REIMS CATHEDRAL Construction of
Reims Cathedral (FIG. 18-23), where the coro-
nations of the kings of France took place, began
only a few years after work commenced at
Amiens. The Reims builders carried the High
Gothic style of the Amiens west facade still fur-
ther, both architecturally and sculpturally. The
two facades, although similar, display some sig-
nificant differences. The kings’ gallery of statues
at Reims is above the great rose window, and the
figures stand in taller and more ornate frames. In
fact, the designer “stretched” every detail of the
facade. The openings in the towers and those to
the left and right of the rose window are taller,
narrower, and more intricately decorated, and
they more closely resemble the elegant lancets of
the clerestory within. A pointed arch also frames
the rose window itself, and the pinnacles over the
portals are taller and more elaborate than those
at Amiens. Most striking, however, is the treat-
ment of the tympana over the doorways, where
stained-glass windows replaced the stone relief
sculpture of earlier facades. The contrast with
Romanesque heavy masonry construction (FIG.
17-30) is extreme. But no less noteworthy is the
rapid transformation of the Gothic facade since
the 12th-century designs of Saint-Denis and
Chartres (FIG. 18-5) and even Laon (FIG. 18-8).
Reims Cathedral is also a prime example
of the High Gothic style in sculpture. The statues and reliefs of the
west facade celebrate the Virgin Mary. Above the central gable, Mary
is crowned as Queen of Heaven. On the trumeau, she appears in her
role as the New Eve above reliefs depicting the Original Sin. The
jamb statues relate episodes from the Infancy cycle (see “The Life of
Jesus in Art,” Chapter 11, pages 296–297), including the Annuncia-
tionand Visitation(FIG. 18-24). All four illustrated statues appear
to be completely detached from their architectural background. The
sculptors shrank the supporting columns into insignificance so that
they in no way restrict the free and easy movements of the full-
bodied figures. These 13th-century statue-columns contrast strik-
ingly with those of the Early Gothic Royal Portal (FIG. 18-7), where the
background columns occupy a volume equal to that of the figures.
The Reims statues also vividly illustrate that the sculptural or-
namentation of Gothic cathedrals took decades to complete and re-
quired many sculptors often working in diverse styles. Art historiansbelieve that three different sculptors carved the four statues in FIG.
18-24at different times during the quarter century from 1230 to- The Visitationgroup (FIG. 18-24,right) is the work of an artist
who probably studied classical statuary. Reims was an ancient Roman
city, and the heads of both Mary and Saint Elizabeth resemble Roman
portraits. The Gothic statues are astonishing approximations of the
classical naturalistic style and incorporate contrapposto postures that
go far beyond the stance of the Chartres Saint Theodore (FIG. 18-18).
The swaying of the hips is much more pronounced. The right legs
bend, and the knees press through the rippling folds of the garments.
The sculptor also set the figures’ arms in motion. Mary and Elizabeth
turn their faces toward each other, and they converse through ges-
tures. In the Reims Visitationgroup, the formerly isolated Gothic
jamb statues became actors in a biblical narrative.
The Annunciationgroup (FIG. 18-24,left) also features statues
liberated from their architectural setting, but they are products of
476 Chapter 18 GOTHIC EUROPE18-23West facade of Reims Cathedral, Reims,
France, ca. 1225–1290.
The facade of Reims Cathedral displays the High
Gothic architect’s desire to reduce sheer mass and
replace it with intricately framed voids. Stained-
glass windows, not stone reliefs, fill the tympana.18-23ANave,
Reims
Cathedral,
begun 1211.