Crescencio Virgen Castellanos

On this comment I’m gonna write about the Gothic architectonic style, the gothic architecture style flourished during the high and late medieval period gothic architecture was known during the period as the French Style the term gothic first appearing during the latter part of the renaissance as a stylistic insult, the principal characteristics of the gothic style are the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress, the gothic style, when applied to an ecclesiastical building, emphasizes verticality and light , the pointed arch purpose was vaulting spaces of irregular plan, or to bring transverse vaults to the same height as diagonal vaults a characteristic of Gothic church architecture is its height, both real and proportional. A section of the main body of a Gothic church usually shows the nave as considerably taller than it is wide externally, towers and spires are characteristic of Gothic churches both great and small, the number and positioning being one of the greatest variables in Gothic architecture, what its moust notorious in this architectonic style are the pointing archs and they also have a signification, that it’s a suggestion of height an other of the principal characteristics are the expansive areas of the windows as at Sainte Chapelle and the very large size of many individual windows, all this factors are part of the most important part of the gothic architecture that is to create a powerful impression.For me the gothic architecture its very impressive because it’s a very original way to construct churches, castles, universities and cathedrals because it gives a mysterious touch and that touch its very important and it’s a really good style because its very peculiar characteristic of the European culture.

Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo

Mystical Notre Dame Cathedralimpressive marvel of sacred geometry and medieval architecture


After I visited “a lot” of web sites, I could deduce many things about this medieval architecture: “Notre Dame Cathedral”. I want to invite you to visit all the web sites I posted here. I hope you enjoy this presentation.
- These are different perspectives of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

1.2

1.1

http://www.destination360.com/europe/france/images/s/france-notre-dame-cathedral.jpg
http://www.atkielski.com/PhotoGallery/Paris/NotreDame/NotreDameSmall.html

1.4

1.3 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMh8uImMMcCDm1kOp0WA-GxpMR4xQO2RskPOFAxIh1kFOY6rg2xIfMr9ACqFoZqdrM5-siQ57EB4EBKqqDIKdyiZinfOuOz_cEC6s4eZMhIgyp8b2CdSEJGBPnBMi6mYrXn2YcSBy7H6AN/s400/notre-dame-cathedral-night.jpg
http://wallpapers.bpix.org/es_63__Notre-Dame_de_Paris_Cathedral,_Paris,_France.html

- The people in this picture are looking at Notre Dame Cathedral from the Seine River.
- Construction of Notre Dame began in 1163 and was finished in 1345.

Image 1.5
http://www.visitingdc.com/paris/notre-dame-picture.asp

Image 1.6
http://www.visitingdc.com/paris/notre-dame-picture.asp
- This gargoyle is looking at Paris from the top of Notre Dame.

· Architecture Information:
When I looked the architecture of this Cathedral I could appreciate all the shapes, colors and the Catholic style. The colors are cold (sky blue, white, etc.), we can see round windows and long columns, and the elegant structure.
The architecture of Notre Dame is very interesting and beautiful; we can see a lot of elements, these are the most representative of them:
- Buttress: They are a masonry structure that typically consists of a straight inclined bar carried on an arch and a solid pier or buttress against which it abuts and that receives the thrust of a roof or vault.

- Arch: A curved structural member spanning an opening or recess. The wedge shaped elements that make up an arch keep one another in place and transform the vertical pressure of the structure above into lateral pressure.

- Composite pier: A type of pier that is composed not of a single member but has shafts, half-columns, or pilaster strips attached to it.

· History information:
This Cathedral is a really old structure, but it still has the beauty to make you feel different emotions.
“This is Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, on the Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine River that is the original birthplace of Paris. The name is pronounced /katedʁal də nɔtʁ̩ dam də paʁi/ (Cathedral de Notre-Dame de Paris), and it means “Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris”—“our lady” in this case being the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity. The cathedral is almost nine hundred years old. This is the cathedral that played a key role in Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The bells are still rung several times daily, by human beings.
Like all churches built prior to the formal separation of the Roman Catholic Church and the French Republic, this edifice is now public property; daily services are still held within. The state is responsible for the building itself, along with major maintenance, and it runs the tours of the towers; but the church is given responsibility for the interior. You can visit the interior, climb the towers to see the gargoyles, or see a small collection of art objects and relics in a tiny museum; a crypt beneath the cathedral and the plaza in front of it, along with its associated archaeological excavations, can also be visited. Notre-Dame Cathedral is a very well-known landmark, and tourists crowd around and within it all day long, every day. It is called Our Lady of Paris to distinguish it from the many other variations of Our Lady throughout Paris and France.
The rose windows (the southern rose window is visible in the photo) are the only original stained-glass windows left in the cathedral (most others were replaced several centuries ago with “new” stained glass), were removed during the Second World War and reinstalled after the war ended.” (http://www.atkielski.com/PhotoGallery/Paris/NotreDame/NotreDameSmall.html)

