Rose Windows Essay

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Anurag Sharma, B.F.A. Art History 1st Year Anurag Sharma, B.F.A. Art History 1st Year Medieval Architecture: The Rose Window Stained glass and rose windows in particular have been a source of great beauty and inspiration throughout the centuries. What are the origins and meaning of the Gothic Rose Window? What were their themes? In this project I am going to discuss about one of the most beautiful and inspirational aspects of medieval architecture and will show how this art form can be interpreted and used in the context of the current Middle Ages. History Fig.1 Fig.2 The origins of the rose window has many roots, however, it is definitely a phenomenon of the French Gothic period. The window itself is a descendant of the Roman oculus; which is a small round opening in a wall. During the Romanesque period, this opening developed into a window (such as seen in the remains of the keep at Chepstow on the Welsh border (Fig.1)) “(5)”. In church architecture, the oculus was usually found on the west façade. Finally, during the 12th century, as the architectural advances of the Gothic period allowed greater and greater openings to be created for cathedral and church windows, the size of this round window increased until it reached its greatest dimensions i.e. the entire width of the nave. In the sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great had made a plea that scriptural scenes be depicted on the walls of churches for the benefit of the people who weren’t able to read “(3)”. The fresco on the wall of the Church of St. Mary in Kempley is an example of such wall paintings (Fig.2). This particular one reminds us of a rose window. The domes of Early Christian and Byzantine churches often utilize a radial design around Christ or the Virgin and Child. Those powerful images in mosaic and in frescoes would

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