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January 1, 1145

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Title
General View
Contributor
Jane Vadnal (contributor)
University of Pittsburgh (depositor)
Contributor
Jane Vadnal
Date
January 1, 1145
Identifier
FCW049AGA010
Description
Gothic; The Jesse Tree WindowDelaporte no. 1, Deremble-Manhes no. 49The subject of this window is the genealogy of Christ, based on the words of Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 11:1-2 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.'). At the bottom, Jesse, father of David, is shown asleep in bed wearing a Jewish hat. His bedroom has an arched frame and turrets above, with a curtain and hanging lamp above the bed. From his loins emerges the trunk of a tree (the 'virga' of Isaiah's prophecy), in whose branches sit Jesse's descendants, holding on to the branches: David, Solomon, an unidentified king, the Virgin Mary, and at the top is Christ surrounded by the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11: 2), represented as Doves. In half-roundels on both sides of the Tree are portraits of Old Testament Prophets, identified by the words of their prophecies written on scrolls. Of special note are the frontal poses of the ancestors, the Virgin, and Christ, their draperies displaying the 'damp fold' motif; and the orchid-like forms of the foliage motifs. A similar Jesse Tree window is to be found in Suger's glass programme at the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, dating c. 1144, and the same subject reappears a century later at the Sainte-Chapelle, c. 1248 and elsewhere. In the liturgy of Chartres, the genealogy of Christ according to Matthew (1: 1-16), where Christ's ancestry is traced through Joseph, was read before the Te Deum at Matins on Christmas Eve; the genealogy in Luke 3: 23-28, where Christ's ancestry is traced through the Virgin Mary, was read during Matins on Advent Sunday. Sermons on the genealogy of Christ by Jerome, Ambrose, and Bernard also figured in the liturgy. At Chartres, a Jesse Tree is also shown in the voussoirs on the central portal of the North Porch at Chartres. Many of the individual kings and prophets are also depicted in the windows of the clerestory.Location: This window is on the north side of the west façade. The other two west windows show the Infancy and the Passion of Christ. These three windows are the oldest at Chartres- they survived the fire of 1194.Size: 8.4 by 2.58 metersArmature: 8 registers. The lower 7 have 3 panels each: rectangles flanked by demi-medallions.Restored in the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries and in 1894-1902. Around 1850, Paul Durand reported that only one head (that of Balaam) was twelfth century. He attributed one to the 13th century, ten to the 14th century, three to the 16th century, and one to the 17th century. Many of the heads were replaced during the 19th century restoration. Cleaned in 1974 by P. Gaudin.; The Jesse Tree Window
Type
still image
Genre
photographs
Subject
Cathédrale de Chartres--Pictorial works.
Church decoration and ornament--France--Chartres--Pictorial works.
Church architecture--France--Chartres--Pictorial works.
Christian art and symbolism--France--Chartres--Medieval, 500-1500--Pictorial works.
Geographic Subjects
France
Chartres
Collection
Chartres: Cathedral of Notre-Dame
Contributor
University of Pittsburgh
Rights Information
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