Notre Dame / Hagia Sophia
PWAD 1
Spring 13
Prof. Jaime Arredondo
THE GREAT
HAGIA SOPHIA OF CONSTANTINOPLE
AND NOTRE-DAME OF PARIS
Arthur de Vassal
May 16th, 2013 Is it possible to compare two of the most significant religious monuments of our time ? Indeed, we will see in this research paper that not only Hagia Sophia of Constantinople and Notre-Dame of Paris are among the most important edifices of cult and history still standing today, But that they also present a lot of similarities, meaningful connections and make a very interesting pair to compare. We will conduct this study in four different sections in order to clarify the process of research; Firstly an analysis of formal elements, Secondly we will discuss the historical context, Then we will cover the questions of Architecture and Construction, in terms of style, technique and influences, Finally we will look at the religious aspect of both monuments, their meaning and relation to each other.
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, is located on a little island called "Ile de la Cite" in the middle of the "Seine", the famous river cutting through the city of Paris. Also, its precise location used to be the exact center of Paris. Notre-Dame stands nearly one hundred and ten feet high, for four hundred feet in length. The front facade of the building faces west, it is where the main entrance is located. The entrance is actually composed of three separate gateways into the building, each under a pointed and extremely decorated arch. Higher on this facade is a long alignment of human sculptures, a long balcony and, most importantly, an enormous Rose window or "Catherine Window" made of colored stained glass. Above that, two twin monolith towers rise out of the main body of the building and reach up to the skies these two towers have a flat top and two long vertical windows on each side. The Building is perfectly symmetrical along its longitudinal axis, therefore the north and south faces are
Spring 13
Prof. Jaime Arredondo
THE GREAT
HAGIA SOPHIA OF CONSTANTINOPLE
AND NOTRE-DAME OF PARIS
Arthur de Vassal
May 16th, 2013 Is it possible to compare two of the most significant religious monuments of our time ? Indeed, we will see in this research paper that not only Hagia Sophia of Constantinople and Notre-Dame of Paris are among the most important edifices of cult and history still standing today, But that they also present a lot of similarities, meaningful connections and make a very interesting pair to compare. We will conduct this study in four different sections in order to clarify the process of research; Firstly an analysis of formal elements, Secondly we will discuss the historical context, Then we will cover the questions of Architecture and Construction, in terms of style, technique and influences, Finally we will look at the religious aspect of both monuments, their meaning and relation to each other.
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, is located on a little island called "Ile de la Cite" in the middle of the "Seine", the famous river cutting through the city of Paris. Also, its precise location used to be the exact center of Paris. Notre-Dame stands nearly one hundred and ten feet high, for four hundred feet in length. The front facade of the building faces west, it is where the main entrance is located. The entrance is actually composed of three separate gateways into the building, each under a pointed and extremely decorated arch. Higher on this facade is a long alignment of human sculptures, a long balcony and, most importantly, an enormous Rose window or "Catherine Window" made of colored stained glass. Above that, two twin monolith towers rise out of the main body of the building and reach up to the skies these two towers have a flat top and two long vertical windows on each side. The Building is perfectly symmetrical along its longitudinal axis, therefore the north and south faces are