Royal Portals of Chartres Cathedral

Royal Portals of Chartres Cathedral, 1170 AD, CEarly Medieval Ages, Chartres, France.

During the Early Middle Ages, sculptures and reliefs nearly vanished form the western art. As one of the few parts that survived the devastating fire of 1194 in Chartres Cathedral, the Royal Portals (west facade) of the Chartres Cathedral was built as one of the last parts of Early Gothic Church of Chartres Church at around 1140 CE. Since the Royal Portals were carved during Gothic Period and highly influenced by the Romanesque Period, the technique for sculptures were not well developed. The statues are not detailed and the scales of the sculptures are not balanced or realistic, and the sculptures are also stretch vertically in order to be attached and cover to the columns. The sculptures do not describe the shape and form of human body, but presented them in a form that is more rectangular and geometrical. They are closely attracted to the columns with their body standing straight and do not present the movement and the posture of the characters. Although the sculptures during this period lacks movement, vividness and lifelikeness, but these Early Gothic jamb figures display the first signs of a new naturalism in European sculpture and it’s a sign for the revival in sculptures later in the Renaissance.