"Ngel" Moises :D

Well watching the comments I notice that no one has talked about the arcs, I'm going to talk about Notre Dame's arc.
The Notre Dame arcs are called harmonica arcs; this is the name of the architectural form.
These arcs are based on a high difficult mathematic equation, which it’s supposed to give balance between the two towers and the curvature part in the center, as we can see in the Triumph Arc
It’s also supposed that the equation frame on a mathematical space with solid and symmetrical towers, divided horizontally into a zone that seems governed by an equation. Produces an effect of harmony and feeling. This set is rarely repeated in architecture except for some of the French cathedrals.
As the last paragraph says the harmonic arcs are rarely used for common churche, so we can imagine the importance that de French people gave to Notre Dame.
Adding more info to this, the Notre Dame architecture has a mental game, because the part of the apse with buttresses also produce the artistic effect of a mechanism, designed for superior mentality.
Here are some images to have an idea of what I’m saying


Bibliography
http://www.viajeuniversal.com/francia/paris/notredame/arquinotredame.htm
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gótico_clásico
www.ipfagranada.com/17_Gotico2.pdf
www.arquitectuba.com.ar/.../catedral-notre-dame-de-paris/

Isaac Aguirre

I chose the picture of Haiga Sophia because most of my classmates have chosen the Notedrame Cathedral. So let’s talk about it.
Known as Hagia Sophia (Άγια Σοφία) in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin, and Ayasofya or Aya Sofya in Turkish, =) Is a Byzantine church and mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. What we can see now is the result of many reconstructions of the building because it has been damage by earthquakes and many wars.
We can see a lot of particularities of byzantine art like many paintings of Christianize representing God, Christ, Virgin Mary and Saints. Remember that Byzantine art is derivate of the Greek art. Justinian's basilica (how was named first because of the emperor) is the representation of the first amazing Bizantine architecture. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the Eastern Orthodox, Muslim worlds alike and especially Roman Catholic art.
I really appreciate the domes and semi domes, I mean they are just huge and I can’t imagine how they built it. For over 900 years the Hagia Sophia was the principal basilica of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and a principal church for councils and imperial ceremonies.
But I want to focus on an specific part of the Church. A pillar. But no one of the huge 4 that are outside. But, in one which is inside. I was looking for information on internet and I found this strange picture, first I watched it and I think was nothing great compared with the whole church so I click on the link of the photo to see what was it and I found this:
The Miraculous Pillar

“This rectangular pillar, located behind one of the large urns to the left of the imperial door as you enter the nave, is known by many fabulous names, including the Pillar of St. Gregory the Wonder-Worker, the Sacred Column, and the Sweating Column”.
“Legend has it that if you successfully complete a 360-degree circle with your thumb in the hole, you will be granted a wish. It is also said to "weep water" that has healing properties”.
Now I want to be there to try to do the experiment, so we should organize a trip there.
I hope you enjoy it. Here I let you the pages where I found good information.
Hagia Sophia at dusk. Photo © Helen Betts.
Pictures of Hagia Sophia. Visited 25 september 2009 http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/hagia-sophia-photos/index.html
Byzantine art. Visited 25 september 2009 http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/medieval/byzantine.htm

Nelva Mildred

The dome of Hagia Sophia has spurred particular interest for many art historians, architects and engineers because of the innovative way the original architects envisioned the dome. The dome is supported by pendentives which had never been used before the building of this structure. The pendentive enables the dome to transition gracefully into the square shape of the piers below. The pendentives not only achieve a pleasing aesthetic quality, but they also restrain the lateral forces of the dome and allow the weight of the dome to flow downward.
Although this design stabilizes the dome and the surrounding walls and arches, the actual construction of the walls of Hagia Sophia weakened the overall structure. The bricklayers used more mortar than brick, which weakened the walls. The structure would have been more stable if the builders at least let the mortar cure before they began the next layer; however, they did not do this. When the dome was placed atop the building, the weight of the dome caused the walls to lean outward because of the wet mortar underneath. When Isidorus the Younger rebuilt the original dome, he had to first build up the interior of the walls so that they were vertical in order to support the weight of the new dome. Another probable change in the design of the dome when it was rebuilt was the actual height of the dome. Isidore the Younger raised the height of the dome by approximately twenty feet so that the lateral forces would not be as strong and the weight of the dome would flow more easily down the walls.
Well I really like this part of the church because it is amazing how they built it. And because they use the light to scare people and make them feel less that god.
This is the part of the principal of the gothic art, that this way the dome is that way really high and whit some one light.

Gerardo Martínez

The king’s gallery
This part of the cathedral is very important because in this part one finds the statues of the kings of Israel. In 1961, President Kennedy paid respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by French President Charles de Gaulle. After the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy remembered the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe and requested that an eternal flame be placed next to her husband's grave at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. President de Gaulle went to Washington to attend the state funeral.
The statues are replicas: the originals were decapitated during the revolution and can be viewed at the nearby Medieval Museum at the Hôtel de Cluny.
This part of the cathedral has 28 kings carved in stone. The cathedral has kings carved in the entrance of the cathedral; it is a strategy in order that the persons who are going to see her give each other all of some important characteristics that the cathedral has.
I think this part is really important because when you go to see that you firs see this part and you thing that so big this cathedral and about that its architecture treats itself.