Southern Rose Window
Image 1.7
http://www.atkielski.com/PhotoGallery/Paris/NotreDame/NotreDameSmall.html

Opinion:
“Medieval architecture”, “Notre Dame Cathedral”, “Old Church”…you can call this structure like you want…but I would call it “Magnificence”.
I have never had the pleasure to go to Paris and know this place, but when I visited some web sites and watched some images, I felt something deep.
I felt imposing in front of this wonderful Cathedral. I would describe this place like something: splendid, magnificent, marvelous…
For me…it represents celestial power and royalty. The faith, hope and purity are present in our catholic life. And we can appreciate the catholic style in this Cathedral.
I would like to have the chance to visit this wonderful place some day. I don´t know how would I react, but I am sure that I will enjoy it a lot.
The beautiful scene, the cold landscape…everything is perfect. The bright lights inside and outside give Notre Dame a warm and elegant appearance.
I love architecture, and some day I will be able to make magnificent artworks. I just want to make something clear: “We can find art everywhere…we just have to look beyond…”

Bibliography:
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://www.visitingdc.com/paris/notre-dame-cathedral-paris.asp
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://wallpapers.bpix.org/es_63__Notre-Dame_de_Paris_Cathedral,_Paris,_France.html
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://www.atkielski.com/PhotoGallery/Paris/NotreDame/NotreDameSmall.html
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://www.destination360.com/europe/france/images/s/france-notre-dame-cathedral.jpg
Buttress. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buttress
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMh8uImMMcCDm1kOp0WA-GxpMR4xQO2RskPOFAxIh1kFOY6rg2xIfMr9ACqFoZqdrM5-siQ57EB4EBKqqDIKdyiZinfOuOz_cEC6s4eZMhIgyp8b2CdSEJGBPnBMi6mYrXn2YcSBy7H6AN/s400/notre-dame-cathedral-night.jpg
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://www.kinsilclose.com/
Notre Dame Cathedral. Consulted on September 24th, 2009. Available at:
http://www.kinsilclose.com/imageLibrary/Inside-Notre-Dame-Cathedral.jpg

Alejandra Castellanos

Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral (“Our Lady of Paris”)
This Catholic Church was build during the middle Ages and it represents the gothic architecture. The construction started in 1163 and it was completely finish in 1345. It was constructed by many different architects but the main architect was Bishop Maurice de Sully.
What characteristic of gothic architecture does this building has?
- The shaped stones.
- Solid walls and pillars.
- emphasized height and used the pointed arch
- Flying buttresses
- Sculptures of Stone Gargoyles

These are some characteristics of the building; the first two we can find them outside the church; the second is inside the building; the third ones (the ones that are together), is located one in the building and the other out the building, on the top. The last one, but not least is a plan draw of the construction.

Notre Dame cathedral (Alejandra Velasco :D)

Notre Dame of Paris means ‘Our lady of Paris’. Is a gothic cathedral on the eastern half of Paris, France. Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.
After several organs that were installed in the cathedral over time, the earliest ones were inadequate for the building. The first noteworthy organ was finished in the 18th century by the noted builder François-Henri Clicquot. Some of Clicquot's original pipework in the pedal division continues to sound from the organ today. The organ was almost completely rebuilt and expanded in the 19th century by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
The position of titular organist at Notre-Dame is considered as one of the most prestigious organist posts in France, along with the post of Saint Sulpice in Paris, Cavaillé-Coll's largest instrument.
The organ has 7,800 pipes, with 900 classified as historical. The organ has 109 stops, five 56-key manuals and a 32-key pedal board. In December 1992, work was completed on the organ that fully computerized the organ under 3 LANs (Local Area Networks).

Looking this type of churches, I felt really impressed. I like a lot the Notre Dame cathedral, I love the style and that’s why I search about it. While I was reading about the different pages of information, I love the page http://www.newyorkcarver.com/photogal10.htm, this page make you “feel” that you’re in the cathedral with a virtual visit. I really want to go to France only to visit this cathedral.
The thing that captures my attention was the part of the organ, that’s why I talk about it. I love that besides of the time that they are living they don’t give up of find a really nice organ for the cathedral so that for me is a example to follow, when you’re in problems, don’t give up, always think that someone is worst that you, so keep trying.
http://www.newyorkcarver.com/photogal10.htm
http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=gargola
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_Notre_Dame_de_Par%C3%ADs
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/
http://www.paris.org/Musees/Musee.NDame/info.html

Medieval architecture

Peace, trascendance, happiness, and many other different emotions and ideas are experienced when we observe these beautiful churches, these imponent yet protecting and inspiring buildings. They are more than just buildings, and that is the reason they are still in our world being part of our history of our identity.

