Stained Glass of Chartres Cathedral

Timeline

1. c. 1195–1220Chartres Cathedral · ChartresAfter the 1194 fire the church was rapidly rebuilt; stained glass was installed in the west front, the early rose window, and the high aisle windows, providing worshippers with visual instruction in biblical narrative and saints' lives, opening the first phase of Chartres' window scheme.
2. 1240–1250nave and aisles of Chartres Cathedral · ChartresAround the 1240s, glass for the many high windows of the nave and both aisles was installed, forming a coherent scheme of narrative window cycles; the cobalt-blue grounds and fine tracing technique matured, and together with the high clerestory windows of the new rib vaults they shaped Chartres' iconic interior light.
3. c. 1230–1260Chartres Cathedral · ChartresThe north, south, and west rose windows and the window groups around the sanctuary were completed in succession, covering the life of Christ, the Virgin, and Old Testament typology; the window paintings, stone sculpture, and architectural facades form a unified iconographic program, representing one of the highest levels of High Gothic stained glass.
4. 1500Chartres Cathedral · ChartresChartres' stained glass has retained an extremely high proportion of original material over centuries; multiple scientific restorations and protective treatments were carried out in the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 1979 it was inscribed as part of the cathedral's World Heritage listing, becoming a primary specimen for studying medieval glasswork and iconography.