. The origins and development of French Gothic art are closely tied to architecture. Gothic cathedrals and chapels provided the structural context for monumental sculpture and stained glass. Metalwork, ivories, paintings in manuscripts or on panels, and textiles were the furnishings that complemented and completed both religious and secular architecture. The close alliance between architecture and the visual arts appears in the similarity of design principles based on geometric proportions and in representations of architectural motifs and structures in metalwork, ivories, stained glass, and painting.
The beginnings of the Gothic style in stained glass and sculpture are connected with Early Gothic architecture. The chevet of Saint-Denis (ca. 1144) contained stained-glass windows that not only were integral to the more skeletal structural principles but were also a key el-ement in the aesthetics of light articulated by Abbot Suger. The west façade of Saint-Denis contained a sculptural program that represented a departure from Romanesque aesthetic. Two of the three portals had sculpted tympana (the third had a mosaic), and jamb statues were attached to the vertical supports. The placement of sculpture more logically reflected the vertical and horizontal divisions of the architecture, the figures had more spatial autonomy, and the iconographic program was more comprehensive.
Because of the destruction that Saint-Denis suffered during the Revolution, these new elements are best preserved on the west façade of Chartres cathedral (ca. 1150). The three-portal façade with jambs, tympana, and archivolts shows the new stylistic principles. In the central tympanum, the apocalyptic Christ displays a calm visage, and his body has a three-dimensional unity that softly falling drapery articulates. The jamb figures exhibit a tight columnar shape, but their forms are attached in front of the column and not confined within its frame, as was the practice in Romanesque sculpture. Above the portals are three stained-glass windows, famed for the beautiful colors of their glass, especially the blue.
The incipient monumentality of these Early Gothic examples of sculpture and stained glass became apparent in all media of French Gothic art in the years just preceding and following 1200. This period in French Gothic art goes by several names, including the “Year 1200 style” and muldenfaltenstil (or “damp-fold style”) for the clinging drapery folds with characteristic hairpin loops that cover the figures. Monumental sculpture offers many examples of this stylistic phenomenon. Dating from ca. 1170, the west portal of Senlis cathedral, with the death, assumption, and coronation of the Virgin, clearly shows the plastic, three-dimensional quality of figures revealed through the soft draperies and the tender emotional expression. The north-transept portals at Chartres demonstrate a well-
Dormition of the Virgin. Sculpture from the central portal of the west façade of Senlis cathedral. 13th century. Reprinted by permission of Giraudon/Art Resource, New York.
developed version of this style ca. 1200. As sculptural workshops moved to different locations, the style extended to many outlying areas, such as Alsace. The Death of the Virgin tympanum on the south portal of Strasbourg cathedral, carved ca. 1225, is one of the most beautiful monuments of Gothic art. The graceful bodies are revealed through clinging drapery, and the expression of contained grief is especially moving.
The Year 1200 style is evident in other media as well. The formal relationships of metalwork and sculpture make the style especially apparent in altarpieces and reliquaries
Adam, sculpture from interior of transept of the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. 14th century. Photograph courtesy of Rebecca A.Baltzer.
by the goldsmith Nicolas de Verdun. Two of his famous works, the Klosterneuburg Altar and the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne, display the supple bodies, plastic forms, and clinging drapery. In manuscript illumination, a famous example is the Ingeborg Psalter, possibly made in north France ca. 1190 for the second wife of King Philip Augustus, whom he repudiated immediately after their marriage. The monumental figures stand out almost in relief against burnished gold grounds. They have the elongated faces and draperies that fall in looping folds as they articulate and model the substantial bodies.
The first half of the 13th century was a creative period in French Gothic art. It was the time when the great French cathedrals—Chartres, Amiens, Reims, and others—were being built. Sculpture, stained glass, manuscripts, metalwork, and ivories were all components of the cathedral as a multimedia ensemble. Because of factors of time and economics, however, few of these artistic projects were completed as a unified stylistic entity. In addition, destruction and dispersal of these components through the centuries make total reconstruction of any of these monuments virtually impossible.
Chartres cathedral preserves the most unified example of sculpture and stained glass in situ. In both cases, stylistic changes occurred from the early to mid-13th century. While much of the sculpture on the north- and south-transept portals reflects the classicizing Year 1200 Style, some of the sculpture of the south porch, which is closer to 1240, displays a style in which the drapery folds are heavier and more angular. Likewise, the earlier lancet windows of the lower story in the nave are medallion windows with linear rendering of drapery and faces. Newer styles in stained-glass composition appear in the clerestory, chevet, and especially the transept, with rose windows and single figures in lancets.
This period witnessed considerable overlapping of styles. The basic features of the Year 1200 style continued well into the century, as seen in such manuscripts as the Bible moralisée of ca. 1230 and the Psalter of Blanche of Castile associated with the royal court. The layout with superimposed scenes in medallions and the vestiges of the soft drapery with looped folds reveal connections with the Year 1200 style. The drapery, however, is heavier and more broadly linear in its articulation. In sculpture, the Judgment portal on the west façade of Notre-Dame in Paris also shows the weighty angular drapery. The crisp, heavy drapery style appears with greater uniformity in the well-preserved sculpture of the three-portal west façade of Amiens cathedral, also dated ca. the 1230s.
These new stylistic directions converged with the advent of Rayonnant architecture ca. the 1230s, particularly in Paris. The Sainte-Chapelle, the French court chapel, dedicated in 1248, is an outstanding example of the merging of media. The chapel itself is on a smaller scale and gives the impression of being a reliquary turned outside in. In the upper story, the walls have dissolved into a linear skeleton, leaving the stained-glass panels as the surface elements. These tall, thin windows are composed of scenes in medallions. The figure style emphasizes fine lines, delicate features, and angular drapery. The wall surfaces are painted and gilded with decorative patterns. Sculptural figures of the Apostles are now placed on the interior. Their poses have a swaying contrapposto that is accentuated by the play of V-shaped drapery folds. The focal point of the chapel was a great metalwork reliquary to house the relics of the Passion that Louis IX had acquired. It no longer survives, but representations of it show that it repeated the stylistic features of the chapel’s architecture and decoration.
