Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Rayonnant (French pronunciation: [ʁɛjɔnɑ̃]) style is the third of the four phases of Gothic architecture in France, as defined by French scholars. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Related to the English division of Continental Gothic into three phases (Early, High, Late Gothic), it is the second and larger part of High Gothic .
French Gothic architecture was the result of the emergence in the 12th century of a powerful French state centered in the Île-de-France.During the reign of Louis VI of France (1081–1137), Paris was the principal residence of the Kings of France, Reims the place of coronation, and the Abbey of Saint-Denis became their ceremonial burial place.
Rayonnant Gothic maximized the coverage of stained glass windows such that the walls are effectively entirely glazed; examples are the nave of Saint-Denis (1231–) and the royal chapel of Louis IX of France on the Île de la Cité in the Seine – the Sainte-Chapelle (c.1241–1248). [25]
High Gothic was a period, rather than a specific style; during the High Gothic period, the Rayonnant style was predominant. Notable High Gothic cathedrals in the Rayonnant style included Reims Cathedral, Amiens Cathedral, Bourges Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, and Beauvais Cathedral. [4]
From around the 1140s, the pointed arch Gothic window (employed by Abbot Suger for the redesign of the choir at St Denis) started to take over. Plate tracery, Lincoln Cathedral "Dean's Eye" rose window (c. 1225) Rayonnant bar tracery, Notre-Dame de Paris, north rose window
The royal chapel is a prime example of the phase of Gothic architectural style called "Rayonnant", marked by its sense of weightlessness and strong vertical emphasis. It stands squarely upon a lower chapel, which served as parish church for all the inhabitants of the palace , which was the seat of government.
French Gothic architecture is a style of architecture prevalent in France from 1140 until about 1500, which largely divided into four styles, Early Gothic, High Gothic, Rayonnant, Late Gothic or Flamboyant style.
In the following century the master-builder Pierre de Montreuil rebuilt the nave and the transepts in the new Rayonnant Gothic style. [4] The abbey church became a cathedral on the formation of the Diocese of Saint-Denis by Pope Paul VI in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, currently (since 2009) Pascal Delannoy.