Art: The cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris

Paris is one of the most beautiful places I´ve ever been. The art that you can find in every corner makes it such an interesting and wonderful place. Over there, we stayed at a little hotel just a few blocks from Notre Dame, and the cathedral was one of the first things we saw in our way out and one of the last when we came back, so it made it the perfect place to see beautiful sunrises. 

Notre Dame of Paris is a medieval cathedral and it belongs to the gothic style that was around during the twelfth century. This building is a great example to the combination of technique and spirituality that was characteristic during that time. The cathedral was complete by 1345.   

One important thing to know about the gothic architecture is that every single detail has meaning: from the statues to the stained glass, everything is serving to a bigger picture that has religious and artistic purposes.  For example, the tympanum, that is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance; it often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. In this case, there are three tympanums that represent different religious scenes, like the Last Judgment. This happens because during these times most people didn’t know how to read, so they have to find another way to transmit a message, so they did it trough art and sculptures. 

(Details of the tympanum of the Last Judgment) 

Another important detail is the large windows and the stained glass which purpose is to let light go in and illuminate the rooms: this light represents God coming in to the temple.   

(Picture of the north rose window)  

I hope you enjoy a few facts that I learned about the gothic style and the pictures I took a few years ago!