standards, so that Cistercian art in France adopts regional styles and becomes more
elaborate in the progression from Romanesque to Gothic.
The original ideals of early French Cistercian architecture are best preserved in the
Burgundian abbey of Fontenay, founded in 1118 as a daughter house of Clairvaux. The
church dates from 1139–47, and the other structures are also of this period. The church
has a simple façade with a single portal and a few plain windows in the upper story. The
nave of eight bays with single aisles is spanned by a pointed barrel vault. The transept of
two bays has a rectangular apse and chapels opening off its east side. The beauty derives
from the simple lines, balanced proportions, and the play of light on surface. The location
of the cloister, chapter house, monks’ dormitory, refectory, and other build-
Le Thoronet (Var), Cistercian abbey,
cloister. Photograph courtesy of
Whitney S.Stoddard.
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