Some Account of Gothic Architecture in SpainStreet, George Edmund
History
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain
Street, George Edmund
Architecture, Gothic -- Spain; Church architecture -- Spain
1339, but the present
state of the chapel is not suggestive of the possession of any
architectural treasures, being remarkable only for the ugliness of its
altar, and the number of its candlesticks. Behind the altar, however,
there still remains the shrine of the saint. This is a steep-roofed ark
of alabaster carried upon eight detached columns. The ark is sculptured
at the sides and ends with subjects from the life of Sta. Eulalia,
whilst the roof has her soul borne aloft by angels. The columns are of
marble, spiral, fluted, and chevroned, with capitals of foliage, and one
or two of the bases are carved with figures in the mediæval Italian
fashion. A long inscription is carried round the base of the ark, which
again records the death of the saint, her burial in Sta. Maria del Mar,
and her translation to the cathedral in A.D. 878, and afterwards to the
spot where she now rests. The detail of this shrine looks very like
that of Italian Gothic of the same age; and as it is particularly
described in the contemporary memorial of the translation, it is no
doubt part of the work on which Jayme Fabre had been engaged.
[Illustration: No. 37
BARCELONA CATHEDRAL
INTERIOR OF WEST END OF NAVE p. 301.]
The transepts are groined at the level of the side chapels, and again
with an octagonal vault just above the aisle roof, and below where the
square base gives place to the octagon on which the upper part of the
steeples is planned. It is therefore only on the ground-plan that the
transepts show themselves, and here they form porches, that on the south
side opening into the cloister. The planning of the nave is very
peculiar. It seems as though the main requirement of the founders of
this church was a plentiful number of altars; for, as will be seen on
reference to the plan, there are no less than twenty-seven distinct
chapels inside the church, and twenty-two more round the cloister. The
chapels in the south aisle have a row of other chapels, which open into
the cloister, placed back to back with them, and the windows which light
the former open into the latter, showing when seen from the nave chapels
their glass, and when seen from the cloister chapels the dark piercings
of their openings. The arrangement is not only extremely picturesque,
but also another evidence of the care with which the sun was kept out of
the building. On the north side the chapels are uniform throughout, and
their windows are pierced in the long unbroken north wall. The Coro here
is in its old position in the two eastern bays of the nave, with the old
screens around it and all its old fittings. It is to be observed,
however, that here, where the late Spanish arrangement was from the
first adopted, the western entrance to the choir was preserved, and so
the awkward blank which the wall of the Coro generally presents on
entering is not felt. There are no signs of any parclose screens across
the transept, and the position of the chapel of Sta. Eulalia makes it
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account