and parts of the angel and Joseph reused within the nineteenth-century panel of pastiche created for the lower register of the current window.25 But even if not medieval in date, for an understanding of the infancy of Christ window from saint-denis, this workshop copy of the now-dismantled medieval original is extraordinarily important evidence for understanding the window’s design. It both expands and confirms the current reconstruction. As already mentioned, the style of both the thomson copy and the original fragments at Saint-Denis match that of the Simeon master who has been identified in the surviving panels from the upper three registers of the window, which recount the Presentation in the temple and both the flight into and the Arrival in egypt (panels now at twycross, Wilton, and the Glencairn Museum). in the reconstruction of this part of the window that i published in 1986, i proposed that the dream of Joseph was originally in a small, squarish panel, just to the right of the Presentation.26 Given the information in the thomson copy, however, it would be more logically positioned as the semicircular compartment to the left of the flight into egypt (figure 6.10). the shape of the thomson panel—a semicircle 25 But why did the Gérente atelier take a semicircular scene with a blue background and refashion it into a rectangular scene with a red background, framed under an architectural canopy and placed at the bottom right corner of the window? there is no conclusive evidence to resolve this question, but there is a possible explanation rooted in the history surrounding the mid-nineteenth-century restoration. in a fascinating article by Carol Uhlig Crown—“the Winchester Psalter and ‘l’enfance du Christ’ Window at st denis,” Burlington Magazine 117/863 (1975): 79–83—a relationship is proposed between the nineteenth-century reworking of the infancy window and the twelfthcentury english manuscript known as the Winchester Psalter (British library, Cotton Ms Nero C iv). the compositional relationship between several scenes—especially the visitation that forms the visual pendant of the current panel of the dream of Joseph—is too compelling to be coincidental. But how could the modern french restorers have known this medieval book in a library across the channel in england? Crown notes that eugène viollet-le-duc, who supervised the restoration of the abbey church from 1847, visited england in 1850, but at that time the newly reconstituted infancy window had probably already been installed. henri Gérente himself (who died in 1849) had traveled to england in 1847, sent on a mission by the french government, masterminded by viollet-le-duc, to trace or copy the drawings by roger de Gaignères that were held in the Bodleian library in oxford. Perhaps Gérente seized the opportunity, while he was in england, to examine this richly illustrated manuscript, essentially contemporary with the infancy window at saint-denis that he would soon “restore.” then, in the course of that restoration—having produced a totally new panel of the visitation (a scene that seems not to have been part of the twelfth-century window) for the lower left corner of the window—Gérente decided to reuse part of the twelfth-century dream of Joseph for the lower right corner, changing its background to red and its framework to an arcade to coordinate with the visitation, which was essentially copied from the Winchester Psalter. for Gérente’s trip to england, see Grodecki, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis, 52–3, and the more thorough treatment in elizabeth A.r. Brown, The Oxford Collection of the Drawings of Roger de Gaignières and the Royal Tombs of Saint-Denis, transactions of the American Philosophical society 78/5 (Philadelphia, 1988), esp. 34–7. 26 Cothren, “Infancy of Christ Window,” figs. 16 and 20.

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6.10 Abbey of saint-denis: reconstruction of the upper two registers of the infancy of Christ window in ca. 1144; lower register has flight into egypt (Glencairn Museum) and upper register has three panels portraying the Arrival in sotine (Wilton, england) (photomontage: author)

bulging out to the left—fits precisely the format available in that location within my reconstruction of the overall window design. And since the backgrounds in the infancy window appear to alternate regularly between red and blue, in this location the background should be blue, as it is in the thomson panel, not red, as in Gérente’s pastiche panel. thus the authorship, chronological positioning, compositional format, and background color of the thomson panel accord with expectations built from the evolving reconstruction of the infancy window’s design. And the dimensions of the thomson copy coordinate precisely with the adjacent flight into egypt from the Glencairn Museum, as well as with the dream of the Magi from raby Castle that occupied a comparable compartment within the window (though at the right rather than the left of a central panel).27 Because of such a confluence of conformities, the Thomson panel proves to be the right shape, the right size, and the right color to fit comfortably into the previously developed reconstructions of the infancy window at the precise place where it belongs in the chronological unfolding of the narrative. it is also painted in the right style. the panel may be modern, but it is not a forgery. it is a precious and faithful copy of a dismantled original, our only evidence of the design and format of this scene, both confirming and revising our understanding of the window’s design. 27 When i examined the thomson dream of Joseph in 2007, i had full-scale rubbings of the lead lines of these two panels so as to confirm that all three were consistent with the window reconstruction, and with each other, in terms of both scale and format.

Chapter 7

the West rose Window of the Cathedral of Chartres Claudine lautier

the cathedral of Chartres was the subject of Anne Prache’s intensive scrutiny for more than 20 years. her monographs and articles devoted to the cathedral established key aspects of its chronology and iconology.1 Prache’s vision encompassed the entire edifice, but focused above all on the architecture and sculpture. The cathedral has benefitted from 30 years of restorations to its architecture, sculpture, and stained glass, efforts which have allowed an evolution in the study of the monument. Most recently, between 2006 and 2012 restoration work has been especially active, with the spectacular transformation of the painted surfaces of the interior of the entire chevet, as well as the restoration and conservation of the upper choir windows.2 restoration has also been carried out on the interior polychromy and glass of the two western bays of the nave, between the towers of the façade. Although the three famous romanesque windows of the west façade were restored between 1974 and 1976, the last Judgment rose had not been touched since 1919. the corrosion of the exterior of the rose and encrustations on its interior surface had rendered this glass almost illegible, but restoration in 2012 has revealed the window’s high artistic quality.3 the west rose has never attracted 1 see Anne Prache, Notre-Dame de Chartres, image de la Jérusalem céleste (Paris: CNrs, 1993); Prache, Chartres, le portail de la Sagesse (Paris: Mame, 1994); Prache, “observations sur la construction de la cathédrale de Chartres au Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France (1990): 327–34, and Prache, “remarques sur la construction de la cathédrale de Chartres à la lumière de la dendrochronologie,” in Monde médiéval et société chartraine, Actes du colloque international organisé par la ville et le diocèse de Chartres à l’occasion du 8e centenaire de la Cathédrale de Chartres, 8–10 september, 1994, ed. Jean robert Armogathe (Paris: Picard, 1997): 75–9. 2 in this regard see the special issue of Bulletin monumental 169 (2011)—La cathédrale de Chartres. Restaurations récentes et nouvelles recherches—which devotes six articles to this subject, 3–40. 3 the restoration took place in the atelier of Claire Babet in Chenonville, near Chartres. the protective panels were fabricated by the debitus workshop in tours. A chart of restorations of the glass was compiled by Karine Boulanger, isabelle havard, and this author. the stained glass and grisailles were also analyzed by the Accélérateur Grand louvre d’Analyse elémentaire (AGlAe) as part of a partnership between the laboratoire

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7.1 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, ca. 1205–10 (photo: hervé debitus). see also Plate 17

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scholarly attention, although studies of the rose windows of the transepts, as well as the five lancets which each rose surmounts, have often been published. For example, the canon yves delaporte included a detailed description of the west rose in his celebrated monograph on the cathedral’s stained glass, and it has also been mentioned briefly by other authors.4

de recherche des Monuments historiques (lrMh) and the laboratoire de recherche des Musées de france (C2rMf). 4 yves delaporte, Les vitraux de la cathédrale de Chartres. Histoire et description (Chartres: houvet, 1926), 519–21. Also of note is Prache, Notre-Dame de Chartres, 102– 4; Brigitte Kurmann-schwarz and Peter Kurmann, Chartres. La cathédrale (saint-légervauban: Zodiaque, 2001), 197–8; and Marcello Angheben, “le Xiiie siècle et les arts de la couleur,” in Le Jugement dernier entre Orient et Occident, ed. Marcello Angheben and valentino Pace (Paris: Cerf, 2007), 162–3.

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the rose window is dedicated to the last Judgment, an iconographic theme also seen in the rose of the west façade of laon Cathedral, where it was almost totally reworked in the nineteenth century by didron; in the collegiate church of Mantes (yvelines); and in the east end of the parish church of donnemarie-enMontois (seine-et-Marne), where the scene is only partially preserved. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, very few windows were devoted exclusively to the theme of the last Judgment. the most remarkable of these was the glazed opening of the choir of Bourges Cathedral (Window 4), contemporary with the rose at Chartres, while a second example (slightly later) in the apse of soissons Cathedral (Window 101) is largely restored. the Chartres rose, approximately 12m in diameter, consists of a primary circle of 12 petals radiating from a polylobed center and a second circle of 12 polylobed oculi that alternate with small quatrefoils on the periphery (figure 7.1 = Pl. 17). each petal comprises two circular panels, one larger than the other, and triangular ornament. the center of the rose and the medallions of the outer circle are enclosed by small, decorative lobes. While on the exterior the moldings of the rose protrude strongly, its interior face is completely flat. The recently restored architectural polychromy has brought to light the original white background that is set off from the yellow-ochre wall surface, which is articulated by white painted false joints. the restoration has also revealed that the entire metal armature is original: the orthogonal bars of the central medallion and the curved or circular iron bars of the other panels, as well as the large metal clamps that attach the tie bars to the wall. the panels of the rose, which have been very little restored over time, possess 95 percent of their original glass. like all of the cathedral’s windows, the panels were partially restored during the fifteenth century. A few pieces of glass date from the restoration campaign that began in 1415, although the precise date of work on the rose is not known.5 one incident resulted in serious damage to the window at the end of the sixteenth century when, on March 5, 1591, during henry iv’s siege of Chartres, the king’s artillery bombarded the cathedral district.6 A cannonball smashed through the panel representing two seated apostles (Panel J4) and caused secondary damage to three neighboring panels depicting two angels and an angel leading the elect (Panels J1, i1, and i4).7 Close examination reveals that all the panels were completely releaded at the beginning of the eighteenth century. two glaziers—Nicolas Panneton and Amant levassor—engraved their names several times in 1724. yves delaporte also 5 lucien Merlet, “Comptes de l’œuvre de la cathédrale de Chartres en 1415–1416,” Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (1889): 35–94. The manuscript was destroyed in a fire at the Bibliothèque municipale of Chartres in 1944. 6 delaporte, Vitraux de la cathédrale de Chartres, 51. 7 the panels are numbered in clockwise order, in the sequence created by the Corpus vitrearum. the panels of the central medallion of the rose carry the letter A. the panels that form the petals of the rose, in the inner circle around the central roundel, are numbered, beginning at 12:00, as B (1 and 4), then C (1 and 4), at 1:00, d (1 and 4) at 2:00, and so on, through M (1 and 4) at 11:00.

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7.2 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, Bosom of Abraham (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 18

noted a certain Borie who inscribed his name on the tracery.8 several elements, in particular the quadrilobes of the outer circle, have preserved their leads from this period, but for other panels only fragments of the eighteenth-century leading remain. the majority of the panels’ leads were replaced by Charles lorin in 1919.9 in terms of the glass itself, only a few stopgaps were inserted in the eighteenth century. the rose thus survives today in an exceptionally authentic state. the cathedral of Chartres possesses two great representations of the last Judgment, one in the west rose and the other in the central portal of the south transept. the two works are essentially contemporary, separated by only a few years. the rose window, however, offers a more traditional imagery than the south transept portal. 8 delaporte, Vitraux de la cathédrale de Chartres, 55. the inscription was noted in 1868 by Paul durand, “séance du 4 juin 1868 de la société archéologique d’eure-et-loir,” Procès-verbaux de la Société archéologique d’Eure-et-Loir, 4 (1868), 90: “iAy.ete. re.eN.PloN.PAr.Borie.vitrier.1724” (i was releaded by Borie, glazier, 1724). By the time of delaporte, the inscription no longer existed. 9 regrettably, and astonishingly, no archival documentation exists concerning lorin’s restorations. What little we know about them comes from delaporte, Vitraux de la cathédrale de Chartres, 521. the date 1919 coincides with the reinstallation of the rose after World War i.

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7.3 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window: cherub (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 19

in the great quadrilobe designed in the center of the rose, an enthroned figure of Christ is seated on clouds; he is three times larger in scale than the other protagonists. he bares his right side to expose the Wounds of the Passion, from which blood flows. This figure thus follows the text of Matthew 24:29, which describes Christ seated on clouds, rather than on a rainbow, as he is often represented—as at Bourges or Mantes, for example. in the 12 petals that surround the center of the rose, the first circle of medallions is occupied by the four evangelist symbols, which form a cross, and by angels representing the celestial court that surrounds God. the eagle of st. John, holding a phylactery in its claws, appears above Christ’s head; to the left is Mark’s lion and to the right luke’s bull, each standing on a book; and below Christ’s feet Matthew’s winged man symbol carries a book in its hands. Between these figures, the busts of eight angels turn their gazes toward the vertical axis of the rose. in the same circle of petals, the larger outer medallions exhibit a more diversified iconography. On the vertical axis above Christ and the eagle, Abraham appears, seated on a throne in the garden of Paradise, suggested by four leafy branches. in the folds of his garment he holds against his bosom three elect souls, represented as three naked young men (figure 7.2 = Pl. 18). Abraham’s

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medallion is flanked by roundels occupied by two large cherubim, guardians of Paradise (Genesis 3:24), with multicolored wings set with eyes. the cherubim stand barefoot and with outstretched hands, stoles knotted around their shoulders (figure 7.3 = Pl. 19). the remaining six medallions contain the 12 Apostles, seated two by two on benches.10 st. Peter with his key is at Christ’s right hand, and a bald-headed st. Paul is at his left. the virgin and st. John are thus not positioned next to Christ as intercessors.11 on the vertical axis below the feet of Christ, beneath Matthew’s symbol, st. Michael weighs souls. in his left hand he holds a scale with a soul, represented only by a head, in each pan of the balance. St. Michael fights with a hideous demon who is his equal in size. A small demon crawls beneath and pulls on one of the pans to skew the weighing. in the roundel to st. Michael’s left a sniggering demon pushes damned souls towards hell with a pitchfork, while in the medallion to the right an angel leads the crowned elect to Paradise. hell is represented in two panels of the outer circle of medallions, at the lowest points on the perimeter of the rose. A monstrous, multicolored hell Mouth with red eyes and jagged teeth is seen from upside down so that it appears to devour the medallion from beneath. Three souls consumed in the flames that issue from the mouth lament their fate. Among them, the miser is in the middle, clad in a pointed hat and laden with a money bag which hangs from his neck. in the second panel, a pair of terrifying devils hoists up two souls to hurl them into the Mouth of hell. in two medallions at the highest points on the outer ring of the rose, angels display the instruments of the Passion. the angel on the left supports a red cross, while that on the right holds the lance in one hand and in the other hand, which is veiled, the three nails and a crown which resembles not the Crown of thorns, but rather a royal crown, green in color. Both angels are in Paradise, evoked by diminutive trees. in the next two lowest roundels, angels sound trumpets to awaken the dead. lower still, in medallions on each side, stand resurrected souls, nearly naked, clad only in their shrouds. Below them, four panels display the dead rising two by two from their tombs, both male and female, their shrouds draped about them as they lift the lids of their sarcophagi. the restoration of the polychrome wall surfaces has revealed that the iconographic program continues beyond the glass itself. traces of mural painting have come to light on the side walls of the two western bays of the nave, between the towers, in the oculi of the false windows. they are simulated stained glass windows, contemporary with the rose, of which only traces of the oculi painting remain; the lancets lack decor. the paintings represent enthroned kings playing musical instruments. those of the south side are the best preserved. The westernmost figure, bearded and crowned, holds a scepter in his right hand and a small harp on his knees (figure 7.4 = Pl. 20). the second king, to the south, plays a figure eight-shaped vièle, held on the knees (da gamba). 10 Panel J4 was recreated in 1919 by Charles lorin based on l4. 11 similarly, in the west rose of the collegiate church of Notre-dame at Mantes, slightly later than the west rose of Chartres, the Apostles, and not the virgin and st. John, appear as intercessors.

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7.4 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: interior south wall between the two towers of the west façade, Apocalyptic elder (photo: Patrice Calvel). see also Plate 20

At the north, one of the kings plays a small bowed vièle held at the shoulder (da braccio). The last figure is almost completely effaced; only an unidentifiable instrument can be made out. the kings sit within large medallions that are encircled by eight lobes painted with multicolored leaves, while the periphery of the medallion is punctuated by eight small decorative quadrilobes. the painting unquestionably evokes the actual roses of the glazed windows in the nave. taken in context of the painted and glazed program of this part of the building, the kings must be the Apocalyptic elders. is it possible that the theme continued in the lancets, with other painted elders of which all trace is now lost? or was the program unfinished? This is impossible to determine, since no remains of paint survive in the blind lancets of the blind arcades of the interior west walls’ decorative windows.

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The real and fictive stained glass offers iconographic parallels with the central door of the royal Portal, which predated the rose and wall painting by a half a century. the tympanum displays Christ enthroned within a mandorla and surrounded by the four Beasts. he is adored by the angels of the inner archivolts and the elders of the Apocalypse, some holding musical instruments, that occupy the two outer bands. on the lintel, the 12 Apostles, together with the prophets elijah and enoch, link the apocalyptic vision to the last Judgment (Matthew 19:28), as scholars have long emphasized.12 in the rose, the presence of the Apostles, presented here as the assessors who aid Christ in the judgment, as well as the four evangelist symbols and the Apocalyptic elders of the side walls, create a link between the older romanesque cathedral, to which the royal Portal was added ca. 1145–50 and the new Gothic cathedral constructed after the fire of 1194. the rose, however, illustrates a different theme than the central tympanum of the royal Portal, for it represents the last Judgment, based on Matthew 25:31–46. the rose depicts the coming of the son of Man in glory, accompanied by angels, to separate the elect from the damned and to chastise the latter. the image of Paradise as Abraham’s bosom comes from the parable of the poor man lazarus and the evil rich man (luke 16:19–31). After his death, the soul of lazarus was carried by angels to the Bosom of Abraham, just as the souls of the Blessed are taken by angels to Paradise.13 As for the evil rich man, he was taken to the flames of hell, as were the condemned souls in the lower panel of the rose. At Chartres the central figure in the Mouth of Hell is the miser, and not Judas, as Yves Delaporte had thought. The figure wears the pointed hat of Jewish usurers, and hanging from his neck is a money bag bulging with coins (figure 7.5 = Pl. 21).14 Along with gluttony, avarice was viewed as the gravest of sins in the Middle Ages, and, moreover, it was greed that condemned the rich man in the parable to hell. A comparable image appears at the bottom of the last Judgment window in the ambulatory of the cathedral of Bourges, essentially contemporary with the west rose of Chartres. the three panels at the base of the glass illustrate the Good death and the Bad death, separated by a priest, the guardian of the sacraments. At right, the sinner in hell is illustrated by a miser, with purse around his neck, being thrown into a pot over a large fire. This image is separate from that of the hell Mouth at the top of the window, at the same level as the image of Abraham’s 12 Adolf Katzenellenbogen, The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral (Baltimore: Johns hopkins University Press, 1959), 59; Willibald sauerländer, La sculpture gothique en France, 1140–1270 (Paris: flammarion, 1972), 24–6, 66. 13 for the Bosom of Abraham, see Jérôme Baschet, “le sein d’Abraham: un lieu de l’au-delà ambigu (théologie, liturgie, iconographie),” in De l’art comme mystagogie. Iconographie du Jugement dernier et des fins dernières à l’époque gothique, Actes du colloque de la fondation hardt tenu à Genève du 13 au 16 février, ed. yves Christe (Poitiers: CesCM, 1996), 71–94; and Baschet, Le sein du père. Abraham et la paternité dans l’Occident médiéval (Paris: Gallimard, 2000). 14 the coins in the purse are painted on the exterior face of the glass; the painting is very worn and is barely visible on the interior face.

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7.5 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, hell Mouth (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 21

bosom, which represents Paradise. The figure of the miser also appears in the archivolts of the south transept portal at Chartres, where it is propelled by a devil towards the Mouth of hell carved on the lintel. the role of the assessors is different in the central transept portal, which is probably slightly later than the rose, because the portal can be dated to 1215–25. in the portal, Christ the judge is seated on an actual throne, and not on clouds. he raises his arms and conspicuously displays the Wounds of the Passion, while in the rose his outstretched arms separate the elect from the damned.15 in the sculptural representation it is st. John and the virgin, seated on either side of Christ with clasped hands, who play the role of intercessors and assessors, while the Apostles occupy a lower level of the portal, the embrasures, where their martyrdoms are emphasized. in the tympanum the angels that carry the instruments of the Passion are more prominent than in the rose, because they appear both over Christ’s head and on either side of the intercessors. As in the rose, st. Michael, standing 15 On this subject, see Bruno Boerner, “Réflexions sur les rapports entre la scolastique naissante et les programmes sculptés du Xiiie siècle,” in De l’art comme mystagogie, ed. Christe, 55–69, especially 62–3.

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beneath the feet of Christ, weighs souls and separates the elect from the damned, directing one group towards Abraham and the other towards the Mouth of hell. At the base of the archivolts, heaven is represented on one side and hell on the other, while the other voussoirs display the dead rising from their tombs and the angels sounding trumpets. Most of the remaining voussoirs are occupied by nine choirs of angels who adore God. their hierarchies are precisely described and form a larger celestial court than do the two cherubim and angels of the rose.16 the elders of the Apocalypse who belong to the Judgment themes appear on the outermost face of the portal—on the piers of the central arcade of the porch—as small-scale, low-relief figures.17 the iconographic content of the rose and the west portal are thus not exactly the same. the rose, with its accompanying wall painting, exhibits a traditional imagery that forms a counterpoint, on the interior of the church, to the royal Portal of the exterior. the south portal of the transept, on the other hand, presents a more elaborate didactic representation—the product of the Parisian theological milieu of the early thirteenth century—and addresses the town.18 the west rose window is of the highest quality chromatically and pictorially. the composition of each panel is harmonious, clear and simple, and perfectly adapted to the point of view of the spectator who must gaze upwards towards the vaults to read the details of the rose. The figures fill each panel while leaving large areas of blue background. The figures encroach upon the borders; heads and haloes, hands and feet, wings of angels and evangelist symbols overlap the wide red fillet that encloses the scenes, and even invade the narrower outer fillets of blue and white. to enhance legibility, each narrative panel contains only a few figures. The Apostles are grouped in pairs, as are the dead rising from their tombs, while the Blessed and the damned are usually arranged in threes. the settings, as in the chairs of seated figures or branches of trees, are quite minimal, to leave space for the protagonists. The ornament is equally simplified. Only the judging Christ is given an elaborate framework, presented in a large quadrilobe surrounded by red and white, 16 The theme of the nine choirs of angels, magnificently represented in the archivolts of the portal, is echoed in the glass of the south transept, in the upper part of the window, where st. Apollinaris also appears (Window 36). the glass is clearly contemporary with the last Judgment portal. 17 for an analysis of the iconography of the last Judgment portal at Chartres, see Barbara Bruderer eichberg, Les neuf chœurs angéliques. Origine et évolution du thème dans l’art du Moyen Age (Poitiers: CesCM, 1998), 141–4; yves Christe, Jugements derniers (saint-léger-vauban: Zodiaque, 1999), 225–7; Kurmann-schwarz and Kurmann, Chartres, 270–72. 18 According to Bruno Boerner, the origin of the theme of the Chartrain portal derives from the central portal of the west façade of Notre-dame in Paris. see Boerner, “Par caritas par meritum”: Studien zur Theologie des gotischen Weltgerichtsportals in Frankreich—am Beispiel des mitteleren Westeingangs von Notre-Dame-de-Paris (freiburg: Universitätsverlag, 1998). the author engages in a thorough study of the Parisian intellectual and theological milieu, and links it to the iconography of the portal of the Paris cathedral.

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which in turn is enclosed within a large circle decorated with pearled borders and short, multicolored palmettes. the ornament of the 12 lobes that surround the central medallion varies between large palmettes and rinceaux scrolls. the lobes that surround the large medallions of the exterior circle of the rose are decorated with alternately open or closed palmettes, against backgrounds that are in turn either red or white. the quadrilobes of the periphery of the rose contain an extremely simple ornament of small bosses on a red ground. Simplification must have also shaped the production of the glass, given the repetition of but a few cartoons in the figural panels, and even fewer in the ornament. this working method for stained glass was probably then in its early stages, a few years after it was used at saint-remi de reims, saint-yved de Braine (Aisne), and the cathedral of Canterbury.19 for example, angels i1, J1, l1, and M1 in the small medallions to the left of the central axis of the rose were all based on the same design. the only variation is that angel i1 holds a book in his arm rather than a loop of drapery. on the other side, angels C1, d1, f1, and G1 all come from the same model. the same process is used for the two medallions representing the angels sounding trumpets, in C5 and l5; the colors of their garments are reversed, but not that of their wings. the two cherubim C4 and M4 follow the same cartoon and the same colors. As for the dead who exit their tombs two by two, those of panels i5 and J5 at left are based on a single cartoon, and those of e5 and f5 to the right according to a second one. in the four panels of the resurrection of the dead there are a few variations in the colors of the draperies and of the decorative elements of the tombs. Moreover, a face may be seen completely in profile in one panel and in three-quarter view in another. Similarly, one figure’s head may be draped by its shroud, while another’s is bare (figure 7.6 = Pl. 22). All of these minor variations highlight the repetition of cartoons. the situation is different, however, for the Apostles,20 for the risen souls who respond to the call of the angels’ trumpets, and especially for the figures in the panels that represent the separation of the elect and the damned, and heaven and hell. It is possible that the rose window, although it was composed of 189 figural and decorative panels, was executed very rapidly—which would explain the repetition of cartoons. But it is equally likely that the repeated use of designs arose from a desire for clarity, to make sure that each moment and each scene would be intelligible to a viewer from a great distance. The pictorial quality of the glass is marked by ease, breadth, and fluidity. The proportions of the figures are elongated, but heads are generally wide. legs are long and thin, gestures expressive but contained. the garments, which suggest a heavy fabric, envelope the figures but evoke the body beneath. 19 Madeline harrison Caviness, “tucks and darts: Adjusting Patterns to fit figures for stained Glass Windows around 1200,” in Medieval Fabrications: Dress, Textiles, Clothwork and other Cultural Imaginings, ed. e. Jane Burns (New york: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), 105–19; an enhanced version is available online at http://www.tufts. edu/~mcavines/glassdesign2.html. 20 Panel J4 repeats l4, but it was made by Charles lorin in 1919 to replace the original panel destroyed in 1591.

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7.6 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: west rose window, dead rising from their tombs (photo: dominique Bouchardon, lrMh/Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 22

Drapery creates broad folds which flow from the Apostles’ waists, wrap around their arms, and widen into large loops between their legs. the hems of the garments are essentially straight. the motions of the resurrected souls and the angels are balletic and elegant. Musculature is carefully delineated by lines applied to the rather thick wash. Prominent washes accentuate volume; brushstrokes are emphatic but supple and slender. Colors are limited in number. The color blue is predominant, since it covers the ground of all the figural medallions, while red is reserved for the background of the small ornamental panels. However, the blue is counterbalanced by the wide red fillets which are complemented, in turn, by bands of blue and white. fixed color combinations appear in the garments: white/murrey, yellow/green, green/murrey. Angels’ wings are usually green and yellow, but occasionally murrey. the overall effect is luminous because of the wide expanses of white used for garments and the light murrey that designates skin; but it is also dazzling because of the strong impact of the red fillets. Given the state of preservation of the upper windows of the nave, it is difficult to determine which workshop created the west rose of the cathedral. even though the pictorial style is close to that of several lower lights of the nave—for example,

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those associated with the workshop of the death of the virgin (Window 42)21— one cannot attribute the rose to one of these stylistic groups. the poor condition of the upper nave glass, except for the two first upper windows at the west (Windows 141 and 142, restored in 1990), prevents a definitive attribution. It is possible, however, that the Elders of the Apocalypse depicted in the fictive windows of the two western bays (at least those of the south side, the only ones that are truly intelligible) could be the work of the glass painter who created the figures of St. Mary the egyptian and st. laumer (Window 142) in the south window of the last bay of the nave. several aspects of physiognomy and drapery style support this hypothesis, especially given the proximity of the glass to the wall paintings. one thing is certain: the execution of the western rose belongs to the same glazing campaign as the upper windows of the nave. it is thus probable that the nave was totally complete, windows included, at the time the population of Chartres revolted against the chapter in 1210. one should note that the completed nave at that time fulfilled all the functions of the cathedral; closed off from the construction at the east, the nave was the locus of all the cathedral’s liturgical activities.22 the style of the glass corresponds to such a dating. the last Judgment of the western rose thus preceded by a dozen years the sculpted judgment of the south transept portal. less innovative iconographically than the portal, the western rose is nonetheless an unacknowledged masterpiece within the most renowned ensemble of stained glass in france.

21 for the workshops of the lower glass of the nave see Claudine lautier, “les peintres-verriers des bas-côtés de la nef de Chartres au début du Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin monumental 148 (1990): 7–45. 22 Claudine lautier, “the sacred topography of Chartres Cathedral: the reliquary Chasse of the virgin in the liturgical Choir and stained Glass decoration,” in evelyn staudinger lane, elizabeth Carson Pastan, and ellen M. shortell, eds, The Four Modes of Seeing: Approaches to Medieval Imagery in Honor of Madeline Harrison Caviness (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2009), 174–96, especially 178–82.

Chapter 8

out with the New and in with the old: Jacques Coeur’s Annunciation Window and its reception in Bourges Cathedral Philippe lorentz1

Pierre, lumière, couleurs. Études d’histoire de l’art du Moyen Age en l’honneur d’Anne Prache, the title chosen by fabienne Joubert and dany sandron for the festschrift dedicated to Anne Prache in 1999, evokes her main area of research— architecture.2 But this title also highlights another artistic practice, inseparable from architecture: stained glass, a material that greatly interested Anne. she published several studies on stained glass, notably an important paper presented at the 25th international Congress of Art history held in vienna in 1983 on the theme of art in europe circa 1300 (Europäische Kunst um 1300). this study, published in the congress’s proceedings in 1986, investigated the changes that occurred from the second half of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the composition and coloring of stained glass windows were affected by the linearity and immense openings of architectural elevations.3 in this contribution i will also consider the links between architecture and stained glass, but in a later phase of the history of this medium. towards the middle of the fifteenth century an aesthetic transformation occurred whereby glass served as a support for compositions that imitated the panel paintings as defined by the new pictorial language of the Burgundian Netherlands. At this time 1 i would like to thank William Clark, Charles little and Nancy Wu for inviting me to participate in this dedication to the memory of Anne Prache. i am grateful to them for allowing me to pay tribute to the woman who was my teacher in the eighties and with whom i worked at the sorbonne’s institute of Art history in the nineties. Anne has left me with the memory of a warm and cheerful person who, in addition to being a competent teacher and researcher, was an extremely generous and attentive individual. i am grateful to Kate sowley and Anne-Julie lafaye for the translation of this text from french into english. 2 Pierre, lumière, couleur. Études d’histoire de l’art du Moyen Age en l’honneur d’Anne Prache, ed. fabienne Joubert and dany sandron (Paris: Presses de l’Université de Paris-sorbonne, 1999). 3 Anne Prache, “Architecture rayonnante et vitrail dans la france du Nord vers 1300,” in Europäische Kunst um 1300. selected papers presented at the 25th international Congress of the history of Art, vienna, september 4–10, 1983, ed. Gerhard schmidt and elisabeth liskar (vienna/Cologne: Graz/Böhlau, 1986), 6 [ 25–30].

