evaluating trachtenberg’s medieval modernism theory
TRANSCRIPT
Evaluating Trachtenberg’s Medieval Modernism theory
Romanesque Cathedral of St.-Lazare, Autun, France, 1120-46 w/ 15th-cen. Gothic additions
Romanesque Cathedral of St.-Lazare, Autun, France, 1120-46
the pilasters: “self-conscious, knowing, modernizing distortions of the very antiquity to which these same buildings are so powerfully attached” (Trachtenberg 2000, 203n11).
Conrad’s Speyer Cathedral, 1030-61Constantine’s Basilica (aula nova) at Trier, 305-312
Henry IV’s Speyer Cathedral, 1080sConrad’s Speyer Cathedral, 1030-61
Romanesque Cluny III in photo montage recon. of crossingrecon. of nave
Cluny III: “scattered, episodic, fragmentary, often superficial modernist gestures” (187).
rib vaults of Chartres Cathedral, 1194-1260groin vaults of Speyer Cathedral, 1080s
Nôtre-Dame, Paris
nave elevation looking west
1150-55
nave elevation looking east
Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France, 1194-1221
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Labyrinths
12.85 m. diameter maze installed in 1215-21
Chartres Cathedral – maze installed in 1215-21
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
Chartres Cathedral – labyrinth defining difference between west vs. east end of the church
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
Silver coin from Knossos on the island of Crete, Greece, 325 BCE
(No maze found in the palace at Knossos)
Mazes in the Greek world
Floor mosaic of a Roman villa near Cremona, Italy, 1st cen. CE
Mazes in the Roman worldDaedalus – mythical architect,
creator of the labyrinth
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
Early Christian El-Asnam CathedralEl-Asnam, Algeria, 324, floor mosaic
Detail of the labyrinth El-Asnam CathedralAlgeria, ca. 324 CE
Mazes in early Christian churches
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
Location of floor labyrinths in medieval churches
Romanesque San Michele in Pavia Italy, 1100-1150
Small scale labyrinths in Italy
Reims Cathedral, Reims, France, c. 1211-1290 – labyrinth now lost
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
Reims Cathedral, Reims, France, c. 1211-1290
I. Symbolism Labyrinths
Memory of the promethean architect / demiurge honored
Amiens Cathedral, Amiens, France, 1220-1269 – labyrinth is a modern reconstruction
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals
Chartres Cathedral – façade (west) Chartres Cathedral – Royal Portal (façade portal) (early Gothic 1145-55)
Ascension Christ in Majesty Virgin portal (incarnation)
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals – Christian belief and intellectual life
Chartres Cathedral – Virgin Portal Chartres Cathedral – Royal Portal (façade portal) (early Gothic 1145-55)
Ascension Christ in Majesty Virgin portal (incarnation)
Encyclopedic in scope – like the compendia written by scholastic philosophers
Chartres Cathedral – south transept portal – three portals dedicated Last Judgment theme(High Gothic 1205-40)
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals – Christian belief and intellectual life
Chartres south transept portal (High Gothic 1205-40)
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals – Christian belief and intellectual life
Human figure used to embody metaphysical ideals
Early Gothic defined, cylindrical, attenuated column figures
“Classical” St. George
Chartres Cathedral – south transept (High Gothic 1205-40)
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals – Christian belief and intellectual life
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals
Chartres Cathedral – façade (west) Chartres Cathedral – Royal Portal (façade portal) (early Gothic 1145-55)
Ascension Christ in Majesty Virgin portal (incarnation)
I. Symbolism in High Gothic great churches Sculpted portals – Christian belief and intellectual life
Chartres Cathedral – Virgin Portal Chartres Cathedral – Royal Portal (façade portal) (early Gothic 1145-55)
Ascension Christ in Majesty Virgin portal (incarnation)
Encyclopedic in scope – like the compendia written by scholastic philosophers