Describe the aesthetic effect, subjects, and purpose of the stained-glass program at Chartres Cathedral

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. The stained glass at Chartres covers more than 32,000 square feet. The windows were donated by the royal family, by noblemen, and by merchant guilds. On an average day, the light outside the cathedral is approximately 1,000 times greater than the light inside. The windows, backlit and shining in the relative darkness of the interior, seem to radiate with an ethereal glow.
2. The purpose of the stained-glass programs in all Gothic cathedrals was to tell the stories of the Bible in a compelling way to an audience that was largely illiterate. The art allowed them to read the scriptural stories for themselves. At Chartres, 175 glass panels contain more than 4,000 figures designed to tell stories.
3. Two windows are notable for their role in the cult of the Virgin. Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière, whose central panel survived the fire of 1194, embodies the shift in style that occurred in the twelfth century as the Gothic supplanted the Romanesque. The Virgin and Child in the middle are almost Byzantine in their stiffness, but the angels on the sides, which are thirteenth-century additions, are both less stiff and more animated. The second window depicts the so-called Tree of Jesse. Jesse trees are a common motif in twelfth- and thirteenth-century manuscripts and art. They were thought to represent the genealogy of Christ, because they depict the Virgin Mary as descended from Jesse, the father of King David. Because Jesse trees portray Mary as descending from royal lineage, they played an important role in the cult of the Virgin.