8.1 Bourges, Saint-Étienne Cathedral, Saint-Ursin Chapel: Jacques Coeur Annunciation window, 1451 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 23

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stained glass became colorful again. the example i have chosen to analyze is the Annunciation window (figure 8.1 = Pl. 23) executed in 1451 for Jacques Coeur in Bourges Cathedral, a monument that was dear to Anne. All French scholars in the field will remember that Anne translated Robert Branner’s monograph on Bourges Cathedral in 1962.4 however, less known is her discreet yet effective work to preserve the Annunciation window after its 1995 restoration by Bruno de Pirey’s workshop in Allouis (near Bourges). the administration of france’s Monuments historiques intended to have the window reinstalled with no additional protective measures. however, in her capacity as director of the french section of the Corpus Vitrearum (a position she assumed in 1980), Prache wrote to the inspector from Monuments historiques in charge of the project and asked to have protective glass placed on the exterior of the window in order to protect it from bad weather and potential projectiles. following her letter, the protective glass was installed. Jacques Coeur, Patron of the annunciation Window Born the son of a furrier around 1395, Jacques Coeur was a businessman whom we could describe today as a fifteenth-century billionaire.5 in 1420 he married Macée de léodepart, daughter of a valet de chambre of duc Jean de Berry. Coeur’s marriage gained him access to the court, where he sold luxury objects such as spices, fine cloth, jewels, and furs—goods which he eventually supplied to King Charles vii. his network of associates and partners reached italy, Aragon, the Netherlands, england, and scotland. he amassed a considerable fortune and loaned large sums to the king of France who used the money to finance the recovery of Normandy and Guyenne at the end of the hundred years War. Jacques Coeur’s career took a decisive turn in 1440 when Charles vii named him argentier or superintendant of the royal expenditure. Not only did he supply the king and his household with luxury goods, he was also now responsible for the effective management and administration of the royal wardrobe and furnishings. Coeur was also entrusted with important diplomatic missions, notably to the papal court in 1448. his huge fortune, however, aroused great jealousy among other members of the royal court, and Coeur was arrested in July 1451. Sentenced to relinquish his property and pay a huge fine, he nonetheless managed to escape imprisonment. At the Pope’s request, he undertook a naval expedition against the turks, during which he met his death in 1456, on the Greek island of Chios.

4 robert Branner, La cathédrale de Bourges et sa place dans l’architecture gothique, translated from english by Anne Paillard (Paris: tardy, 1962). 5 regarding Jacques Coeur, see Les affaires de Jacques Coeur. Journal du Procureur Dauvet. Procès-verbaux de séquestre et d’adjudication, ed. Michel Mollat, 2 vols (Paris: Colin, 1952–53); Michel Mollat, Jacques Coeur ou l’esprit d’entreprise (Paris: Aubier, 1988); Jacques heers, Jacques Coeur (Paris: Perrin, 1997).

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8.2 Bourges, hôtel Jacques Coeur: angels on the vaults of the ceiling in the chapel painted by the master of Jacques Coeur, ca. 1450 (photo: fonds Georges Gaillard/Centre André Chastel)

Jacques Coeur was at the height of his career when, from 1444 to 1451, he undertook a number of important building projects in his native city of Bourges in order to consolidate his status there. He had a magnificent residence built, the hôtel Jacques Coeur.6 Although it was unfinished at the time of his arrest in 1451, festivities had already been held in the palace, such as a celebration in honor of his son Jean, when Coeur senior was named Archbishop of Bourges in september 1450. A large niche on the façade of the entrance pavilion originally housed an equestrian statue of Charles vii.7 on the second story was a square6 Alfred Gandilhon and robert Gauchery, “l’hôtel Jacques Coeur,” in Congrès archéologique de France. XCIVe session tenue à Bourges en 1931 … (Paris: société française d’archéologie, 1932), 56–104. 7 As we can see today, the niche is empty. the statue of Charles vii was destroyed in 1792, but one can see it on a careful rendering of the eastern façade of the hôtel Jacques Coeur, on the miniature of Christ Carrying the Cross in a book of hours made in the Colombe workshop in Bourges, ca. 1500, for Jacques Coeur, grandson of the businessman

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planned chapel which was most likely in use by July 1450, a date given by the inscription on the bell: “MCCCCL me fist faire Jaques ♥, on mois de juillet.”8 the richness of the chapel’s original decoration is still evidenced today by what remains of the ornamental and figurative sculpture, and, above all, by the ceiling paintings representing 20 angels glorifying the virgin (figure 8.2).9 Jacques Coeur’s Chapel and the annunciation Window (1451) the palace chapel was a private oratory located in Coeur’s residence. in order to preserve his memory and that of his family, he also commissioned the construction of a funerary chapel on the northern side of Bourges Cathedral. the timeline of the construction is well known thanks to the minute book kept from 1445 to 1455 by the cathedral chapter, which supervised all building projects in the sanctuary.10 on July 14, 1449, the canons granted Coeur the right to build his family’s funerary chapel on the site of the former vestiaire (sacristy), which had been replaced by a new sacristy funded entirely by the argentier. the chapel was under construction in the autumn of 1450, and was probably nearing completion by february 1451: at this time Coeur was granted permission to transfer his father’s remains there and to have stained glass windows made for the chapel as best he saw fit.11 in May of 1451, the cathedral chapter confirmed the authorization for the stained glass to be installed in the chapel, which was perhaps not entirely completed when Coeur was arrested on July 31.12 Jacques Coeur’s chapel window has been preserved in quite a satisfactory state because it has been restored very little (once from 1942 to 1946 by the

(Munich, staatsbibliothek, c.l.m. 10103, fol. 148v-149). this miniature is reproduced in Jean favière, “les Anges de Bourges,” L’Oeil 57 (1959): 41 [38–45]. 8 the inscription is given by Pierre Clément, Jacques Coeur et Charles VII ou la France au XVe siècle. Étude historique … (Paris: Guillaumin, 1853) 2: 13. 9 Philippe lorentz, “de Bruges à Bourges. Un peintre eyckien en france au milieu du Xve siècle: le “Maître de Jacques Coeur” (Jacob de litemont?),” in Kunst und Kulturtransfer zur Zeit Karls des Kühnen, ed. Norberto Gramaccini and Marc schurr (Bern: lang, 2012), 177–202. 10 Bourges, Archives départementales du Cher, 8 G 150. see Jean-yves ribault, “Chantiers et maîtres d’oeuvre à Bourges durant la première moitié du Xve siècle. de la sainte-Chapelle au palais de Jacques Coeur,” in 93e Congrès national des sociétés savantes, Tours, 1968, archéologie (Paris: Cths, 1970), 406–8 [404–10]; louis Grodecki, “le ‘Maître des vitraux de Jacques Coeur,’” in Études d’art français offertes à Charles Sterling, ed. Albert Châtelet and Nicole reynaud (Paris: Presses universitaires de france, 1975): 105–25 (107–8); Jean-yves ribault, “Un hommage de Jacques Coeur à Charles vii. le décor emblématique de la sacristie capitulaire de la cathédrale de Bourges,” in Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et BellesLettres 136/1 (1992): 109–10 [109–24]. 11 Item quod vitrinas faciat ipse argentarius ut melius sibi videbitur, Bourges, Archives départementales du Cher, 8 G 150, fol. 163v (1451, february 26). 12 Bourges, Archives départementales du Cher, 8 G 150, fol. 169 (1451, May 5).

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8.3 Bourges, hôtel Jacques Coeur: angels on the vaults of the ceiling in the chapel painted by the master of Jacques Coeur, ca. 1450 (photo: fonds Georges Gaillard/Centre André Chastel)

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Chigot workshop in limoges and from 1994 to 1995 by Bruno de Pirey).13 Placed in a four-lancet bay similar to those in the chapel of the Jacques Coeur Palace, the tracery consists of a large fleur-de-lis (in honor of the king of france) framed by two hearts, the patron’s emblem. this formal parallel would seem to indicate a design by the same mason—perhaps Colin le Picart, master mason to the king and for the cathedral, who spent his entire career in Bourges until his death in 1461.14 the principal scene of Coeur’s chapel window is the Annunciation, which takes place in a church building with three receding bays, seen from below. the virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel are surrounded by saint James to the left and saint Catherine to the right. the patron saints of Coeur and his wife stand in for the donors whose coats of arms decorate the vault keystones above the two saints. The four large figures are placed in front of draperies that optimize their visibility. the spatial setting shows that the artist who designed the Annunciation took into account the structure in which the window had to be integrated. he observed some of the elements of the architecture of the cathedral apse, near the chapel. the building where the Annunciation takes place evokes the structure of the thirteenth-century radiating chapels, each lit by three bays and connected to the ambulatory by an arch framed by two windows. in the Annunciation, however, the architecture is far more sophisticated, with the projecting front section and an eight-celled central vault. the representation therefore goes beyond the model of the five-bay chapels of an octagon adopted at Bourges Cathedral in the thirteenth century.15 13 Les vitraux du Centre et des pays de la Loire, Corpus Vitrearum, France. Recensement des vitraux anciens de la France, 2 (Paris: CNrs, 1981), 181. 14 ribault, “Chantiers et maîtres d’oeuvre à Bourges,” 406. 15 i am grateful to dany sandron for pointing out the similarities between the architectural setting of the Annunciation window and the thirteenth-century chapels of Bourges Cathedral.

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At the window’s apex appear God the father and the dove of the holy spirit. in the tympanum, angels are playing musical instruments, and carrying thuribles or coats of arms. the heraldic emblem of the king of france appears at the base of the fleur-de-lis, and the emblems of the dauphin and Queen Mary of Anjou are included in two hearts. these angels have an undeniable stylistic link to those decorating the chapel in the Jacques Coeur Palace. their poses are similar, and their flexible silhouettes adapt to the complex shapes formed by the vaulting in the palace chapel and the tracery of the Annunciation window’s tympanum. the angelic figures in both examples are clothed in the same elaborate and exuberant drapery (figures 8.3 and 8.4). these two works—executed at the same time, in the same town, and for the same patron—are most likely the work of one and the same artist.16

16 Paul Durrieu was the first art historian to point out the close similarity between the angels of the vault in the Coeur Palace chapel and the Annunciation window in Bourges Cathedral. see Paul durrieu, “la Peinture en france depuis l’avènement de Charles vii jusqu’à la fin des Valois (1422–1589). Les règnes de Charles VII et de Louis XI,” in Histoire de l’art depuis les premiers temps chrétiens jusqu’à nos jours, ed. André Michel

8.4 Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, saintUrsin Chapel: Jacques Coeur Annunciation window, detail (photo: Christian lemzaouda/ Centre André Chastel)

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a radically new Composition: The Work of an eyckian Painter the composition of Jacques Coeur’s Annunciation makes a deliberate break with the traditional representation of isolated figures presented in architectural tabernacles placed in each lancet of a bay. this disposition was standard in the stained glass of Bourges Cathedral since the time of Jean de Berry (1340–1460) and is visible in the windows of the chapels founded in the first half of the fifteenth century by Pierre Trousseau (Figure 8.5 = Pl. 24) and Simon Aligret. the master who designed the Annunciation window did not take into account the partition imposed by the lancets. he organized his scene around the central focal point of a unified space in which the main figures—Saint James, the Archangel Gabriel, the virgin and saint Catherine—are seen da sotto in sù. this illusionistic choice is quite revolutionary in the context of mid-fifteenth-century stained glass, and indicates that the artist has intentionally transposed the innovative advances of panel painting onto glass. the window’s composition evokes an altarpiece, just as Paul durrieu noted in 1911 commenting on the window’s stylistic range that rendered it equivalent to a painting. We are clearly looking at the inventive creativity of a painter. Brigitte Kurmann-schwarz, who sees in this window the continuity of a tradition of stained glass work existing in Bourges since the time of Jean de Berry, minimizes the innovativeness of the window within stained glass practice.17 her main argument is that none of the panel paintings executed in the first half of the fifteenth century presents a space organized around a point of view da sotto in sù. one can answer that an altarpiece typically is not placed as high as the bay of a chapel. it is no coincidence that Jan van eyck chose precisely this spatial setting in the holy lamb altarpiece (1432) in saint Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, for the Adam and eve panels, placed exceptionally high up within the architecture of the polyptych, which originally contained a predella (now lost).18 in order to appreciate the cultural background of the Annunciation window’s designer, we must turn to the Burgundian Netherlands, and more particularly to Jan van eyck. Quite obviously the artist employed by Jacques Coeur had frequented the great Flemish master’s workshop, where he filled his sketchbooks faithfully with models that he used there. the statues of Adam and eve on the pendants of (Paris: Colin, 1911) iv, 2, 705–6. see also Grodecki, “le Maître des vitraux de Jacques Coeur,” 105–25. 17 Brigitte Kurmann-schwarz, Französische Glasmalereien um 1450. Ein Atelier in Bourges und Riom (Bern: Benteli, 1988), 30–34; Kurmann-schwarz, “les verriers à Bourges dans la première moitié du Xve siècle et leurs modèles: tradition et renouveau,” in Vitrail et arts graphiques. XVe–XVIe siècles, ed. Michel hérold and Claude Mignot (Paris: Cahiers de l’École nationale du patrimoine, 1999) 4: 144–9 [137–49]; Kurmann-schwarz, “vitraux commandités par la cour. le vitrail et les autres arts: ressemblances et dissemblances,” in Hofkultur in Frankreich und Europa im Spätmittelalter, Proceedings of a conference of the deutsches forum für Kunstgeschichte in Paris, June 6–7, 2003, ed. Christian freigang and Jean-Claude schmitt (Berlin: Akademie verlag, 2005), 173–7 [161–82]. 18 Élisabeth dhanens, Van Eyck: The Ghent Altarpiece (New york: viking, 1973), 14, 49, 86, 111.

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the architectural canopy above Mary and Gabriel could not have been imagined without the representation of Adam and eve in the holy lamb altarpiece.19 eyckian sources are obvious in the main figures as well: Saint Catherine’s silhouette repeats that of the Dresden Triptych (1437),20 and saint James stands in the same pose as Adam in his narrow niche on the Ghent altarpiece, one foot peeking out of the platform on which he stands.21 A closer examination reveals that Adam has even lent his facial features to the Apostle, a borrowing that Jacques Coeur’s master barely manages to cover up with a thick beard. A comparative study of the two faces indicates that the artist worked from a drawing made in Jan van eyck’s workshop. he did not make a direct copy of Adam from the altarpiece, but studied a sketch that had served in the painting’s preparatory stages. Using infrared reflectography to study the underdrawing of 19 Grodecki, “le Maître des vitraux de Jacques Coeur,” 116. 20 louis Grodecki, “the Jacques Coeur Window at Bourges,” Magazine of Art 42 (1949): 67 [64–7]; Grodecki, “le Maître des vitraux de Jacques Coeur,” 114. 21 Kurmann-schwarz, Französische Glasmalereien, 31.

8.5 Bourges, saint-Étienne Cathedral, trousseau Chapel, window of Canon Pierre trousseau and his family, between 1404 and 1409 (photo: Christian lemzaouda/ Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 24

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Adam’s face, we can see that the figure’s eyes were a little more downcast than in the final painting, a position closer to that of Saint James in Bourges.22 Another eyckian model for the Annunciation window is the archangel’s highly distinct profile: his straight nose and full lips are related to the face of one of the singing angels on the left wing of the Ghent altarpiece.23 even the treatment of perspective, adapted to the viewer’s low vantage point, derives from an eyckian device. Jan van eyck used this very mode of representation in the holy lamb altarpiece, notably in the positioning of Adam and eve, who were situated exceptionally high in the polyptych’s original architectural frame (the altarpiece had rested on a predella lost in the sixteenth century, which resulted in a higher placement than the current installation in saint Bavo’s Cathedral). the sumptuous balustrade of multicolored inlaid marble atop the architectural setting of the Annunciation is also an Eyckian motif that we find in the resurrection of the Turin-Milan Missal, a manuscript whose illuminations were completed in Jan van eyck’s workshop.24 executed by an artist who was trained in the Burgundian Netherlands and who had been in direct contact with van eyck, the Annunciation window represents the pinnacle of artistic modernity in Bourges in 1451. the diffusion of the ars nova from flanders towards the french kingdom only began in the 1440s, once it was again possible to travel safely in france following the truce signed with the english at tours in 1444—some 15–20 years after the achievements of the Master of flémalle (robert Campin) and Jan van eyck. the explosion of such great novelty in an environment that was still attached to the aesthetics of Jean de Berry’s era would most certainly have provoked some reaction. that of the cathedral chapter sends a clear message. On May 5, 1451, the canons confirmed the authorization given to Jacques Coeur in february for the execution of a window in his chapel “under the condition that it would not produce something unsightly.”25 As guarantors of the iconographic and formal coherence of the works of art that were added to the cathedral’s decoration, the canons thus expressed their reservations—likely in reaction to a sketch (pourtrait) of the window that Coeur probably presented to them sometime between february and May 1451. 22 lorentz, “de Bruges à Bourges,” 192 and 194–5, figures 10, 11 and 12. 23 lorentz, “de Bruges à Bourges,” 192–3 and 196–7, figures 13 and 14. 24 Fol. 77 v. Reproduced in François Boespflug and Eberhard Koenig, Les “Très Belles Heures” de Jean de France, duc de Berry. Un chef d’oeuvre au sortir du Moyen Âge (Paris: Cerf, 1998), 180. 25 “Item voluerunt quod vitrine fiant ut petitur per dominum argentarium, dum tamen non cedat ad difformitatem et quod bene advisitetur.” Bourges, Archives départementales du Cher, 8 G 150, fol. 169 (1451, May 5). According to Brigitte Kurmann-schwarz, this excerpt would only concern the stained glass of the sacristy, not the window of Jacques Coeur’s chapel. her hypothesis is based on the former paragraph of this report, concerning the setting of an altar in the new sacristy (“Item domini concluserunt quod fiat altare in revestorio novo”). This interpretation is not justified. When they gathered, the canons dealt with various topics. Moreover, the windows of the sacristy, already in use in the summer of 1449, had probably been fitted with stained glass for two years. See Kurmann-Schwarz, “les verriers à Bourges,” 145.

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the drawing’s innovative treatment of spatial representation was a major break from the standard format for stained glass in Bourges Cathedral, and could explain the hesitation that this entry reveals. Cathedral canons could show themselves to be rather hostile when faced with projects initiated by important personalities, even when it was by the king himself. this is what reveals the somewhat later example of louis Xi’s 1483 plan to install an ex-voto in the choir of Notre-dame Cathedral in Paris. in february of that year, the king asked the cathedral chapter to place a votive painting near the high altar in order to commemorate the victorious Christian resistance during the siege of Rhodes by the infidel Turks in August 1480. The painting probably resembled another one, with the same subject, now kept in the hôtel de ville in Épernay (Marne). however, the two paintings cannot be one and the same. in september 1483, shortly after louis Xi’s death, the canons received the painting, but sought to have it placed where “it would be least harmful.”26 the painting probably depicted the 1480 siege of rhodes, and it is likely that the clergy did not appreciate having the representation of a battle scene in such close proximity to the high altar. finally, in 1484, it was decided not to hang the ex-voto. When Charles viii, louis’ son and successor, demanded an explanation, the canons made it clear that the painting depicted scenes that were inappropriate for the congregation’s devotion. François Avril had cautiously identified this painting with a panel executed at the end of the fifteenth century which is today housed in Épernay’s hôtel de ville (figure 8.6 = Pl. 25).27 in the meantime, the hypothesis became certainty.28 however, even a brief examination of the style of the Épernay painting reveals that it was executed later than 1483, and probably in the southern Netherlands. this is clearly indicated by the two craggy and bluish hills seen in the far distance, crowning the view of rhodes. these elements of the landscape are totally missing in the other bird’s-eye views of rhodes that can be found in the manuscript containing—among other texts—the description of the siege of rhodes (Descriptio obsidionis Rhodie), written in 1480 by Guillaume Caoursin, vice-chancellor of the order of saint John in Jerusalem.29 this luxury copy of Caoursin’s writings was made in Paris in 1483, and the four similar bird’s-eye views of rhodes represented within this volume are based on a painting sent to Paris by the vice-chancellor.30 26 “sed primo advisetur de loco apto in quo minus nocebit.” Étienne hamon, “Un présent royal indésirable: l’ex-voto de la victoire de rhodes en 1480 à Notre-dame de Paris,” Bulletin monumental 167/4 (2009): 331–6. 27 Painting on canvas, transferred from wood; 155 × 177cm (including frame). Given to the city of Épernay by Claude Chandon de Briailles in 1916. françois Avril, in françois Avril and Nicole reynaud, Les Manuscrits à peintures en France, 1440–1520 (Paris: flammarion, 1993), 274. 28 Étienne hamon, “Un présent royal indésirable”; Jean-Bernard de vaivre, “‘Car je vueil que soit ung chef d’euvre.’ instructions de Guillaume Caoursin pour réaliser le manuscrit enluminé de ses oeuvres (vers 1483),” Art de l’enluminure 40 (2012): 60–87 [74–5]. 29 Bibliothèque nationale de france, latin 6067, fols 18, 32, 37v, 48v. 30 de vaivre, “Car je vueil que soit ung chef d’euvre,” 70 and 82–5.

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8.6 Unknown Netherlandish painter, The Siege of Rhodes, painted in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Épernay, Musée d’archéologie et du vin de Champagne (photo: ville d’Épernay). see also Plate 25

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to return to the Épernay panel: in the sky, above the depiction of the assault on rhodes by the turks, the painter depicts the virgin and the Child, crowned by two angels. Above the virgin’s head, one can see a white cross. According to Caoursin’s account—summarized by the inscription written in gold letters on the sloped sill at the lower edge of the frame—the Turks were put to flight when a cross, the virgin Mary and saint John the Baptist appeared in the sky. in this painting, the group of the virgin and the two angels is obviously based on models from Gerard david, used by a scrupulous but somewhat naïve artist, as demonstrated by the stiffness in the rendering of the figures. As we know that david’s career only began when he arrived in Bruges in 1484, the Épernay panel cannot be the one that louis Xi had intended to give the Paris cathedral in 1483, but must have resembled it. Did the cathedral chapter of Bourges impose modifications on Jacques Coeur’s Annunciation window in 1451? It is difficult to see what alterations might have been integrated to reduce the shock of the composition’s modernity, for the artistic

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approach is so thoroughly uniform. At most, we might suppose that the canons demanded the presence of the cloths of honor in front of which the four large figures stand, in the foreground. But it is more likely that Coeur finally managed to convince the cathedral clergy to accept his project as it was. in any case, this unprecedented work remained unique among the stained glass windows added to Bourges Cathedral throughout the second half of the fifteenth century. Subsequent commissions reverted back to the traditional layout of one figure per lancet surrounded by an architectural framework—such as the windows commissioned by Canon Pierre de Beaucaire in 1462 or those in Archdeacon Jean du Breuil’s chapel, founded in 1467 and decorated around 1475 under the supervision of his brother, Canon Martin du Breuil. the chapter, probably shocked by the unsightliness of Jacques Coeur’s stained glass window, was determined to be more attentive to the compliance of subsequent projects with the general style that had prevailed in the cathedral since the very beginning of the fifteenth century. the case of Jacques Coeur’s Annunciation is an example of the control the clergy had over the decoration of major church buildings at the end of the Middle Ages. in their efforts to preserve a certain stylistic uniformity, the canons never lost sight of the forms they had inherited from the past.

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Chapter 9

teachers, Preachers, and the Good shepherd at reims Cathedral: Another look at the radiating Chapel sculptures William W. Clark1

Beginning in the 1990s, Anne Prache successfully began using then relatively new scientific tools for analyzing and establishing the sequences of construction and the dating of Gothic churches, specifically two of her favorite monuments, the cathedrals of Chartres and reims.2 Working with specialists in dendrochronological analysis—including Georges lambert and Catherine lavier at Besançon (for Chartres), and Willy tegel and olivier Brun of the laboratoire dendronet de Bohlingen at Constance (for reims)—she put to rest the longstanding controversy over the direction and sequence of construction at Chartres; that is, she determined that the nave was built before the chevet.3 Applying the 1 it is a pleasure to present this chapter in memory of a very good friend, ever generous colleague and subtle critic, who by example demonstrated that there is always more to be learned by returning to earlier projects with fresh eyes and new “tools.” in addition, i would like to acknowledge the assistance of the late Jean-françois Paillard in answering astronomical questions and preventing me from making mistakes. My thanks also go to Gérard Prache for his generous help. 2 the same year that Anne was “introduced” to the possibilities of dendrochronology by Lee Striker (1982) also saw the first article devoted to dendrochronology in archaeology: henri and lucie leboutet, “Archéologie médiévale et dendrochronologie,” in Mélange d’archéologie et d’histoire médiévales en l’honneur du Doyen Michel de Boüard (Geneva: droz, 1982), 211–32, with four pages of bibliography dating back to the 1960s. see also Alain orcel, Christian orcel, and Christian dormoy, “Approche dendrochronologique du patrimoine architectural,” in Le bois dans l’architecture. Actes du colloque de Rouen, novembre 1993 (Paris: direction du patrimoine, 1995), 210–23, with additional bibliography. 3 see, in chronological order of publication, Anne Prache, “observations sur la construction de la cathédrale de Chartres aux Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France (1990): 327–34; “l’emploi du bois dans la construction des cathédrales au Xiiie siècle,” in Le bois dans l’architecture, 34–8; “remarques sur la construction de la cathédrale de Chartres à la lumière de la dendrochronologie,” in Monde médiéval et société chartrain, ed. Jean-robert Armogathe (Paris: Picard, 1997), 75–9; “remarques sur le chantier de construction de la cathédrale de Chartres,” in Materiam superabat opus. Hommages à Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, ed. Agnès Bos, Xavier dectot, Jean-Michel leniaud, and Philippe Plagnieux (Paris: réunion des musées nationaux, 2006): 345–9.

9.1 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: exterior of chevet from east, radiating chapels and their sculpture (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource)

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reading of tree rings to the timber scaffolding plugs left on top of the main arcade abaci in both nave and choir, she was able to demonstrate that all the timbers cut for the scaffolding in the nave were felled before 1194, while the earliest date for the timbers in the eastern end was 1201. in the case of reims, the dendrochronological evidence is less concentrated, but points to the eastern bays of the nave, the canon’s choir, as the earliest constructed part of the new church.4 Where precise dates can be established, the earliest scaffolding plugs came from timber cut in 1208–09, which suggests, given their location atop the abaci of the aisle wall piers facing the main arcade piers, that construction had reached the base of the wall passage before the fire of 1210.5 This evidence also suggests that the fire most likely began in the old Carolingian crossing, the starting point of the planning for the present church, as demonstrated by Nancy Wu.6 Analysis of the timber plugs remaining in the ambulatory at Reims identified one dated 1208–09, located above the abacus of the intermediate pier between the first two radiating chapels on the north side. its presence there indicates either of two possibilities. firstly, that the peripheral wall of the radiating chapels (figure 9.1), which lay beyond the limits of the chevet foundations of Samson’s church, was also begun before the 1210 fire; or, secondly, that the timber was prepared for the nave bays, but was not used there and was used in the new chevet wall instead. the pre-1210 evidence from these scaffolding plugs suggested to Anne that a re-reading of the Annals of Saint-Nicaise, specifically, the reporting of an eclipse of the sun associated in the text with the beginning of cathedral construction, merited new attention.7 she consulted Jean-françois Paillard, wellknown musician and astronomer—and, incidentally, her brother—who identified two partial solar eclipses over reims in the early thirteenth century and, most significantly, one total solar eclipse that passed directly over Reims, at midday on february 28, 1207; the full intensity of the darkness lasted about an hour. this coincidence confirmed the beginning of construction at least three years before 4 in order of publication, see Anne Prache, “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims au Xiiie siècle,” Bulletin de la société nationale des Antiquaires de France (2002): 334–46; “New dendrochronological and Archaeological evidence for the Building Chronology of reims Cathedral,” in Archaeology in Architecture: Studies in Honor of Cecil L. Striker, ed. Judson emerick and deborah delyannis (Mainz: von Zabern, 2005), 167–72; “le début de la construction de la cathédrale de reims: l’apport de archéologie et de la dendrochronologie,” in Nouveaux regards sur la cathédrale de Reims. Actes du colloque international des 1er et 2 octobre 2004, ed. Bruno decrock and Patrick demouy (langres: Guéniot, 2008), 41–52. 5 Willy tegel and olivier Brun, “Premiers resultats des analyses dendrochronologiques relatives aux boulins de construction,” in Nouveaux regards, 29–40, reproduce the most up-to-date plan, figure 6, showing the results and dates. 6 Nancy Wu, “le chevet de la cathédrale de reims et le plan du début du Xiiie siècle,” in Nouveaux regards, 67–79; Wu, Uncovering the Hidden Codes: The Geometry of the East End of Reims Cathedral (Phd dissertation, Columbia University, New york, 1996). 7 see Prache, “le début de la construction,” in Nouveaux regards.

9.2 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: exterior of chevet from east, radiating chapels and their sculpture (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource)

9.3 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: plan of chevet, with Christ as number seven (drawing: Walter Berry, CAd; david Neiss, AfAN, with author)

9.4 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: exterior of chevet, Christ and angels on the wall buttresses of the chevet seen from southeast (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource)

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the fire of 1210. Inspired by Anne’s success with the dating of the east end of the cathedral, and drawing from recent research on the liturgy of reims, i have returned to the question of the meanings of the cycle of Christ and the angels that surmount the wall buttresses of the chevet. the earliest, thirteenth-century image of Christ at reims is the one positioned just below the cornice line of the radiating chapels on the pier buttress between the axial chapel and the first chapel to the north (Figure 9.2). This sculpture of Christ is part of a processional group of 12 figures, Christ and 11 angels, holding books, reliquaries, an altar cross, and other liturgical vessels (figures 9.3 and 9.4). I have studied this group of over life-size figures for some years now and have already suggested various meanings and several different levels of interpretation for them.8 yet the location of Christ still seems enigmatic, and other meanings are possible. For example, normally we expect the most important figure in any group to be in the most prominent location, namely, the axial radiating chapel. But on the chapel buttresses on the north side Christ is preceded by five angels and followed by six. this group can, as i have proposed, be read as an unfolded liturgical procession of figures, led by Christ, moving around the radiating chapels in the act of dedicating them, an event that occurred in July 1221, just after the last of the figures was put in place. so what can still be said about this presentation of Christ that might increase our understanding of its meaning(s)? Christ wears an almost ankle-length tunic (aube) with loose voluminous sleeves. over the tunic is a toga-like cloak pulled from the left shoulder around the waist. this romano-Christian garb is a reminder of the resonance of antique art in reims, as is the portrait-like head with soft, wavy hair, bushy brows, and a thick, loosely curled beard. he is shown barefooted and has a nimbus inscribed with a jeweled altar cross. in his left hand he holds a small, closed book (probably the Gospels) with a jeweled cover. the right hand, which had disappeared long before the advent of photography, would have been raised in blessing or in a teaching gesture.9 Christ, who exhibits rather stocky proportions in the photographs used here, was planned to be seen from the ground at a steep angle and at a distance of at least 50–60 feet (figure 9.2). in fact, he appears to be more attenuated when seen from below; the proportions seem closer to those of the Apostles in the last Judgment portal that are carved from the same experimental stone used for the earliest figures in our procession (figures 9.5, 9.6, and 9.7).10 8 William W. Clark, “reading reims i: the sculptures on the Chapel Buttresses,” Gesta 39 (2000): 135–46. Errors in this first article are corrected here and in Clark, “le Christ et les anges autour des chapelles rayonnantes de la cathédrale de reims,” in a forthcoming volume celebrating the 800th anniversary of the cathedral in 2014. Both articles contain the most recent bibliography on reims and its sculptures. 9 i have been unable to locate earlier prints or drawings that accurately depict the figure of Christ. 10 Bruno decrock, “douze années de restauration de la cathédrale de reims (1992– 1204),” in Nouveaux regards, 91–108, 207–10. this is an appropriate time to thank Bruno profoundly for his invaluable help and friendship over more than 20 years.

