The choir wall of Chartres Cathedral (French - clôture de chœur or tour du chœur) is a piece of stone architecture and sculpture in Chartres Cathedral, over 6 metres tall and around 100 metres long. It was commissioned right at the start of the 16th century by Jehan de Beauce to keep the laity out of the liturgical choir.
It marked a transition between Gothic art and the French Renaissance in what became known as the Louis XII style. Since 1862 the whole wall and each of its constituent parts have been listed as monuments historiques.
Levels It is divided into four horizontal levels - base, clerestory, niches and pinnacles.
Base The lowest level consists of varied architectural decoration in Louis XII style, though the stylobates below classical-style medallions and the pointed squares draw on the Louis XI style.
Clerestory Since six bas-reliefs by Charles-Antoine Bridan were placed inside the choir at the end of the 18th century, this level has been obscured by plaster. The upper part made up of niches and pinnacles is still wholly in the Flamboyant Gothic style, but the level uses the very un-medieval features of arabesque pilasters instead of ogives.
Niches This consists of forty sculpted groups on the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Each group is numbered 1 to 40 below the niches. Some of the groups have a plaque mentioning the sculptor or a caption in Gothic script identifying the scene.
The forty groups are grouped into fifteen sections. The eight sections around the choir proper include a total of 29 scenes, including the double scene in the twelfth section (Raising of the Cross) - each section usually has four scenes, except the third section with the astronomical clock. The apse has eleven scenes - six of its sections consist of two scenes each, whilst scene 21 in the ninth section is a double-scene (Entry into Jerusalem). No scenes appear on the 'axial' or 'roundabout' section.
List Scene numberSection numberSubjectDatesSculptorBase Palissy11Annunciation of the Birth of the Virgin Mary to Joachim 1519Jehan Soulas21Annunciation of the Birth of the Virgin Mary to Anne1519Jehan Soulas31Anne and Joachim Meet at the Golden Gate 1519Jehan Soulas41Birth of the Virgin Mary1519Jehan Soulas52The Virgin Mary Presented at the Temple1521Jehan Soulas62Marriage of Joseph and the Virgin Mary1521Jehan Soulas72Annunciation1521Jehan Soulas82Visitation1529Jehan Soulas93Joseph's Dream1529Jehan Soulas103Nativity of Jesus1529Jehan Soulas114Circumcision of Jesus1529Jehan Soulas124Adoration of the Magi1529Jehan Soulas134Christ Presented in the Temple1543François Marchand144Massacre of the Innocents1543François Marchand155Baptism of Jesus1524-1548Nicolas Guybert (?)165Temptation of Christ1611Thomas Boudin176Healing of the Canaanite Woman's Daughter1611Thomas Boudin186Transfiguration1611Thomas Boudin197The Woman Taken in Adultery1680Jean Dedieu207Healing of the Man Born Blind1683Pierre Le Gros219Christ Enters Jerusalem (2 scenes)1705Jean-Baptiste Tuby2210Agony in the Garden1716Simon Mazière2310Christ Arrested1716Simon Mazière2411Christ before Pontius Pilate1716Simon Mazière2511Flagellation of Christ1713Simon Mazière2612Christ Crowned with Thorns1715Simon Mazière2712Raising of the Cross (1 double scene)1714Simon Mazière2812Lamentation of Christ - Piéta1714Simon Mazière2913Resurrection1610-1611Thomas Boudin3013The Marys at the Tomb1610-1611Thomas Boudin3113The Road to Emmaus1610-1611Thomas Boudin3213Christ Appears to Thomas1610-1611Thomas Boudin3314Christ Appears to Mary Magdalene1516-1517Unknown3414Ascension1516-1517Unknown3514Pentecost1516-1517Unknown3614Adoration of the Cross1516-1517Unknown3715Dormition of the Virgin Mary1516-1517Unknown3815Burial of the Virgin Mary1516-1517Unknown3915Assumption1516-1517Unknown4015Coronation of the Virgin Mary1516-1517Unknown
Astronomical clock A 1528 astronomical clock by an unknown clockmaker is located on the south side after the Visitation scene, at the start of the third section, which thus only has two scenes (Joseph's Dream and Nativity). The original mechanism was replaced by an electrical system in 2009.
Statuary The columns between the spans hold statues, around 1.6m tall, all by Thomas Boudin, showing God the Father, Fulbert and other unidentified bishops of Chartres. There are also another 84 smaller statues at various levels, between 35 cm and 60 cm tall - the original plan seemed to be to show figures from society and envisaged 136 of these smaller statues.
Pinnacles This is made up of several architectural features such as stone baldachins, appearing like stone lace. It was built section by section with the corresponding groups and thus took more than 200 years to complete.
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