Consider the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, and the west façade of Chartres Cathedral. Identify the style of each of these structures and describe the characteristics that make each one typical of its style

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Answer 1

A church in the early Byzantine style is San Vitale, built in the sixth century in Ravenna, Italy. San Vitale doesn't follow the cross plan that became standard for Western churches but employs a central plan favored in the East, and takes the unusual form of an octagon. An apse protrudes from one wall and a narthex is attached to two others; however, the fundamental focus of the building is at its center, over which rises a dome. Portions of Chartres Cathedral were built at different times, visually documenting the evolution of the Gothic style. The west façade of Chartres Cathedral, also known as the north tower, was built first, between 1134 and 1150. Its plain, unadorned surfaces and solid masses are still fundamentally in the Romanesque style. The final addition to Chartres was the left (north) spire of the façade, built in the early 16th century, and it illustrates the last phase of the Gothic style—slender, elongated, and highly ornamental style referred to as flamboyant.