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Such a standing figure of Christ holding a book and blessing has a long history as the central figure in scenes of Christ giving the Law and Christ teaching the Apostles, and even in the Ascension. these same references may also be inherently understood in the trumeau figures of Christ as the “Beau Dieu” at Amiens, Paris, and elsewhere in the early thirteenth century.11 But in spite of the singular importance of Christ, meanings come from the group as a whole. Among other meanings, the presence of 11 angels accompanying Christ suggests a procession of the archbishop of reims and the 11 suffragan bishops in the archdiocese, even as it emphasizes their roles as teachers, preachers, and ministers (figures 9.1 and 9.2). there can be no mistake; Apostles were never planned for this location. After all, the planners, canons themselves, knew that the chapter had 72 canons (12 × 6), the same as the number of Apostles Christ sent out to preach and convert.12 to the planners the number 11 can only have meant the number of suffragan bishops in the province. lending additional credence to this idea, on a number of occasions during the liturgical year, the archbishop of reims was deliberately likened to Christ, as has been indicated by both Anne Walters robertson and Patrick demouy.13 the cathedral of reims had an extraordinary number of stational, ambulatory, or processional liturgies around and through the city, most of them, apparently, established in Carolingian times and based on the stational liturgies of rome. At least 32 such liturgies are recorded for different days in the church calendar. this had the effect of reminding the canons, the clergy, and the people of the living religious history and tradition in reims, just as it also tied reims to rome.14 11 see Willibald sauerländer, Gotische skulptur in Frankreich 1140–1270 (Munich: hirmer, 1970) for many examples. 12 Anne Walters robertson, Guillaume de Machaut and Reims: Context and Meaning in His Musical Works (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 33 and 345, note 101, gives the biblical sources for the number 72 (luke 9:57–60, 10:1, 17). see also Patrick demouy, Genèse d’une cathédrale. Les archevêques de Reims et leur Église aux XIe et XIIe siècles (langres: Guéniot, 2005), 66, note 20, which cites the earliest indication of 72 canons in 1075. 13 robertson, Guillaume de Machaut and Reims, 63–8, analyzes the laudes regiae and the incorporation of references to the archbishop as a type for Christ. the presentation of the archbishop of reims as a type of Christ is highly unusual and doubtless is patterned after the Pope in rome. see also the works cited in the following note. 14 robertson, Guillaume de Machaut and Reims, 37–45; demouy, Genèse, 149–58; demouy, “Au moyen âge: la cathédrale et la cité,” in Reims, la grâce d’une cathédrale, ed. thierry Jordan (strasbourg: la Nuée bleue, 2010), 355–60. on the early stational liturgies in rome, see: John francis Baldovin, The Urban Character of Christian Worship: The Origins, Development, and Meaning of Stational Liturgy (rome: Pont. institutum studiorum orientalium, 1987), 105–66; sible de Blaauw, Cultus et Decor: liturgia e architettura nella Roma tardoantica e medievale (vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica vaticana, 1994); sible de Blaauw, “Contrasts in Processional liturgy: A typology of outdoor Processions in twelfth-Century rome,” in Art, Cérémonial et Liturgie au Moyen Age. Actes du colloque de 3e Cycle Romand de Lettres Lausanne-Fribourg, 24–25 mars, 14–15 avril, 12–13 mai 2000, ed. Nicolas Bock, Peter Kurmann, seerena romano, and Jean-Michel spieser (rome: viella, 2002), 357–96.

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9.5 Reims, Cathedral of Notredame: exterior of chevet, Christ on the wall buttress, seen from the southeast (photo: foto Marburg/ Art resource) 9.6 Reims, Cathedral of Notredame: exterior of chevet, Christ on the wall buttress, frontal view (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource)

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the most elaborate stational liturgy in reims was that for Palm sunday, studied and analyzed by robertson and demouy.15 this celebration not only visited all of the earliest and most important religious institutions in and around the city, but it was also an annual re-presentation of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, when the archbishop entered the cathedral near the pageant’s conclusion. the final stop in this event called for the boys’ choir, positioned in the passageway across the bottom of the rose window of the facade, to intone the Gloria laus and then to repeat the chant in alternation with the canons seated in front of the church of saint-denis opposite the cathedral, as the archbishop entered the place between the two churches and subsequently the cathedral, followed by the canons and the rest of the procession.

15 robertson, Guillaume de Machaut and Reims, 43; demouy, Genèse, 151–2; demouy, “Au moyen âge,” 356. the original texts are edited and published by Ulysse Chevalier, Sacramentaire et martyrologe de l’abbaye de Saint-Remy. Martyrloge, Calendrier, Ordinaires et prosaie de la métropole de Reims (Paris: Picard, 1900), 118–20.

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the easter sunday liturgy at reims, however, was not stational through the city, but was contained within the church and the precinct.16 in the course of the ceremony, the archbishop arrived at the high altar, where he offered a prayer and blessed the deacons and subdeacons. then he retired to his throne in the apse, placed appropriately beneath the clerestory stained glass window of the Archbishop of reims. from the throne he intoned the Gloria and the Collect. immediately before the epistle came the performance of the laudes regiae, an old Carolingian song originally sung in honor of kings whenever the ruler was present. later it came to be performed on major celebrations whether or not the king was present, and a formulary praising the archbishop was added near the end of the text so that it appears to be little more than a sub-section of the regal chant.17 the intent of the laudes regiae, as robertson put it, is “blatantly deifying … [it] pointedly emphasizes the comparison between the temporal king [or, in his absence, the archbishop] and Christ.” she goes on to explain how the constructions of the royal and episcopal sections of the chant parallel each other in words and music. in short, the archbishop, likened to Christ, is praised with the performance of the laudes regiae on the highest celebrations of the church year, including Christmas, easter, Ascension, Pentecost, the dedication of the church, and the Marian feasts of Assumption, Nativity, and Conception. And, of course, the laudes regiae was also intoned during the liturgies of the reception and installation of a new archbishop, as well as on the anniversaries of his entrance. since the services with this chant were scattered through the liturgical calendar, the archbishop was regularly likened to Christ. 16 robertson, Guillaume de Machaut and Reims, 44; demouy, Genèse: 148–9; Chevalier, Sacramentaire, 131–4. 17 robertson, Guillaume de Machaut and Reims, 63–8, presents a thorough analysis of the laudes regiae as it was sung on easter sunday. see also Nancy van deusen, “laudes regiae: in Praise of Kings. Medieval Acclamations, liturgy, and the ritualization of Power,” in Procession, Performance, Liturgy, and Ritual: Essays in Honor of Bryan R. Gillingham, ed. Nancy van deusen (ottawa: institute of Mediaeval Music, 2007), 83–118.

9.7 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: exterior of chevet, Christ on the wall buttress, seen from the north (photo: francis rothier, Archives Jacques doucet, fol est 772, rothier No. 707, iNhA/Art resource)

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in addition to the 32 stational liturgies, there were also those celebrated on special occasions, such as the feast of the dedication of the church on october 18, which, according to demouy, probably refers to the completed church of Archbishop samson in the twelfth century. one quite exceptional stational liturgy that appears to have a direct bearing on the group of Christ and the angels is the ordo receptionum, the reception of a new archbishop.18 Unlike the reception and installation ceremonies of other bishops and metropolitans in france, those in reims were strictly religious and without secular participation. during the reception ceremonies, the archbishop was several times referred to as the Good Shepherd, the teacher whose role is the instruction of his flock, the Guide who keeps the flock from the devil’s temptations and who shows them the path of righteousness. it is the charge to the archbishop to instruct the collected clergy of reims in matters of faith, to lead them by example in matters of doctrine. on the day of the reception and installation of a new archbishop all the canons, clergy, and monastics of reims assembled in the cathedral cloister and processed, chanting, through and around the city to the square in front of the cathedral. once they were assembled there, the abbot of saint-remi presented the new archbishop to them, saying, “here is your shepherd, the successor to st. remi.” the provost then responded, “We rejoice at his arrival … with reverence we receive the successor to st. remi.” After asperging and censing the open Gospels, he gave the sacred book to the archbishop, who carried it against his chest into the cathedral, followed by the procession. the actual installation ceremony began at the cathedral doors when the archdeacon introduced the archbishop to his church. the procession then proceeded to the high altar where the archdeacon presented the archbishop with the cathedral bell ropes and thus, symbolically invested him with the church and charged him with his role of leading his flock towards Salvation, towards the heavenly Jerusalem, and with being the voice of predication and doctrinal teaching. the archbishop was then taken to, and seated upon, the chair (cathedra) of St. Remi in the apse, where he was again urged to instruct the people confided to him in doctrine and by works so that they all might dwell in the felicitous company of his predecessors. then he was taken to his stall in the choir and urged to honor God with his prayers—prayers that would sustain his pastoral task until he and all of his flock received eternal glory. Later, in the chapter house the archbishop listened to the reading of the rights and privileges of the canons,19 and then returned to the church and at the high altar swore to uphold them. After this, he returned to the chapter house and received the reverence and obedience of every canon in order. the installation ceremony concluded at the high altar with the now-installed archbishop celebrating pontifical mass. For the purposes of this study, it is striking to note that the ceremonies just described were first performed 18 the best and most complete analysis of the ordo receptionum is that by Patrick demouy, Genèse, 52–7, which traces its development and follows the abbreviations into the complete service. this chapter would not have been possible without his superb detective work in tracing this service. 19 Again the best analysis is that by demouy, Genèse, 59–64.

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on sunday July 1, 1207, for the installation of Aubry de humbert20 at the very moment when construction of the canon’s choir bays was underway. in his analyses of the role of the archbishops in diocesan synods and provincial church councils, demouy convincingly argued that the actions of the archbishop opening the second day of diocesan synods closely mirrored the evangelical precepts associated with the reception and installation ceremonies: firmly grasping the staff of the Good Shepherd, the archbishop fulfills his mission to lead the flock confided to him towards the Heavenly Jerusalem while protecting them from the attacks of the devil (author’s paraphrase, after demouy).21 According to analyses by Odette Pontal, as a rule the first day of a synod was devoted to establishing the order of business; the second day to the ceremonials and the actual business of the synod, while the third and, if necessary, subsequent days to the preparation of copies of the transactions.22 the impact of the ceremonies can also be seen in the formal seating arrangements established for the bishops and explained in detail in the transactions of the synod of saint-Quentin, held in August, 1231.23 the archbishop is seated in cathedra in the center of the apse; to his right, in order, are the bishops of soissons, Beauvais, Noyon, tournai and senlis; to his left, again in order of seniority, are the bishops of laon, Châlons (now Châlons-en-Champagne), Amiens, thérouanne, and Arras; opposite the archbishop and facing him sits the bishop of Cambrai. it has long been recognized that this seating pattern reflects the program of clerestory stained glass in Reims Cathedral; but it is only probable that construction in the chevet of reims was sufficiently advanced that a synod could have been held there in 1231, a date at the midpoint between July 1221, when the axial radiating chapel was put in service, and september 7, 1241, when the canons entered the new choir.24 20 demouy, Genèse, 52. 21 Patrick demouy, “synodes diocésains et conciles provinciaux à reims et en Belgique seconde aux Xie–Xiiie siècles,” in La Champagne et ses administrations à travers le temps: Actes du colloque d’histoire régionale: Reims-Châlons-sur-Marne, 4–6 juin 1987 (Paris: la Manufacture, 1990), 93–112. 22 odette Pontal, Les statuts synodaux français du XIIIe siècle, vol. 9 (Paris: Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifique, 1971), LXIII–LXV. The primary sources for the synod documents of reims are Pierre varin, Archives administrative de la ville de Reims, 2 vols in 5 pts (Paris: Crapalet, 1839–48); varin, Archives législatives de la ville de Reims, 6 vols (Paris: Crapalet, 1840–53); thomas Gousset, Les actes de la province ecclésiastique de Reims: ou canons et décrets des conciles, constitutions, statuts, et lettres des évêques des différents diocèses qui dépendent ou qui dépendaient autrefois de la métropole de Reims, 4 vols (reims: Jacquet, 1842–44). 23 the complete text is printed in Gousset, Actes, ii (1843), 357–63, and in varin, Archives administratives, i/2 (1844), 548–5. i would like to thank Benjamin truesdale for his help in getting me a copy of the Gousset text. the most recent and best analysis of the stained glass in the chevet clerestory in relation to the seating pattern is found in Meredith Parsons lillich, The Gothic Stained Glass of Reims Cathedral (University Park: Pennsylvania state University Press, 2011), 61–103. 24 see Jean-Pierre ravaux, “le texte de 1241 et son importance dans la chronologie de la cathédrale de reims,” in Nouveaux regards, 63–6. As we know now, construction of the canons’ choir at least up to the level of the bottom of the wall passage had already

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All in all, the cathedral canons and clergy can be said to have been a familiar sight in the city, just as some of the objects carried in some of these processions correspond to some of the objects carried by the angels. thus, the processional group of Christ and the angels takes on yet another meaning as the pastoral leaders and defenders of the faith within the city and in the dioceses (figure 9.3). in addition, they would also have been recognized as both symbols and representatives of power and authority, religious and secular, not just in reims itself but throughout the archdiocese, although the immediate message was directed at the people of reims. There is a long history of conflicts between the townspeople, the canons, and, most especially, those archbishops of royal and noble background—among them henri de france, younger brother of louis vii (archbishop 1162–75),25 and Guillaume (aux Blanches-Mains) de Champagne (archbishop 1176–1202),26 fourth son of Thibaud II, Count of Champagne. These conflicts boiled over in 1234 when the townspeople drove the archbishop, canons, and clergy out of the city. The conflict lasted until 1236, only to flare up again in 1238.27 these uprisings occurred during the episcopacy of henri de dreux (1227–40),28 son of robert ii, Count of dreux, grand-nephew of Archbishop henri de france, and great-grandson of louis vi. Given the well-known disruptions of the cathedral workshop and destructions of the archiepiscopal tombs, it is remarkable that the group of Christ and the angels escaped damage. since the message of authority in these figures would not have been lost on the rioters, the only practical explanation is that they had already been installed and the scaffolding removed. they were probably begun when construction of the peripheral wall of the chevet

transpired, but ravaux’s argument that the text refers to the chevet and possibly the crossing is sound. 25 see Patrick demouy, “henri de france et louis vii. l’évêque cistercien et son frère le roi,” in Les serviteurs de l’État au Moyen Âge: XXIXe Congrès de la SHMES (Pau, mai 1998) (Paris: sorbonne, 1999), 471–61; and demouy, Genèse: 628–31. All the archbishops are discussed in Pierre desportes, Reims et les Rémois aux XIII et XIVe siècles (Paris: Picard, 1979). 26 see Fasti ecclesiae Gallicanae: répertoire prosopographique des évêques, dignitaires et chanoines de France de 1200 à 1500/3 Diocèse de Reims, ed. Pierre desportes et al. (turnhout: Brepols, 1998), 151–4, with bibliography. the list given here includes only the royal-born archbishops. We should not rule out the importance of Archbishop Aubry de humbert (1207–18); desportes (Fasti ecclesiae Gallicanae, 156–8), who arrived shortly after the comet and who gave property from the archiepiscopal holdings for the expansion of the new chevet. 27 the works of Barbara Abou-el-haj are still fundamental, especially “the Urban setting for late Medieval Church Building: reims and its Cathedral between 1210 and 1240,” Art History 11 (1988): 17–41. Add to this lillich, Stained Glass, Appendix 1, “heresy in Champagne,” 241–3. 28 see desportes, Diocèse de Reims, 161–2; and Peter Kurmann, “l’archevêque henri de Braine: son rôle à la cathédrale de reims,” in Mémoire de Champagne 1: Actes du deuxième mois médiéval, Centre d’Études médiévales de la Région Champagne-Ardenne (langres: Guéniot, 2000), 119–36, both with bibliography.

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and radiating chapels, laid out as early as 1204, according to Alain villes,29 was started on the north side and installed during the construction of the pier buttresses and upper walls of the radiating chapels, roughly from c.1210/15 to 1220.30 The final question in this analysis is: who are the figures addressing? The heads are positioned some 16 meters above the ground, and thus could be seen not only from within the cathedral close but also from across the town. in fact, because the figures begin just to the east of the north transept and continue around to the buttress between the first and second radiating chapels on the south side, their span of vision as a group is more than 180 degrees and includes most of the area of the canons’ cloister, as well as their private houses along the rue du Cloître, the gated street that ran the length of the eastern precinct. it was within this precinct that the canons ran both a school for the children of their employees and a school training future clergy. And, of course, it was the canons themselves who commissioned and paid for these figures, and who also decided on the subject and on their placement around the chevet on the buttresses of the radiating chapels and the pier buttresses between them. thus, Christ with his book and the accompanying angels served as constant, visible, spiritual reminders of the canons’ obligations to teach and to spread the Word. their daily routines, and especially the stational liturgies throughout the city, mirrored the heavenly procession on the cathedral chapels and buttresses that served to re-enforce their status over those who were under their spiritual and secular control. Their role as a procession of figures displaying liturgical objects, as teachers, preachers, and attendants to the Good shepherd, heavenly stand-ins for the archbishop and the 11 suffragan bishops puts them in a separate category, even from the 24 upper angels installed in the niches created at the outer ends of the flying buttress piers (Figure 9.2). Not only is there an enormous difference in size, but also the upper angels hold different objects and cannot be said to be in a procession. these upper angels are, as Peter Kurmann phrased it precisely, “images illustrating those biblical passages evoking the heavenly Jerusalem, as most likely are those on the south transept tower at rouen Cathedral or those standing on the roof cornice at Burgos Cathedral.”31

29 Alain villes, La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. Chronologie et campagnes de travaux: essai de bilan des recherches antérieures à 2000 et propositions nouvelles (Jouélès-tours: simarre, 2009). 30 villes, La cathédrale, 574–6, reached similar conclusions regarding the date of the sculptures. 31 Peter Kurmann, “et angeli tui custodiant muros eius. Un cycle de statues méconnu au transept sud de Notre-Dame de Rouen: modèle or reflet du cortège des anges de reims?,” in “Tout le temps du veneour est sanz oyseuseté”: mélanges offerts à Yves Christe pour son 65ème anniversaire par ses amis, ses collègues, ses élèves, ed. Christine hediger (turnhout: Brepols, 2005), 113–24. the quotation is from 113, translation by this author. Also for rouen, see dorothee heinzelmann, Die Kathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. Untersuchungen zur Architektur der Normandie in früh- und hochgotischer Zeit (Münster: rhema, 2003). for Burgos, see henrik Karge, Die Kathedrale von Burgos und die spanische Architektur des 13. Jahrhunderts (Berlin: Mann, 1989).

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None of these groups can be said to represent the nine choirs of angels discussed by dominique Poirel and Barbara Bruderer eichberg.32 the lack of musical instruments distinguishes all of these from the groups of musical angels, the best known being those in the choir at lincoln Cathedral. And all of these groups stand apart from the Byzantine tradition of the angelic liturgy, recently illustrated by Warren Woodfin.33 the meanings and levels of meanings suggested for Christ and the angels in this chapter focus on the archbishop, canons, and clergy of reims, as well as the suffragan bishops of the archdiocese as the Good shepherd, teachers, and preachers. While providing interpretations not previously discussed, by no means can they be claimed to exhaust the possibilities presented by this rich, but still enigmatic liturgical procession. future research into the meanings of angels in processions, as well as the identifications of other occasions when religious figures appear as angels, may provide additional answers.

32 dominique Poirel, “l’ange gothique,” in L’architecture gothique au service de la liturgie, ed. Agnès Bos and Xavier dectot (turnhout: Brepols, 2003), 116–42, with bibliography. see also Barbara Bruderer eichberg, Les neuf choeurs angéliques: origine et évolution du thème dans l’art du Moyen Age (Poitiers: Centre d’études supérieures de civilisation médiévale, 1998). 33 Warren Woodfin, The Embodied Icon: Liturgical Vestments and Sacramental Power in Byzantium (oxford: oxford University Press, 2012), esp. 186–95, with abundant bibliography.

Chapter 10

the function of drawings in the Planning of Gothic sculpture: evidence from the Archivolts of the Central Portal of Bourges Cathedral fabienne Joubert

the question of the planning of portals, which lies at the heart of the construction of thirteenth-century façades, is difficult to resolve given the absence of sources from the medieval period. observation alone can offer us few insights, and these are not easily interpreted. rare indeed are case studies that shed light on the process, such as the work of Wilhelm schlink on the dado of the west façade of Amiens Cathedral, which proposed an operational model for the design and execution of the reliefs.1 schlink’s study, in turn, depended on dieter Kimpel’s work on the fabric of the cathedral.2 even though scholars today accept that mass production of building stones occurred at Amiens as early as the 1220s, no such conclusions have been reached in the realm of sculpture. At first glance, the west façade of the Picard cathedral suggests a calculated plan, characterized by the exact symmetry of the portals as well as by the correspondence between the exterior and interior plan and horizontal articulations. Moreover, the arrangement of the sculptures—tightly compressed in the embrasures and more widely spaced across the buttresses— is reflected in the medallions of the dado, which follow the same rhythm. But on closer examination, the impression of total control gives way to a sense of improvisation. thus, for example, in the central portal the medallions’ sculptors apparently did not anticipate the obtuse angle of the embrasure, and were obliged to correct their miscalculations during installation. similar irregularities progressively disappeared in the side portals, as if a period of trial and error was necessary, given the monumental scope of the project and the constraints imposed 1 Wilhelm schlink, “Planung und improvisation an der Westfassade der Kathedrale von Amiens,” in Studien zur Geschichte der europaïschen Skulptur im 12/13 Jahrhundert, ed. herbert Beck and Kerstin hengevoss-dürkop (frankfurt am Main: heinrich, 1994): 75–85. 2 dieter Kimpel, “le développement de la taille en série dans l’architecture médiévale et son rôle dans l’histoire économique,” Bulletin Monumental 135 (1977): 195–222.

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by the insertion of the reliefs into the building. in sum, the projected schema for the production of the sculpture proved incompatible with the concrete reality of the portals. these and several other studies demonstrate the empiricism of the process of adapting sculpture from moment to moment as it is installed. But these studies do not consider the preceding stage, the one that leads from the program of the façade, carefully laid out by the project master, to the actual carving of the sculptures. for this stage of implementation we mostly lack insight into workshop practices, but it is this stage that likely shaped the anomalies that we see in the final installation.3 Another test case comes from the central portal of the cathedral of Bourges (figure 10.1), a veritable “research laboratory” because of its size and its programmatic breadth. The history of the edifice itself, and particularly of the west façade, remains to be clarified, given the complexity of the archeological problems. Robert Branner was the first to develop the hypothesis that modifications were carried out on the west façade as early as the thirteenth century, even while construction was under way.4 Branner’s proposal was taken up and expanded by his student, tania Bayard.5 the anomalies Branner and Bayard observed in the two portals dedicated to saint Ursin and saint stephen led them to conclude that the façade had been created in two stages, the second of which partially obliterated the first.6 According to their point of view, we should first envision embrasures that were less open and less wide, and then visualize sculpture carved to match. The completion of the façade would have finally come together at a

3 There are many examples of anomalies that demonstrate a significant gap between the conception of a program and its realization: iliana Kasarska, “Construire un décor sculpté: le portail de la vierge dorée (Amiens) et la fenêtre des Arts libéraux (laon),” in Mise en oeuvre des portails gothiques: Architecture et Sculpture, actes du colloque tenu au Musée de Picardie, Amiens, le 19 janvier 2009, ed. iliana Kasarska, dany sandron, and Philippe sénéchal (Paris: Picard, 2011): 29–46. We have discussed several examples of this empiricism, which may have multiple causes; see fabienne Joubert, La sculpture gothique en France: XIIe–XIIIe siècle (Paris: Picard, 2008): 161–70. 4 robert Branner, The Cathedral of Bourges and Its Place in Gothic Architecture, trans. shirley Prager Branner (New york and Cambridge, MA: Mit Press, 1989), 138–9, especially n. 1. 5 tania Bayard, The West Portals of Bourges Cathedral and their Sculpture (New York: Garland, 1976), 27–49; Bayard, “Thirteenth-Century Modifications in the West Portals of Bourges Cathedral,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 34 (1975): 215–25. 6 to sum up: in the two instances, the tympana did not occupy all of the available space beneath the arc of the archivolts, and the connection was made with rough filler. in addition, at the level of the embrasures, there is a lack of correspondence between the embrasures and the base of the archivolts, and thus between the number of statues and the number of archivolts. Branner, The Cathedral of Bourges, 138–9, and Bayard, The West Portals, 27–49, also observed that the portals were not positioned between the buttresses (as they are at Amiens), but encroached on them. they also noted an appreciable difference in the arrangement of the embrasures placed on the buttress separating the saint-Ursin portal and the saint-stephen portal, and the masonry of the plinths.

10.1 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal (photo: Centre André Chastel)

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second moment, in the 1240s, and would have integrated the earlier sculptures in the spectacular program employing five portals, as it survives today. Jean-yves ribault was also interested in the question of the dating of the façade, which he considered part of his revision of the cathedral’s chronology; his dating differed slightly from that of Bayard.7 Most recently, laurence Brugger rekindled the debate about the chronology of the portals in his study of the iconography of the Genesis reliefs in the dado when he deemphasized the idea of thirteenth-century alterations to the façade.8 this debate is not resolved, and is further complicated by new observations resulting from the recent restoration of the façade.9 We should bear in mind that the whole evolution of the façade of Bourges was shaped by the well-known instability of the foundations, which led to the construction of a buttressing pier at the south10—although the north tower nevertheless collapsed at the beginning of the sixteenth century.11 the two portals on the north side were reconstructed, with entirely new sculpture in the case of the saint William portal, and with a partial reuse of thirteenth-century sculpture in the case of the virgin portal.12 the mutilations of the Wars of religion and the heavy restorations of the nineteenth century rendered the façade difficult to read, but the central portal is most readily deciphered because it came together at a single moment and corresponds to a single coherent plan.13 framing a last Judgment spanning three 7 Jean-yves ribault, Un Chef-d’oeuvre Gothique. La Cathédrale de Bourges (Arcueil: Anthèse, 1995), 72–8, 115–23. 8 laurence Brugger, La façade de Saint-Étienne de Bourges. Le Midrash comme fondement du message chrétien (Poitiers: CesCM, 2000), 41–53. 9 together with the cathedral architect, Patrick Ponsot, liliana Zamboni, in charge of sculpture restoration, and dany sandron, this author is preparing a new monograph on the façade. for questions of the earliest façade projects, see also fabienne Joubert, “le premier projet de façade de la cathédrale gothique de Bourges ne prévoyait-il que trois portails?,” lecture, Colloquium on saint-Étienne at Bourges, Bourges, october 12, 2012, and La cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges, ed. sylvie Marchant and irène Jourd’heuil (forthcoming). 10 Construction seems to have been accompanied by isolated repairs in the archivolts. on the saint-Ursin door and in the central portal, Bayard noted the presence of archivolts that postdated the façade; The West Portals, 108 n. 1, 137; and, most recently, Patrick Ponsot supported her observation, “le portail saint-Ursin de la cathédrale de Bourges: un gothique sédimentaire?” in Kasarska et al., Mise en oeuvre, 95–110. 11 Étienne Hamon, “Un grand chantier de l’époque flamboyante. La reconstruction de la tour nord de la cathédrale de Bourges,” thesis, École des Chartes, 1999; and “la cathédrale de Bourges: bâtir un portail sculpté à l’époque flamboyante,” Revue de l’Art 138 (2002): 19–30. 12 Bayard believes that this portal belongs to the first façade project, from the 1230s; The West Portals, 28, 135. see also Brugger, La façade de Saint-Etienne de Bourges, 62–5. in fact the only portions that belong to the thirteenth century are the central part of the tympanum (the Coronation of the Virgin and the two flanking angles) and the middle register, representing the Assumption. 13 to be sure, transformations have occurred within the central portal from the late thirteenth century onward. the Christ of the last Judgment is a replacement; the keystone

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registers, six bands of perfectly aligned archivolts present a whole population of figures that evoke the courts of heavenly justice.14 in the two archivolts closest to the tympanum, the figures are standing: 10 seraphim, 2 cherubim who form the keystone, and then 12 angels. in the other four archivolts they are enthroned: 14 saints display joined hands; 16 confessors hold books; 18 martyrs carry palms, and 20 kings or prophets bear phylacteries.15 We know that the two outer arches were completely restored in the nineteenth century16 and that periodic repairs had replaced voussoirs in the fourteenth century,17 but the thirteenth-century archivolts (those of the four inner bands) are generally well preserved and even retain considerable traces of polychromy. to the designers, the portal program represented the creation of a large number of figures, 90 in all. This quantity is not unique or even exceptional for the period. the central portal of Amiens Cathedral, close in time to Bourges, included eight rows of archivolts, of which 12 groups represented heaven and hell on the first level, and no fewer than 150 figures followed. The cathedral workshops of the thirteenth century bordered on excess, and the organization of labor had to adapt accordingly. the example of the production of sculpture at reims prompted Peter Kurmann to propose the theory of sculptural models that allowed a team of sculptors to work rapidly.18 in the third archivolt must date from the same repair, which was probably contemporary with the completion of the gable. Moreover, the two polylobed arches under the lintel were added soon after the installation of the portal. the nineteenth-century restorations are extensive, especially in the zone of the resurrection of the dead and scenes of the damned. these restorations were strongly criticized in their day, but may warrant a more nuanced evaluation; see Ponsot, “le portail saint-Ursin,” 104–5. the topic was also discussed by fabienne Joubert, “Au coeur de la polémique: la restauration des sculptures de la cathédrale de Bourges par théophile Caudron (1840–1847),” Working Group in Medieval sculpture: A transatlantic dialogue; fourth Annual Anne d’harnoncourt symposium, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, November 3, 2012. 14 However, at Bourges the regular arrangement of the archivolt figures is not as systematic as it is in a few portals that exhibit a clear radiating design in which the scale of the figures increases from the inner to the outer archivolts to adopt to the progressive widening of the arches. examples of this rigorous planning seem to have occurred in the Coronation of the virgin portal of Notre-dame Paris; in the (destroyed) saint-simon portal at the cathedral of rouen; and in the south transept of saint-denis, as well as in the lesser church of longpont-sur-orge. see dany sandron, “les rois s’invitent à Notre-dame: la mise en place du décor sculpté de la façade de la cathédrale de Paris (portail nord et galerie des rois),” in Kasarska et al., Mise en oeuvre, 17–21. 15 the rows of archivolts are numbered from the interior towards the exterior and, within a given band, from bottom to top. 16 fabienne Joubert, “les voussures déposées du portail central de la cathédrale de Bourges,” Bulletin Monumental 132 (1974): 272–86. 17 for these transformations, see Bayard, The West Portal, 108 n. 1, 137; Ponsot supported her observation, “le portail saint-Ursin,” 95–110. 18 Peter Kurmann, La façade de la cathédrale de Reims. Architecture et sculpture des portails. Étude archéologique et stylistique (Paris: CNrs, 1987); and Kurmann, “Mobilité des artistes ou mobilité des modèles? À propos de l’atelier des sculpteurs rémois au Xiiie siècle,” Revue de l’Art 120 (1998): 23–34.

