5741 x 4098 px | 48,6 x 34,7 cm | 19,1 x 13,7 inches | 300dpi
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The Sainte Chapelle Holy Chapel located within the Palais de Justice complex on the Ile de la Cité in the center of Paris is a diminutive yet perfect example of the Rayonnant Style of Gothic architecture It was erected by Louis IX king of France to house the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross precious relics of the Passion Louis had purchased these in 1239 from the Byzantine emperor Baldwin II for the exorbitant sum of 135 000 livres the chapel only cost 40 000 livres to build Two years later more relics were brought from Byzantium While these were temporarily stored in the Saint Nicolas chapel of the royal palace Louis set about finding a more suitable space and commissioned the Sainte Chapelle to serve as a reliquary casket albeit enlarged to an architectural scale In the flamboyant thinking of the 13th century the idea was to elevate the Kingdom of France to be the leader of Western Christianity The original plan of the chapel dates from 1241 and is generally attributed to Pierre de Montreuil who had also rebuilt the apse of the Royal Abbey of Saint Denis and completed the south façade of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris After breaking ground in January of 1246 the Sainte Chapelle was rapidly constructed and completed April 25 1248 On the following day the upper chapel serving as both a royal chapel and the place where the relics were to be exhibited was consecrated by the Pope s legate Eudes of Châteauroux The lower chapel the palace s parish was dedicated to the Virgin Mary by Pierre Berruyer Archbishop of Bourges The structure is 36 m 118 ft long 17 m 56 ft wide and 42 5 m 139 ft high Fronted by a two story porch the Sainte Chapelle has the emphatically vertical proportions of Gothic architecture which had been perfected during the 12th century The architectural model is that of a building with a single nave culminating in a chevet with seven panels Outside the design concentrates on the
