GOTHIC ART, CONTINUED
Sculpture,  Gold and Glass Works, Manuscripts, Tapestries and Paintings
Sculpture at the West Facade of the Reims Cathedral.
West Facade of the Reims Cathedral, c.1230-40.  The "Annunciation" and "Visitation" figures are the first examples of the revival of realism in sculpture that characterizes the Gothic era.  See page 477* in the Gardner text.
Gothic sculpture in ivory and gilt, wood and stone, ranged from table-top to life size and moved ever closer to a naturalistic realism.  Here, at last, the human body could be seen beneath the robes and the drapery could delineate the position of the body.  In the Gothic era cathedrals were dedicated to the Virgin Mary and were named for her ("Notre Dame" in French).  In the statues below Mary is dressed royally, portrayed as an elegant court lady, a most suitable patroness for crusader, monk and king.
Virgin of Paris
Left, Virgin and Child (Virgin of Paris), Notre Dame, Paris, France. Page 478, Gardner text.

Right, Virgin of Jeanne d'Evreux, from St-Denis, France.  Silver gilt and enamel.  Page 485, Gardner text.
Virgin of Jeanne d'Evreux
Ivory figure depicting Mary and Jesus.
Painted wood figure depicting the Annunciation.
Painted wood figure depicting Mary and Jesus.
Limestone painted figure of Mary and Jesus.
Virgin and Child, French.  c.1250-60.  Ivory, 7 1/2"
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 		The Visitation, German. c. 1310. Walnut with polychrome and gilt.
23 1/4" H.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 		Enthroned Virgin and Child, Austrian.  c.1360.  Lindenwood, polychrome and gilt.  29 5/8"H.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Virgin and Child, France.  c.1300-50.  Limestone, polychromed and gilt,68" h.
 Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image of a German gold chalice and paten.
Image of a Gothic gold clasp.
Gold Chalice and paten, German, c.1235. Silver, gilt, and gems.
The Cloisters Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gold clasp, Meuse Valley.  c.1210.  Gilt bronze, 2" X 3".
The Cloisters Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image of a gold reliquary.

The Gold Reliquary Shrine at the left was made in Paris in 1345 for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary.  It is made of silver gilt and translucent enamel, is 10" in height and is 16" in length when fully opened. 

The image at the right is a detail showing one of the angels beside Mary.  The small case held by the angel is said to contain relics of the nativity.

Click on both images to enlarge the detail.
The Cloisters Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Detail of the center image of the reliquary.
Gold Reliquary opened
Detail, Reliquary
Reliquary casket, c. 1200-1220.
Miniature casket, 1250-1300, Limoges, France.
A reliquary casket, from Limoges, France, c. 1200-1220.  Champleve enamel on copper over wood.
A miniature casket, c. 1250-1300, from Limoges, France.  Champleve enamel on copper over wood.
Ekkehard and Uta, German Gothic statues
Virgin and Dead Christ, Rottgen Pieta
Ekkehard and Uta, from the Naumberg Cathedral, Naumberg, Germany.  c.1249-1255.  See page 491 in the Gardner text.
Virgin with the Dead Christ (Rottgen Pieta).  c.1300-1325.  Painted wood, 2'10 1/2".  See page 493 in the Gardner text.
Gothic manuscript images
Like Gothic gold, Gothic era manuscripts and tapestries became ornately decoractive, while still serving to narrate the the story.  The manuscripts shown here are from the Biblioteque Nationale of France.
Gothic manuscript images
Manuscript page, "God as Architect of the World"
"God as architect of the world," folio 1 verso of a moralized Bible, from Paris, c. 1220-1230.

See page 481 in the Gardner text.
*Page numbers refer to Gardner 13th edition.
Page Updated 8/03/09
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Copyright Marleen Hoover and the Visual Arts and Technology Department, 
San Antonio College, April 2001.