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
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