Notre-Dame Church, Exterior View of Apse and Crossing Tower

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Creator

Cioffi, Paul L., 1928-2004

Repository

DigitalGeorgetown

Description

The Church of Notre-Dame at Dijon, constructed between 1220 and 1240 (consecrated 1334), is a fine example of the Burgundian Gothic style of architecture and attracted the attention of 19th C. Medievalists interested in restoring ancient French architectural works with integrity. It stands north of what was the ducal palace, among ancient houses of the city. This image, showing the east end of the church, captures the slender, sturdy lines of its turrets and buttresses that stretch the building upward and, at the same time, open wall space for large windows. For example, the design of the large double window on the crossing tower is repeated on the other three sides, allowing for a brilliantly illuminated interior.The west facade of Notre-Dame (not shown here) is famous for its unique design: two galleries veiled with slender colonettes and banded with rows of more than 50 grotesques (19th C. replacements of 13th C. gargoyles). Other noteworthy features of the church are five windows of original, 13th C. glass; an ancient, mechanical clock known as Jacquemart mounted on the south tower of the west facade that was pillaged from Courtrai (Belgium) and given to Dijon by Philip the Bold in 1383; the curious good-luck owl, La Chouette, carved into one of the buttresses on the church's north side; Our Lady of Good Hope (Notre Dame de Bon Espoir), one of the oldest surviving wood carvings in France (11th / 12th C.); two tapestries depicting Our Lady's protection of Dijon in 1513 from Swiss attack and liberation of Dijon in 1944 from German occupation.August 1981

Permanent Link

http://hdl.handle.net/10822/554240

Date

1981-08

Rights

Rights Note

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