# Interior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, French]() - Date: 1151-1200 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The Notre-Dame de Paris can in a sense regarded as the prototype Gothic cathedral. This is not because it was the first cathedral in the Gothic style \(Sens and Senlis are earlier\) but because here for the first time there was an attempt to construct, in the new style, a monumental building that was characteristic of its type and yet unique. With a length of 130 meters and a height of 35 meters to the vaults, Notre-Dame far exceeds the usual size of a Gothic cathedral. The foundation stone was laid down in 1163. The apse and choir was completed in 1182. The western façade was built between 1200 and 1225. The western towers and north rose window was completed in 1250. The transepts were remodeled in the Rayonnant style c. 1245-1265. Notre-Dame is a basilica with galleries and double side aisles. Separated by huge columns, the double aisles of the nave become a double ambulatory in the apse. Similarly, the arcades in the main nave also have a series of uniform columns, resulting in the rhythm between the straight and rounded parts of the choir remaining unchanged. The huge webs of sexpartite vaults correspond to large areas of wall. On the west front the towers stand above double side aisles, therefore they are wide and stable, so that the buttresses do not have to protrude very far. Moreover, they almost sink into the wall of the first story, which was pulled forward so far that the portals are set deeply into them. It creates the impression of looking at a triumphal arch with a royal gallery, a line of statues representing all the French kings. The photo shows the nave vault. ## 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]()