Manuscript illumination connected with the Parisian court reflects similar characteristics. As in the St. Louis Psalter or the Sainte-Chapelle Evangeliaries, the figures are placed under architectural arcades that are painted versions of the Rayonnant style. The figures are animated and elegant, with delicate features and complex, usually linear, patterns of drapery folds.
By the beginning of the 14th century, new stylistic tendencies were becoming established in French Gothic art. These interconnected developments included continuing emphasis on smaller scale; use of softer colors; interest in narrative, especially in depicting emotional interaction among figures; and depiction of a more concrete spatial setting for scenes.
In sculpture, the monumental encyclopedic programs of large cathedrals were replaced by smaller freestanding figures in chapels or on altars. The most popular subject became the Virgin and Child. Regardless of media—stone, ivory, or metal—the most familiar representation was the Virgin standing in an exaggerated S-curve pose balancing the small infant Christ child on her hip. The delicate, smiling facial features and complex play of drapery folds created a regal but human figure.
The Virgin and Child or other standing saints were frequent themes in stained glass as well, particularly in Normandy, where a number of examples survive. Painted architectural canopies created connections with the structural setting. Grisaille glass and more pastel colors infused buildings with a brighter light that helped to define the increasingly linear quality of architectural details.
The interest in artistic narrative increased. Narrative cycles became more extensive, and the scenes often became more densely crowded with figures. The range of subjects also expanded. Devotional practices associated with popular piety broadened the interest in depicting biblical narrative with an emphasis on Christ’s life and passion, as well as saints’ lives. The popularity of vernacular literature also promoted illustration of these secular themes, often in lengthy cycles for such works as Arthurian romances. All of these subjects were popular in ivory carvings on polyptychs as well as luxury items, such as boxes, combs, and mirrors.
In manuscript illumination, these elements found their fullest expression. Manuscripts of vernacular literature often contained vivid illustrations of the themes recounted in the text. Devotional manuscripts, especially books of hours, became popular. Jean Pucelle, whose œuvre extends from ca. 1320 to 1336, expanded the artistic range of manuscript illumination. In his small book of hours for Jeanne d’Évreux, queen of France, he used a grisaille painting technique to endow his figures with a three-dimensional presence characteristic of sculpture. His scenes, such as the Annunciation, began to situate the figures within believable spatial interiors. He also heightened the emotional level, as seen in the grieving spectators at the Crucifixion and Entombment.
By the middle of the 14th century, realism began to replace courtly elegance in the visual arts. This tendency is most apparent in two areas, portraiture and landscape. Charles V (r. 1364–80) gave particular encouragement to the development of portraiture. The king, with his clearly distinguishable features, especially a long, prominent nose, was depicted in many media. Numerous portraits of Charles V are found in illuminated manuscripts in depictions of the presentation of the book to the king. Although fewer panel paintings survive, this medium experienced a revival, and portrait panels, such as the one of John II the Good (r. 1350–64) in the Louvre, are representative of this artistic trend. Sculptural representations include a pair of figures of Charles V and his queen, Jeanne de Bourbon, now in the Louvre. Portraits also became fashionable in tomb sculpture. One of the most outstanding sepulchral ensembles is the portal sculpture, Moses Well, and tomb of Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, at the Chartreuse de Champmol at Dijon, dated ca. 1400. The sculptor, Claus Sluter, created figures whose lifelike veracity enhanced powerful subtlety of expression.
Annunciation, book of hours (Normandy?), 1230s. M92, fol. 1v. Courtesy of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.
Jean Bondol, Annunciation, Gotha Missal, ca. 1375. Fol. 110. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland.
Realism of landscape setting was also developed in French painting from around the middle of the 14th century. By the early decades of the 15th century, manuscript illumination placed figures in landscape settings with considerable depth, a sense of aerial perspective, and attention to detail. The calendar miniatures by the Limbourg brothers in the Très Riches Heures, one of many luxurious manuscripts illuminated for John, duke of Berry, in the early 15th century, are the epitome of these features. The landscape scenes of seasonal activities not only utilize techniques for showing spatial recession but also are so realistic that they include accurate renderings of the duke’s numerous castles.
The Limbourg brothers and Claus Sluter typify another aspect of Late Gothic art in France: the influence of styles and employment of artists from across Europe. The Limbourgs and Sluter came from one major artistic center, the Low Countries; southern Europe, especially Italy, exercised a particularly strong influence in southern France, where the Avignon papacy in the 14th century had encouraged the residence of Italian artists who decorated the papal palace. Paris remained important in late-medieval art, but other regions asserted equally strong artistic traditions. In Normandy, renewed architectural activity after the Hundred Years’ War brought a resurgence of stained-glass projects in which realism of figure style and details was manifested in the muted colors of the glass.
Illuminated manuscripts, especially devotional books and works of vernacular literature, remained popular. The development of oil painting and the advent of printing, however, caused a decline in manuscript illumination in favor of panel painting, where realism of spatial perspective could be more fully developed. As economy and trade prospered, commercial centers, such as Lyon, created affluent middle-class patrons who could furnish their living quarters with tapestries as well as metalwork and ivory objects. The detailed realism of late French Gothic art continued into the early 16th century, when the classical influences of the Italian Renaissance brought the art of the Gothic era to an end.
