abbey church of Saint-Denis

…township centred on its famous abbey church, which had been the burial place of the kings of France. The church is of major importance in the history of architecture, being the first major edifice marking the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic style and serving as a model for…

…sophisticated architectural plan was the abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris. The east end was rebuilt about 1135–44, and, although the upper parts of the choir and apse were later changed, the ambulatory and chapels belong to this phase. The proportions are not large, but the skill and precision with which the…

…a coherent style was the abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris (c. 1135–44). The High Gothic years (c. 1250–1300), heralded by Chartres Cathedral, were dominated by France, especially with the development of the Rayonnant style. Britain, Germany, and Spain produced variations of this style, while Italian Gothic stood apart in its use…

…the north tower of the abbey church of Saint-Denis, begun under Suger in 1135, was found to be in danger of collapse. All Gothic Revivalists were aghast. Adolphe-Napoléon Didron, editor of the Annales archéologiques and propagandist for the Gothic Revival, tactlessly accused the Council of Civil Buildings, which was charged…

…and Catherine de Médicis at Saint-Denis (1563–70), also designed by Primaticcio, Pilon created four bronze corner figures and, above, the kneeling figures of the king and queen in bronze. Most important, however, are the seminude, marble gisants, or figures of the royal pair recumbent in death. Considered by some to…

…the first great abbey of Saint-Denis, to which he made many gifts.

…1140 and 1144 at the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris. A secondary but significant development of the second half of the century was the use of allover decorative patterns, or diapers, on the groundwork adjacent to the figures. This design device was probably more common at first in Germany than…

…was brought to the nearby abbey of Saint-Denis (the patron saint of France) to be educated by the monks. His closest friend and schoolmate at the abbey was Louis Capet, a boy his age. This boy became King Louis VI in 1108. Suger became secretary to the abbot Adam of…

…the creative Gothic spark of Saint-Denis (near Paris). The rich portals of Saint-Denis show the influence of the great Burgundian carving. Account must be taken, however, of another episode—the development of consistent ribbed vaulting in the Norman dominions. Probably the high-ranking Lombard ecclesiastics who undertook the reform and development of…

…in this, once again, the church of Saint-Denis assumes great significance. The western portals (built 1137–40), part of a total facade design, combined features that remained common throughout the Gothic period: a carved tympanum (the space within an arch and above a lintel or a subordinate arch); carved surrounding figures…