France is famous for its Gothic cathedrals which
still
rise in towns and cities throughout the country, towering over the
smaller
buildings around them. If you visit Paris, you will certainly see
Notre
Dame, an early 13th century Gothic Cathedral to Our Lady. Notre
Dame
rises 107 feet from floor to stone ceiling, making it a soaring and
spiritual
structure. Far surpassing Notre Dame in height, and coming later
in
the Gothic age, is Beauvais Cathedral, located near Paris.
The builders of Beauvais aimed for the heavens, pushing their
engineering
skills to the limit and erecting their high stone ceiling 157 feet up
in
the air--a full fifty feet beyond the ceiling at Notre Dame in Paris.
They
utilized slender stone supports and delicate pointed arches (left), a
signature
of the Gothic style. Because of the intensive system of massive stone
buttresses
outside, the builders were able to punch holes in the stone walls for
windows.
These windows were filled with stained glass, producing dazzling
results
inside the darkened interior, as subtle colors played across the walls
while
the light changed and flickered.
Unfortunately, Beauvais'
engineers pushed too far. The vaulting in
the ceiling collapsed at the end of the 13th century. Beauvais had to
rebuild,
using more supports and more conservative engineering. Partly as
a
result of this, the Cathedral was never finished. In the picture
at
left, which shows the web of buttresses ("flying buttresses") extending
from
the body of the church to support the walls, we are looking at the
altar
end of the church only--the long nave (which should appear at the far
left
of the church) was never built. About half of the cathedral is missing.
The
city of Beauvais ran out of money and time. The failure at
Beauvais
signaled the end of the Gothic age. The Renaissance was on its way, and
a
new sense of the worth of r this world was beginning to bloom in
Europe.
Architects no longer sought to reach higher and higher to the heavens.
Only when visiting Beauvais is it possible to see how fragile this structure really is, even with the additional Gothic supports. To further stabilize this cathedral, the French have recently had to add internal and external supports. This was done to prevent the collapse of Beauvais, which has suffered additionally from stresses brought by the modern world. See the picture at right, which illustrates modern interior supports at Beauvais. Even so, Beauvais still remains a spiritual refuge and a landmark to the Gothic age.
The builders of Beauvais aimed for the heavens, pushing their
engineering
skills to the limit and erecting their high stone ceiling 157 feet up
in
the air--a full fifty feet beyond the ceiling at Notre Dame in Paris.
They
utilized slender stone supports and delicate pointed arches (left), a
signature
of the Gothic style. Because of the intensive system of massive stone
buttresses
outside, the builders were able to punch holes in the stone walls for
windows.
These windows were filled with stained glass, producing dazzling
results
inside the darkened interior, as subtle colors played across the walls
while
the light changed and flickered. |
 |
These stunning views into Beauvais' nave and
vaulted
ceiling show how fragile the architectural structure had become, as
this
cathedral thrusts upward with what seems to be skeletal, web-like
supports,
allowing the viewer to feel as if he/she had been transported to a
heavenly
world, far from this ordinary life on earth.
|
Unfortunately, Beauvais'
engineers pushed too far. The vaulting in
the ceiling collapsed at the end of the 13th century. Beauvais had to
rebuild,
using more supports and more conservative engineering. Partly as
a
result of this, the Cathedral was never finished. In the picture
at
left, which shows the web of buttresses ("flying buttresses") extending
from
the body of the church to support the walls, we are looking at the
altar
end of the church only--the long nave (which should appear at the far
left
of the church) was never built. About half of the cathedral is missing.
The
city of Beauvais ran out of money and time. The failure at
Beauvais
signaled the end of the Gothic age. The Renaissance was on its way, and
a
new sense of the worth of r this world was beginning to bloom in
Europe.
Architects no longer sought to reach higher and higher to the heavens.
Only when visiting Beauvais is it possible to see how fragile this structure really is, even with the additional Gothic supports. To further stabilize this cathedral, the French have recently had to add internal and external supports. This was done to prevent the collapse of Beauvais, which has suffered additionally from stresses brought by the modern world. See the picture at right, which illustrates modern interior supports at Beauvais. Even so, Beauvais still remains a spiritual refuge and a landmark to the Gothic age.