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Amiens Cathedral

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Paris.

Amiens Cathedral

France

Alleged head of John the Baptist

Active

Robert of Luzarches
Thomas and Regnault de Cormont[1]

c. 1220–1270

145 m (476 ft)

70 m (230 ft)

14.60 m (47.9 ft)[2]

42.30 m (138.8 ft)

Façade: NW

7,700 square meters

1

112.70 m (369.8 ft)[2]

Bishop Gérard Le Stang[3]

Amiens Cathedral

Cultural

i, ii

1981[4]

162

5th

Cathédrale Notre-Dame

1862

PA00116046[1]

Église

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The cathedral was built almost entirely between 1220 and c. 1270, a remarkably short period of time for a Gothic cathedral, giving it an unusual unity of style. Amiens is an early example of the High Gothic period, and the Rayonnant style of Gothic architecture.[5] [6] The Rayonnant appeared in the triforiuum and clerestory, which were begun in 1236, and in the enlarged high windows of the choir, added in the mid-1250s.[6]


Its builders were trying to maximize the internal dimensions in order to reach for the heavens and bring in more light. As a result, Amiens Cathedral is the largest in France,[7] 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd), large enough to contain two cathedrals the size of Notre Dame of Paris.[8]


The cathedral has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.[9] Although it has lost much of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the quality and quantity of early 13th-century Gothic sculpture in the main west façade and the south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the building.

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History[edit]

Earlier cathedrals[edit]

According to local tradition, Christianity was brought to Amiens in the third century A.D. by two Christian martyrs, known as Firmin the Martyr and Firmin the Confessor. Saint Martin was baptised in Amiens in 334. The church was suppressed by the invasions of the Vandals, and did not recommence until the end of the fifth century, with the baptism of Clovis I in 498 or 499. The first Bishop of Amiens was Edibus, who participated in a Council in 511. An early cathedral with two churches dedicated to the two Fermins is said in documents to have existed on the site of the present church, but there is no archaeological evidence.[10] Salvius, bishop of Amiens around 600, is credited with building this cathedral, but his Life is of very dubious accuracy.[11]


A fire destroyed the two churches and much of the town, and a Romanesque cathedral was built to replace it between 1137 and 1152. This cathedral hosted the wedding in 1193 of King Philip II of France. In 1206 Amiens received a celebrated relic, the reputed head of John the Baptist, purchased in Constantinople. This relic made Amiens a major pilgrimage destination, and gave it an important source of revenue (The reliquary was destroyed during the French Revolution but a recreation made in 1876 by a Paris jeweler, using some of the original rock crystal, is displayed today in the cathedral treasury).[10]

346 – First mention of a bishop, , in Amiens[21]

Eulogius

1137–52 – Construction of the Romanesque cathedral

1206 – Reputed Skull of Saint John the Baptist is brought to the cathedral from Constantinople

1218 – Romanesque cathedral destroyed by fire

1220 – First stone placed of Gothic cathedral

c. 1240 – Completion of the nave

c. 1269 – Probable completion of chevet and installation of its high windows

c. 1284–1305 – Roof built over chevet, transept and nave

1373–1375 – Chapels of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist built, and construction of Beau Pilier begun

1498 – Iron chains added to strengthen the triforium

1508–1519 – Choir stalls put in place

1528 – Spire destroyed by lightning

1755- Choir screen removed and choir remodeled following decrees of

Council of Trent

1766–1768 – Choir redecorated in Baroque and French classical style

1793–1794 – Following French Revolution, much furniture destroyed, and part of cathedral used to store decorations for public festivities

1802 – Church restored to the Catholic Church for its exclusive use

1805 – Restoration of church begins

1849–1874 – supervises the restoration of the cathedral

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

1854 – Chapel of Saint Theodosius dedicated in presence of Emperor

Napoleon III

1914–1918 – Stained glass removed for its protection; cathedral facade suffers minor damage during World War I

1920 – Some of the Gothic stained glass stored for protection is destroyed in a fire in the workshop.

1973–80 – Restoration of the spire completed.

1981 – Cathedral is declared a

UNESCO World Heritage Site

2001 – A new restoration of the west front uncovers traces of the original painting on the sculpture

The rose window and gallery of Kings on the west facade

The rose window and gallery of Kings on the west facade

West portals of Amiens Cathedral

West portals of Amiens Cathedral

Christ rendering judgement in the central portal

Christ rendering judgement in the central portal

Local saints including the decapitated martyrs, Victoricus and Gentian, in the west portals

Local saints including the decapitated martyrs, Victoricus and Gentian, in the west portals

Smiling Virgin statue on west portal

Smiling Virgin statue on west portal

Plan of cathedral

Plan of cathedral

The crown reliquary of Paraclet (1230–1240)

The crown reliquary of Paraclet (1230–1240)

Virgin and Child, polychrome wood (15th c.)

Virgin and Child, polychrome wood (15th c.)

Copy of the reliquary made for the head of Saint John the Baptist (19th century)

Copy of the reliquary made for the head of Saint John the Baptist (19th century)

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The treasury is located in the apse at the east end of the cathedral, on the southern side near the sacristy. The collection of reliquaries and other precious objects was dispersed in 1793 during the Revolution, but gradually some of the treasures were returned, some were recreated, while others were added by other donors.


