Architecture and Sculpture Compared Architecture

Architecture and Sculpture Compared

Architecture and Sculpture

The subjects examined will be Michelangelo's David and Chartres Cathedral. These two will be compared as to structure, materials, function, how constructed, type of structure, purpose and time. I also want to compare these two as to proportion and similarities in characteristics of visual and design elements.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-'564) created the figure of the "David" between 1501 and 1504 in distorted proportion, as it was meant to be seen from below, standing high above the city on a piazza overlooking Florence. Today a copy of the "David" stands on the bluff, while the original is sheltered in a domed room. It is made of one piece of stone, Carrara stone, a single block of pure white marble known as the "giant," quarried in the Italian Apennines and carried to Florence, where it now resides in the form of a beautiful young man 18 feet tall, in the Academia di Belle Arti (Frazier 420).

Chartres Cathedral was not designed by one person, but, founded in the 11th century, around 1194, was built over a period of 70 years, was burned twice and finished in 1260. It was inspired by the philosophy of the Abbot Suger as the embodiment of Gothic ideals and shows a progression of styles according to the age in which each section was built. It is of bearing masonry, located in a small town 55 miles southwest of Paris, the site of a pre-Christian goddess cult.

Chartres Cathedral has three entryways called the Royal Portal that include side sculptures of biblical kings and queens, like column statues, just beginning to show independence and integrity. As the Gothic era and building progressed over time, the sculptures became increasingly naturalistic, individualized and self-contained. Above the center of the Royal Portals sits Christ enthroned. Many stained glass windows and a large "rose window" (a circular stained-glass window) encircled with stone tracery, allow light and color in and the stone tracery adds a lacey feeling to the interior.

The nave rises over 300 feet. A marvel of Gothic architecture, Chartres Cathedrdal contains elaborate, pointed arches, rib vaults (masonry ribs inside the vault for support as well as decoration), and exterior wall buttresses. It has thick, closely built "flying buttresses" on the outside.

The purpose of the Gothic cathedral, according to Emile Male in his preface to the Gothic Image, was to be like an encyclopedia in stone (Frazier 413). The cathedral shows its individuality in that it was described as "medieval thought in visible form" (Ibid.)

To compare Chartres Cathedral to Michelangelo's "David" is to compare a huge monument to a style to one individual in a style that says the artist loved the subject, but that it cannot be classified except as realistic. Michelangelo's "David" is a marvel of realism, whereas the cathedral embodies sculptures that are stylized and stiff.

Michelangelo's sculpture is fluid and flowing. However, the Cathedral itself is a marvel of fluid, rounded and flowing detail, with the final points reaching to the sky. The two bell towers that flank the front are unequal in height and style, but embody the history and skills of the laborers who gave their lives to the church. "One might observe women as well as men dragging [wagons loaded with building supplies] through deep swamps on their knees," says a contemporary observing the labors of the poor who built it of stone and concrete.

Thousands upon thousands of sculptures line the walls and flank the massive doors, their flattened features looking down in stiff-square shapes, with hints at individuality, as no two are alike.

This cathedral itself might be better compared to Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel, as it too has a multitude of figures looking down upon the visitor, as Chartres does. But if we are comparing the cathedral to the "David," one could say that they are similar in proportion. Chartres is broad-based and of human proportions. The round rose window is its head, and the shoulders are the square behind it, holding up both arms, pointing to the sky. It appears to have its feet spread, and the flying buttresses on either side appear like a skirt or wings under which a chick might be gathered.

As to structure, the church is made in many parts, "the vaulting was quadripartite, which eliminated the need for alternating supports,"(Frazier 440) whereas the "David" is made on one block of stone. As to materials, the cathedral is made of masonry stone, in blocks and long rectangles, with a brick-like look on the flat facades, whereas the "David" is smooth, curvaceous and made of pure white marble, instead of gray rock.

As to function, they provoke the same sentiment: awe. The "David" looks down briefly upon the viewer and one's eyes wander to his hands or arm or slingshot and one marvels at the holiness of God. The same may be said of the cathedral. When one stands in the entrance and views the enormity of the vault, the lights and color of the stained glass windows, and how constructed (Spiro 335), one wants to remain in the atmosphere, All the parts work together to bring about a sensation of holiness and awe. The central nave is in the shape of a cross, with the top of the cross at the altar and the two arms stretched out on either side. The cathedral was assembled from millions of stones, which were then laid, or installed on the site where it was needed. The "David" material (a large piece of marble and a slingshot in his hand,) is simply a single piece of marble.