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the enterprise at Bourges, even if less ambitious than at reims, certainly merits attention. The portal is defined by coherence and homogeneity, due to the role of the sculptor who gave the tympanum its characteristic style. tania Bayard called this sculptor the “Michael Master,” after the central figure in the last Judgment.19 He is readily recognizable through the tall stature of his figures in combination with quite small heads. Also characteristic are the full faces, with rounded cheeks, as well as the eyes, partially closed, which taper towards the temples and are inscribed with precise pupils, while the perfect contours of the eyebrows frame small noses with two large arches. the faces terminate in a prominent jaw and thick neck, but are animated by a round chin and a delicate mouth with full and expressive lips pursed in a slight smile. Also highly typical of the “Michael Master” are the fashionable hairstyles, with heavy or tight curls. in the archivolts, Bayard noted the intermittent role of the “Michael Master,” along with that of the “Judgment Archivolt Master,” whose style she considered less elegant.20 recent cleaning has revealed variations and differences in quality, especially in the archivolts. the creation of 90 voussoirs would certainly entail a workshop production that involved several carvers working alongside the “Michael Master.” Close observation reveals clear analogies between certain figures. However, since these analogies are less visible because they have been differently interpreted, they have not been remarked upon. one could object straightaway that standard stone-carving practices at any given time would necessarily produce certain similarities—for example, that a carver of the thirteenth century would inevitably drape fabric around a figure or suggest pleats with v-folds—and that there would be no need to look for further explanations. But in fact the analogies we see at Bourges do not belong to the common practice of sculptural language; rather, they are “objective” similarities, or typologies. these analogies concern the choice of gesture or the arrangement of clothing, the very conception of the figures rather than the manner of execution. Certain examples are more significant that others and lead us to speculate about the exact process of the sculpture’s development. the inner archivolt, containing its 10 standing seraphim (and two busts of cherubim at the apex), is quite germane to our purpose. the sculptors had to create a static frontal pose, with arms down by the side of the figure, but also six wings, and finally drapery covering the bust. The first case of kinship21 concerns two seraphim on the right side of the portal, in the second and third position from the base of the archivolt (figure 10.2). their common traits are readily discernible: the arrangement of the wings and the pattern of their feathers; the gesture of open hands held slightly away from the body, as well as the drapery across the shoulders, fastened with a large brooch. the sculptor of the third seraph 19 tania Bayard, The West Portals, 89–106. her study remains largely convincing, and this is not the forum to discuss minor points that should perhaps be reconsidered. 20 Bayard, The West Portals, 107–30. this characterization can perhaps be revised as a result of recent cleaning. 21 We have deliberately avoided the term “reproduction.”

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has created a cascade of drapery around the figure’s feet, a feature that is only summarily realized to the left of the second seraphim. While the figures seem to be related in a significant way, they do not appear to have been cut by the same chisel, for the third figure is perfectly consistent with the manner of the “Michael Master,” and the second is of a different type—less assured, almost awkward.22 for our purposes, rather than identify hands, we seek to understand whether we are dealing with a sculptor who, lacking inspiration, repeated himself (which seems unlikely given the reduction in quality); whether one sculptor copied another; or, finally, whether two sculptors were interpreting the same model. only further comparative analysis can resolve the question. the second example concerns the same, right, side of the portal, but in this case the first and fourth seraphim in ascending order (figure 10.2). the silhouettes of the two figures contrast sharply, one being noticeably fuller than the other. the arrangement of the wings, however, is partially the same: the sculptor of the fourth voussoir positioned, in a curious manner, two wings at the back of the figure’s head, while the carver of the first voussoir placed one pair of wings on each side of the legs, on the background of the voussoir. But, without doubt, the disposition of the wings on the front of the body and the drapery knotted on the chest come from the same concept. here again the two sculptors are different, with the author of the first voussoir belonging to Bayard’s “Judgment Archivolt Master” group.23 the other seraph, apart from its elongated proportions, is strikingly stiff, especially in the dry features of the face and the schematic rendering of the locks of hair. once more, this is not a case of a work being duplicated by the same sculptor, but rather of a free interpretation of the same model by two individual sculptors—or perhaps of one work that was inspired (rather than copied) by another. The third instance concerns no fewer than four figures, the lowest four seraphim of the inner archivolt on the left side of the portal (figure 10.3). their poses are identical, with one foot placed slightly forward. In the first (bottommost) 22 it could have been the subject of slight recarving at the level of the nose and mouth. Bayard identified the carvers of these two sculptures in the same way; The West Portals, 136–7. 23 Bayard, The West Portals, 137, attributes the two seraphim in question to the same group, an attribution that does not seem valid.

10.2 Bourges, Cathedral central portal, inner right archivolt, four lowest seraphim (photo: Centre André Chastel)

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10.3 Bourges, Cathedral of saintÉtienne: central portal, inner left archivolt, four lowest seraphim (photo: Centre André Chastel)

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figure it is the right foot that projects, while in the other three figures it is the left. the six wings are all arranged in the same manner: two large wings attached to the background plane frame the figures; two smaller wings, also held against the background, unfurl at knee level; and the remaining two cross over the front of the cherubim, defining the figures’ silhouettes. The garments that drape each figure’s chest are similar, but not identical, in each case a swag passing over the shoulder and falling down the front of the figure. The motif is clearly different from the two types discussed previously (either that of the garment clasped by a brooch or knotted across the chest). this last example allows us to move ahead on several points. it is clear that although there are affinities between the sculptures, their authors are quite distinct, as a comparison of heads alone demonstrates. The differences are too significant from one figure to another, especially in the treatment of drapery, to suggest that they are the product of copying. instead the key to these similarities is an inspiration from a common idea, a commission or charge as implemented by four distinct personalities. the commission, we believe, must have been a broad directive that indicted only the main elements that composed the figure: the enumeration of the wings, the essential configuration of the garments. the interpretation of the commission led to quite different choices according to which sculptor made them. for example, the author of the first figure created drapery that emphasized linearity over plasticity, while the sculptor of the fourth figure, by contrast, gave the fabric volume and mass. The latter figure is slender, with a small head (like Bayard, we think he is the work of the “Michael Master”),24 while the former possesses more naturalistic proportions. The list is not complete: the seraphim in the fifth position from the base of the archivolt on the left and right sides of the portal are mirror images of each other (figures 10.4 and 10.5 = Pls. 26 and 27); and here, following Tania Bayard, the figure on the right belongs to the “Michael Master” (figure 10.5), while the seraph on the left she associated with the “Judgment Archivolt Master” (figure 10.4).25 examination of the standing angels on the second archivolt from the center is also revealing, even if their features—frontal poses with hands in prayer, long robes (sometimes belted at the waist), and wings—are all standardized, with little individualization. however, the third and fourth lowest angels on the left side of this second archivolt seem to be related: a more informal stance, with left shoulder slightly raised, wings positioned at right angles, and the arrangement of their garments, with pleats that begin at the waist and fall to the feet in expansive folds (figure 10.6).26 this example, perhaps better than any other, leads to our 24 Bayard, The West Portals, 136. 25 Bayard, The West Portals, 136. 26 only the treatment of the sleeves is different.

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10.4 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, inner left archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 26

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10.5 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, inner right archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel). see also Plate 27

hypothesis—for the pattern of the folds, breaking at the feet, reveal not a vague similarity but a definite one. This resemblance belongs less to the exact repetition of sculptural forms than to a motif cursorily sketched out. Bayard attributed these angels to the “Michael Master.”27 this attribution is perfectly convincing for the third figure but less so for the fourth, which would seem to be the work of an assistant. 27 With the exception of the first two angels on the left; Bayard, The West Portals, 94–5, 136.

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10.6 Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne: central portal, second archivolt to the left, third and fourth angels from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel)

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the third archivolt from the tympanum that presents saints with praying hands is intriguing, but the repetitive character of the postures and garments perhaps caused the similarities mentioned above: the v-shaped folds, draped sleeves, and so forth could all simply result from well-established professional practices. however, among the confessor figures of the fourth archivolt from the center, two offer a revealing case. on the lowest level, on either side of the tympanum, they display their books in different manners: the confessor on the left supports his book perpendicularly on his knees and points to it with a finger (Figure 10.7); the other figure holds it open on his chest, with right hand positioned in front of a page and left hand supporting the book (figure 10.8). this variation in presenting the book (which is the only significant iconographic feature) cannot conceal the perfect correspondence in the treatment of the ecclesiastical vestments. the folds of the vestments are rendered plausibly in the figure on the left, representative of the work of the “Michael Master,”28 and less convincingly in the right-hand figure, which includes features of drapery, like the pattern of the fabric falling over the figure’s right arm or the section that crosses the left knee, that could not come from the same source.29 in the same fourth archivolt from the tympanum, the sixth figure from the base of the arch at the left30 and the seventh on the right also form an interesting pair in terms of the contrasts in the gestures of their hands on their books, in terms of the behavior of the v-shaped folds on their right shoulders, and in the folds nesting between their legs (figures 10.9 and 10.10). And finally, in the outermost archivolt, prophets— now dismantled and replaced by nineteenth-century figures—display a sense of kinship among certain figures in the positioning of the phylactery that unrolls obliquely over several figures, causing them to lean slightly to the left.31 this last example, together with the previous ones, suggests that all the cases in point are products of the same manner of working. from a practical 28 the face is revealing in this regard, but Bayard does not seem to have observed this, and attributed the figure to the “Master of the Archivolts”; The West Portals, 137. 29 the front part of the face and a large portion of the hair date from the nineteenth century. 30 the front of the face is nineteenth century. 31 one can make this determination based on poor photographs published in 1974; see Joubert, “les voussures déposées,” figures 14, 15, 19.

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standpoint, the production of 90 figures required tight organization and a precise modus operandi, which we will attempt to discern. our best information comes from the band of seraphim, where each figure shared in the phenomenon but was clearly not the work of a single sculptor. Assessment differs more in the next archivolts, where figures progressively increase in number and become somewhat monotonous; but there are still revealing cases. here again we do not find related figures executed by a single carver. on the other hand, the differences seem too striking to have resulted from one figure having been copied from another (based, for example, on an assistant copying a master), unless the differences resulted from desire to conceal the process of imitation. the notable deviations in proportion and volume argue against this hypothesis. But degree of overlap is too great not to indicate a relationship between the figures. How then are we to understand this relationship? The only convincing hypothesis calls for the use of two-dimensional sketches, visual instructions shared by the sculptors that defined key elements of iconography and suggested variants of pose and drapery style. if our hypothesis is correct, these sketches laid out the six registers of archivolts while allowing each sculptor a large degree of freedom. the repetition was not detrimental because each sculptor could individualize his work. At the same time, the sketches gave enough direction to maintain iconographic coherency and visual harmony. Moreover, while the location of the “related” voussoirs does not seem to have followed a strict rule, the voussoirs are relatively closely grouped, either on one side of the portal or the other. these are the same principles that seem to have guided the choice and placement of the figures’ socles, socles that function as dais for the figures beneath. these are similar, but not identical. some are quite simple, with only a trilobed arcature pierced by a trefoil or trilobed oculus (figures 10.2–10.4, 10.6, 10.9, and 10.10). others consist of trilobed arches crowned by gables (on the slope of which balance figures), which are sometimes separated by small towers (figures 10.2–10.5). examination of each socle reveals minute distinctions in the treatment of trefoils and gables, or in the proportions of the trilobed arches. Finally, the lowest figures rest on socles that are unpierced, and sometimes ornamented like those of the voussoirs above (figures 10.3, 10.7, and 10.8). A spirit of improvisation reigns over the execution of the socles, which were presumably assigned to the least accomplished carvers. from a repertory of motifs defined in advance there emerged a community of forms which were reiterated with great liberty and even disorder. there is also the question of the author of these sketches. in our opinion, two scenarios are possible. the principal master, clearly the “Michael Master”—author of the tympanum and involved as well in the archivolts—may well have created the drawings. Certainly he was the creator of very handsome sculptures, many of which were interpreted by other carvers, more or less clumsily. this hypothesis is plausible, for the pronounced character of this sculptor’s work, with its distinctive combination of tall and robust bodies with diminutive heads, reappears constantly

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10.7 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at left, lowest Confessor (photo: Centre André Chastel)

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10.8 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at right, lowest Confessor (photo: Centre André Chastel)

in the procession of figures across the archivolts, regardless of the author of the voussoirs. the “Michael Master” clearly held an eminent position in the project team, on which he left the stamp of his strong artistic personality. the other hypothesis assumes a general contractor in charge of the portal program. the discrepancies in interpretation support this point of view, which assumes that there were drawings of the general program rather than specific details, with figures simply outlined (and perhaps only certain of them).

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10.9 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at left, sixth Confessor from archivolt base (photo: author)

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10.10 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, fourth archivolt at right, seventh Confessor from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel)

likewise the absence of a strict organization principle within the portal décor, apart from the general composition, suggests that it was the approximation of the project that was given to the sculptors.32 32 this suggestion does not apply to the remarkable drawing of façade A of strasbourg Cathedral (ca. 1250), which shows, on the recto, two portals where the zones intended for figural sculpture are left blank. Not until the middle of the fourteenth century does one find a representation of a sculptural program in the corpus of drawings for Strasbourg.

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it is not impossible that the Master of Works and the “Michael Master” were one and the same person, an individual difficult to document but perfectly plausible (and known in italy by this period).33 But the larger interest of this inquiry lies in the question of two-dimensional sketches, on an unknown support (parchment or perhaps simple chalk tracings?), and of the large margin of discretion in their interpretation. even when the sculptors belong, like those at Bourges, to the same stylistic universe, this margin is appreciable and must be taken into account when we try to understand sculptural practice according to a hypothesis that must be matched to the reality of other contemporary monumental projects.

An overview of this question was given by Wolfgang schöller, “le dessin d’architecture à l’époque gothique” and valerio Ascani, “le dessin médiéval en italie,” both in Les bâtisseurs des cathédrales gothiques, ed. roland recht (strasbourg: les Musées de la ville de strasbourg,1989), 227–35 and 255–85, respectively. the question of the conception of sculptural decoration comes up most often in the context of italian workshops where sculptors such as Arnolfo di Cambio in florence, Giovanni Pisano and tino di Camaino in sienna, and lorenzo Maitani in orvieto are responsible for the projects. 33 see schöller, “le dessin d’architecture,” 227–35, and Ascani, “le dessin medieval,” 255–85. Also see Joubert, La sculpture gothique, 156–60.

Chapter 11

Joseph at Chartres: sculpture lost and found Charles t. little1

Gothic sculpture in the age of the cathedrals exists in considerable profusion outside of its original setting, dispersed by secularization, changes in liturgical practices, revolution, and vandalism. the ongoing challenge of the last century has been to reconnect this orphaned material into the fabric of a monument and offer a glimpse of its former meaning and significance. These reconnections and the occasional reintegration of individual works of art into the monument from which they originated can often be completely serendipitous. this chapter narrates the process through which one such orphaned sculpture, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, came to be associated with a key example of thirteenth-century sculpture in france: the choir screen of the cathedral of Chartres (Eure-et-Loir). In January 2007 a small, fine-grained limestone head of a bearded man wearing a soft peaked cap entered the Michael Ward Gallery in New york (figure 11.1 = Plate 28 and figure 11.2). Nothing was known of its earlier history prior to its being acquired by an American private collector (M. victor leventritt), who had purchased the head from the New york dealer Mathias Komor in the 1950s.2 Although covered with a dark grimy coating, the head exhibited a vibrancy of carving and a precision of form; its alert 1 for an entire generation of scholars, Anne Prache inspired new research on Gothic art and architecture. i dedicate this material to her because she was instrument in breathing new life onto an old problem at Chartres Cathedral. on a bright day in May 2008, a team that included Jean-rené and danielle Gaborit, Philippe lamourère, and danielle Johnson made an important pilgrimage to “Anne’s cathedral.” My sincere thanks also to sheila schwartz for insightful suggestions and for her knowledge of the cult of Joseph, and to Carolyn C. Wilson for her many studies devoted to Joseph. Wise counsel by many colleagues have added to a better understanding of this sculpted head: Peter Barnet, Annie and Philippe Blanc, William Clark, Xavier dectot, elisabeth taburet-delahaye, Jean-rené and danielle Gaborit, Michael Glascock, Garman harbottle, danielle Johnson, Jacqueline Jung, Pierreyves le Pogam, Gérard Prache, Willibald sauerländer, stephen K. scher, Jack soultanian, Charles ragland, Michael and stark Ward, Paul Williamson, and Georgia Wright. 2 information provided courtesy of Michael Ward Gallery. A “Mathias Komor— Works of Art” label was still attached to the head when acquired. Attempts to trace its earlier provenance have, so far, proved unsuccessful. the Mathias Komor Collection archive at the Getty research institute possesses a photograph with the inventory number (Q129) but without further provenance information.

11.1 Head of Joseph, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.143 (photo: author). See also Plate 28

11.2 Head of Joseph, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.143 (photo: author)

11.3 Three Chartres heads as displayed in the 2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, “set in stone: the face in Medieval sculpture” (photo: author)

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gaze was instantly captivating. fortuitously, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was concurrently presenting the exhibition “set in stone: the face in Medieval sculpture.” in the exhibition were several heads that seemed to be physically similar and stylistically related to the Ward head, all coming from the celebrated choir screen of Chartres Cathedral which had been dismantled in 1763. the small head was close enough in scale, technique of carving, and expressive force of the physiognomy to two other heads on display in the exhibition—the herod head from the Magi before herod, from a private collection, and a Magus head belonging to Bowdoin College—to warrant closer examination (figure 11.3).3 fortunately, this potential addition to our knowledge of the Chartres choir screen could be displayed together with the other two heads for the final weeks of the exhibition. the direct physical confrontation with these now documented heads made a compelling case that the new head also came from the choir screen. despite the differences in surface condition, the underlying integrity of the forms and the technique of carving of the three heads were astonishingly close. the museum was able to acquire the head, and decided to remove the grime that had built up on the surface.4 The result was a creamy, fine-grained limestone surface with some trace of pigment in the eyes, possibly the original color (Plate 28). the whitish limestone, with its small fossil inclusions, also seemed to be petrographically very close to the stone utilized for the other choir screen sculptures. that stone was a particular lutetian limestone known as “liais de Paris.” limestone material was shipped to Chartres from Paris via the seine river and its tributaries, and was utilized especially for fine sculptural decoration on the portals—capitals, colonettes, tympana, voussoirs, embrasures, and column statues—and for the choir screen.5 Neutron activation analysis of samples of stone 3 Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture, ed. Charles t. little (New york: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006), nos. 33, 34. 4 2007.143. dimensions: 6 3/4 × 5 5/16 × 4 1/16 in. (17.1 × 13.5 × 10.3 cm). Purchase, scher Chemical inc. and Audrey love Charitable foundation Gifts; Anonymous Gift, in honor of Charles t. little; William and toni Conte and stephen K. scher Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2007. Charles t. little, “recent Acquisitions, a selection: 2006–2007,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 65 (fall 2007): 12; Charles t. little and Clark Maines, “introduction: Contemporary encounters with the ‘Medieval face,’” Gesta 46 (2008): 83–9; Peter Barnet, “recent Acquisitions (1999–2008) of Medieval Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters, New york,” Burlington Magazine 150 (November 2008), 796 [793–800]; Charles t. little, “Joseph at Chartres: sculpture lost and found,” AVISTA Forum Journal, Medieval Technology, Science and Art 20 (fall 2010), 72–73; Pierre-yves le Pogam, “die lettner der ersten hälfte des 13. Jahrhunderts in frankreich,” in Der Naumburger Meister: Bildhauer und Architekt in Europa der Kathedralen (Petersberg: imhof, 2011), vol. 2, 1212–20, especially 1214, figure 2; see now Jacqueline e. Jung, The Gothic Screen: Space, Sculpture, and Community in the Cathedrals of France and Germany, ca. 1200–1400 (New york: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 72, n. 37; Annik lavaure, L’Image de Joseph au Moyen Âge (rennes: Presses Universitaires de rennes, 2013), 73, n. 67, pl. iX. 5 see Janet snyder, “on the road Again: limestone sculpture in twelfth Century france,” in vibeke olsen, ed., Working with Limestone: The Science, Technology, and Art of Medieval Limestone Monuments (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2011),

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at Chartres, carried out under the auspices of the limestone sculpture Provenance Project, supported the Paris basin origin of the limestone. initially the analysis of the concentration of rare earth elements of this lutetian limestone established that the stone was close to samples from the st. denis reference group, but a follow-up report left open questions.6 the origin of the limestone within the Paris basin is reasonably assured, but a further petrographic study and a reanalysis of the original material using neutron activation is in process in order to clarify relationships among Parisian basin limestones. that the stone was from the Paris basin and not from the immediate vicinity is not astonishing, since the quarry at Berchères-l’Évêque—about seven miles from Chartres—was only for building materials, not for fine carving. originally the great Gothic architectural choir screen of Chartres Cathedral— usually dated ca. 1230–40—was decorated with a series of large rectangular reliefs dedicated to the theme of the infancy of Christ.7 these reliefs formed the main narrative and were positioned just below the parapet. The original configuration of the choir screen is best seen in a 1697 engraving by Nicolas de larmessin (figure 11.4).8 As the cathedral housed the prized relic of the chemise of the virgin, the theme of the infancy naturally had pride of place. the scenes on the jubé included the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Annunciation to the shepherds, the dream of the Magi, the Magi before herod, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation in the temple. the choir screen stood before the eastern piers of the crossing until 167–88; and Janet snyder, Early Gothic Column-Figure Sculpture in France: Appearance, Material, and Significance (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2011), 203–28. 6 lore holmes, summary Analysis of samples from Notre-dame Cathedral, Chartres (filename: CHARTR-AP.S108) Brookhaven National Laboratory, March 6,1995; report by Michael d. Glascock and Magen e. Colman, Provenance Analysis of eighteen limestone samples by Neutron Activation Analysis, August, 2007, Archaeometry laboratory, research reactor Center, University of Missouri, Columbia; and Charles e. ragland Jr., report for the limestone sculpture Provenance Project, July, 16, 2012 and July 18,2012; copies in the files of the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters (2007.143). however, without substantiation hermann Bunjes indicated that the stone came from quarries at vernon; see his “der gotische lettner der Kathedrale von Chartres,” Wallraf-Richartz-Jarhbuch 12–13 (1943): 70–145, esp. 77; his catalogue of some 70 preserved fragments in the cathedral is still the most complete account. 7 see Bunjes, “der gotische lettner”; Jean Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé de la Cathédrale (Chartres: société archéologique d’eure-et-loir, 1963), 58; Willibald sauerländer, Gothische Skulpturen in Frankreich 1140–1270 (Munich: hirmer, 1970), 121–3; Willibald sauerländer, Von Sens bis Strassburg. Ein Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichtlichen Stellung der Strassburger Querhaus Skulpturen (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1966), 47–50. sauerländer links the Virgin of the Nativity to the wood Mary of the Crucifixion at Sens Cathedral, with “its noble pregnancy of form” (49). 8 in a detail from the lower left of Nicolas de larmessin, Le triomphe de la Sainte Vierge dans l’église de Chartres, 1697; Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de france, est. vA 430 ft6. the engraving was later included in Jules Alexandre Clerval, Petite histoire de Notre-Dame de Chartres: d’après les quatorze gravures du Triomphe de la Sainte Vierge dans l’église de Chartres dessinées par N. de Larmessin en 1697 et reproduites pour la première fois avec l’explication de L. Mocquet (rennes: francis simon, 1908), pl. 10; see also Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, 58.

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11.4 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: view of the Chartres choir screen in 1697, detail of Nicolas de larmessin, Triomphe de la Sainte Vierge dans l’église de Chartres. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france, est. vA 430 ft6 (photo: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france)

1763, when it was dismantled due its deteriorating condition and the increasing pressure to make the celebration of the eucharist more accessible.9 A series of large narrative reliefs decorating the front of the screen were removed and recycled as paving stones in the choir area, utilizing their smooth, flat backs. A new screen that included an open work iron grille in the choir was commissioned in 1767. this screen, known from a 1782 engraving by Antoine louis françois sergent (sergent-Marceau), survived until 1866, when it, too, was torn down.10 today the area is open for the circulation of tourists, with the space at the crossing presenting nothing of the original architectural setting of the screen that bisected the space. fragments of the original thirteenth-century choir screen came to light in 1836, when a fire destroyed the original timber roof. The cleanup that followed led to the recovery of many narrative and architectural fragments. As early as 1845 there was antiquarian interest in the reliefs. Accounts from the period described the recovered fragments as being housed in the chapel of saint Piat and noted the

9 see below, note 10. 10 see Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, figure p. 32.

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absence of the head of Joseph from the Nativity relief, as well as of the Magi from the scene of the Magi before herod.11 so who is the bearded man represented here and what was his position on the choir screen? due to its size and style, the newly acquired head appeared to be from one of the large reliefs, like the heads of herod and the Magus exhibited in “Set in Stone,” or others that had been previously identified by Léon Pressouyre and Brooks stoddard.12 the new head likely represents Joseph. the evidence for this identification rests on a relationship to the celebrated Joseph figure in the Presentation in the temple on the west façade of reims Cathedral (figure 11.5). Carved ca.1230–35, the reims Joseph is life-size, but otherwise bears an astonishing resemblance to the new head, including a similarly soft Phrygian, or pointed cap, frequently a sign of his Jewish heritage and signifying the old law.13 Although the new head can be iconographically related to the reims Joseph sculpture, it is more directly linked stylistically to sculptures on the north transept and on the choir screen at Chartres. the north transept sculptures display stylistic and artistic tendencies that emanate from sens and Paris—such as a heightened 11 A. Benoist, “Notes sur la Cathédrale,” Annuaire du department d’Eure-etLoire, 1845, 389; yves delaporte, “Quelques bas-reliefs inexpliqués de ancien jubé de la cathédrale de Chartres,” Mémoires de la Société archeólogique d’Eure-et-Loir 17 (1937–42): 191–204. see also Mallion, Chartres: Le Jubé, reviewed by léon Pressouyre, Bulletin Monumental 124 (1966): 327–31. Jan van der Meulen, Chartres, Sources and Literary Interpretations: A Critical Bibliography (Boston: hall, 1989), collected all the key references to the choir screen, 357–63. 12 léon Pressouyre, “Pour une reconstitution du jubé de Chartres,” Bulletin Monumental 125 (1967): 419–29; Pressouyre, “de nouveaux fragments pour le jubé de Chartres,” Archéologia 50 (september 1972): 71–4; Pressouyre, “deux têtes de rois provenant du jubé de Chartres, actuellement aux États-Unis,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaries de France (1972): 171–81. Brooks stoddard, “An Attribution for a Gothic head of a King from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art,” Gesta 14 (1975): 59–62. see also little, ed., Set in Stone, nos. 33, 34. The now identified heads from the choir screen include: head of herod from the Magi before herod, Private Collection (Set in Stone, no. 33); head of a King Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine (Set in Stone, no. 34); head of Mary from Adoration of the Magi, Nasher Museum, duke University, durham, North Carolina (Pressouyre, “de nouveaux fragments,” 71–2); head of Gaspar from Adoration of the Magi, Chartres cathedral (reunited, see Pressouyre, “ de nouveaux fragments,” 71); Joseph from the Nativity, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New york (see note 3); head of a King from the dream of the Magi (lost, cast only; see Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, 42); head of Joseph from flight into egypt(?), Private Collection (see Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, 44); head of a King from Magi before herod, Private Collection (see Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, 44); head of siméon, Chartres Cathedral (see Pressouyre, “Pour une reconstitution,” 422–3); head of bearded man (lost; see Pressouyre, “de nouveaux fragments,” 74). 13 for the dating of the façade sculpture, see the overview by Bruno decrock in Reims, la Cathédrale, ed. Patrick demouy (Pierre-qui-vire: Zodiaque, 2000), 239–40. in general see Paul Payan, Joseph: Une image de la paternité dans l’Occident medieval (Paris: Aubier, 2006), 64–8. see also Brigitte heublein, Der “verkannte” Joseph. Zur mittelalterlichen Ikonographie des Heiligen im deutschen und niederländischen Kulturraum (Weimar: vdG, 1998), 75–8; lavaure, L’Image de Joseph au Moyen Âge.

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11.5 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-dame: head of Joseph from the west façade, reversed (photo: foto Marburg/Art resource)

sense of humanity, and noble bearing and expression. As recognized by Willibald sauerländer, and recently by Ann McGee Morganstern, the Nativity relief and others are the creation of the Wilhelm vöge’s “Master of the Kings’ heads,” who worked primarily on the north transept entryways.14 But where did this master carver originate? sauerländer proposed that he came from sens, as one of the pioneers of the “antiquisant” style, and proposed that he may indeed be the same carver as the vöge’s “Master of the Kings heads.”15 one only needs to compare 14 sauerländer, Von Sens bis Strassburg, 48–9; Anne McGee Morganstern, High Gothic Sculptures at Chartres, the Tomb of the Count of Joigny, and the Master of the Warrior Saints (University Park: Pennsylvania state University Press, 2011), 43. see also Wilhelm vöge, “die Bahnbrecher des Naturstudiums um 1200,” in Bildhauer des Mittelalters, Gesammelte Studien von Wilhelm Vöge (Berlin: Mann, 1958), 63–97; the relevant passage from vöge appears in translation in robert Branner, Chartres Cathedral (New york: Norton, 1969), 207–34. 15 sauerländer, Von Sens bis Strassburg, 48–9.

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the articulation and subtle surface modulation of the physiognomy of the Joseph to solomon on the north transept portal to see the striking visual relationship. Building on vöge’s observations, sauerländer pointed to the striking similarity of the form of the wood Virgin of a Crucifixion at Sens Cathedral to the Virgin in the Chartres choir screen Nativity, where both present a certain pathos combined with an inherent magnificence of carving.16 in addition to these ties to reims and Chartres, similarities also exist between the new head and contemporary sculpture produced in Paris. in quality and physical character, as well as in the groomed coiffure, it is related, for example, to the “Childebert” from the refectory entrance of the abbey church of st. Germaindes-Prés (ca. 1239–44), now in the Musée du louvre.17 the state of preservation of the newly discovered head may also tell us about its provenance. the fragment was cleaved from a sculpture in high relief. A relatively flat plane cuts through the back of the head and cap at an oblique angle. This pattern of breakage would match many of the headless male figures in 16 sauerländer, Von Sens bis Strassburg, figures 85, 86. 17 françoise Baron, Sculpture Française I, Moyen Age, Musée du louvre, département des sculptures du Moyen Age, de la renaissance et des temps moderns catalogues, 1991, 83. see also le Pogam, “die lettner,” no. 19.1.

11.6 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame: Nativity relief from jubé (photo: author). see also Plate 29

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the Chartres jubé infancy cycle, where many losses occurred. however, in 2007 a careful examination of the reliefs and other fragments stored in the Chartres Cathedral reserves quickly led to a potential candidate. the topography of the back of the head and the area of the Nativity relief where Joseph was positioned appeared to correspond closely (figure 11.6 = Plate 29). in May 2008 a team of scholars and curators tested a specially made replica against the fractured neck of Joseph in the Chartres Nativity relief.18 the physical test strongly suggested that the new head of Joseph originated from this relief, but several caveats remain, including the need to further study the limestone itself. the fully three-dimensional character of the new head corresponds to the deep relief of the choir screen reliefs, which allows for the figures and animals to twist and turn in space (Plate 29). Both the dimensions of the new head and the topography of the break correspond in a general way to the Joseph figure in situ in the relief. one might expect that the break on the head’s proper left side would conform exactly to the remains of long hair still on the relief, but there are two inconsistencies that must be noted. first, there is a wedged-shaped section of limestone missing where the back of Joseph’s cap does not continue to the remaining ground (figure 11.2). second, a thin edge of the beard on his proper left side is not the original, but a plaster infill—of unknown date—to match the hair on his proper right side, which is completely intact. the missing piece between the back of the head and the ground was almost certainly the result of a percussive blow to the head to dislodge it from the relief. the rough dismemberment of the choir screen caused much damage to the other figures, making it difficult to fully reconstruct the surviving elements. for example, the head of the virgin originally coming from the Adoration of the Magi relief (now in the Nasher Museum, duke University) also does not have a perfect join to the body of the virgin.19 Another difficulty with the reconstruction is stylistic, since the head of the presumed Joseph is more refined and ornate in its carving technique than the still in situ head of the Virgin, whose simplified forms echo artistic tendencies of prototypes found at sens Cathedral (figures 11.1 and 11.6).20 the contrast may result in part from the position of the virgin’s head, turned downwards towards the Christ Child and thus less visible. But it is also possible that the contrast arose from the presence of multiple artists. the famous Chartrain ambulatory window, for example, shows two ymagiers collaborating on a single column statue.21 With the aid of digital gymnastics the head can be reintegrated on to the relief. the resulting composite image makes a convincing visual case for its unity (figure 11.7). 18 in addition to Anne Prache, the May 2008 group at Chartres included two former louvre curators, Jean-rené Gaborit and danielle Gaborit-Chopin, as well as danielle Johnson and the Conservateur of Chartres Cathedral, Philippe lamourère. the replica of the head was made utilizing the latest laser scanning technology, a project made possible by a grant from the Audrey love Charitable foundation. the replica was presented to the service d’Architecture at Chartres, allowing them the possibility of reintegrating the head onto the Nativity relief. 19 Pressouyre, “de nouveaux fragments,” 72. 20 sauerländer, Von Sens bis Strassburg, 49. 21 sauerländer, Gotisches Skulpturen, figure p. 22.

