Cathedral de Chartres, L'Instant Durable

[pjabraham]

Originally Posted by Mike Stamper

That proves the saying "Ignorance is Bliss" ..... Would you have started with it if you had known what you were letting yourself in for?

Mike,
Given the pleasure I derive from building models now, the answer is a resounding yes.

As Milan Paulus says modestly of his builds...small progress. I finished the nave and transept.



Below are some pictures showing the north and south facades with details revealing a nice 3-D effect.



Happy Easter, everybody.

Phil

[pjabraham]

Finished the choir.



Also finished and attached the roof of the nave. Heres' an aerial view.



Also, as SCEtoAUX said earlier, easily visible toward the rear of the church is the Chartres maze or labyrinth. I wasn't familiar with it and had to look it up. It's a complex maze designed around the four arms of a cross and apparently walking along it could substitute for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Also crawling along the maze on your knees served as a form of penance. There is an excellent website with information on this and other mazes.

Chartres and other church mazes

Lastly, here's a detail view of a cornice attached to one of the walls.



Phil

[pjabraham]

I noted some errors in my previous posts. Earlier, I said I completed the roof of the nave. I should have said transept instead. Also, I said that there was a labelling error with a tab being mislabeled. I realized that it was not an error, just a different way of labelling as compared to the Notre Dame model.

Small progress. I completed the roof of the nave and the choir.



The cornice of the choir is a clever articulated piece that allows it to be wrapped around the curved surface of the choir. Wish I had taken a picture of it before it was glued into place.

Also finished the South Spire base. The fit is very good.



Phil

[Tim Crowe]

Nice work on the roof

Tim

[Tomdaviesclay]

Phil, it is looking great! I was amazed at seeing the maze on the floor of the model. I don't remember that, but that was over 20 years ago when I made it. I have a hard time remembering what I did yesterday :-) I have seen the real maze at Chartres and it is "amazing". I have seen a lot of mazes in the cathedrals, but never had time to walk one.

[SCEtoAUX]

That meditation labyrinth is a nice feature of the model. Everytime I have read anything about Chartres Cathedral the labyrinth has been referenced.

Here are a couple of sites that show how to draw and lay out a 7-path (often referred to as a "Classical") meditation labyrinth.

The Labyrinth Society: Directions to Make a Labyrinth

Laying out a Labyrinth

There are a few of them throughout the world where people can go and walk the path. I just think the pattern is neat looking. I keep expecting to be able to project myself anywhere when finished walking one but it never works.

[pjabraham]

Slow progress. Completed the pinnacle of the South Spire.



Also finished the buttresses and attached the pinnacle to the South Spire.



Cheers.

Phil

[sander1942]

Looking real good!

[pjabraham]

More progress.

Completed the base of the Northern Spire.



Also completed the mid-section and pinnacle of the Northern Spire.



Finally, the whole ensemble.



To the historians in the group: Why are the two spires of the cathedral so different in style? Most of the other cathedrals have a fairly symmetric outline.

Regards,

Phil

[Lighter]

Originally Posted by pjabraham

To the historians in the group: Why are the two spires of the cathedral so different in style? Most of the other cathedrals have a fairly symmetric outline.

To grossly simplify, the towers were built three hundred years apart - each was built to replace a burnt tower. Since there were no blue prints in those days construction was at the mercy and whim of the master mason. So, the plain tower reflects the times it was built as does the later fancy tower. These inconsistencies are actually throughout the building as fire repairs were made over the centuries. A Roman temple is under it all.