Gerald Hansen III and Dr. Mark Johnson, Visual Arts
Gothic churches are vivid expressions of Catholic doctrine and local culture. Doctrinally churches have a similar basic purpose—to unite members of the community for the teaching of church doctrine and for the celebration of religious sacraments or holidays. However, each church often has additional unique functions based on religious, political, economic, or other factors of the era and region. One of the most important means by which a church illustrates these purposes is through the symbolic art and architecture decorating its interior and exterior. This church iconography is meant to communicate to the community the Catholic plan of salvation and the role of individual churches in that plan and the lives of the people.
Many art historians, humanities experts, and other scholars have studied and identifiedthis iconography. However, their research has generally focused on studying stylistic similarities and differences, not on comparing and contrasting the iconographic programs of various churches, nor on analyzing how the iconography may illustrate individual function.
To analyze the role of iconography in the portrayal of function, I chose six churches in the Paris region, each with very important and well-defined roles in French history and the Gothic style. Because the Catholic Church has three types of churches (cathedrals, basilicas, and parish churches), four of the selected churches—the cathedrals of Reims, Notre Dame de Paris, Chartres, and Amiens—were of the same type. This limited the discrepancies in their function within the Catholic Church. The other two churches, the Abbey of St. Denis and Saint Chapelle were selected because of their unique political functions and their role in the development of Gothic iconography. Also, I limited the study to the western facades of these churches because of the western façade’s abundance of iconographic elements and its role in immediately portraying a church’s purposes.
With the help of Dr. Johnson, I began the research process by supplementing my previous studies of European religious art, architecture, and symbolism with more specific readings on Gothic style, Catholic doctrine, and Christian symbolism. I followed this preliminary research with an in-field analysis of the six facades during which I noted each church’s iconographic elements, their placement, and their possible interpretations.
My findings supported my hypothesis that churches shared motifs, and that differences in their iconographic programs do contribute to illustrating the role of a particular church in the local community and in the Catholic Church as a whole. Although the purpose of this report is not to provide a complete list of my findings, some examples can provide a brief illustration.
Some of the most common shared motifs are the use of three portals; the Last Judgement in the central tympanum; jambs portraying the apostles, prophets, or saints; archivolts filled with angels, saints, and prophets; galleries of kings; and representations of the zodiac, the seasons, and the parable of the wise and unwise virgins.
Examples of important anomalies in the programs include the following:
At St. Denis, the upper level of the façade portrays sculptures of the French kings. This motif emphasizes the relationship between the Catholic Church and France and the Abbey of St. Denis’ role as the burial place for most of the French kings.
The façade at Chartres deals specifically with the life of Christ. The tympanums show the fulfillment of Christ’s three missions, the jamb figures show kings and prophets who foreshadowed or prophesied of his life, and a frieze portrays the important events of his life.
Notre Dame de Paris focuses on Mary’s role in the salvation of mankind by emphasizing her life, her parents’ lives, and the resurrection and reign of her son. These motifs and the portrayal of Adam and Eve and the Fall emphasize Mary and her son’s role as the second parents of mankind who rectify the actions of mankind’s first parents.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame at Reims has an important political role. Although all four cathedrals chosen for the study were dedicated to Notre Dame, the placement of the Crowning of Mary in the central tympanum is unique at Reims. In addition, Reims is the only façade to portray David slaying Goliath. These differences in the iconographic program emphasize Reims’ unique role as the coronation site of the French kings and symbolically link the kings of France with the kings of Israel. For, like Mary, the king receives his crown from heaven, and like David and the other Israelite kings who were ordained and blessed by the hand of a prophet, the French kings were ordained and blessed by the hand of a bishop.
The Cathedral of Amiens unites the main elements of the programs of earlier churches to create an incredibly harmonious, organized, and instructive façade.
Saint Chapelle uses several motifs of crowns, including the Crowning of Mary in the lower tympanum and a crown of thorns encircling each spire. These elements make reference to the chapel’s purpose as the reliquary for what were believed to be Christ’s Crown of Thorns and other relics of his Passion. In addition, these motifs when combined with several symbols of the French monarchy convey the idea that the earthly king is a representative of the heavenly king, and thus, enjoys heaven’s mandate and blessing.
Although the overall findings were positive, there were problems in the research process. Firsthand analysis of the portals was not always possible because of cleaning and restoration projects. Although this did not happen often, for the few such cases, I bought books with photographs of the church portals and identification of their elements. In addition, previous restoration projects or lack of contemporary records meant some figures could not be specifically identified. Nevertheless, by analyzing the unknown figures in the context of the other iconography, it was still possible to understand the purpose and overall message of the program. Finally, the largest problem was that the background necessary for a complete understanding of thematic sharing, competition, and original intent would require a great deal more study and analysis.
Although further study is required for a more conclusive analysis, I learned much about the art, history, and thought of the Gothic period. This knowledge and the opportunity to learn about and participate in the research process have provided me with invaluable resources for my desired profession as a professor of Humanities and with a greater appreciation for the artistic works of man.