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In the choir screen relief at Chartres Joseph is shown in a significantly different role than normally seen in medieval art. Chartres Cathedral was dedicated to the virgin, and she was already honored—along with Joseph—in the Nativity scene on the west façade where he appears on the lintel and frieze of the portal dedicated to the incarnation of the virgin.22 The reunified Nativity relief from the choir screen transforms that scene from one that is hierarchical and diagrammatic in its arrangement to one that is dynamic, self-contained, and a powerfully arresting composition. the composition of the choir screen Nativity consciously mirrors that earlier representation with Joseph adjacent to the bed, being a more active than passive participant. Joseph is no longer portrayed as the slumbering old man in the Advent narrative, as seen for example on the romanesque relief of the Adoration of the Magi from the church of Nuestra señora de la llama at Cerezo riotirón, near Burgos, displayed at the Cloisters.23 rather, he now becomes an 22 Margot fassler, The Virgin at Chartres: Making History through Liturgy and the Arts (New york: yale University Press: 2010), 207–12. 23 30.77.6–9. elizabeth valdez del Alamo, “the epiphany relief from Cerezo de riotirón,” in The Cloisters: Studies on Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary, ed. elizabeth C. Parker with Mary B. shepherd (New york: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992), 111–45.

11.7  Photomontage reconstruction of head of Joseph positioned onto the Nativity relief from the Chartres jubé (photo: author; photomontage, thomas vinton)

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alert husband who, by his actions, celebrates ideals of piety. Jean Mallion had identified the figure as Joseph offering or presenting to the Virgin a swaddling cloth or a blanket, but without elaborating its significance. He indicated that his gesture, full of tenderness and of solicitude towards the virgin, makes this “one of the most beautiful works of the sculpture of the Gothic epoch.”24 here the virgin turns from her bed to gently touch the Christ child lying in the manger. indeed the harmony, balance, and economy of the image make it one of the most memorable Gothic carvings. the Chartres jubé Nativity scene is one of the most striking representations of the subject in medieval art because the theme takes on a more sacramental significance, transforming it from a narrative subject into one of greater symbolism. The manger-altar imagery becomes a symbol of sacrifice, and the merging of these two furnishings reflects ideas expressed by the Doctors of the Church and in the Glose ordin. in Luc. Cap. II: “Ponitur in praesepio, id est corpus Christi super altare.”25 the symbolism may also be tied to the new liturgical emphasis on the sacrament according to the fourth lateran Council of 1215.26 however, this changing nature of Joseph is already seen earlier in the twelfthcentury Mosan enamels, such as a beautiful plaque in the Metropolitan Museum where, remarkably, Joseph is portrayed as an “intellectual’ reading a book where he is clearly identified by an inscription, as if to underscore his new elevated role as a wise husband and the evolving promotion of him in the liturgy (figure 11.8 = Plate 30).27 the rare theme at Chartres of Joseph presenting the swaddling cloth or blanket to the virgin also enhances the meaning of the scene. this motif is a key innovation that casts Joseph in a more priestly role. the offering of the cloth has liturgical associations. his hands hold the cloth, but are not covered by it. Joseph in the Nativity scene in the tournai Cathedral shrine of the virgin, a work of 1205 by Nicholas of verdun, presents a similar gesture of offering and presentation.28 this motif also appears later in the Brussels hours of Jacquemart de hesdin of ca. 1400, where the gesture of offering by Joseph emphasizes his piety.29 24 Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, 122–9. 25 Mallion, Chartres: Le jubé, 124, relies on emilé Male, L’Art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France (Paris: Colin, 1931), 188. 26 see theresa Kenney, “the Manger as Calvary and Altar in the Middle english Nativity lyric,” in The Christ Child in Medieval Cultures: Alpha es et O!, ed. Mary dzon and theresa Kenney (toronto: University of toronto Press, 2012), 29–65. 27 17.190.418. Walter Cahn, “Notes on a Mosan enamel in Moulins,” Gesta 20 (1981): 155–9, figure 5. 28 Carolyn C. Wilson, St. Joseph in Italian Renaissance Society and Art: New Directions and Interpretations (Philadelphia: st. Joseph’s University Press, 2001), 55, pl. 40. She indicates that the manger, animals, and lower half of the figure of Mary date from the original relief of 1205, while Joseph and the angels are ca. 1350–75, but likely reflect the earlier state of composition. 29 Payan, Joseph, figure 16. Brussels, Bibl. royale, Ms.11060–1, fol. 172v. see Millard Meiss, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Late 14th Century and the Patronage of the Duke (london: Phaidon, 1969), vol. 2, pl. 184.

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11.8 Champlevé enamel with Nativity scene, Mosan, ca. 1165. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.418 (photo: the Metropolitan Museum of Art). see also Plate 30

the cloth held by Joseph may have had special resonance with the faithful at Chartres, since wool produced in the region was offered as a tithe to the cathedral by the wool workers in the town.30 offerings of precious cloth to the virgin— “virgin’s wool”—at Chartres are well documented. for example, in 1210 Philippe Auguste brought fine cloth as his offering.31 these fabrics were presented to the Romanesque cult figure of the Virgin in the crypt which was lost in the French revolution, or to the Gothic cult statue, sheathed in silver, that was place on the high altar.32 indeed the wealth of Chartres was largely based on either tithing or taxation of the wool in the region.

30 Jane Welch Williams, Bread, Wine and Money: The Windows of the Trades at Chartres Cathedral (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), 61. see also her “the virgin’s Wool,” in Radical Art History, Internationale Anthologie, Subject: O.K. Werckmeister, ed. Wolfgang Kersten (Zurich: ZiP, 1997); 460–65. Jacqueline Jung thought the Joseph figure offered the Virgin a blanket; see Jung, “Beyond the Barrier: The Unifying role of the Choir screen in Gothic Churches,” Art Bulletin, 82 (2000): 622–57,” 634. 31 Williams, “virgin’s Wool,” 462 and n. 21. 32 fassler, The Virgin at Chartres, 205–42, esp. 210–12.

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the emphasis on cloth and wrapping is found in several contemporary commentaries. one is from hugh of saint Cher, who taught canon law in Paris but became head of the order of Preachers (dominicans) in 1227, and died in 1263. in his commentary on the Gospel (Pontillae) for luke 2:12 he says: “there (in the Nativity) Joseph lay God wrapped in swaddling bandages, in a manger; here (in the Passion) another Joseph places God, wrapped in a shroud into a sepulcher.” At one point in luke’s Gospel (2:33) hugh also speaks of Joseph as the “nutrient” father, saying: “his father, namely the one called the nutrient father, as a nourisher (nurse) is called mother.”33 Chartres was the logical place in france where Joseph might be specially honored. Although the cathedral owned no relic connected to Joseph, it already possessed the most powerful relic of the virgin, the chemise said to have been worn when Mary gave birth to Jesus, to which many miracles were attributed. that relic was, according to legend, given to the cathedral in the ninth century by Charles the Bald, but certainly by the year 1000.34 indeed the 1697 Nicolas de larmessin engraving of the original choir screen area shows the relic displayed on a statue of the virgin raised upon a platform before the screen (figure 11.3).35 its locus sanctus just before the Nativity relief intentionally enhanced the significance of the relief and is certainly the reason that this relief remained essentially intact in 1763, when all others were more severely mutilated. the innovations in visual formulation of the Nativity scene at Chartres demonstrate that devotion to Joseph is not a late medieval development, as has often been maintained. the cult of Joseph in the french realm began with the Advent homily on the Missus est of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), who exalted Joseph’s role as essential to the lives of Christ and the virgin. Bernard of Clairvaux said in his Homily ii, 16: truly does that man Joseph descend from the house of david, of royal lineage, noble by birth, nobler in soul: surely a son of David, not only by the flesh, but by holiness and devotion, whom as another david the lord found according to his heart, to whom he speedily committed the most secret and sacred treasure in his heart. to him (Joseph) it was given that which many kings and prophets desired to see and did not see. And not only to see and hear, but even to carry, to lead, to embrace, to kiss, to nourish, and to guard. And … not only Joseph but also Mary is to be delivered descended from the house of david.36

33 As cited and translated by James J. david, “saint Joseph in the ‘Postillae’ of hugh of st. Cher,” in Saint Joseph durant les quinzes premiers siècles de l’église. Premier Symposium International, Cahiers de Joséphologie 19 (1974): 296–317, esp. 310. 34 fassler, The Virgin at Chartres, 26, 218. 35 Nicholas de larmessin, detail of Le triomphe de la Sainte Vierge dans l’église de Chartres. 36 Bernard of Clairvaux, Laudibus virginies Mariae (Super Missus est). homilie quattor. hom.ii, Pl 183:63–4; translation samuel J. eales, The Life and Works of St. Bernard (london: hodges, 1896), vol. 3, 308.

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Bernard recognized Joseph’s fatherly role and saw Joseph as “a prudent and faithful servant … whom the lord placed beside Mary to be her protector, the nourisher of his human body and the single most trusty assistant on earth in his great design.”37 thus, Joseph is increasingly seen as protector and as nutritor Domini with an emphasis on his tenderness towards Mary. there are, in fact, several romanesque works of art that show this loving relationship, including a small north french ivory relief of the holy family, originally part of a portable altar, in the Metropolitan Museum that presents Joseph’s spiritual alliance with the virgin in an evocative way (figure 11.9).38 Joseph’s role in these events is manifested in others ways. Jewish law dictated the crucial exegetical feature of his role, since a child’s lineage must be traced through the male line and hence here to the house of david, as rupert of deutz maintained.39 that the Chartres Nativity scene so prominently displays Joseph, where his priestly liturgical role is emphasized by the cloth he offers, sets this scene apart from other representations of the subject. The Nativity at Chartres may, in fact, directly reflect the thinking of Rupert of deutz about Joseph and Christ’s lineage through him. the iron hook hanging from the side of the altar/manger may be more than just a barnyard adornment to a charming story. in rupert of deutz’s (ca. 1075–1130) Commentary on Matthew, Joseph’s relationship to Christ is likened to a fisherman’s hook and line, thus becoming an allegory of divine relationships:

37 Homily ii, 16. translation from shelia schwartz, “the iconography of the rest on the flight into egypt,” Phd diss., institute of fine Arts, New york University, 1975, 62; and in Wilson, St. Joseph, 3. 38 40.62. shelia schwartz, “symbolic Allusions in a twelfth-Century ivory,” Marsyas 16 (1972–73): 35–42; see also Carolyn C. Wilson, “Sanctus Joseph Nutritor Domini: A triptych Attributed to Jan Gossaert Considered as evidence of early hapsburg embrace of st. Joseph’s Cult,” in Święty Józef: Patron na nasze czasy. Akta X Międzynarodowego Kongresu Józefologicznego, Saint Joseph: Patron for our times. Proceedings of the tenth international Josephological Congress, Kalisz, Poland, september 27–october 4, 2009 (Kalisz: Centrum Józefologiczne, 2010), 499–524. 39 schwartz, “the iconography,” 62; also schwartz, “st. Joseph in Meister Bertram’s Petri-Altar,” Gesta 24 (1985): 147–56.

11.9 Walrus ivory relief of the holy family, north french, ca. 1160–80. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 40.62 (photo: author)

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the sacred genealogy of Christ was so arranged that it would lead to Joseph … the final and the greatest of the promises was made. It is a source of joy to note how this genealogy is like the long line of a fisherman, thrown into the waves of this world, and having at its end an iron hook bait, that is, the true God in true flesh; so as to catch Leviathan, the great serpent who devours human souls like little fish. Of course, as is evident, this fisherman’s line is attached not to flesh but to iron … The beauty of this analogy appears in that the genealogy of the savior which we have so often discussed leads not to Mary according to her giving birth in the flesh, but according to divine relationship it leads to Joseph, who, although he was not Christ’s father by flesh, but in faith, and was the last heir of the promise we mentioned, like the fisherman’s line was attached not to the flesh but to the iron hook … . Joseph as the greatest of the patriarchs of the old Covenant and yet in a sense a saint of the New Covent, because Joseph alone is so close to Jesus, as the husband of Mary and therefore the father of Jesus.40

in the thirteenth century franciscans were instrumental in promoting the cult of Joseph, especially in france. the franciscan friary established in toulouse in 1222 had its own chapel in honor of the carpenter Joseph and was the first in the French realm, and possibly only the third in the entire Western church. Joseph emerged as an honored figured and model of humility, piety, and charity. These features are also some of the qualities of fatherhood found in the para-liturgical cradle plays and rituals that were performed during later medieval Christmas festivals.41 the late medieval shift of the image of Joseph into an ideal of masculinity with an emphasis on family is foreshadowed in the Chartres Nativity relief. this change may have been due to the spread of franciscan spirituality in the thirteenth century where Joseph is invested with a maternal role paralleling the traditional role assumed by Mary, who symbolically represents ecclesia.42 Chartres appears to have been in the forefront of this development. the date of the Chartres choir screen is not well documented. if the date 1218–24 for the installation of the oak choir stalls is certain, then the choir screen 40 De div. offic., cap. 19: Pl, 170, 78–9; translation from francis l. filas, “saint Joseph in the Writings of rupert of deutz,” Saint Joseph durant les quinze premiers siècles de l’église. Cahiers de Joséphologie 19 (1971): 269–79, esp. 272–5. 41 there is a vast literature concerning Joseph. in addition to lavaure, L’Image de Joseph, see, for example, Pamela sheingorn, “Constructing the Patriarchal Parent: fragments of the Biography of Joseph the Carpenter,” in Framing the Family: Narrative and Representation in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, ed. rosalynn voaden and diane Wolfthal (tempe: Medieval and renaissance texts and studies, 2005), 161–80; as well as Wilson, “Sanctus Joseph.” 42 By the thirteenth century, offices in honor of Joseph had developed. For example, see Guy-M. Bertrand, “Un office du XIIIe siècle en l’honneur de Saint Joseph (Abbaye saint-laurant de liège),” Cahiers de Joséphologie 2/1 (1954): 1–46. see especially B. Burkey, “feast of st. Joseph,” in Saint Joseph durant les quinze premiers siècles de l’église, Cahiers de Joséphologie 19 (1971): 647–54. see also Karl young, The Drama of the Medieval Church (oxford: Clarendon, 1933), vol. 2, 103–7, 190–95.

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itself must not be too far from this date, thus probably erected during the time of Bishop Gauthier (1219–34).43 Guillaume de Breton praised the vaults in 1218–24, and the canons occupied the choir stalls in 1221. But it is not certain whether there was a temporary choir screen in place at that moment, or whether the surviving elements come from this actual structure.44 According to the recent critical analysis by fabienne Joubert, caution is needed even about the meaning of pulpitum and the way the term is used in the ordinaries of Chartres, Bourges, reims, laon, and elsewhere in the thirteenth century.45 the stylistic context argues strongly for a date around 1230 or earlier for the Nativity relief and apparently reinforced by the documents. A further important implication of the rediscovery of the Joseph head is the possible relationship with another work in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, the approximately contemporary lintel showing the entombment of Christ and the three Marys at the sepulcher. the lintel originally came from the nearby Benedictine abbey of saint-Père-en-vallée at Chartres. Acquired in 1938, the sculpture has been the subject of much debate concerning provenance, condition of the carving, and iconography, given the reversal of traditional thematic sequence.46 Among the four bearded male figures in the Entombment scene, including Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, are several showing physiognomy that seems to directly relate to the new head of Joseph (figures 11.10 and 11.11). the style of the carving, although weaker in execution in the modeling, points unmistakably to the decoration of the north portal of the cathedral, and now also to the carvings on the choir screen.

43 Branner, Chartres Cathedral, 97–8. see also fassler, The Virgin at Chartres, 341, on the canons being installed in the new choir stalls around 1221. however, Jung, The Gothic Screen, 116, without explanation, dates the screen to the 1240s and 1250s. 44 Branner, Chartres Cathedral, 97–8. 45 fabienne Joubert, “Epistola et evangelium leguntur in pulpito … quelques remarques sur le mobilier de la parole dans les cathédrales gothiques, en particulier à Bourges,” in “Tout le temps du veneour est sanz oyeuseté,” Mélanges offerts à Yves Christe pour son 65ème anniversaire, ed. Christine hediger (turnhout: Brepols, 2005), 365–76. Joubert challenged the earlier assertion by Jean-yves ribault that the Bourges choir screen was liturgically functioning for the chapter by 1237, because, Joubert maintained, at the time pulpitum did not necessarily mean an architectural barrier; see Jean-yves ribault, “le jubé de Bourges. Questions de vocabulaire et de chronologie,” Bulletin Monumental 153 (1995): 167–75. of interest here is the destroyed choir screen at sens Cathedral that may be exactly contemporary with the Chartres screen if vignon’s observation that the marriage of louis iX to Marguerite de Provenance on May 27, 1234 took place at an altar to the left of the choir entrance. see M. vignon, “de la suppression ou de la conservation de jubés de la cathedrale de sens,” in Rapporteur de la commission nommée per la Société Archéologique, december 2, 1844, 78–93, esp. 84. 46 39.82. Alfred scharf, “eine französiche Grablegung des 12. Jahrhunderts,” Cicerone 21 (1929): 477–8; The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (los Angeles: los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1970), no. 50.

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11.10 (above)  Chartres, saintPère-en-valleé: lintel with the entombment of Christ and Marys at the sepulcher. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 39.82 (photo: author) 11.11 (right)  Chartres, saintPère-en-valleé: lintel with the entombment of Christ and Marys at the sepulcher, detail, head. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 39.82 (photo: author)

the now complete relief of the Nativity takes its rightful place in this great monument of france.47 the Joseph head thus joins an important group of heads, all demonstrably coming from, or associated with, the Chartres choir screen that were dispersed long ago, as noted above.48 other fragments attributable to, and possibly from, the choir screen will certainly continue to come to light in the future.

47 sadly, however, the choir screen elements are currently not accessible, but one may hope that they will soon be restored to a new presentation of these beautiful sculptures and architectural elements. 48 see note 11 above.

Chapter 12

Filiae Hierusalem: female statue Columns from Notre-dame-en-vaux Kathleen Nolan and susan leibacher Ward

The second half of the twelfth century in Champagne witnessed a flourishing of the monumental arts. Nowhere was this truer than in Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne), where the collegiate church of Notre-dame-en-vaux rivaled the local cathedral in its architecture, sculpture, and stained glass.1 We are attracted to Notre-dame-en-vaux because of our project on statue columns, that fusion between figure sculpture and architectural supports that is typically thought of as a hallmark of “Gothic” sculpture. Notre-dame-en-vaux is an ideal case for our project because statue columns appear in multiple settings, most notably flanking the entrance portal and supporting the arcades of the cloister at this site. the column figures at Notre-Dame-en-Vaux demonstrate one reason for their rapid and widespread adoption: their symbolic mutability, that is, their ability to express multivalent meanings. in this chapter we will consider in particular the multiple roles played by the female column figures at Notre-Dame-en-Vaux, where in the entrance portal they witness theophany, while in the cloister they enact Gospel narratives and parables, personify theological values, or recount hagiography, and sometimes perform several of these roles at once. our contribution to the long and rich history of the interpretation of statue columns is to consider them in multiple architectural settings, and indeed at multiple institutions, in order to understand the messages that they relayed to their original viewers.2 1 the authors are grateful to have been among the Americans who, as graduate students and junior scholars, benefitted from Professor Prache’s warm reception of art historians from the United states. 2 the statue column and its meaning has been a backbone of the study of medieval sculpture since the eighteenth century. A recent example of the tradition, stretching back to Jean Mabillon and Bernard de Montfaucon, that assigns specific individual identities to the figures may be found in Margot Fassler’s The Virgin of Chartres: Making History through Liturgy and the Arts (New haven: yale University Press, 2010), especially 242–81. out of the huge bibliography on this subject, we have benefitted in particular from Janet Snyder’s studies of the contemporary attire of statue columns, as well as her work on limestone practice: Early Gothic Column-Figure Sculpture in France: Appearance, Materials and Significance (farnham, UK and Burlington vt: Ashgate, 2011), and her articles “on the road Again, limestone sculpture in twelfth-Century france,” in Working with Limestone: The Science, Technology and Art of Medieval Limestone Monuments, ed. vibeke olson (farnham, UK and Burlington, vt: Ashgate, 2011); “A Good head for Business: evidence for standardization

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12.1 Châlonsen-Champagne, cloister of Notredame-en-vaux: ecclesia. Musée du cloître de Notre-dameen-vaux (photo: Ward)

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Notre-dame-en-vaux also links us to the scholarship of Anne Prache because of her early interest in the architecture and sculpture of Notre-dame-en-vaux. the famous and still enigmatic cloister ultimately became the focus of extensive examination by the late léon Pressouyre, but in 1962 Anne Prache published an important early study in which she associated scattered sculptures with the cloister.3 Among these were two statue columns which were then reinstalled in the porch of the thirteenth-century church of saint-Julien, at sarry, 5 kilometers from Châlons. Prache was writing before the excavations of the site of the cloister which léon Pressouyre would shortly undertake. The first experimental digging occurred in 1963, and systematic excavations were launched in 1970. Prache, in 1962, was working on the sculptures then above ground in Châlons, on pieces in the louvre, and on the sarry sculptures, whose existence had been noted in 1946 by Marcel Aubert, but only linked to the cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux by Prache.4 Based on this partial information, Prache assembled what could be known of the iconographic program of the Châlons cloister and correctly deduced its symbolic and typological character. Prache in particular discussed the female figure at Sarry whom she identified as Ecclesia (Figure 12.1); the statue was returned to Châlons in 1976 and is housed in the Musée du cloître de Notre-dameen-vaux.5 Prache thus established the symbolic character of the cloister at Châlons and the role that female protagonists played in the working out of the meaning of the cloister. the subsequent analysis of Notre-dame-en-vaux by léon and sylvia Pressouyre affirmed the complexity of the program delivered by the sculptures, with the interweaving of apostolic, typological, and moral messages relayed by the column figures, in combination with more straightforward narratives, especially in the capitals that surmounted the columns.6 in Medieval stone sculpture,” Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation 20/2–3 (2004), published online at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0197372.asp. 3 Notre-dame-en-vaux was the subject of Prache’s 1963 troisième cycle thesis for the sorbonne: “Notre-dame-en-vaux de Châlons-sur-Marne. Campagnes de construction.” in 1962 Prache had published her most lengthy discussion of the cloister of Notre-dameen-Vaux, “Le cloître de Notre-Dame-en-Vaux de Châlons-sur-Marne (fin du XIIe siècle),” Mémoires de la Société d’agriculture, commerce, sciences et arts du département de la Marne 78 (1962): 61–72. several subsequent studies were devoted to Notre-dame-en-vaux, principally: “Notre-dame-en-vaux de Châlons-sur-Marne, campagnes de construction,” Mémoires de la Société d’agriculture, commerce, sciences et arts du département de la Marne 81 (1966): 29–92; “l’église de Notre-dame-en-vaux de Châlons-sur-Marne,” Congrès archéologique de France 135, Champagne 1977 (1980): 279–97. 4 Marcel Aubert, La sculpture française au Moyen Age (Paris: flammarion, 1946), 199, as cited in Prache, “le cloître,” 70. 5 Prache, “le cloître,” 71. 6 the narrative of the Pressouyres’ excavation and reinstallation of the famous cloister is scattered throughout multiple publications. of direct relevance to this study are:

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the church in question, Notre-dame-en-vaux, in Châlons-en-Champagne, had its origins as a dependency of the cathedral of Châlons, the cathedral of saint-Étienne. Notre-dame-en-vaux began as a chapel dedicated to the virgin in a valley outside of the city walls; it was in existence no later than 850. By 1107 it had become a church with a parish function and, at least by 1114, a college of six canons was established. By that date the canons of Notre-dame were struggling with the chapter of the cathedral for greater independence.7 Both communities were composed of secular canons, who did not observe a common life.8 the chapter of the cathedral was much larger, composed of about 40 canons, while the number of canons at Notre-dame-en-vaux appears to have remained much léon Pressouyre, “les fouilles du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux à Châlons-sur-Marne,” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France (1964): 23–8; léon Pressouyre, “Une tête du louvre prétendue dionysienne,” Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de France (1967): 242–50; “Église Notre-dame-en-vaux,” in Dictionnaire des Églises de France, VB, Champagne, Flandre, Artois, Picardie (Paris: laffont, 1969), vB36–vB37; Léon Pressouyre, “Réflexions sur la sculpture du XIIe siècle en Champagne,” Gesta 8 (1970): 16–31; léon Pressouyre, “saint Bernard to saint francis. Monastic ideals and iconographic Programs in the Cloister,” Gesta 12 (1973): 71–92; sylvia Pressouyre, Images d’un cloître disparu (Paris: Cuénot, 1976); sylvia and léon Pressouyre, “le Cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux,” Monuments historiques 3 (1978):1–16; léon Pressouyre, “les matériaux de construction du clôitre de Notre-dame-en-vaux,” in Mines, carrières et métallurgie dans la France medieval. Actes du colloque de Paris, 19–21 juin 1980, ed. Paul Benôit and Philippe Braunstein (Paris: CNrs, 1983), 363–81; and léon Pressouyre, “did suger Build the Cloister at saint-denis?,” in Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis, ed. Paula lieber Gerson (New york: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986), 228–44. 7 the cartulary for Notre-dame-en-vaux does not survive; nor do any liturgical manuscripts. there is scattered information in the Archives départementale de la Marne, in Châlons, much of which was assembled by louis Grignon, Description et historiques de l’église Notre-Dame-en-Vaux de Châlons, collégiale et paroissiale (Châlons-enChampagne: thouille, 1884–85), 2 vols. three twentieth-century scholars combed the archives: first, Anne Prache, as cited in note 3; then Léon Pressouyre, as referenced in note 6; and, most recently, Katharina Corsepius, for her monograph that deals very little with the cloister, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux: Studien zur Baugeschichte des 12. Jahrhunderts in Châlons-sur-Marn (stuttgart: steiner, 1997). for the early history of Notre-dame-envaux, see Prache, “le cloître,” 61–6, and “Campagnes de construction,” 33–8; Pressouyre “Église Notre-dame-en-vaux,” vB36–vB37; and sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 11–12. A recent study is that of Alain villes, “la concurrence entre la cathédrale saint-etienne et la collégiale Notre-dame-en-vaux de Châlons-en-Champagne, son intérêt pour l’archéologie et l’histoire de l’art,” in Architektur und Monumentalskulptur des 12.–14. Jahrhunderts. Produktion und Rezeption. Festschrift für Peter Kurmann zu 65. Geburtstag (Bern: lang, 2006): 97–127. 8 Most literature on canons is devoted to regular canons, as summarized by ilene h. forsyth, “the Vita Apostolica and romanesque sculpture: some Preliminary observations,” Gesta 25 (1986): 81, n. 2 (75–92); one should note the classic study by Charles dereine, “Chanoines des origines au Xiiie siècles,” Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastique, ed. Alfred Baudrillart (Paris: le touzey et Ané, 1953) 12: cols. 353–405, and the important work done in the 1970s and 1980s by Caroline Walker Bynum, most notably Docere verbo et exemplo: An Aspect of Twelfth-Century Spirituality (Missoula, MA: scholars, 1979).

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smaller.9 But the college of Notre-dame-en-vaux became wealthy, at least in part because of an active Marian pilgrimage spurred by accounts of miracles worked by the virgin of Notre-dame-en-vaux during the rebuilding of the church after its collapse in 1157.10 the canons commissioned, between the years 1170 and 1180, a spectacular statue-column cloister, as well as a south portal with column figures.11 Between the years 1181 and 1187, they were locked in litigation over privileges and revenues with the chapter of the cathedral of Châlons. the canons were reproached for using their considerable income from offerings for “paintings and other useless expenditures.” Ultimately the archbishop of reims and Pope lucius iii were both involved in restoring order.12 during these same years, the church of NotreDame-en-Vaux experienced multiple building campaigns; the final configuration of the church, not completed until the early thirteenth century, emulated the great Benedictine abbey of saint-remi, in reims, probably, as Anne Prache argued, through the participation of the master builder who had worked at saint-remi.13 the cloister was not altered during these successive campaigns, and stood until it was dismantled in the eighteenth century, well before the french revolution.14 the south portal that was constructed during the period of great prosperity faced, as it still does, onto a public square. the portal sculpture was all but obliterated during the revolutionary frenzy of 1793 (figure 12.2).15 9 Cartularies and an ordinal survive for the cathedral of Châlons; Étienne hurault, La Cathédrale de Châlons et son clergé à la fin du XIIIe siècle (Châlons-en-Champagne: Martin, 1907), 32, for the size of the cathedral chapter. the number of canons at Notredame-en-vaux was increased around 1160–76, but the ultimate size of the college is not clear; Prache, “Campagnes,” 39–40. 10 the miracles worked by the virgin and the zeal of the faithful to participate in the rebuilding are known from a ca. 1165 letter that a canon of the cathedral of Châlons, Gui de Bazoches, wrote to his sister, Aélis de Château-Porcien, as well as from the Livre de miracles de Notre-Dame-en-Vaux, a miracles text from a later period; Prache, “Campagnes,” 38–40; léon Pressouyre, “les matériaux,” 374–5; and Corsepius, NotreDame-en-Vaux, 214–16. 11 for the dating of the cloister see sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 11–12; léon Pressouyre, “le cloître,” Monuments historiques, 3. Willibald sauerländer dated the cloister slightly later, to ca. 1180, Gothic Sculpture in France, 1140–1270, trans. Janet sondheimer (New york: Abrams, 1972), 93. the 1170–80 date was accepted by Xavier dectot, Sculptures des XIe–XIIe siècles, roman et premier art gothique (Paris: réunion des Musées nationaux, 2005), 142. 12 Prache, “Campagnes,” 41–2; and sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 12, for discussions of the conflict. 13 Prache, “Campagnes,” 85–91. 14 the history of destruction of the cloister is recounted by sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 13–14; and léon Pressouyre, “le cloître,” Monuments historiques, 3–4. 15 sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 5. fragments from the south portal may be found at the Musée du louvre; see françoise Baron, Sculpture Française. I. Moyen Âge (Paris: réunion des musées nationaux, 1996): 61, for a head (r.f. 1101); 62–3, for eight fragments from a set of voussoirs (r.f. 1092, r.f. 1093, r.f. 2210, r.f. 2211, r.f. 2212, r.f. 2213, r.f. 2214 and ent. 1969.01); and 61, for an additional capital that may be from the portal (R.F. 1107). There is an unfinished head at the Indiana University Art Museum (62.19)

12.2 Châlons-en-Champagne, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux: south portal (photo: Nolan)

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Attempts began in the nineteenth century to identify the all but obliterated themes of the portal, which seems to have followed the familiar twelfth-century formula of Majestas Domini tympanum surmounting jamb figures.16 At Notre-dame-enVaux, the jamb statues include a single female figure, which serves as one of our points of comparison with the female statue columns in the cloister. scholars have long noted that the battered doorway was closely related thematically and probably stylistically to the west portal of the great abbey church of saint-Bénigne in dijon (Côte-d’or), now known through sculptural fragments and the eighteenth-century engraving made for Urbain Plancher (figure 12.3).17 one can discern, in the mutilated tympanum of the south door of Notre-dameen-vaux, traces of the same disposition of elements as in the lost portal of saintBénigne, including angels, in the upper zone, who separate Christ from the symbols of Matthew and John (figure 12.4). the lintel likewise seems to draw its narrative of the birth of Christ from dijon, although several of the scenes at Châlons are virtually effaced, and the contents of the lower lintel at dijon are unknown.18 the archivolts at Notre-dame-en-vaux are also very battered, but seem to have shown angels in the innermost rank and some combination of multi-figured narrative scenes and Apocalyptic Elders in the outer courses.

that may also be associated with the south portal at Notre-dame-en-vaux; dorothy Gillerman, Gothic Sculpture in America. II: The Museums of the Midwest (turnhout: Brepols, 2001), 79–80, no. 62. 16 early attempts at interpreting the portal’s iconography were made by ferdinand de Guilhermy, Notes sur diverses localités de la France, Paris, Bnf nouv. acq. fr. 6098, f. 5v; louis Grignon, Description historique, vol. 2, 11–13; Wilhelm vöge, Die Anfänge des monumentalen Stiles im Mittelalter. Eine Untersuchung über die erste Blütezeit französischer Plastik (strassburg: heitz, 1894), 335–6; and l. hubert, Notre-Dame-enVaux de Châlons-sur-Marne: Étude historique et archéologique (epernay: Choque, 1941), 38–43, 130–33. 17 Urbain Plancher, Histoire générale et particulière de Bourgogne (dijon: de fay, 1739–81), 4 vols, vol. 1, pl. 503. The association was first made by Geneviève Louise Marsh-Micheli in a thesis for the École du louvre; louise Micheli, “la sculpture de Notre-Dame-en-Vaux et des églises châlonnaises à la fin du XIIe siècle,” Bulletin des musées de France 10 (1932): 127–8. her point was taken up by André lapeyre, Des façades occidentales de Saint-Denis et de Chartres aux portails de Laon. Études sur la sculpture monumentale dans l’Ile-de-France et les régions voisines au XIIe siècle (Macon: Protat, 1960), 128–9, and echoed by most later scholars: Willibald sauerländer, “twelfth-Century sculpture at Châlons-sur-Marne,” in Studies in Western Art: Acts of the twentieth International Congress of the History of Art, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963), vol. 1, 121 (119–28); Prache, “Campagnes,” 80; Pressouyre, “Réflexions,” 2. for the lost portal of saint-Bénigne in its own right, see lapeyre, Des façades, 101–7; sauerländer, Gothic Sculpture, 389–91, ill. 8; and Monique Jannet-vallat and fabienne Joubert, Sculpture médiévale en Bourgogne: Collection lapidaire du Musée archéologique de Dijon (dijon: Éditions universitaires de dijon, 2000), 110–14, figures 33–6. 18 for the lintel at saint-Bénigne, sauerländer, Gothic Sculpture, 389–90, and Jannetvallat and Joubert, Sculpture médiévale, 110–14; lapeyre, Des façades, 128, summarized attempts at decoding the ruined lintel sculpture at Châlons.

