Finally, some French-ness
Okay, so I took a couple day trips lately, and for those of us who care about this sort of thing (which does include me, believe it or not), here's the recap from Chartres and the Vaux-le-Vicomte.
Chartres is a city about an hour or so outside of Paris that houses what is considered the quintessential gothic cathedral, with legendary stained glass windows. After building Saint-Chapelle and Notre Dame de Paris, the French took what they learned and applied it to the remains of the recently destroyed Romanesque cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres and created the gothic masterpiece that was and is called "the earthly palace of the queen of heaven." Over almost two millenia, churches have been standing at Chartres, and in the crypt - the third largest in the world after St. Peter's in Rome and Canterbury Cathedral - there remains what is known as the Gallo-Roman well, from the time of Roman occupation of France/Gaul. It is said that, in a Viking
attack, many faithful were martyred there by being tossed down the well.
On a lighter note, the stained glass deserves its reputation as the best in the world. When I told Dr. Robb I was going to Paris for the summer he told me to be sure I took the time to visit Chartres. "I've been there 36 times," he said. I asked him if he was exaggerating or if that was the real number. He said it's amazing enough to merit an accurate count. I wish taking photographs was easier inside a gothic cathedral, but without a tripod, this is the best I could manage. This is only one of hundreds of panels and rosettes that, with its characteristic Chartres-blue and later manganese-blue, have made jaws drop for hundreds of years.
The Vaux-le-Vicomte has a similarly intriguing story behind it, and like Chartres is considered the best of the gothic cathedrals, Vaux-le-Vicomte is considered the most beautiful French chateau ever built. Erected by Nicolas Fouquet, who was Louis XIV's finance minister, the chateau served as the model for the palace of Versailles later on.
In fact, after attending a party held by Fouquet at Vaux-le-
Vicomte, Louis XIV decided that his finance minister had a more beautiful abode than he, since he was still "stuck" in the Louvre among the Parisians he so disliked. The night after the party, Fouquet was accused, judged and convicted on what were probably trumped-up charges of embezzelment and sentenced to a life in prison, his famed chateau seized by Louis Quatorze. Indeed, it is believed by quite a few that the legendary "man in the iron mask" that spawned a bad Leonardo DiCaprio movie was not the king's brother at all, but Nicolas Fouquet himself.
Chartres is a city about an hour or so outside of Paris that houses what is considered the quintessential gothic cathedral, with legendary stained glass windows. After building Saint-Chapelle and Notre Dame de Paris, the French took what they learned and applied it to the remains of the recently destroyed Romanesque cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres and created the gothic masterpiece that was and is called "the earthly palace of the queen of heaven." Over almost two millenia, churches have been standing at Chartres, and in the crypt - the third largest in the world after St. Peter's in Rome and Canterbury Cathedral - there remains what is known as the Gallo-Roman well, from the time of Roman occupation of France/Gaul. It is said that, in a Viking
attack, many faithful were martyred there by being tossed down the well.On a lighter note, the stained glass deserves its reputation as the best in the world. When I told Dr. Robb I was going to Paris for the summer he told me to be sure I took the time to visit Chartres. "I've been there 36 times," he said. I asked him if he was exaggerating or if that was the real number. He said it's amazing enough to merit an accurate count. I wish taking photographs was easier inside a gothic cathedral, but without a tripod, this is the best I could manage. This is only one of hundreds of panels and rosettes that, with its characteristic Chartres-blue and later manganese-blue, have made jaws drop for hundreds of years.
The Vaux-le-Vicomte has a similarly intriguing story behind it, and like Chartres is considered the best of the gothic cathedrals, Vaux-le-Vicomte is considered the most beautiful French chateau ever built. Erected by Nicolas Fouquet, who was Louis XIV's finance minister, the chateau served as the model for the palace of Versailles later on.In fact, after attending a party held by Fouquet at Vaux-le-
Vicomte, Louis XIV decided that his finance minister had a more beautiful abode than he, since he was still "stuck" in the Louvre among the Parisians he so disliked. The night after the party, Fouquet was accused, judged and convicted on what were probably trumped-up charges of embezzelment and sentenced to a life in prison, his famed chateau seized by Louis Quatorze. Indeed, it is believed by quite a few that the legendary "man in the iron mask" that spawned a bad Leonardo DiCaprio movie was not the king's brother at all, but Nicolas Fouquet himself. The model for all French gardens to come
The view from the Cupola
Ma Nouvelle Belle Chere, Sonia
posted by Guy Fawkes at 2:25 PM
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