The king’s gallery
This part of the cathedral is very important because in this part one finds the statues of the kings of Israel. In 1961, President Kennedy paid respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by French President Charles de Gaulle. After the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy remembered the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe and requested that an eternal flame be placed next to her husband's grave at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. President de Gaulle went to Washington to attend the state funeral.
The statues are replicas: the originals were decapitated during the revolution and can be viewed at the nearby Medieval Museum at the Hôtel de Cluny.
This part of the cathedral has 28 kings carved in stone. The cathedral has kings carved in the entrance of the cathedral; it is a strategy in order that the persons who are going to see her give each other all of some important characteristics that the cathedral has.
I think this part is really important because when you go to see that you firs see this part and you thing that so big this cathedral and about that its architecture treats itself.

http://goparis.about.com/od/sightsattractions/a/Notre_Dame_Hlts.htm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyT9S078kLb0k-e8j2hiQXKw_tFVtW3DpOsjxNwVMHiUmvO090RuJ9oxr3XNpyfWnmlrDJocbZG57m6WgAqybJOTjUBQjyHnxq-G3UuBlBuHmc40TQ8Aov_XjHS2ikYHz5VEruEQRMLG_-/s1600-h/catedral-notre-dame-paris.jpg

Abril Amezcua

This gargoyle, I'm much attention for the position he was, it seems that it has horns and wings, it is a structure that contradicts much. I love it because you always have the feeling they are guarding the city, but with a gloomy air.

One thing I like is that this cathedral appears in "The Hunchback of North dram”. The protagonist lives in the belfry. Her guardian, the judge Frolo, He never lets down the Belfry. In the company of three cute stone gargoyles Victor, Hugo and Laverne, Quasimodo spends hours watching the comings and goings of people. One day, decides to sneak off and meet the beautiful Esmeralda, with her biggest adventure to live. Illusion, friendship and fantasy come together in this great classic Disney.

Omar Hernández

http://www.teslasociety.com/pictures/Roman%20Empire%20Images/RomanEmpire2.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/istanbulplus/foto-AyaSofya3.jpg.jpg

This is the Santa Sofia’s Church or with the name that everybody knows “Hagia Sophia”. This huge cathedral is in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the biggest and most amazing church in Europe.
The cathedral is part of the byzantine art, because it’s ubicated in Constantinople, the byzantine art origin. But this cathedral was Christian until the Byzantine Empire was conquest.
It was built on 532 to 537 by Justino I. This building is based on four arcs and for columns for them, two domes that supported a big dome on the top of the building, in the images we can watch the real size of this dome.
Years later from conquer of the ottomans change the church and convert it into a mosque, and in 1935 was converted into a museum.
If we talk about the structure, it has a base of 77x 71 meters and the big dome is supported by columns and other small domes, the Turks help to put more support on the original church.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_de_Santa_Sof%C3%ADa

Kike!

Well, surfing in my Art and Culture Blog, I saw the two pictures and I thought about which one select for doing my work, then I select the first one, because I thought that choosing this one I was going to improve my knowledge about some cathedral. The reason was that I already know about the Notre dame cathedral and I wanted to discover the world that followed that picture in which I was interested very much.
Now, when I was checking up some links that I found in “GOOGLE” I took some specific information about the history of this mosque, nowadays a museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Church of the Holy Wisdom, known as Hagia Sophia in Greek, is a former Byzantine church and former Ottoman mosque in Istanbul. Hagia Sophia is universally acknowledged as one of the great buildings of the world.
Constantine was the first Christian emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople, which he called "the New Rome." The Hagia Sophia was one of several great churches he built in important cities throughout his empire.
It is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture, rich with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings.
The Hagia Sophia has a classical basilica plan. The main ground plan of the building is a rectangle, 230 feet in width and 246 feet in length. The area is covered by a central dome with a diameter of 102 feet , which is just slightly smaller than that of the Pantheon in Rome.
For over 900 years the Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and a principal setting for church councils and imperial ceremonies.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia
Then viewing, all the pieces of art that make part of this magnificent mosque, I choose some mosaics, but the I chose only one and I think that the Deësis Mosaic was the most important of all the mosaics.
The most famous of Hagia Sophia's Byzantine mosaics is this 13th-century Deësis Mosaic, depicting Christ Pantrocrator flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist.
Christ holds a closed Book of Gospels in his left hand and raises his right in benediction. His gentle expression is that of the "Palaeologan Christ," who reveals God’s compassion for humanity. On either side, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist are turned towards Christ in attitude of worship.
The wistful and grave expressions of Christ and the saints in this mosaic reflect a profound spirituality and announce a new epoch of Byzantine art marked by high aesthetic standards and classical trends.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia-photos/slides/deesis-mosaic3-c-hlp
We can have a virtual tour on this beautiful building at: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia-photos/slides/deesis-mosaic3-c-hlp
In this picture, we can see that the mosaic is a little bit destroyed, cause of the years, but it represents to me the magnifency of Jesus and Santa Maria.
Also, we can see the type of architecture that the Byzantines used to paint in ther mosaics, only one shaped pictures without perspectives, and the image that they had of Christ is our nowadays picture of Jesus and God.

“My representation”
I think that the Byzantines, spend a lot of time, building this mosque that is one of the most important all over the world, when I first saw it I felt tiny, like If I were an ant, I I was overexposed to the humongous piece of art, that I haven’t seen before. It was great…
Bibliography:
http://www.360tr.com/34_istanbul/ayasofya/english/
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia-floor-plan.html
http://www.vacance-roumanie.com/vacaciones_a_Rumania/La_religion_ortodoxa.html