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This configuration of the archivolts again appears to follow Saint-Bénigne.19 it is difficult to speak about the bludgeoned trumeau at Châlons, but, like SaintBénigne, it contained a figure, apparently male, as a possible corollary for St. Benignus that occupied the trumeau in dijon.20 Parallels also exist between the column figures of the two imperfectly known portals. these parallels illustrate a key theme in our larger project: the ability of statue columns to convey meaning in ways that transcend literal identification. Judging from their specificity of dress and attribute, the Saint-Bénigne statue columns, as we know them from the engraving made for Plancher, may have been intended to bear individual identity, perhaps to a greater extent than in the earliest statue-column portals.21 At Châlons one can at most determine gender from the battered silhouettes that remain, but even this partial information can bear meaning.22 Significantly, the single female figure at Notre-Dame-en-Vaux is in the same position as the female figure at Saint-Bénigne seen in the Plancher engraving. At Saint-Bénigne a webbed foot identified the statue as the Queen of Sheba, as part of an ensemble that included Old and New Testament figures.23 At Châlons the queen is so damaged that it is quite impossible to speak of what her feet may have been like. Regardless of the exact identity of the lone female figure at Châlons, her presence at the far right of the doorway reinforced the portal’s 19 lapeyre, Des façades, 101, for the archivolts of saint-Bénigne, 128–30, for those of Notre-dame-en-vaux; Jannet-vallat and Joubert, Sculpture médiévale, 114, for the archivolts of saint-Bénigne. 20 Examination of the sculpture today does not confirm the comment made by Grignon, Description, 12, that the trumeau figure was said to be (“dit-on”) a young woman with long hair; his remark was repeated by vöge, Die Anfänge, 336. 21 Jannet-vallat and Joubert, Sculpture médiévale, 112–14, in addition to the Queen of Sheba, Peter and Moses are clearly identified by attribute; the other figures they interpret as Paul, Aaron, solomon, david, and perhaps Josiah. 22 Grignon, Description, wrote that the statue columns were said to be the five ancestors of the Virgin on one side, and the five fathers of the church on the other. sauerländer repeated this rather unlikely assertion, Gothic Sculpture, 411. 23 the Queen of sheba appears with a webbed foot at saint-Bénigne, and also at Nesle-la-reposte (Marne), saint-Pourçain-sur-sioule (Allier), and the church of saint-Pierre or saint-Père in Nevers (Nièvre). the web-footed queens were not always interpreted as the Queen from the south. Because there were several goose-footed queens in france’s historic past, Bernard de Montfaucon concluded that a queen with a webbed foot represented a specific historical personage; at Saint-Bénigne, she was Clotilde, the wife of Clovis; see Les monumens de la monarchie françoise (Paris, Michel et Giffart, 1729), 5 vols, vol. 1, 192. A visigothic queen from toulouse with a webbed foot is also mentioned; she was discussed by Paula Gerson, “the West façade of st.-denis: An iconographic study,” Phd diss., Columbia University, 1970, 153–8; and by Kathryn horste; Cloister Design and Monastic Reform in Toulouse: The Romanesque Sculpture of La Daurade (oxford: Clarendon, 1992), 49–50, 210–11. in 1756 Abbé lebeuf corrected Montfaucon’s assumption that statue columns represented the kings and queens of france, and argued that the queen with the goose foot, la reine Pédauque, should be identified with the Queen of sheba; “Conjectures sur la reine Pédauque, où l’on recherche quelle pouvoit être cette reine,” Mémoires de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres 23 (1756): 230–32.

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12.3 Dijon, saint-Bénigne: engraving of west portal, from Urbain Plancher, Histoire générale et particulière de Bourgogne, 1739, vol. 1, pl. 503 (photo: Nolan)

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reference to the great monastic house. thus the canons of Notre-dame chose for this public entrance to the church a conservative, monastic iconography that would ally them to those who led a truly communal religious life. in addition to the themes in the tympanum and lintel, the statue columns suggested institutional relationships by means of the gender and position of figures, in a manner that went beyond their specific identity.24

24 if the head in the louvre (rf 1101) indeed belonged to the Châlons south portal, then the carvers of the portal were closely referencing saint-Bénigne, given the similarities in physiognomy and headgear. see Pressouyre, “Un tête,” 242–9; Baron, Sculpture française, 61; and the discussion in Jannet-vallat and Joubert, Sculpture médiévale, 123–4.

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As Anne Prache observed, the carvers of the portal sculpture included one of the sculptors of the cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux, Pressouyre’s Master of the King, indicating that there was chronological overlap between the projects.25 in striking contrast to the conventional iconography of the public entrance to Notre-dame-en-vaux—with its combination of Majestas domini and Nativity scenes in the tympanum and lintel, and familiar biblical figures in the doorway embrasures—the imagery of the cloister is rarified in the extreme. In the ensemble we are struck by the strong presence of female figures, notably the Ecclesia that Prache originally saw at sarry (figure 12.1). she observed that the pole that the figure grasps with her right hand was a standard, and that the object that she held was a lidded box, presumably a pyxis. Prache concluded that the figure represented ecclesia, although a more familiar image is her striking characterization at the cathedral of strasbourg, with her chalice and veiled cross.26 While Prache suggested that an accompanying synagoga might be found in one of the torsos that were known at the time from the cloister, the 50-some known column figures from Châlons prove not to include a synagogue.27 therefore the lone ecclesia 25 Prache, “le cloître,” 67. 26 sauerländer, Gothic Sculpture, pl. 133; Nina rowe, The Jew, the Cathedral and the Medieval City: Synagoga and Ecclesia in the Thirteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), figs. 121, 122, 126, 128, 145, 148. 27 Prache, “le cloître,” 71, pl. XXii.

12.4 Châlonsen-Champagne, Notre-dameen-vaux: south portal, tympanum and lintel (photo: Nolan)

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12.5 Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notredame-en-vaux: Wise virgin. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: Nolan)

12.6 Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: foolish virgin. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: Nolan)

figure seems to emphasize the personification of the Church in a way consistent with other messages of the cloister, as Pressouyre had suggested. in addition to ecclesia, there are women who instruct us on moral behavior: wise and foolish virgins. Corollaries to the striking male figures of the Cardinal virtues located on a pier, a Wise virgin and a foolish virgin each occupies her own column (figures 12.5 and 12.6). the foolish virgin has a capital with additional small-scale virgins.28 As characters in a parable told by Christ (Matthew 25:1–13), the Wise and Foolish Virgins are not personifications of abstract qualities like the four virtues pier, but they are closely related to this complex 28 léon Pressouyre, “fouilles,” 32–3; sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 76–8.

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12.7 (left) Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: bride from the Wedding at Cana. Musée du cloître de Notre-dame-en-vaux (photo: G. Garitan/wikicommons). see also Plate 31 12.8 (right) Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux: bride from the Wedding at Cana, detail, head. Musée du cloître de Notredame-en-vaux (photo: Nolan)

of ideas and representations. According to linda seidel, the Wise and foolish virgins represent “another metaphoric illustration of the reward for virtue.”29 Undoubtedly for this thematic similarity representations of the virgins are often paired with representations of the vices and virtues, especially in the sculpted façades of southwestern france.30 One of the most remarkable figures in the entire cloister is a young woman, another virgin, whom the Pressouyres associated with the Wedding at Cana capital (figure 12.7 = Plate 31).31 This figure, the only surviving figure to be grouped with the scene, wears very specific contemporary dress and no veil, so that her long hair 29 linda seidel, Songs of Glory: The Romanesque Façades of Aquitaine (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), 51. 30 examples include the churches of Aulnay, Chadenac, Corme-royal, fenioux, Pont-l’Abbé, and Pérignac; see seidel, Songs of Glory, 51. 31 sylvia Pressouyre, Images, 58.

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12.9 Châlonsen-Champagne, cloister of Notredame-en-vaux: mourning woman (photo: hartill Archive of Architecture and Allied Arts)

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flows down her back (Figure 12.8). She is presumably the Bride at the wedding, who figures not at all in John’s narrative but who was interpreted by theologians as the Church as the Bride of Christ.32 As we have seen, Prache’s statue of ecclesia herself was part of the cloister complex. the emphasis on the Church as Bride of Christ floats through the extant statue columns of the cloister. She is personified as ecclesia, represented as the bride from the Wedding at Cana, and is also a major focus of the Wise and foolish virgins story, where the culmination of the story is the arrival of the bridegroom. in addition to these symbolic representations of the bride, in the Notre-dame-en-vaux cloister statue columns of women operate in a more mimetic way. Beyond the examples of wise virgins in large scale, weeping holy women demonstrate for us what to feel at the death of Christ (figure 12.9). it does seem fair to mention the abundance offered by the mother of st. Nicholas, as well as the precocious proto-saint who rejects it. We are struck in the Châlons cloister, as scholars of medieval art and thought often are, by the important symbolic role of women within the deeply misogynistic world of the western church. the sympathy and beauty with which even the foolish virgins are portrayed calls to mind linda seidel’s discussion of salome in the cloister of another college of male clerics, at saint-Étienne in toulouse, a canonical environment that also featured Wise and foolish virgins.33 the novelty 32 The idea of Ecclesia and her conflation with the bride from the Song of Songs, the virgin Mary, the virtues, and the Wise virgins of the parable have been the subject of many art historical studies, including the classic, Adolf Katzenellenbogen, The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral: Christ Mary Ecclesia (Baltimore: Johns hopkins University Press, 1959), otto von simson, “le programme sculptural du transept méridional de la cathédrale de strasbourg,” Bulletin de la Société des Amis de la Cathédrale de Strasbourg 10 (1982), 33–50; e. Ann Matter, The Voice of My Beloved: The Song of Songs in Western Medieval Christianity (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990), 123–50. 33 linda seidel, “salome and the Canons,” Women Studies 11 (1984): 29–66; also see horste, Cloister Design, 151–2, for the portrayal of salome, Wise and foolish virgin, and ecclesia at la daurade.

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of Châlons is the large scale in which these exemplars or models are depicted. While the relationship between the visual arts and the growth in the emotive spirituality of such writers as Bernard of Clairvaux is complex, one wonders if the increase in identification fostered by such writers was also enhanced for the Châlons canons by the scale of the nearly life-sized figures.34 We do wonder, given the importance of the Marian cult at Notre-dame-envaux, why there is not more overt emphasis on the life of the virgin. there are multiple bases and capitals that lack columns, and there are fragmentary female figures, and so it is easy to imagine that the cloister originally gave the prominence that we would expect to the virgin. Moreover, an entire gallery of the cloister is missing, the south gallery, closest to the church. even though this south gallery was dismantled after the destruction of the rest of the cloister, all of its sculpture appears to be missing.35 extrapolating from Peter Klein’s argument that the cloister gallery nearest the church carried the greatest spiritual significance, we might wonder if the lost arcades represented the virgin more directly, perhaps in the manner of the Burgundian churches where an early metamorphosis in the identity and role of statue columns took place.36 At Notre-dame in vermenton (yonne) a statue column bearing the virgin and Child formed part of an Adoration of the Magi vignette (figure 12.10), and at saint-lazare in Avallon (yonne) a virgin Annunciate on one column was hailed by the angel Gabriel on another.37 it is tempting to speculate that at Notre-dame-en-vaux images of the virgin were among those figures that were not broken up and buried in foundation walls at the time of the destruction of the cloister. Perhaps, like ecclesia, who spent 200 years as a porch figure in the local church of Sarry, a statue column of the Virgin survived intact and will someday be identified. there are many questions still to be answered about the exceptional range of themes at Notre-dame-en-vaux, our most complete statue-column cloister. léon Pressouyre’s work on the cloister was broken off after the death of his first wife and close collaborator. Plans to write a longer monograph with the participation of danielle Johnson never came to fruition.38 Certainly there remains the question of the overall message of the cloister in a community of canons who did not share a common life. No ordinal or customary for Notre-dame-en-vaux survives that might tell us about the worship practices of the canons and the role that the cloister played in them. from the scant evidence that does survive in the 34 recent discussions of this include Ann Astell, Eating Beauty: The Eucharist and the Spiritual Arts of the Middle Ages (ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006), 64–6; and for the Apologia in general, the earlier study by Conrad rudolph, The “Things of Greater Importance”: Bernard of Clairvaux’s Apologia and the Medieval Attitude Towards Art (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990). 35 Pressouyre, “le cloître,” Monuments historiques, 4. 36 Peter K. Klein, “topographie, fonctions, et programmes iconographiques de cloîtres: la galerie attenante à l’église,” in Der mittelalteriche Kreuzgang, ed. Peter K. Klein (regensburg: schnell & steiner: 2004), 105–56. 37 lapeyre, Des façades, 108–9, 144–5; sauerländer, Gothic Sculpture, 401. 38 We are extremely grateful to danielle Johnson for allowing us access to the unpublished notes for this project.

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12.10  vermenton, Notredame: west portal (photo: Nolan)

archives, léon Pressouyre discovered that the canons continued to observe the Maundy thursday ritual in the cloister into the eighteenth century.39 We should note that the canons of Notre-dame-en-vaux were by no means unique in having commissioned a cloister, relatively late in their history and for no compelling devotional reason. A research group attached to the french Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) assembled, in the 1990s, the evidence of canonical complexes in some 22 french cities.40 As yves esquieu noted in an essay based upon the findings of the project, many of the communities of secular canons erected cloisters in the second half of the twelfth and during the thirteenth centuries. These cloisters varied in their configuration and proximity to the 39 léon Pressouyre, “Monastic ideals,” 75–7. one should note by contrast that sylvia Pressouyre stressed the lack of spiritual function of the cloister; Images, 12. 40 Jean-Charles Picard, ed., Les chanoines dans la ville. Recherches sur la topographie des quartiers canoniaux en France (Paris: de Boccard, 1994).

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church; some were in the traditional Benedictine position, and others not directly attached to the church.41 scant evidence of the decoration of the cloisters in this study survive, although we do have fragmentary remains of perhaps half a dozen statue-column cloisters from diverse institutions that, like Châlons, exemplify the expansion of monumental sculpture in the twelfth century.42 Ultimately our best source for the meaning of the cloister is the sculpture itself, where the contrast between its intricate symbolic program and the formulaic iconography of the public portal suggests that its primary audience was the educated clergy of Notre-dame-en-vaux. the themes of the cloister at Notre Dame-en-Vaux are unusually allegorical and learned, but they find parallels in statue columns that survive from two monastic cloisters. At the abbey of saintPierre-le-vif, in sens (yonne), the column statues from the destroyed cloister included personifications of the Liberal Arts, Geometry, Dialectic, and Music, recalling the presence of those themes in twelfth-century portals at Chartres and déols (indres). sculpture from the vanished cloister of the Benedictine house of saint-Géry au Mont-des-Boeufs, in Cambrai (Nord), includes enigmatic figures—a male with a falcon and a female holding flowers—which may indicate months of the year, May and April.43 these themes may evoke the cycle of sacred time in Benedictine life, while a third figure, a dancing female, may represent salome.44 Perhaps because of accidents of survival, the level of complexity and sophistication in the cloister of Notre-dame-en-vaux surpasses that of the two Benedictine examples. We may assume that the primary purpose of the cloister was to emphasize the spirituality of canonical life through role models and symbols of virtue, including the Cardinal virtues, whose quadrilateral pier suggests that it stood at one of the corners of the cloister, and thus in a prime location. remembering the bitter disputes with the chapter of the cathedral of Châlons, we can conclude that in the cloister the canons of Notre-dame-en-vaux, secular or not, wanted to put forth messages that upheld the validity of canonical life. Within this theme we find 41 yves esquieu, “la place du cloître dans l’organisation du quartier cathedral,” in Kreuzgang, ed. Klein, 80–88. 42 Sylvia Pressouyre, writing in 1976, listed five other statue-column cloisters in france: saint-denis, saint-Maur-des-fosses, saint-Pierre-le-vif, in sens, saint-Quentin, in Beauvais, and saint-Géry au Mont-des-Boeufs (Images, 15–16). 43 For the column figures from Saint-Pierre-le-Vif, in Sens, now in the Sens Musée municipal, see sauerländer, Gothic Sculpture, 92–3, figure 29. for the sculptures from saint-Géry au Mont-des-Boeufs, now in the Musée municipal, in Cambrai, see William Wixom, Treasures from Medieval France (Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967), 90–91; and Sculptures romanes et gothiques du Nord de la France (lille: Musée des Beaux Arts, 1978), 97–102, figures 31, 32; and françoise Magny, Le Musée de Cambrai (Paris: fondation Paribas, 1997), 30–35. in Champagne itself, the learned theme of a disputation appeared in a tympanum, now in the Musée saint-remi, in reims, that originally came from a house in the canonical quarter of reims Cathedral; Michael Camille, “‘seeing and lecturing’: disputation in a twelfth-Century tympanum from reims,” in Reading Medieval Images: The Art Historian and the Object, ed. elizabeth sears and thelma K. thomas (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002), 75–87. 44 Magny, Musée, 34–5.

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multiple examples of female figures being used to embody values that guided a college of clerics, as well as the exceptional allegories of the cloister whose sophistication attests to the high intellectual level of the community. Prache, in her 1962 essay on the Châlons column figures then at Sarry, laid the path for modern scholarship into the sculpture of Notre-dame-en-vaux. It is fitting that she focused on a female figure, since the women, the Filiae Hierusalem of Notre-dame-en-vaux, demonstrate that remarkable range of narrative and symbol that the statue column is able to convey. We have noted that the sole female figure among the statues of the south portal functioned, like her counterparts, as a biblical witness to the theophany in the tympanum, at the same time as she helps to signal a filiation with mainstream monasticism by means of affinities with Saint-Bénigne. The same multivalence is at work in the female figures within the cloister, where they are essential to the virtuosic iconography that the canons used to express their values. Female column figures in the cloister fulfill their longestablished roles as personifications of abstractions, but they also bring to life parables, thus serving as moral models and anti-models; they intensify Gospel narratives and they relate saints’ lives. together the sculptures of the portal and cloister at Notre-dame-en-vaux demonstrate the astonishing range of themes that the column figure was uniquely equipped to convey. These near life-sized figures are stand-ins for the viewer; occupying space in the same three-dimensional way that we do, especially in the case of cloister figures, they supply concreteness to distant religious characters and intangible ideals. in order to appreciate the versatility that the column figure lent to the monumental art of the second half of the twelfth century, it is important to consider these sculptures in multiple architectural settings, as we have done at Notre-dame-en-vaux, as well as at a range of institutions.45

45 our argument echoes a point made by léon Pressouyre in 1986 with regard to whether or not the cloister at Saint-Denis was the first statue-column cloister, that the question could not “be disassociated from an overall study of the multiple architectural functions of the statue-column in the twelfth century,” in “Cloister at saint-denis,” in Abbot Suger, ed. Gerson, 244, n. 39. our work on Châlons forms part of a larger study of the statue column in its multiple settings. this project draws upon long engagement with statue-column portals: susan leibacher Ward, “the sculpture of the south Porch at le Mans Cathedral,” Phd diss., Brown University, 1984; and “the south Porch of le Mans Cathedral and the Concept of the ‘follower Portal,’” in Mittelalteriche Bauskulptur in Frankreich und Spanien, ed. Claudia rückert and Jochen staebel (frankfurt: vervuert, 2010), 51–63; Kathleen Nolan, “the early Gothic Portal of Notre-dame in Étampes,” Phd diss., Columbia University, 1985, “Narrative in the Capital frieze of Notre-dame in Étampes,” Art Bulletin 71 (1989): 166–84; “ritual and visual experience in the Capital frieze of the Cathedral of Chartres,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 123 (1994): 53–72; and “‘Ploratus et ululatus’: the Mothers in the Massacre of the innocents at the Cathedral of Chartres,” Studies in Iconography 17 (1996): 95–141.

Chapter 13

A little-Known Work from the fourteenth Century: the façade of the Cathedral of lyons Nicolas reveyron

the west façade of the cathedral of saint-Jean in lyons (rhône) (figure 13.1) belongs to the last phase of a long project begun around 1175 by Archbishop Guichard de Pontigny (1165–80). Construction of the façade spanned the entire fourteenth century and into the fifteenth, and the façade has also undergone multiple localized restorations. in the fourteenth century the arcade that surmounts the portals and the gallery behind it were massively restored, following the style of the original structure.1 in the nineteenth century the architectural features that had suffered the most damage by the elements—railings, pinnacles, and gable—were repaired or replaced entirely.2 the restoration efforts that spread across the last decades of the twentieth century and that continue today3 have shed light on the history of the construction and the principles that shaped it.4 in 2011 an archeological analysis was conducted of the entire expanse of the façade. this analysis considered the sequence and techniques of the façade’s construction as well as the iconography of its portals. the analysis also led to the creation of an archéologie de l’image, the result of the interpretation of the battered remains aided by verbal and graphic evidence, which is useful for reconstructing the vanished program from the traces still visible on the building. This chapter presents the early findings from this ongoing research, and will emphasize the portals and their decoration. rich in ornament, the portals display the art of the early fourteenth century, which has been too little studied. this sculpture is a key feature of the cathedral of lyons, a monument that Anne Prache took great pleasure in encountering. 1 françois-régis Cottin, “les métamorphoses de la période classique, Xviie– Xviiie,” in Lyon: primatiale des Gaules. La grâce d’une cathédrale, ed. Jean-dominique durand, didier repellin, and Nicolas reveyron (strasbourg: la Nuée bleue, 2011): 71–3. 2 Philippe Duffieux, “La primatiale à l’épreuve du siècle de l’Histoire,” in Lyon: primatiale, ed. durand et al., 75–98. 3 didier repellin, “les travaux contemporains,” in Lyon: primatiale, ed. durand et al., 99–109. 4 the restorations of the cathedral carried out in the 1980s have given way to a series of building archeology analyses. see Nicolas reveyron, with Ghislaine Macabéo, Christian le Barrier and hervé Chopin, Chantiers lyonnais du Moyen Âge, Saint-Jean, Saint-Nizier, Saint-Paul, archéologie et histoire de l’art (lyons: Association de liaison pour le patrimoine et l’archéologie en rhône-Alpes et en Auvergne, 2005), 55–158.

13.1 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade (photo: Jean-Pierre Gobillot)

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Written and archeological Sources the cathedral of lyons was only belatedly included in the history of medieval art, because of its originality. in 1837 stendhal wrote of the cathedral: Mon devoir m’a conduit à saint-Jean, la cathédrale de lyon, commencée à la fin du XIIe siècle et terminée par Louis XI. Je n’y ai trouvé de remarquable que la piété des fidèles. C’est un gothique mêlé de “roman,” car il faut observer que les souvenirs de rome ne périrent jamais entièrement dans le midi de la france, et, pour l’architecture, ce midi commence à lyon. [duty led me to saint-Jean, the cathedral of lyons, begun at the end of the twelfth century and completed for louis Xi. i found nothing remarkable there apart from the piety of the faithful. it is Gothic mixed with “romanesque,” since memories of rome never entirely disappeared in the south of france, and for architecture, the south begins at lyons.]5

however, the façade, and especially the medallions of the portal embrasures, attracted scholars’ attention from an early date. in 1834 Prosper Mérimée, who wrote an initial concise study of the monument, dated the portals to the midthirteenth century, based on clothing style, and argued that the relief sculpture at Lyons was contemporary with the quadrilobes of the buttresses that flank the south transept portal of the cathedral of Paris.6 The Place of the Façade in the history of art the façade of lyons Cathedral is poorly documented. the Wars of religion and the french revolution took a heavy toll on the cathedral archives, which offer nothing beyond scant information concerning the later phases of its construction. the major dates for the upper parts of the façade were established by Marie-Claude Guigue, who in 1880 first laid out the chronology of the cathedral.7 in 1392, Jacques de Beaujeu, master of the works, designed the tracery of the flamboyant rose window. the windows created by the Parisian master henri de Nivelle were installed there between 1393 and 1394.8 The vaulting of the first double bay of the main nave was put in position during the episcopates of Cardinal Jean de talaru (1375–89) and Philippe de thurey (1389–1415). Another date concerns the great 5 stendhal, Voyages en France, ed. victor del litto (Paris: Gallimard, 1992), 474. 6 Prosper Mérimée, Notes d’un voyage dans le Midi de la France (Brussels: hauman, 1835), 104–5. 7 Marie-Claude Guigue, “Notice sur la construction de la cathédrale de saint-Jean et de ses chapelles,” in lucien Bégule, Monographie de la cathédrale de Lyon (lyons: Mougin-rusand, 1880), 1–46. 8 the lowest zone of the second level has preserved the anchoring for the crane used to install the glass panels.

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gable at the summit of the façade. in 1481, three sculptures carved by hugonin de Navarre at the request of the chapter were placed there. they consisted of God the father and an Annunciation group separated by the openwork high window. Between these two periods—the beginning of the fourteenth century for the portals and the end of the fifteenth century for the last sculptures—there is no documentation to guide research. however, archeological analyses conducted on the north and south flanks of the nave and, in 2011, on the façade suggest a relative chronology for the project. Because of the absence of documentation, the proposed dating of the beginning of work on the façade has fluctuated widely since Prosper Mérimée’s attribution of the medallions to the middle of the thirteenth century. the more cautious historians—such as Guigue in 1880, Jean-Baptiste Martin in 1908,9 and Alphonse sachet in 191410—have not taken a stance. others, however, misinterpreting the later sources—especially the gifts made on behalf of the chapter—argued for the inception of the project in the latter part of the fourteenth century. hippolyte leymarie wrote in 1843: la base du portail que ces fondations pieuses [donations de 1391] font rejeter avec trop de légèreté vers la fin du XIVe siècle, nous semble au contraire appartenir au commencement. [the base of the portal whose pious foundations [bequests of 1391] have caused to be rashly put off to the end of the fourteenth century seems to us instead to belong to its beginning.]11

in 1880, lucien Bégule attributed the portal to the patronage of Archbishop Pierre de savoie (1308–32), based on the multiple coats of arms of savoy and the two representations of the consecrations of an archbishop.12 during the 1935 session of the Congrès archéologique, Marcel Aubert adopted this dating, without explanation: Éxécutés vers 1310–1320, ces médaillons sont de peu postérieurs à ceux des portes du libraire et de la Calendes de la cathédrale de rouen, antérieurs à ceux que Clément vi a fait exécuter aux jambages du portail de la chapelle qu’il terminait en 1351 dans son palais d’Avignon.

9 Jean-Baptiste Martin, “saint-Jean,” in Histoire des églises et chapelles de Lyon, ed. Jean-Baptiste Martin (lyons: lardanchet, 1908–09), 1: 1–12. 10 Alphonse sachet, Le Pardon annuel de la saint Jean et de la saint Pierre à SaintJean de Lyon, 1392–1790 (lyons: Grange, 1914–18), 1: 11–42. 11 hippolyte leymarie, “Église de saint-Jean,” in Lyon ancien et moderne, ed. léon Boitel (lyons: Boitel, 1838–43), 2: 181 [169–258]. 12 lucien Bégule, Monographie de la cathédrale de Lyon (lyons: Mougin-rusand, 1880), 52, 173.

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[executed circa 1310–20, these medallions are slightly later than those of the Porte des libraires and the Porte de la Calende of rouen Cathedral, and earlier than those which Clement vi commissioned for the chapel portal of the papal palace in Avignon, completed in 1351.]13

in 1870, the issue of a relationship with italy was raised by Auguste dufour and françois rabut,14 who demonstrated that in 1416 the duke of savoy, Amédée viii, the future Pope felix v, had sent the painter Gregorio Bono to record the lyons portals.15 in 1907—a year after françoise lefrançois Pillion had compared the quadrilobes of rouen and lyons with those created by Andrea Pisano between 1330 and 1336 for the south door of the Baptistery of florence16—Conrad de Mondach noted similarities between the reliefs at lyons and those created by donatello a half century later, between 1461 and 1466, for the portals of san lorenzo in florence.17 These studies were chiefly concerned with the richness and originality of the programs and their narrative structure. The archeology of the Façade The façade of the cathedral of Lyons is an integral part of the first bays of the nave (figure 13.2). surmounted by six-part ribbed vaults, the central vessel comprises four double bays, corresponding to eight single bays in the side aisles, which have four-part vaults. in the fourteenth century, not only was the façade reworked, but so were the first double bays of the nave and the first two bays of each side aisle. The intersection of the first bay of the nave, from the fourteenth century, and the second bay, erected in the second half of the thirteenth century, creates a great vertical emphasis that stretches from the floor to the vaults (Figure 13.2). the form is unusual, since construction typically advances by regressive stages.18 13 Marcel Aubert, “lyon, cathédrale,” Congrès Archéologique de France 98, Lyon, Mâcon 1935 (Paris: Picard, 1936), 81–2 [54–90]. 14 Auguste dufour and françois rabut, “Notes pour servir à l’histoire de savoyards de divers états: les peintures et les peintres en savoie du Xiiie au XiXe siècle,” Mémoires et documents de la Société savoisienne d’histoire et d’archéologie 12 (1870): 42–5 [3–303]. 15 on the complex question of artistic relations between lyons and italy in the Middle Ages, of which the lyonnais medallions are only one aspect, see rené Jullian, “lyon et l’italie au moyen-âge,” Revue des Études Italiennes n.s. 5/2–3 (1958): 133–46. 16 louise lefrançois-Pillion, “la sculpture italienne du Xive siècle et son dernier historien,” Revue de l’art ancien et moderne 19 (1906-i): 359–60 [353–60]. see also lefrançois-Pillon, Les portails latéraux de la cathédrale de Rouen. Étude historique et iconographique sur un ensemble de bas-reliefs de la fin du XIIIe siècle (Paris: Picard, 1907). the subject was also addressed in an exhibition, “Corte e città, Arti del Quattrocento nelle Alpi occidentali,” curated by enrica Pagella and elena rossetti Brezzi (Milan, 2006). 17 Conrad de Mandach, “la cathédrale de lyon et donatello,” Revue de l’art (1907-ii): 433. 18 At some point the arcade extended beyond the triforium, which projected beyond the clerestory. At saint-Jean de lyon, ca. 1240, the nave contained three arcade bays, two triforium bays, and a single clerestory bay.

