polity kingdom of france medieval
Sainte-Chapelle Stained Glass Cycle
Stained glass cycle (1242–1248 CE) of the Sainte-Chapelle, Île de la Cité, Paris. The upper chapel is enclosed by 15 windows of approximately 1113 individual scenes depicting Old and New Testament narratives, culminating in a rose window of the Apocalypse. The supreme achievement of Rayonnant Gothic architecture and Gothic stained glass, commissioned by Louis IX (Saint Louis) to house the Crown of Thorns.
Notes
- ·The Sainte-Chapelle was built by Louis IX (Saint Louis, r.1226–1270) to house the Crown of Thorns and other Passion relics purchased from Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople in 1238–1241 for 135,000 livres.
- ·The architect is traditionally identified as Pierre de Montreuil; the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248.
- ·The structural logic is extreme: the masonry walls are reduced to minimal piers to allow maximum glazing — approximately two-thirds of the wall surface is glass.
- ·The iconographic programme is one of the most ambitious in the Middle Ages: the windows read as a complete Old Testament typological narrative leading to the relics housed in the chapel itself, affirming Louis IX's role as the new Solomon and France as the new Israel.
- ·Of the original windows, 12 of the 15 nave windows are substantially original; the three westernmost windows were destroyed during the French Revolution and replaced in the 19th century.
- ·The rose window on the west façade (depicting the Apocalypse) was remade in the 15th century under Charles VIII.
- ·Major restoration 1840–1867 (Félix Duban and others); ongoing restoration 2008–present with individual windows removed for conservation.