# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, French]() - Date: 1201-1250 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary Generally ranked as one of the three chief examples of Gothic French architecture \(along with Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral\), Chartres Cathedral is noted not only for its architectural innovations but also for its numerous sculptures and its much-celebrated stained glass. The cathedral's association with the Virgin Mary \(the supposed veil of the Virgin is kept in the cathedral treasury\) made it the destination of pilgrims in the Middle Ages. The oldest parts of the cathedral are its crypt and the west portal, or Royal Portal, which are remnants of a Romanesque church that was mostly destroyed by fire in 1194. The present cathedral was constructed on the foundations of the earlier church and consecrated in 1260. It is built of limestone and stands some 34 metres high and is 130 metres long. In many ways, the cathedral's design resembles those of its contemporaries, especially Laon Cathedral, but it displays innovations with its tall arcades, unusually narrow triforium, and huge clerestory — the massive weight of which required using flying buttresses in an unprecedented manner. The cathedral <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/zgothic/gothic/1/index.html'\)" href="/html/zgothic/gothic/1/index.html">contains an immense amount of sculpture,</a> particularly figure sculpture, ranging from large column statues to miniatures. As the purpose of the sculptures was to preach and instruct, they mainly depict scenes and figures from the Old and New Testaments. Chartres Cathedral <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/zgothic/stained/13c/index.html'\)" href="/html/zgothic/stained/13c/index.html">contains 176 stained-glass windows,</a> the feature for which it may be best known. Like the sculpture, the stained glass was intended to be educational. The five windows of the choir hemicycle \(a semicircular arrangement\) relate in various ways to the Virgin Mary. The rose window in the north transept portrays figures from the Old Testament. The south transept, which is representative of the New Testament, has a rose window depicting the Apocalypse. The photo shows a view from the south. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/zzzarchi/13c/2/1/chartres1.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">ground plan</a> of the Cathedral, Chartres. ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Bird's eye view]() - [Burial lantern]() - [Castle]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()