13.2 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: view of nave from the east (photo: author)

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the general organization of the construction project provides the explanation. the façade of the old cathedral must have served as an enclosure for the construction site for the new structure: the last thirteenth-century bay abutted the façade at the east, and the fourteenth-century bay was built at the exterior of the old façade. According to this arrangement, which was probably more frequent than we imagine,19 quite early in the project (likely around 1190), the location of the current façade was defined and laid out by means of the construction of the foundations and the erection of the engaged piers of the reverse of the façade up to a height of several meters. All of the archeological evidence demonstrates that the western block was begun at the west, for the façade itself, and the south, in terms of the lateral wall of the south side aisle that adjoined the romanesque cloister. decoration belonging to this latter wall, in the form of a statue of the virgin and Child that adorned the southwest entrance to the cloister, suggests a date on stylistic grounds to the last decades of the thirteenth century. As Bégule suggested, Archbishop Pierre de savoie was highly active in the construction of the portals. Apart from the conspicuous presence of the count’s arms already noted by Bégule, the north portal (the portal of saint Peter) exhibits strong political connotations, discussed below, that reference the annexation of lyons by savoy in 1312. these connotations indicate that it was during his episcopacy that a portion of the quadrilobes and archivolts were planned and executed. At the same time, within the production sequence of the western ensemble (façade and first double bay), work began at the south, on the side of the canonical enclosure, and continued to the north.20 it is thus not impossible, despite the stylistic homogeneity of the entire western zone, that the south or infancy portal was begun at the beginning of Bishop Pierre’s episcopacy, or even during that of one of his immediate predecessors, louis de villars (1301–08) or henry de villars (1295–1301). on the second level, the chronology of construction seems to have been more discontinuous. two vertical breaks on either side of the rose window indicate that the side portions of this level of the façade were later and should be assigned to the beginning of the fifteenth century; the busts of prophets within the niches fit within the tradition of Burgundian sculpture of that era (figure 13.1). similarly, the staircase turrets, the upper levels of the towers, and the gable were each the 19 Apart from the famous example of the cathedral of Cologne, scholars have recently determined that the cathedral of Auxerre and the abbey church of saint-Gilles-du-Gard followed a similar arrangement. see sylvain Aumard, heike hansen, dieter Kimpel, and Götz echtenacher, “la cathédrale d’Auxerre, Construction et chronologie,” in La cathédrale de Saint-Étienne d’Auxerre. La seconde vie d’une cathédrale, ed. Christian sapin (Paris: Picard, 2011), 117–55; heike hansen, “Chronologie des cinq portails,” in La cathédrale de Saint-Étienne d’Auxerre, 211–32; and also heike hansen and Andreas hartmann-virnich, “la façade de l’abbatiale de saint-Gilles-du-Gard,” Congrès Archéologique, 157: Gard (Paris: société française d’archéologie, 2000): 271–92. 20 Bégule, Monographie, 175. The construction sequence is easily verified for the turret of the north stairway at the second level and for the level of the north tower, both erected after those of the south.

13.3 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, arcades seen from the south (photo: author)

13.4 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, gargoyle from arcade, goat and siren in talons of a beast (photo: author)

13.5 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: north flank of west façade, lovers on lower console face (photo: author)

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product of separate efforts that spread across the first decades of the century. Within this sequence, the elements from the south always preceded those from the north, with work ending with the termination of the south tower. Composition of the Façade the elevation of the cathedral’s façade comprises two distinct levels: the massive oblong of the portals and the squarer level of the rose window (figure 13.1). Unlike the monumental portals of classic french Gothic architecture, where the composition in three levels (portals, gallery of kings, and rose) translates to the exterior the organization of the interior (arcade, triforium or tribune, and clerestory), the architect of saint-Jean treated the façade as an autonomous object, the design of which blurred the relationship to the three levels of the interior elevation. the façade ensemble is framed by two spiral staircases which are concealed within the overall mass of the first level but revealed on the second as two polygonal turrets that flank the central zone at a slight setback. The Two Levels The first level consists of a massive volume that includes the two side staircases and the three portals surmounted by a blind arcade. The five wall buttresses that frame the portals extend to the full height of the first level and are slightly in relief. the buttresses are occupied by narrow arcades surmounted by gables that are framed by gargoyles and that shelter cubic consoles and canopies intended for statues (figure 13.3). the ensemble offers a great ornamental richness that embellishes the iconographic programs of the tympana, jambs, and cubic consoles with a crowd of human and animal figures (Figures 13.4 and 13.5). A careful hierarchy of ornament prevents this profusion from weighing down the portals, and insures that the structure and programs remain perfectly legible. At the summit of the first level, the blind arcade corresponds to an interior gallery that adjoins the western range of the triforium and connects to the triforium, the second story of the towers, and the two stairways of the façade. visually, the blind arcade functions not as an intermediate level but as the crowning feature of the portal zone. The second level is set back from the first, as though resting on it. Because it contains the rose window, this level is less thick than the lower one; otherwise, the circular bay of the rose would have become a tunnel, as is the case at laon Cathedral, where the rose has an embrasure as deep as the four archivolts of the central portal. in this case, the architect decided to preserve the façade’s planarity on the interior and limit the discrepancy in levels on the exterior. this choice was shaped by the character of the interior decoration. the indented silhouette of the second level contrasts with the massiveness of the first. The openwork gallery, the floor of which is the roofing over the interior gallery, encloses the second level on three sides. the central mass of the second block is made up of

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a wide rectangular expanse of bare wall. the center of the block is occupied by a flamboyant rose consisting of sinuous tracery that contrasts with the unadorned stonework of the wall. Two groups of shallow niches flank the rose. The niches retain their consoles, with busts of prophets, and dais (although in the northern niche a monumental sixteenth-century clock replaces the niches and canopies). the niches are surmounted by pairs of high gables carved into the mural surface, the raked moldings of which are borne by gargoyles. A subtle play of receding planes highlights the rose window. The second level recedes from the first; a second setback, to the side, is created by the stairway turrets; then, in the upper zone, there is a third indentation, almost as slight as the second. this last level reveals the vast openwork gable and the uppermost level of the towers of the façade, which rise less high than the gable. Composition of the Reverse of the Façade in the central nave, the reverse of the portal displays an ornament that is simple in its plan and execution, because it is carved in masonry surface,21 but sophisticated in its conception and composition detail. the decoration consists of three gables of unequal size resting on an arcade and borne on four polygonal consoles covered with foliage and likely intended for statues in the round (figure 13.6). The central gable is flanked by two lower gables; the arcades beneath shelter, as on the exterior of the façade, four bases and their canopies intended for statues never put in place. the interior of the side gables is occupied by a composition of polylobed roses that repeat, in reduced form, those of the large gable, discussed below. the composition consists of two encircled quadrilobes on the lowest level, a rose with five lobes in the center, and an elongated trefoil that fits exactly into the acute angle of the isosceles triangle. here again, the architect played with the effects of false transparencies; the three interior gables clearly correspond to the three exterior gables, but the exterior ones extend over the entire width of the façade, each one crowning a door, while on the interior, the gables are concentrated within the width of the nave alone. the large door is surmounted by a gable that extends to the triforium and terminates in a capital intended to support a statue for which the housing is still visible on the central colonnette of the triforium.22 the gable is supported by two thin arcades that are semicircular on the extrados and trilobed on the intrados; that is, they are half quadrilobes.23 four roundels, whose diameter and polylobed decoration mold to correspond to their position within the gable, occupy the interior. The two midsize roses with five lobes are at the bottom: a large rose with seven lobes in the center, and a small trefoil rose above. As yves Gallet remarked, the ornament reflects that interest in mathematical relationships characteristic of 21 With the exception of the die, the dais, and the consoles. 22 But the absence of traces of attachment brackets confirms that no statues were ever installed. 23 the lintel was replaced in the eighteenth century by a depressed arch that eliminated the amortizement of the two arcades.

13.6 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: interior, reverse of the façade (photo: author)

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the last third of the thirteenth century.24 here again, the architect played with the effects of false transparencies. if on the interior he varied the motif of the polylobed medallion by adapting the number of lobes to the position of each circular form, on the exterior he instead emphasized the quadrilobe rose of a consistent diameter, while still preserving the general schema of two quadrilobe roses in the lower zones and four quadrilobe roundels in a cross shape in the large central rose. Significantly, this schema creates a reduced copy of the rose windows of the transept from the middle of the thirteenth century, the only exception to the rule. A reference to the monumental history of the cathedral thus shaped its decoration. Sources and Influences the west portals of the cathedral of lyons, together with the transept portals of Rouen Cathedral, constitute the first great monumental ensembles in a direct line of descent from the south transept portal of the cathedral of Paris. the relationship extends to the reverse façades; and, as Markus schlicht noted, the lyons portals are related to the Parisian formula by the intervention of those of rouen.25 one finds there the same architectural vocabulary—gables, embrasures with pedestals, niches with canopies—and the same grammar of forms: the niches and portals are surmounted by gables; the pedestals of the embrasures terminate in small trilobed tympana; the gables are decorated with ornamental motifs; and the gable of the central portal overlaps that of the arcade. At lyons, however, the composition undergoes three fundamental transformations that clarify architectural relationships. first, there is a strong mural sense, while at Paris or rouen the background wall disappears under rayonnant ornamentation. Moreover, the composition at lyons reduces the ornamental vocabulary: gone are the pinnacles, openwork roses, niches carved into the wall, and pedestals of niches arranged in diamond patterns that characterize Parisian façades. And, finally, the schema at Lyons simplifies the variables: absent as well are the effects of relief (three levels of depth); the illusionistic effects based on the concealing of anchorage (in the gables); the projecting corners; the piercing of roses to reveal the background; and the irruption of the pinnacles of the gables in front of the bays. Also eliminated is the hierarchy of heights of the elements (the diminution in height from the central gables to the side gables to the small gables of the wall niches), which cancelled out horizontality and accentuated verticality. the architect at lyons thus interpreted the Parisian model in a more twodimensional and horizontal manner. All of the gables are “glued” to the wall, from which they scarcely project, and are decorated by quadrilobes and trilobes carved 24 i wish to thank yves Gallet, of the University of rennes, for having called my attention to this important point. 25 Markus schlicht, La cathédrale de Rouen vers 1300: portail des libraires, portail de la Calende, chapelle de la Vièrge: un chantier majeur de la fin du Moyen âge (Caen: société des antiquaires de Normandie, 2005), 161–3.

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into the masonry. only the gables of the portals follow a hierarchy according to the size of the portal, in which the central gable extends somewhat higher than the uppermost gallery that surmounts the entire façade. thus the fourteenth-century façade demonstrates a poetic and musical organization already present in the romanesque portions of the cathedral (triforium of the choir): a melodic line of the three gables developing from the continuo of the other gables. the reduction of a three-dimensional model into two was designed to translate the plastic volumes of the thirteenth century into line and color, following a familiar principle in medieval art.26 evidence of the original polychromy of the façade was discovered during the building’s archeology project of 2011. The simplification of the decorative scheme also allowed for the development of sculptural ornament—from the small figures inserted in the rinçeaux to the medallions and the figures in the archivolts— without overwhelming the ensemble or clouding the iconographic programs. the simplification of architectural decoration is at the service of the image. in terms of natural lighting, the design of the lyonnais façade differs radically from its model. in contrast to the vast expanses of glazing in the Parisian south transept façade, at lyons there is wall surface in which a rose window occupies only a modest part—even if, on the interior, the rose corresponds to the curves of the vault. the façade’s strong mural quality; the pronounced taste for horizontal lines; the division into two distinct zones; the picture-like composition at the level of the rose window; a gem in a stone jewelry box; the reduction of the towers into a compact aerial level; and the presence of an openwork gable. All of these features evoke the cathedral of siena, erected in the last decades of the thirteenth century, or the cathedral of orvieto, begun in 1310 by lorenzo Maitani. even if these façades are richer in figural decoration (reliefs, statues, and mosaics), in sculptural ornament and in gables they were conceived according to the same principles (including the emphasis on the rose window). At lyons, the Parisianinspired design that characterized the first level was continued on the second level; the schema of niches surmounted by gables that frame the rose is a copy of the niches that flank the portals. The joining of these two tendencies is not contradictory: one corresponds to the architectural ornament and defines the façade as belonging to an important cathedral: the other responds to an updated composition and constructive thinking.

26 the phenomenon is not new. it appeared in the incrusted Byzantine decoration of churches in continental Greece, decoration which interprets in two dimensions and colors the relief carvings of the churches of the capital, inherited from antique architecture. see André Grabar, Sculptures byzantines du Moyen âge (Paris: Picard, 1976); Grabar, “la décoration architecturale de l’église de la vierge à saint-luc en Phocide et le début des influences islamiques sur l’art byzantin de Grèce,” Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres 115 (1971): 15–37; and Nicolas reveyron, “décor d’incrustations et tendances antiquisantes dans l’architecture romane de la moyenne vallée du rhône,” Gesta 39 (2000): 24–42.

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Iconographic Program the iconographic program of the portals has suffered terrible damage, which varies according to the placement and type of sculpture.27 the faces and hands of figures in the archivolts, the tympana, and medallions of the pedestals were all battered during the occupation of the city by Protestant troops under the Baron des Adrets. during the eighteenth century, the canons ordered that the tympana and lintel be obliterated and plastered over. reconstruction of the lost program is very difficult. A drawing in De tristibus Galliae carmen, made at the end of the sixteenth century, gives evidence of the general disposition of the figures but is too summary to allow specific identification.28 At the time the plaster was removed in 1878, lucien Bégule was able to study the fragments that remained in situ, and believed that he saw a Coronation of the virgin in the south tympanum, a last Judgment in the central portal, and scenes from the life of st. Peter in the north tympanum. these themes would all be in keeping with medieval norms and with the dedications of the side chapels of the choir on axis with the side portals. the archéologie de l’image undertaken during the restoration campaign of 2011 allowed for more precise identification of destroyed scenes.29 The Central Portal With its four archivolts and eight pedestals, the central portal is more elaborate than the side doors—three archivolts and six pedestals (figure 13.7). its tympanum is composed of three registers: the actual lintel, replaced in the eighteenth century by a depressed arch; a second register surmounted by a compressed arcade; and a third level equal to the combined heights of the lower two. the drawing in De tristibus Galliae carmen, which confirms the presence of the destroyed arcade, suggests that there may have been a Christ enthroned with the four evangelist symbols in the upper portion, and in the median zone, a series of small figures impossible to decipher, as well as seated figures in the lintel (such as the Apostles) interrupted by the canopy and head of the trumeau sculpture. today, however, archeological analysis cannot discern any trace of these sculptures, apart from the arcade. very likely the sculpture consisted of

27 The statues carved in the round were totally destroyed; the archivolts figures were mutilated, while the scenes in the quatrefoil medallions were less drastically affected. in the archivolts of the central portal, certain angels were positioned high enough to have escaped damage. 28 De tristibus Galliae carmen quattuor libri, Bibliothèque Municipale de lyon, Ms 156, folio 3. Manuscript on paper. Color drawing executed after 1572. 29 Bégule, Monographie, 70–71; Nicolas reveyron, “sculpture médiévale et archéologie du bâti: une méthode nouvelle pour l’histoire de la sculpture monumentale du Moyen Age (exemples de Nantua et de lyon, Xiie–Xive siècle).” Paper presented at the colloquium of the Working Group for the study of Medieval sculpture (1100–1550): A transatlantic Collaboration, Paris, fondation singer-Polignac and institut National d’histoire de l’Art, January 30–31, 2012.

13.7 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, archivolts and embrasures of south side of central door (photo: author)

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figures carved in the round that were fastened to the background of each register with iron attachments sunk into the stone of the tympanum.30 the archivolt sculpture is far better preserved and is an integral part of the voussoirs. the four archivolts of the central door are occupied by adoring angels which, reading from the interior towards the exterior, are seraphim (three pairs of wings), angels bearing candles, thurifer angels, and angel musicians. Bégule identified the angels’ instruments as the zither, viol, portable organ, sackbut, gittern, harp, double tambour, six-stringed crwth, buisine, transverse flute, and tambourine.31 the relief panels of the eight pedestals of the jambs of the central portal, four on each side, are divided into seven registers of 16 quatrefoil medallions (figure 13.8). their scenes read from bottom to top. on the lower level, the first register is composed of 32 small medallions, like the predella of a retable, representing the labors of the Months and the signs of the Zodiac. At the top of each panel, the medallions take the form of tympana in deep relief inscribed in a trilobe (figure 13.9). the order of the narrative is from north to south and, on each side, each register unfolds iconographically from the doorway towards the exterior. the second register is devoted to the life of John the Baptist, the patron saint of the cathedral. The third, fourth, and fifth registers illustrate episodes from Genesis, from the Creation to the meeting of laban and eliezer. the narrative structure of this ensemble is exceptional. the general theme, the role of women in creation, is developed through a learned sequence of scenes in which the emphasis on certain scenes and the absence of others is striking. several of the narratives employ a triptych-like structure, which permits a presentation of the theme in the central zone and exegesis in the side panels. At the same time, the angular form of the pedestals both inhibits a continuous reading of the scenes and promotes a dual reading of a given register, from the front and from the side. this arrangement thus enforces two different interpretations of the same theme, in a sort of anamorphosis avant la lettre. The Side Portals the side portals are less deep than the central one. they contain only six pedestals and three archivolts. the south portal is dedicated to the infancy of Christ. the medallions illustrate the entire medieval encyclopedia. No coherent program is discernible in the accumulation of images that includes the Christian bestiary, monsters, scenes from everyday life, as well as the saints. the only narrative is the miracle of theophilus, reduced to two medallions. the archéologie de l’image, the careful scrutiny of the battered remains combined with Bégule’s account and the De tristibus drawing, permit a reconstruction of the program of the tympanum and lintel (figures 13.10 and 13.11). the tympanum is divided 30 for a recent discussion of the conception and execution of Gothic portals, see the studies in Mise en oeuvre des portails gothiques, Architecture et sculpture, ed. iliana Kasarska (Paris: Picard, 2011). 31 Bégule, Monographie, 71.

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13.8 Lyons, Cathedral of saintJean-Baptiste: west façade, embrasures of north side of central door, pedestals (photo: author)

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into two scenes of unequal size. At left is represented the Presentation in the temple and at right probably the flight into egypt. the lintel contains traces of four scenes: the Annunciation (center right); the Annunciation to the shepherds (center left); the Adoration of the shepherds in a stable, of which a fragment of the roof remains (at left); and the Adoration of the Magi, under an identical roof marked by a star (at right). the lintel evokes the universality of the Christian message, and the tympanum foreshadows Christ’s sacrifice. The three archivolts are populated by figures of prophets, a familiar theme in a portal where the Virgin holds pride of place. the north portal received special treatment. its gable is surrounded by four statues, which are perhaps related to the early history of the lyonnais church.32 the ensemble functions as a baldachin to emphasize a theme with political implications. The lintel is very difficult to decipher. The tympanum seems to have represented the martyrdom of st. Peter. the archivolts (figure 13.12) are based on the Lyonnais sanctorale from which Lucien Bégule identified certain figures.33 the emphasis is placed on two aspects of local church history. first, its apostolic genealogy through two early bishops, Pothin and irenaeus, who were disciples 32 the central and south portals lack these upper sculptures. 33 Bégule, Monographie, 72–7.

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of st. Polycarp and, through him, linked to st. John the evangelist. second, the archivolts feature priestly martyrs, notably political victims, among whom figures thomas Becket of Canterbury, the friend of Guichard de Pontigny and Jean Bellesmain(s) in whose honor a chapel was built on the hillside of fourvière.34 As in the south portal, the pedestals teem with diverse images drawn from the medieval imagination. there is a succinct program within this ensemble, however; the six medallions of the second register to the south represent the life of St. Peter. The first quadrilobe next to the door contains the Calling of St. Peter. the second and third panels illustrate his escape from prison in Jerusalem, at left, the saint in prison, and at right, the arrival of the angel to deliver him. the fourth medallion likely represents the episode of Simon the Magician. The fifth scene introduces a shift in theme, since it depicts the consecration of a bishop by saints Peter and Paul, in a likely reference to Pierre de Savoie. The crucifixion of St. Peter closes the sequence.

34 Jean Bellesmain(s), who was bishop of Poitiers from 1162 to 1182 and then followed Guichard de Pontigny as bishop of lyons (1182–93), erected a church on the hillside that overlooks the cathedral soon after Becket’s assassination in 1170.

13.9 Lyons, Cathedral of saint-JeanBaptiste: west façade, central door, trilobe gable with st. Martin at summit of pedestal (photo: author)

13.10 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, tympanum of south door (photo: author)

13.11 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, lintel of south door (photo: author)

13.12 Lyons, Cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste: west façade, north door, figures of saints taken during recent restorations (photo: author)

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Conclusion in the north portal, the inclusion of the life of st. Peter, the celebration of the lyonnais bishops, and the emphasis on the martyrdom of men of the church all confirm a dating after the definitive annexation of Lyons to the kingdom of France in 1312. the entire portal resonates with a protest against the seizure of the city by the king of france, who stripped the bishop of his political power. the central portal, on the other hand, relates a sophisticated theological meditation on the old testament, including scenes whose interpretation is not obvious, like that of lot’s daughters causing their father’s inebriation. the programs of both portals offer striking differences with the encyclopedic character of the south portal. this level of diversity is intriguing, especially given the contrast it poses to the stylistic unity of the entire first level of the façade. The explanation would seem to be that the program of the portal was conceived before the election of Pierre de savoie, who was not yet a priest, or even a deacon. it is possible that the iconographic scheme of the north portal was modified by these events, causing a distortion in a program that had originally been more coherent.

Afterword Gérard P. Prache

I would like to first of all thank you all for your magnificent participation in that session dedicated to the memory of Anne and her scholarly contribution to the history of medieval art.1 i have to tell you that i am personally particularly happy and moved that this special event takes place in this country, the United states of America, because what i would call Anne’s connection with the Us started in the mid-fifties and has significantly impacted both our professional and family life. Would you believe that back in 1954 she applied for a scholarship for the Us? Why the Us? Admittedly, the selection committee was somewhat startled by such a request submitted by an already-declared medievalist! But a few days later she was called back and, considering her already brilliant university record—she was at the time the first female to rank number one at the École du Louvre—she was granted a scholarship to study … museology at yale University. Well, it so happens that that very same year i was granted a scholarship for advanced economic studies … would you believe at yale University. At the time there were only five French students at Yale and, inevitably, she and i soon met. We discovered that we shared the same desire to get to know the country, hence our first joint venture in acquiring, in September 1954, a 1951 studebaker—which, along a 40,000-mile ride, took us all around the United states discovering all possible museums, national parks and, of course, some … natives. We also discovered some astonishing samples of Us modern architecture, by frank lloyd Wright in particular. you will not be surprised to hear that the two partners of the automobile joint venture eventually fell in love. This was our first anchor in the United states. Back in france i joined the army for an extended period of 30 months, during which, to Anne’s deep discontent, i refused to get married (there was a war in Algeria at the time). i was released from the army early in 1958 and quickly surrendered to Anne in June of 1958. A few years later I was transferred to the head office of my then employer, Burroughs Corporation, in detroit, Michigan (the middle of nowhere many people said at the time), where she and i, during the school holidays, stayed over three years; that was our second anchor with this country. during that period Anne had moved from a curator’s position at the louvre Cabinet des dessins to a professorship at the sorbonne-Paris iv. during the following years Anne 1 remarks delivered by Gérard Prache, May 14, 2010, at the conclusion of the sessions in memory of Anne Prache at the international Congress on Medieval studies at Western Michigan University.

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also taught history of art to the Paris-based smith College girls; and, since i was myself teaching at my former business school, we thought it might be fun to invite her females and my males each year to our little Montmartre apartment for a few drinks and an exchange of civilizations! this socializing, i think, to quote Michael davis, showed our openness to transatlantic cross-fertilization. No wonder then that Anne made a number of friends in this country. i will name some: Chuck little, Bill Clark, robert Branner, Nancy Wu, lee striker, danielle Johnson, roland sanfaçon from Quebec, and many more. No wonder then that we made some of our dearest friends here, as Bob and Mary Johnson, who are with us today, can testify. No wonder then that our children have been deeply “contaminated” by this environment. in fact one of our sons, olivier—who is with us tonight with his wife and two kids—has been a resident of this country for the past 25 years; actually the four of them are now American citizens. Anne and i are very proud of that. i so happen to be the grandfather of six, three of whom are American. All of this explains why i was so pleased and moved that this tribute to Anne took place in this country, and i want to express again my gratitude to those who have engineered those special sessions and to those who have effectively contributed to those sessions. Without being overly nationalistic i would like to thank first Dany Sandron, Philippe Lorentz and Sylvie Balcon (who traveled here courtesy of AvistA) and many others: Michael Cothren, Mary shepard, Michael davis, ellen shortell and the “duettists” Kathleen Nolan and susan Ward. thank you all again, it is a great day for me and for my family.

index

entries in bold face refer to illustrations. Abou-el-haj, Barbara 162 n Abraham central transept portal (Chartres) 130 last Judgment window (Bourges) 128–29 west rose window (Chartres) 125–26, 128 Adalbero 18 n Adam and eve holy lamb altarpiece (Ghent) 142–44 statues (Bourges) 142–44 Adoration of the Magi Cerezo riotirón 189 south portal (lyons) 230 relief (Chartres/duke) 188 vignette (vermenton) 209 Adoration of the shepherds south portal (lyons) 230 Adrets, Baron des 227 Aélis de Château-Procien 200 n Alberic of humbert 97 Alberic of trois fontaines 98–99 Albertano da Brescia Ars loquendi 29 Alberti, leon Battista 81 Aligret, simon 142 Amiens, bishop of 161 Amiens, Cathedral of Notre-dame 106, 157 dendrochonology xxxii–xxxiii, xxxiii west façade 165–66, 169 angelic liturgy 164 angels archivolts (Bourges) 172–73, 174 Coeur Chapel window (Bourges) 141, 141 Coeur hôtel (Bourges) 141 flying buttress piers (Reims) 163 lyons 229 musical 164, 229 Notre-dame-en-vaux 202 portal (Notre-dame de Gimont) 77 wall buttresses (reims) 156 west rose (Chartres) 125, 125, 131–32

Annals of Saint-Nicaise 96–97, 153 Annuciation choir screen (Chartres) 183 Coeur Chapel window (Bourges) 135–37, 139–47, 136, 141 infancy of Christ window (saint-denis) 109, 114 n south portal (lyons) 216, 230 Antiquisant style 186 Apocalyptic elders Notre-dame-en-vaux 202 royal Portal (Chartres) 128 wall painting (Chartres) 127–28, 127, 133 Apollinaris, saint window (Chartres) 130 Apostles Coeur Chapel window (Bourges) 143 last Judgment portal (reims) 156 portals (Chartres) 128, 129 Mantes 126 n reims 157 stained glass (reims) 100, 102 west rose (Chartres) 126, 128, 130–32 Appelvoisin, Briand d’ 71, 74 Appelvoisin, Guillaume d’ 74 archéologie de l’image, l’ 4, 213, 227 archéologie du bâtiment, l’ xxxiv archeometry xxxii, xxxiv architectural design and geometry 1–2 archivolts 75, 85, 86 basic modules 90 buttresses, topped by pinnacles 71 chapels, radiating 56 circles 79, 86–87, 87, 89, 90 classical principles 81 concealment and revelation 68 decagons 66 finials 75, 77, 82–83, 82 fleurons 75, 77, 82, 83 n, 83, 85, 90 gables 85 gablets 78 heptagons 63 hexagons 63 octagons 63, 66

238

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

ogee arch 71, 75, 77, 85–89, 87 pentagons 62–63 pinnacles 71, 78–79, 81–86, 82, 83, 84 ,88 polygons, repeating 63 portals 2, 71, 86–90, 87, 165 quadrature 63 roriczer and schmuttermayer and 79–90 rotating square 81–85, 83, 84 scenography and style 66–69 squares 63, 81–85, 82, 84, 87, 90 vaults 66, 80 n see also specific sites architectural metaphors 68 Armagnac partisans 29, 38, 44 Arras, bishop of 161 Arrival in egypt infancy of Christ window (saint-denis) 115, 118 Arrival in sotine infancy of Christ (saint-denis/Wilton, england) 119 Art Gallery of ontario 111, 112, 115 Assumption (Bourges) 168 Aubert, Marcel 198, 216 Aubry de humbert 14 n, 161, 162 n Autochromes 3, 93, 100, 103, 106 Auxerre, Cathedral xxvii, xxvii, 22 n, 56, 100 n, 106 n, 219 Avallon, saint-lazare church 209 Aveline, Pierre 34 Avril, françois 145 Babet, Claire 121 n Barnard, lord 111, 119 Barnes, Carl f., Jr. 51 n, 65 n Baudoin, isabelle 117 Bayard, tania 166, 168, 170–73, 174 n Baye, château of 97 Beaucaire, Pierre de 147 Beaujeu, Jacques de 215 Beauvais, bishop of 100, 161 Beauvais, Cathedra xxxiii, 51 n, 106 Becket, thomas, of Canterbury xxvi, 231 Bégule, lucien 216, 219, 227, 229–30 Bellesmain(s), Jean 231 Bénard, Pierre 51 n Benedictines 200, 211 Benedict Xiii pope 38 Benignus, saintt 203 Berchères-l’Évêque 183

