The Rose Window

A visually sensational study of the rose window both in its own right and as a central feature of Gothic architecture.Painton Cowen has dedicated his life to the study of rose windows. Here he presents the world's best-known rose windows in over 300 new photographs and line drawingsParis (Notre Dame), Chartres, Reims, Strasbourg, Cologne, Florence, Siena, Palma de Mallorca, Santa Maria del Mar, and New York's St. John the Divine, as well as many lesser-known, but no less astonishing, examples.Every aspect of the rose window is covered, including its possible origins in the south of Europe, its flowering in thirteenth-century France, the diffusion of styles across Europe, and modern reinterpretations, as well as the powerful geometry behind the designs and the meanings specific to individual examples. Perennial favorites such as the windows at Chartres are dissected and discussed in detail.This book provides unique insights into the development and organization of the rose window and its central position in Gothic architecture through a lucid, illuminating text and carefully selected comparative material that covers the wealth of Gothic creative activity. It also explores the greater meaning of the rose window through numerology, scholasticism, and the concept of heavenly order. 350 illustrations, 300 in color. This is the first systematic study of the rose window, both as a feature of Gothic architecture and as an artform in its own right. After a brief overview of the history of the rose, four chapters trace the evolution of the form across nine centuries, from its origins and the early wheel windows to the rapid spread of the Rayonnant rose, from the phenomenal displays of the Flamboyant to the powerful reinterpretations of the present day. Two further chapters offer illuminating explanations of the iconography and the design and building of the rose giving detailed analyses of the glazing and geometry of key windows such as Lausanne and the Sainte Chapetle. Throughout, the rose is placed in the broader artistic and architectural context to show how it responded to - and often inspired - major stylistic shifts. The book is completed with a Gazetteer of rose windows arranged by country to help plan visits.With almost three hundred different roses illustrated in original photographs, this entrancing volume is set to become the definitive study of this most appealing of subjects.