Let There Be Light - a photo on Flickriver

Let There Be Light

            Light and color rule the day in Paris's incomparable Sainte-Chapelle.

La Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel) is a royal medieval Gothic chapel, located near the Palais de la Cité, on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on 26 April 1248, the Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. Its erection was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom. With the Palais de la Cité, today called La Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it retains one of the most extensive in-situ collections of 13th-century stained glass anywhere in the world.

The most famous features of the chapel, among the finest of their type in the world, are the great stained glass windows, for whose benefit the stone wall surface is reduced to little more than a delicate framework. Fifteen huge mid-13th-century windows fill the nave and apse, while a large rose window with Flamboyant tracery (added to the upper chapel c.1490) dominates the western wall.
Despite some damage the windows display a clear iconographical programme. The three windows of the eastern apse illustrate the New Testament, featuring scenes of The Passion (centre) with the Infancy of Christ (left) and the Life of John the Evangelist (right). By contrast, the windows of the nave are dominated by Old Testament exemplars of ideal kingship/queenship in an obvious nod to their royal patrons. The cycle starts at the western bay of the north wall with scenes from the Book of Genesis (heavily restored). The next ten windows of the nave follow clockwise with scenes from Exodus, Joseph, Numbers/Leviticus, Joshua/Deuteronomy, Judges, (moving to the south wall) Jeremiah/Tobias, Judith/Job, Esther, David and the Book of Kings. The final window, occupying the westernmost bay of the south wall brings this narrative of sacral kingship right up to date with a series of scenes showing the rediscovery of Christ's relics, the miracles they performed, and their relocation to Paris in the hands of King Louis himself. (Wikipedia)

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Taken in: France / Île-de-France / Paris (show map)

Taken on: June 23, 2013

Tags:

Europe

France

Paris

church

Sainte-Chapelle

stained glass

glass

light

gothic

architecture

window

religion

Olympus

E-M5

Micro Four Thirds

m43

20mm f/1.7 Panasonic

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Sets appears in: • France • 20mm f/1.7 Lumix lens more » • Olympus OM-D E-M5 • Architecture « less

Groups appears in: • European Travel • Ahhh La France !!! more » • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) • Olympus Users • CHURCHES & HOUSES OF WORSHIP • PARIS, FRANCE ! • Architecture in Europe • PARIS, JE T'AIME • Historical and architectural gems • PLANET EARTH ARCHITECTURE • Micro Four Thirds (Micro 4/3) • [CLOSED]My Gear and Me #1 - (Post 1 - Award 5) • [CLOSED]My Gear and Me #2 - Premium (P1A5 Only Invited Photos!) • [CLOSED]My Gear and Me #3 - Bronze Selection (P1A5 Only Invited • [CLOSED]My Gear and Me #4 - Silver Selection (P1A5 Only Invited) • Olympus Europe - Photography • Flickr Olympus OM-D E-M1 + E-M5 + E-M10 « less

Camera: Olympus E-M5, f/1.7, 1/60 sec, 20mm (=40mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Olympus E-M5
Lens:	LUMIX G 20/F1.7
Aperture:	f/1.7
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	20mm (35mm equivalent: 40mm)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-0.3 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.4 (Macintosh)
Show full info

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