Berman, Constance h. 75 n Bernardins 43 Bernard of Clairvaux 192–93, 209 Berry, duc Jean de 43, 137, 142, 144 Besançon laboratory xxxiv Birth of Christ infancy of Christ window (saint-denis) 109 Blessed and damned west rose (Chartres) 130 Blumenthal, florence 77 Blumenthal, George 75–77 Boccaccio Decameron 28 Bodleian library (oxford) 118 n Bono, Gregorio 217 Bonvesin della riva De Magnalibus Mediolani 30 n Bonvesin della riva 30 n Bony, Jean 51, 56 “the resistance to Chartres” 56 Borie 124 Bork, robert 63, 79, 80 n Bosom of Abraham west rose (Chartres) 124, 128 Boucicaut Master 30 Boulanger, Karine 121 n Bourges, Cathedral of saint-Étienne xxvii 3, 4 archivolts, central portal sculpture 165–78, 167, 171–74, 176, 177 buttresses 166 n chapels 140 choir screen 195 n Coeur Annunciation Window 135–47, 136 du Breuel chapel 147 embrasures 166 façade, west 166–68 foundations 168 last Judgment window 123, 128–29 trousseau Chapel window 143 Bourges, hôtel Jacques Coeur 138–41, 138, 140 Bourgogne region xxvii Bowdoin College 182 Braine, saint-yved 131 Branner, robert xxvii, 14 n, 51, 137, 166 Breuel, Jean du 147 Breuel, Martin du 147 Bride of Christ (Notre-dame-en-vaux) 208 Brugger, laurence 168

iNdeX

Brun, olivier 151 Bucher, françois 51 n, 79 n Burgos Cathedral 163 Burgundian Netherlands 142, 144 Burgundian partisans 29, 38, 44 Burgundy, duke of 30, 44 n Burrell Collection 111, 114 Byzantine churches 226 n Cabochien uprising 38 Cadot, Pierre 77 Camaino, tino di 178 n Cambio, Arnolfo di 178 n Cambrai, bishop of 161 Cambrai xxvii, xxix Cambrai, saint-Géry au Mont-des-Boeufs 211 Canterbury 56 Canterbury, Cathedral xxvii, 131 Caoursin, Guillaume 145–46 Cardinal virtues 211 Notre-dame-en-vaux 206 Carolingians xxviii, 157, 159 structures 10 n, 11–20, 23, 97, 101 n, 15 Carruthers, Mary 68 n Casavant brothers 76 n Catherine, saint Coeur Chapel window (Bourges) 140, 142–43 Caviness, Madeline 68 Cerezo riotirón, Nuestra señora de la llama 189 Châlons, bishop of 100 Châlons-en-Champagne, bishop of 161 Châlons-en-Champagne, Cathedral of saint-Étienne xxvii, 199–200, 211 Châlons-en-Champagne, Notre-dame-envaux xxvii ambulatory and chapels 57 archivolts 202–3 canons 199–200, 204, 209–10 chevet 56–57 ecclesia sculpture 198, 198, 205–6, 208–9 female figures 4, 196–212, 201, 205–7 Champlevé Mosan Nativity enamel (Metropolitan Museum of Art) 191 Charles the Bald, king of france 192 Charles v, king of france 37 n, 38 Charles vi, king of france 35, 38–39 Charles vii, king of france 137 equestrian statue (Bourges) 138

239

Charles viii, king of france 145 Chartres xxiii revolt of 1210 133 siege of 1591 123 wool production 191 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-dame xxvii, xxx–xxxii, xxxi, 1–4, 56, 101, 106, 128, 151–53 ambulatory 188 archivolts 128, 130 chevet 151 choir 153 choir screens 3–4, 179–96, 184, 181, 187, 189 dendrochronology xxxii herod head 181, 182, 185 high altar 191 Joseph head 1, 3–4, 179–96, 180, 181, 189 Magus or King head 181, 182, 185 nave 3, 151, 153 nave windows 95, 133, 182 portals 211 royal Portal 128 stained glass xxx, 2, 95, 100, 106, 121–33 transept portals 124, 129–30 transept sculptures 185–86 virgin chemise relic 183, 192 wall painting 126, 127, 130 west façade xxxi, 3 west rose window 3, 121–33, 122, 124, 125, 127, 129, 132 Chartres, saint-Père-en-vallée 195, 196 cherubim archivolts (Bourges) 169, 170, 172 west rose (Chartres) 125, 126, 130, 131 Chigot workshop 140 Christ and angels (reims) 156–64 as Beau dieu (Amiens) 157 chevet and wall buttresses (reims) 156, 158, 159 lineage through Joseph 193 Notre-dame-en-vaux 202 stational liturgy and (reims) 158 windows (reims) 105 Christ Carrying the Cross miniature (Colombe workshop, Bourges) 138 n Christ enthroned lyons 227 portals (Chartres) 128–30

240

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

Christ on clouds west rose (Chartres) 125–26, 129–31 Christ on rainbow (Bourges, Mantes) 125 Christine de Pizan 29–30, 37 n, 41–43, 44 n Epistre Othea 29 Le Livre de la Mutacion de Fortune 41–42 Le Livre des Fais 44 n Roman de la Rose 29 Christopher, saint statue (Paris) 33, 33 Clotilde, queen of franks 203 n Coeur, Jacques 3, 41, 136, 137–39, 147 Coeur, Jacques (grandson) 138 n Coeur, Jean 138 Col, Gontier 29 Cologne Cathedral 219 n confessor figures (Bourges) 174, 176, 177 Coronation of the virgin lyons 227 portal (Paris) 169 n tympanum (Bourges) 168 n12 Corsepius, Katharina 199 n Courtecuisse, Jean de 29 Courville, saint-Julien xxix Crown, Carol Uhlig 118 n dagobert tomb (saint-denis) 109 n david, Gerard 146 death of the virgin Window (Chartres) 133 debitus workshop 121 n decrock, Bruno 10 n delaporte, yves 122–24, 128 demotte, lucien 111 n demouy, Patrick 93 n, 99 n, 157–58, 160–61 dendrochonology xxxii–xxxiv, 1, 7, 93 n, 96–98, 151–53 deneux, henri 7–14, 8, 10, 16, 18, 21–25, 24, 93, 100, 102 deschamps, eustache 29 De tristibus Galliae carmen 227, 229 dijon, saint-Bénigne 202–4, 204 donatello 217 donnemaire-en-Montois parish church 123 dream of Joseph Bible 114 n infancy of Christ window (saint-denis/ thomson) 109, 111–19, 112, 113, 115, 116

dream of the Magi choir screen (Chartres) 183 infancy of Christ window (saint-denis/ raby Castle) 110–11, 119 Dresden Triptych (1437) 143 du Bellay, renaud, tomb 23 duchie, Jacques 27, 39–44 dufour, Auguste 217 durand, Paul 124 n dürer, Albrecht 79 n durrieu, Paul 141 n, 142 dussy, Jacques de 39 n eagle of st. John west rose (Chartres) 125 ebles, Archbishop, tomb 23 ecclesia sculpture Notre-dame-en-vaux 198, 198, 205–6, 208–9 strasbourg 205 eichberg, Barbara Bruderer 164 elect and the damned central transept portal, (Chartres) 130 west rose (Chartres) 126, 129, 131 elias, Norbert 44 n elijah royal Portal (Chartres) 128 enoch royal Portal (Chartres) 128 entombment of Christ and the three Marys at the sepulcher lintel (saint-Père-en-vallée) 195, 196 Épaud, frédéric xxxiv Épernay, hôtel de ville 145–46, 146 erlande-Brandenburg, Alain 103 n esquieu, yves 210 essarts, Antoine 35 eustace, saint window (Chartres) 95 eyck, Jan van 142–44 fassler, Margot 197 n felix v, pope 217 “five letters of the Name of Paris, the” (deschamps or Munier) 29 flamboyant style 71, 75–77, 86, 215, 223 flanders 56 fleury, Édouard 50–51, 63 n flight into egypt infancy of Christ window (saint-denis) 110, 115, 118–19, 119 west window (Chartres) 114 n

iNdeX

florence, Baptistery 217 florence, san lorenzo portals 217 fogg, sam 111, 117 n Fonds Deneux 33 n, 106 foolish virgin statue column (Notre-dame-en-vaux) 206–8, 206 fouquet, Jean 33–34, 38 franciscans 194 frankl, Paul xxxii, 47, 54 n french revolution 75, 108, 191, 215 Gaborit, danielle 179 n Gaborit, Jean-rené 179 n Gabriel, Archangel Coeur Chapel window (Bourges) 140, 142 Gaignères, roger de 118 n Gallet, yves 223–24 gargoyle (lyons) 221, 223 Gauthier, Bishop 195 Genesis lyons 229 reliefs (Bourges) 168 Gérente, Alfred 108 Gérente, henri 108–9, 110, 112–13, 114 n, 118–19 Gervaois, Archbishop 16 Gesta xxviii Ghent, Cathedral of saint Bavo 142–44 Glencairn Museum 110, 118–19, 119 God the father Annunciation window (Bourges) 141 sculpture (lyons) 216 Good death and Bad death last Judgment window (Bourges) 128 Gothic revival Movement 78, 109 Greco-roman geometricians 81 n Greece 226 n Grévy-Pons “Jean de Montreuil” 30 n Grévy-Pons, Nicole 30 n Grodecki, louis xxx, xxxii, 3, 109–13, 117 Guérout, Jean 35 n Guichard de Pontigny 213, 231 Gui de Bazoches 200 n Guigue, Marie-Claude 215–16 Guilhermy, françois de 66 n Guillaume, Jean 71 n Guillaume de Breton 195 Guillaume de Champagne 162 Guillaume le tur 44

241

Guillebert de Mets 2, 33, 34, 37 “description of the City of Paris” 27–45 Livre de Sidrac et Lucidaire 28 hamann-Maclean, richard 98 n, 103 havard, isabelle 121 n heaven and hell west rose (Chartres) 131 héliot, Pierre 51 n hell Mouth last Judgment window (Bourges) 128–29 transept portals (Chartres) 129–30 west rose (Chartres) 126, 128, 129 henri de dreux 162 henri de france, archbishop 162 henri de Nivelle 215 henry iv, king of france 123 henry of Braine, archbishop 102 henry vi, king of france 38, 44 herod 114 n head (Chartres) 182, 185 heron of Alexandria Metrica 81 highcliffe Castle 111 hoffsummer, Patrick xxxiv holy lamb van eyck altarpiece (Ghent) 142–44 holy spirit Annunciation window (Bourges) 141 homer The Iliad 27 hoyau, Germain 41 hugh of saint Cher 192 hundred years War 137 infancy of Christ original choir screen (Chartres) 183–84, 188 south portal (lyons) 219, 229 window (saint-denis) 109–19, 110, 111, 113, 116, 119 irenaeus 230 isabeau, queen of Bavaria 28 isabella stewart Gardner Museum 96 italian workshops 178 n, 217 Jacquemart de hesdin Brussels hours 190 James, John 61 n, 63 n James, saint Coeur Chapel window (Bourges) 140, 142–44

242

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

James the less, saint 100 Jassemin, henri La Chambre des Comptes de Paris 39 n Jean-Baptiste, saint 34 Jean de Jandun 32, 35, 37, 39, 44 Tractatus de Laudibus Parisius 32, 37, 44 n Jean de Montreuil 30 n Jean de talaru 215 Jean de thoisy 44 Jeremiah 111 Jeremiah master 114 John, duke of Bedford 44 n John, gospel of 208 John, saint central transept portal (Chartres) 129 Notre-dame-en-vaux 202 west rose (Chartres) 126 John of salisbury xxvi Johnson, danielle 179 n, 209 John the Baptist, saint 146 portal panels (lyons) 229 siege of rhodes panel (Épernay) 146 window (reims) 100, 101 John the evangelist, saint 231 windows (reims) 100, 101 Joseph 190–94 Champlevé Mosan enamel (Metropolitan Museum) 190, 191 fisherman’s hook and 193–94 head, choir screen (Chartres) 179–96, 180, 181, 189 head, west façade (reims) 185, 186 holy family ivory relief 193, 193 shrine of the virgin (Nicolas of verdun, tournai) 190 swaddling motif 190–92 romanesque relief (Nuestra señora de la llama) 189 Joseph of Arimathea saint-Père-en-vallée 195 Judas west rose (Chartres) 128 Judgment Archivolt Master 170–72 Jung, Jacqueline 191 n Kidson, Peter 81 Kimpel, dieter 51, 54, 99 n, 165 kings wall painting (Chartres) 126–27, 127 Klein, Peter 209 Komor, Mathias 179

Krynen, Jacques 44 n Kurmann, Peter xxvii, 7 n, 93 n, 100–102, 106, 163, 169 Kurmann-schwarz, Brigitte 99 n, 102, 142, 144 n lagny, church xxviii lajoux, Jacques 77 lambert, Georges 151 lamourère, Philippe 179 n laon, bishop of 161 laon, Bishop’s Chapel xxxiv laon, Cathedral 54, 57, 222 chevet 95–96 stained glass 95–96, 100, 103, 123 upper transept chapels 61 larmessin, Nicolas de Triomphe de la Sainte Vierge 183, 192 last Judgment donnemaire-en-Montois 123 Mantes 123 portal (Bourges) 168–70 portal (lyons) 227 portal (reims) 156 rose window (laon) 123 royal Portal (Chartres) 128 south transept portal (Chartres) 124 west rose (Chartres) 121–33, 122 window (Bourges) 123, 128–29 window (soissons) 123 lateran Council (1215), 190 laumer, saint nave south window (Chartres) 133 laurent de Premierfait 28, 30 lausanne 56 lavier, Catherine 151 lazarus west rose (Chartres) 128 lebeuf, Abbé 203 n lenoir, Alexandre 108–9 le Picart, Colin 140 le roux de lincy, Antoine Jean victor 27 n, 39 levassor, Amand 123 leventritt, M. victor 179 leymarie, hippolyte 216 liège laboratory xxxiv lillich, Meredith Parsons 94 n, 100–101, 104 n, 161 n limbourg brothers 30, 31, 42 limestone 182–83 lincoln Cathedral 164

iNdeX

loisel, Claudine 117 n longpont-sur-orge, lesser church 169 n lorin, Charles 124, 126 n, 131 n lot’s daughters south portal (lyons) 234 louis iX, king of france 65 n, 195 louis vi, king of france 162 louis vii, king of france 162 louis viii, king of france 27 louis Xi, king of france 145–46, 215 louvre 39, 187, 198 lovers façade (lyons) 221 lucius iii, pope 200 luke, gospel 128, 192 luke’s bull west rose (Chartres) 125 lyons annexation (1312) 234 Protestant occupation 227 lyons, Cathedral of saint-Jean-Baptiste xxviii 4, 22 n, 213–34, 214, 218 arcades 220, 223, 225, 227 archeology 217–22 archivolts 226–31, 228 embrasures 225, 228, 230 west façade 213–34, 221, 224, 228, 230–33 lyons, University xxxiv Mabillon, Jean 197 n Magné, Château de la roche-Gençay 74 archivolts 75, 86 portals 71–75, 72, 86–88, 87, 88, 90 Magus or King head choir screen (Chartres) 182, 185 Maitani, lorenzo 178 n, 226 Majestas domini 202 Notre-dame-en-vaux 205 Mallion, Jean 190 Manoury, Nathalie 93 n Mantes, Notre-dame collegiate church 123, 126 n Marcel, saint relics (Paris) 33, 33 Marguerite de Provenance 195 n Marian cult 200, 209 Mark’s lion west rose (Chartres) 125 Marsh-Micheli, Geneviève louise 202 n Martin, Jean-Baptiste 216 Martin, st. south portal (lyons) 231

243

Mary of Anjou, queen of france 141 Master of flémalle (robert Campin) 144 Master of the King 205 Master of the Kings’ heads 186 Master of Works (Bourges) 178 Matthew Notre-dame-en-vaux 202 rupert of deutz on 193 west rose (Chartres) 125 Wise and foolish virgins and 206–7 Matthew, gospel of 114 n, 125, 128 Meaux Cathedral xxvii Mérimée, Prosper 215–16 Metropolitan Museum of Art 3, 190, 191, 193, 193, 195, 196 the Cloisters 2, 71–74, 72, 76–77, 78, 87, 88, 90, 189 “set in stone” exhibit 179–82, 180, 181, 185 Michael, saint west rose (Chartres) 126, 129–30 Michael Master 170–78 Michael Ward Gallery 179, 182 Milan 30 n miser 128–29 Mondach, Conrad de 217 Montfaucon, Bernard de 197 n, 203 n Montier-en-der xxvii, xxviii Montreuil, Jean de 29 Morganstern, Ann McGee 186 Mosan enamels 190, 191 mourning woman statue column (Notre-dame-en-vaux) 208, 208 Munich 80 n Munier, Jean 29 Nativity choir screen (Chartres) 183, 183, 186–96, 187, 189 Notre-dame-en-vaux 205 west façade portal (Chartres) 189 Navarre, hugonin de 216 Nesle-la-reposte 203 n Nevers, saint-Pierre (saint-Père) church 203 n Nicaise, saint stained glass panel (soissons) 96, 96 Nicholas, saint 208 Nicholas of verdun 190 Nicodemus 195 Normandy xxxiv

244

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

Noyon, bishop of 161 Noyon, Cathedral xxvii, xxxiv, 57, 62 Nuremburg 80 orvieto Cathedral 226 othea (goddess of wisdom) 29 Paillard, Jean-françois 141 n, 153 Pallot-frossard, isabelle 117 n Panneton, Nicolas 123 Paradise last Judgment window (Bourges) 129 west rose (Chartres) 126, 128 Paris Guillebert de Mets on 2, 27–45, 33, 37 Jean de Jandun on 39 massacre of 1418 38 truschet and hoyau plan 41 Paris, Cathedral of Notre-dame 27, 44–45, 66, 157, 169, 185 ambulatory 54–55 chapel of saint-Jean-Baptiste 33 choir 145–46 choir screen 33 Coronation of the virgin portal 169 n eastern choir enclosure 33, 33 façade 33, 33, 34 façade, Job relief 33, 35, 35 Guillebert on 32–35, 33 hemicycle vista 66 high altar 33, 33 interior view by Aveline 34 Jean de Jandun on 39 last Judgment, central portal 33 saint-remi and 54–56 relics 33 south transept portal 225 statue of st. Christopher 33 Paris, George Blumenthal home 74–77, 76 Paris, hôtel de Bourbon 43 n Paris, hôtel of Jacques duchie 27, 39–44 Paris, les halles 44 Paris, Palais de la Cité 27, 35–39, 36, 37 Paris, sainte-Chapelle 36, 37 Paris, saint-Germain-des Près xxvii, xxviii, 187 Paris, saint-Martin-des-Champs 50 Paul, saint west rose (Chartres) 126 Pavilly, eustache 38 n Percier, Charles 109, 114 n

Peter, saint north portal (lyons) 219, 227, 230–31, 234 west rose (Chartres) 126 Peter of Celle xxvi, xxx, 1, 4, 54, 68 Phalip, Bruno xxxiv Philip, saint 100 Philippe de thurey 215 Philip the Apostle relics (Paris) 33 Philip the fair 39 Philip the Good 30 Philip vi, king of france 33, 35 equestrian statue 35 Pierre de Bidos 77 Pierre de savoie 216, 219, 231, 234 Pierredon-Callaud, Marie-Ange de 74 n Pierre du Coignet 33, 33, 35 Pillion, françoise lefrançois 217 Pirey, Bruno de 137, 140 Pisano, Andrea 217 Pisano, Giovanni 178 n Pitcairn, raymond 110, 111 n Plagnieux, Philippe xxvii, xxxiv Plancher, Urbain 202–3, 204 Plansleve, Notre-dame de Gimont moldings 77, 90 ogee arch 88–90, 89 pinnacle 88 portals 71, 73, 75–77, 78, 86, 88–90, 88, 89 Plato Meno 81 Poirel, dominique 164 Polycarp, saint 231 Ponsot, Patrick 168 n Pontal, odette 161 Pothin, bishop of 230 Prache, Anne xxii–xxxiv, 1–4, 7, 12, 54–57, 62, 93, 96–97, 103, 106, 109, 121, 135, 137, 151, 153, 156, 179 n, 198, 200, 205, 208, 212–13, 235–36 Lumières de Chartres xxx “the Work of Peter of Celle” xxiii–xxvii Prache, Gérard xxxiv, 151 n, 235–36 Prache, olivier xxxiv, 236 Presentation in the temple infancy of Christ window (saint-denis) 111, 118 choir screen (Chartres) 183 façade (lyons) 230 west façade (reims) 185

iNdeX

Pressouyre, léon 185, 198, 205, 207, 209–10, 212 n Pressouyre, sylvia 198, 207, 210 n, 211 n queen with webbed foot statue (saint-Bénigne) 203 rabut, françois 217 raby Castle 111, 119 ravaux, Jean-Pierre 11 n, 19 n, 102–3, 162 n rayonnant style 47, 51, 65, 68, 69, 157, 225 regensburg City ordinaces (1459) 81 n (1488) 80 regensburg, Cathedral 78–80, 81 n reims liturgy 157–58 synod of 1231 161 reims, archbishop of 157, 159–62, 200 reims, Cathedral of Notre dame xxiii, xxiv, xxvii, xxxiii 2–4, 38, 63, 185, 186 buttresses 101 n canons’ choir 153, 161 canons’ cloister 93 n chapel, axial 97, 156, 161 chapel, radiating, sculptures 161–64 chevet 96, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 161, 162 n choir 100–102, 161 clerestory 159, 161 chronology 93–94, 96–98, 101–2, 106 crossings 93 n, 97, 153 deneux plan 24 façade xxvi, 101, 106 foundations 2, 7–25, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 93 n restoration, post-WWi 102 stained glass 93–106, 95, 98, 104, 105 window, axial 102 reims, saint-remi xv, xxiii–xxviii, 1, 4, 47, 101 n, 131, 160, 200 ambulatory 53, 60–62 chevet 52, 54–57 east end plan 55 san-Quentin and soissons and 62–66, 68 reinhardt, hans 7 n, 12, 13 n, 99 n remi, saint 101–2 renaissance 71, 81

245

resurection of the dead west rose (Chartres) 131–32, 132 resurrection Turnin-Milan Missal 144 rhodes, siege of painting (Épernay) 145–46, 146 ribault, Jean-yves 168, 195 n robert ii, Count of dreux 162 robertson, Anne Walters 157–58, 159 rockefeller, J.d., Jr 74 romanesque style xxix, xxxiv, 81, 121, 128, 189, 191, 193, 219, 226 rome limbourgs’s “map” 30, 31 stational liturgies 157 rome, classical 81 measuring units 89–90 roriczer, Conrad 80 roriczer, Mathes 2, 71, 78–83, 82, 85–86, 90 Booklet on the Correct Pinacle design 78–79, 81, 82 Booklet on the Gablet 78–79 Geometria deutsch 81 roriczer, Wolfgang 80 rorimer, James 74 n rouen, Cathedral 163, 169 n, 217, 225 rupert of deutz 193–94 sachet, Alphonse 216 safaçon 71 n sainsaulieu, Max 93, 99–100, 103 saint-Brieuc 76 saint-denis xxvi, 2–4, 50, 54, 101, 169 n, 212 n stained glass 2, 107–18, 108, 110, 111, 112, 115 saint-Gilles-du-Gard abbey church 219 n saint-Pourçain-sur-sioule 203 n saint-Quentin collegiate church xxvii, 2 ambulatory 47–52, 49, 54, 57, 61–65, 68–69 chapels 47, 50–51, 54–57, 61–69 chapels, radiating 50–51, 55, 61–65 chapels, saint Michael 61 choir 47, 50–51, 63, 65, 68–69 chevet 47, 51–54, 64–65 clerestory 50, 64–65, 69 east end 47–52, 48, 62–64 geometrical analysis 50, 62–64 hemicycle 62–63, 65, 68 rayonnant style and 51 n, 65, 69

246

Arts of the MedievAl CAthedrAls

scenography and style 66–69 synod of 1231 161 windows 47, 63–64, 66–69 saints with praying hands sculptures (Bourges) 174 saint-thierry abbey xxviii salome (saint-Géry) 211 (toulouse) 208 samson, Archbishop 16, 19, 100, 101 n, 153, 160 sarazin, Charles 10 n sarry, saint-Julien church 198, 205, 209, 212 sauerländer, Willibald 93 n, 186–87 savadjian sale (hôtel drouot 1932) 111 n schlicht, Markus 225 schlink, Wilhelm 165 schmuttermayer, hanns 2, 71, 78–81, 83, 84, 84–86, 90 Booklet on Pinnacles 78–79, 83 seidel, linda 207, 208 senlis, bishop of 161 sens, Cathedral of saint-Étienne choir screen 195 n virgin sculpture 187–88 sens, dominican abbey 76, 185, 186 sens, saint-Pierre-le vif abbey 211 seraphim lyons Cathedral 229 sculptures (Bourges) 170–72, 171–73, 175 sergent, Antoine louis françois 184 seymour, Charles xxvii shelby, lon r. 78 n, 79 n, 80 siena Cathedral 226 signs of the Zodiac medallions (lyons) 229 simeon master 114–15, 118 simon, saint portal (rouen) 169 n simon-Marq workshop 93–97, 98, 99, 100, 101 n, 103–6, 104, 105 simon the Magician, south portal, lyons Cathedral 231 snyder, Janet 197 n soissons, Cathedral of saint-Gervais-etsaint-Protais xxvii, xxviii, xxx, 4, 50, 54, 56–69 ambulatory 60–62, 64 arcades 57, 60–61

capitals 61 chapels 57–62, 59, 64–68 chevet 64–65 choir 50, 64–65, 66 n, 67, 97 scenography and style and 66–69 stained glass 57, 66, 96–97, 96, 100, 103, 123 transepts xxvii 56–66, 58, 59 triple openings 60–61 vaults 60–61, 60, 64 stendhal 215 stephen, saint portal (Bourges) 166 stoddard, Brooks 185 strasbourg, Cathedral ecclesia sculpture 205 façade A 177 n striker, lee 151 n suckale, robert 51, 54, 99 n suger, Abbot xxvi, 50, 107–8 infancy window (saint-denis) 109 tacitus De Germania 81 tallon, Andrew 62 n taupin, Jean-louis xxxiii tegel, Willy 151 theophilus 229 thérouanne, bishop of 161 thibaud ii, Count of Champagne 162 thomas, saint 100 thomson Collection 111–19, 112, 115 tisserand, Marie 39 n titus, harry 56 n tournai, bishop of 161 tourneur, victor 105 tree of Jesse Gercy 105 saint-Quentin 68 window (reims) 97, 98 window (saint-denis) 109 window (soissons) 97, 103 window (troyes) 97 n trousseau, Pierre 142, 143 troy 29 troyes, Cathedral xxvii, 66, 97 n, 106 troyes, sainte-Madeleine church xxvii troyes, saint-Urbain 106 Trumeau figure (Notre-Dame-en-Vaux) 203 truschet, olivier 41 twycross panel (saint-denis) 114, 118

iNdeX

Ursin, saint Chapel (Bourges) 136 valenciennes xxvii vermenton, Notre-dame church statue column of virgin and Child 209 west portal 210 victoria and Albert Museum 111 vignon, M. 195 n villard de honnecourt 51, 80 n villars, henry de 219 villars, louis de 219 villeneuve-sur-yonne 106 villes, Alain 97, 101 n, 103, 163 vincennes, royal château 35, 39 viollet-le-duc, eugène-emmanuel xxxii, 54 n, 118 n virgin central transept portal (Chartres) 129 chemise relic (Chartres) 183, 192 choir screen (Chartres) 187–90, 187 head (Chartres/duke) 188 Notre-dame-en-vaux 209 offerings of cloth to 191 portal (Bourges) 168 west rose (Chartres) 126 window (Coeur chapel, Bourges) 140, 142 window (reims) 105 virgin and Child panel (Épernay) 146

247

statue column (vermenton) 209 statue (lyons) 219 Virgin of a Crucifixion sculpture (sens) 187 virgin of Notre-dame-en-vaux 200 vitruvius 81 Ten Books on Architecture 43 vöge, Wilhelm 186 Wars of religion 168, 215 Webb, ruth 27 Wedding at Cana bride (Notre-dame-en-vaux) 207–8, 207 Weissenburg-im-Breisgau 80 n Wilhelm of eichstätt, Bishop 81 William, saint portal (Bourges) 168 Williamson, Paul 111 n Wilson, Carolyn C. 190 n Winchester Psalter (British library, Cotton Ms Nero C iv) 118 n Wise virgin statue column (Notre-dame-en-vaux) 206–8, 206 Woodfin, Warren 164 Wounds of the Passion central transept portal, (Chartres) 129 west rose (Chartres) 125 yale University 1, 235

Color Plates

1 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: plan by Henri Deneux of foundations revealed during excavations (drawing: Henri Deneux, Dix ans de fouilles dans la cathédrale de Reims, frontispiece)

2 Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: 1944 Deneux plan corrected and modified to illustrate the features described in the text (drawing: Walter Berry)

3 Limbourg brothers, Map of Rome, Très Riches Heures. Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms 65, fol. 141v (photo: René-Gabriel Ojéda, RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY)

4 Limbourg brothers, Temptation of Christ, Très Riches Heures, Chantilly, Musée Condé, ms. 65, fol. 161v (photo: René-Gabriel Ojéda, RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY)

5 Portal from Château de the la Roche-Gençay: linear dimensions derived from the basic unit. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, 40.147.3 (photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata Teresa Sasinska)

6 Portal from the Abbey of Gimont, Notre-Dame Gimont: width of base block and its multiplications. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, 35.35.14 (photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; drawing: Nancy Wu and Beata Teresa Sasinska)

7 Composite panel of heads from the lower windows of Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Simon-Marq workshop, Reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel)

8  Drawing of Apocalyptic Elders from Window 39, Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Simon-Marq workshop, Reims (photo: Sylvie Balcon-Berry)

9 Drawing made in 1872 of two panels of a Tree of Jesse from Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, reemployed in 1739 in the rose of the north arm of the transept, Simon-Marq workshop, Reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel)

10 Sainsaulieu Autochrome of Saint John the Baptist from Window 118, Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Reims, Bibliothèque Municipale, FIC, Fonds Sainsaulieu, PDV 219 (photo: Bibliothèque Municipale, Reims)

11 Assemblage of drawings of Henry of Braine from Window 100, Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Simon-Marq workshop, Reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel; CAD: Sylvie Balcon-Berry)

12 Assemblage of drawings KAROLVS from Window 128, Reims, Cathedral of Notre-Dame. SimonMarq workshop, Reims (photo: Céline Gumiel/Centre André Chastel; CAD: Sylvie Balcon-Berry)

13 Dream of Joseph. Thomson Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada. (photo: Art Gallery of Ontario)

14 Dream of Joseph: detail of the head of Joseph. Thomson Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada (photo: Michael Cothren)

15 Dream of Joseph: detail of the head of an angel. Thomson Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada (photo: Michael Cothren)

16 Abbey Church of Saint-Denis: Dream of Joseph, from the Infancy of Christ window, detail of the head of Joseph (photo: Isabelle Baudoin-Louw)

17 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: west rose window, ca. 1205-10 (photo: Hervé Debitus)

18 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: west rose window, Bosom of Abraham (photo: Dominique Bouchardon, LRMH/Centre André Chastel)

19 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: west rose window: cherub (photo: Dominique Bouchardon, LRMH/Centre André Chastel)

20 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: interior south wall between the two towers of the west façade, Apocalyptic Elder (photo: Patrice Calvel)

21 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: west rose window, Hell Mouth (photo: Dominique Bouchardon, LRMH/Centre André Chastel)

22 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame: west rose window, dead rising from their tombs (photo: Dominique Bouchardon, LRMH/Centre André Chastel)

23 Bourges, Saint-Étienne Cathedral, Saint-Ursin Chapel: Jacques Coeur Annunciation window, 1451 (photo: Christian Lemzaouda /Centre André Chastel)

24 Bourges, Saint-Étienne Cathedral, Trousseau Chapel, window of Canon Pierre Trousseau and his family, between 1404 and 1409 (photo: Christian Lemzaouda/Centre André Chastel)

25 Unknown Netherlandish Painter, The Siege of Rhodes, painted in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Épernay, Musée d’archéologie et du vin de Champagne (photo: Ville d’Épernay)

26 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, inner left archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel)

27 Bourges, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne: central portal, inner right archivolt, fifth seraph from archivolt base (photo: Centre André Chastel)

28 Head of Joseph. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.143 (photo: Charles Little)

29 Chartres, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, detail view of Nativity relief from jubé (photo: Charles Little)

30 Champlevé enamel with Nativity scene, Mosan, ca. 1165. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.418 (photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

31 Châlons-en-Champagne, cloister of Notre-Dame-en-Vaux: bride from the Wedding at Cana. Musée du cloître de Notre-Dame-en-Vaux (photo: G. Garitan/wikicommons)