Today I am offering you two wonderful pictures, it was hard to choose, becasue none of the pictures that I could found get any close to the beauty of these constructions, so please, before posting make sure you visit many websites, look at many different books so you can appreciate different perspectives of each church.

Im just giving you a couple of hints... one is in Istanbul, it used to be in Constantinopla. The other one.... in Paris.

One is Catholic, the other is Orthodox. One is still a church, you can actually go to mass there, the other is nowadays a museum.

So, what do you have to do?

RESEARCH and POSTING.

You need to include the following:

Select one of the churches.

Offer to us, particular information on architecture or the visual arts inside or outside the church (you need to define the term you are explaining) and explain to us exactly where in the building we can see it).

Offer to us, particular information on the building history or context.

Tell us your opinion.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT REPEAT INFORMATION THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PROVIDED BY ONE OF YOUR CLASSMATES.

Please INCLUDE pictures whenever it is necessary.

Due: Friday night.

Enjoy this exercise!

Charlie.

Good job!

I was really pleased to read most of your comments. Just a couple of particular things I would like to highlight:

Douniel, dont you think victory for many people has a connotation of ascendance?

Enrique your link is great, it does illustrate your point congratulations.

I am sending you the information provided by the Louvre, the museum where this piece is exhibited.

Originally it did have a head and arms. Here is the complete story:

"An original Greek statue probably destroyed by an earthquake, this work was found in countless pieces in 1863 on the island of Samothrace, in the northeast Aegean. The right wing is a plaster copy of the left wing, the only one to have survived. The cement base beneath its feet is also modern; the statue initially stood on the sculpted prow of the ship. It loomed out of a hilltop sanctuary at an angle, which explains why less attention was paid to carving the right-hand side. The Victory — “Nike” in Greek — is shown as if she were just alighting on the prow of the ship to which she is bringing divine favor. Discovered in 1950, her right hand enabled her original gesture to be restored: with her raised hand, she announces the coming event. Staged in spectacular fashion very much in keeping with Hellenistic taste, she could be seen from afar by ships approaching the island. The proportions, the rendering of the bodily forms, the manner in which the drapery flapping in the wind is handled, and the expansiveness of the highly theatrical gesture all bear witness to the search for realism in sculpture dating from this period.After examining certain stylistic details, scholars believe that this monument might be a votive offering from the Rhodians to thank the gods for a naval victory around 190 BC, but André Malraux was delighted with the accidental mutilation of this statue, which turned it into a timeless icon of Western art — “a masterpiece of destiny.”

"The winged goddess of Victory standing on the prow of a ship overlooked the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace. This monument was probably an ex-voto offered by the people of Rhodes in commemoration of a naval victory in the early second century BC. The theatrical stance, vigorous movement, and billowing drapery of this Hellenistic sculpture are combined with references to the Classical period-prefiguring the baroque aestheticism of the Pergamene sculptors. "

"This exceptional monument was unearthed in 1863 on the small island of Samothrace in the northwest Aegean. It was discovered by Charles Champoiseau, French Vice-Consul to Adrianople (Turkey). The goddess of Victory (Nike, in Greek) is shown in the form of a winged woman standing on the prow of a ship, braced against the strong wind blowing through her garments. With her right hand cupped around her mouth, she announced the event she was dedicated to commemorate. The colossal work was placed in a rock niche that had been dug into a hill; it overlooked the theater of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. This niche may also have contained a pool filled with water in which the ship appeared to float. Given its placement, the work was meant to be viewed from the front left-hand side; this explains the disparity in sculpting technique, the right side of the body being much less detailed. The highly theatrical presentation-combined with the goddess's monumentality, wide wingspan, and the vigor of her forward-thrusting body-reinforces the reality of the scene. "

Marie-Bénédicte Astier. Louvre Museum Website. September 21, 2009.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/activite/detail_parcours.jsp?CURRENT_LLV_PARCOURS%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674098115&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674098163&CURRENT_LLV_CHEMINEMENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674098163&bmLocale=en

There you go... start posting! You have lots of information and tools to do a better job this time.
Enjoy!
ps. you just need to make one comment this time.