Objects of particular interest include the Crown of Paraclet, made in about 1230–1240, which was saved from destruction at the Cistercian monastery of Paraclet, not from Amiens. It contains what are said to be relics of the Passion of Christ, set into a gilded and enamelled crown decorated with jewels, pearls and precious stones. A fine statue of the Virgin Mary and Child, made of polychrome wood in the 15th century is also found in the treasury.[37]


Other objects of interest are found in the chapels along the nave and transept. The initial impetus for the building of the cathedral came from the installation of the reputed head of John the Baptist on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade, which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to the sacking of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. A sumptuous reliquary, with the face of the Saint, was made to house the skull. Although the skull and original reliquary were lost during the Revolution, a 19th-century replica was made and is displayed on the north aisle.

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Stained glass windows in the ambulatory

Stained glass windows in the ambulatory

Medallion of the Last Supper (13th century)

Medallion of the Last Supper (13th century)

Windows of the central apse chapel (13th century)

Windows of the central apse chapel (13th century)

Four windows from the 13th century

Four windows from the 13th century

Windows of the Chapel of Saint-Etienne

Windows of the Chapel of Saint-Etienne

Art Deco stained glass by Jean Gaudin (1933)

Art Deco stained glass by Jean Gaudin (1933)

The Cathedral organ

The Cathedral organ

The Flamboyant decoration of the organ (15th century)

The Flamboyant decoration of the organ (15th century)

The first organ in the cathedral was a gift from Alphonse Lemire, an official of the court of King Charles VI of France. It was installed on the interior of the west wall of the cathedral, below the rose window, between 1442 and 1449. All that survives of this organ is wooden gallery, lavishly decorated with Flamboyant Gothic carvings. The current pipes and case were installed in 1549, with additions in 1620. It was restored in the 19th century and again shortly before World War II.[43]

Sound and light show – central portal

Sound and light show – central portal

Portal illuminated to suggest original colours

Portal illuminated to suggest original colours

Sound and light show – central portal

Sound and light show – central portal

During the process of laser cleaning in the 1990s, evidence was discovered of the original multi-coloured painted decoration of the west front. A technique was perfected to determine the exact composition of the paints used in the 13th century. In conjunction with the laboratories of EDF and the expertise of the Society Skertzo, lighting techniques were developed to project these colours directly on the façade with precision, recreating the polychromatic appearance of the 13th century without touching the surface of the stone. When projected on the statues around the portals, the result is a stunning display that brings the figures to life. The projected colors are difficult to photograph, but a good quality DSLR camera can provide excellent results, as shown below.


The full effect of the colour may be best appreciated by in-person viewing, with musical accompaniment, which can be done at the Son et lumière shows which are held on Summer evenings, during the Christmas Fair, and over the New Year.[44][45]

wife of Philip I, Count of Flanders

Elisabeth, Countess of Vermandois

Catholic bishop and cardinal

Charles de Hémard de Denonville

(heart only), Catholic bishop and cardinal

Antoine de Créqui Canaples

High Gothic

Rayonnant

Gothic Architecture

Gothic cathedrals and churches

List of Gothic cathedrals in Europe

List of tallest structures built before the 20th century

Brisac, Catherine (1994). Le Vitrail (in French). Paris: La Martinière.  2-73-242117-0.

ISBN

Duvanel, Maurice (1998). La Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens (in French). Éditions Poire-Choquet.  2-9502147-5-4.

ISBN

Lours, Mathieu (2018). Dictionnaire des Cathédrales (in French). Editions Jean-Paul Gisserot.  978-27558-0765-3.

ISBN

Mignon, Olivier (2015). Architecture des Cathédrales Gothiques (in French). Éditions Ouest-France.  978-2-7373-6535-5.

ISBN

Plagnieux, Philippe (2003). Cathérale Notre Dame d'Amiens (in French). Éditions du Patrimoine, Centre des Monuments Nationaux.  978-27577-0404-2.

ISBN

Sachy, Jean-Baptiste Maurice de (1770). Histoire des évesques d'Amiens (in French). Abbeville: Veuve de Vérité Libraire.

Watkin, David (1986). A History of Western Architecture. Barrie and Jenkins.  0-7126-1279-3.

ISBN

. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 6 December 2006.

"Amiens Cathedral"

Cothren, Michael A.; Prache, Anne (1996). "Amiens". In Turner, Jane (ed.). Dictionary of Art. Vol. 1. London: Macmillan. pp. 777–781.

. World Heritage Site. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007.

"Amiens Cathedral"

"Amiens Cathedral, under Renovation." (), A. D. White Architectural Photographs Collection, Cornell University Rare and Manuscript Collections (5/5/3090.01261)

undated albumen print from c. 1865–1895

. Mérimée database of Monuments Historiques (in French). France: Ministère de la Culture. 1992. Retrieved 17 July 2011.

"Monument historique – PA00086250"

(in French and English)

Towers of Amiens Cathedral - Official Website

In "Mapping Gothic France," a database created by Columbia University and Vassar College.

Amiens Cathedral images, 360° panoramas, and essays.

360° photos of the cathedral

Outstanding photos of the cathedral

Photos

The Portals, Access to Redemption by Professor Stephen Murray)

Photos of the magnificent reproduction of the cathedral colors by laser projection

. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2011.

"Background, Structural and Statistical Information for the cathedral"

produced by the Media Center for Art History at Columbia University for the Core Curriculum class "Masterpieces of Western Art"

Youtube page of Amiens Videos

Photos of the Amiens Cathedral (polish)

High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images of

Amiens Cathedral | Art Atlas