S a i n t J o h n ' s C a t h e d r a l
Saint John’s cathedral is one of the main religious buildings in Lyon. Its construction began in 1180 and ended in 1440. Because this piece of art took almost 300 years to be built, two different styles have influenced its final result. Indeed, it is a gothic edifice raised from a roman aspect. It has a basilical plan consisting of a nave of 32 meters high, flanked by chapels, a transept, the choir and the apse. Thanks to its ribbed vaults and its iconic columns, the Cathedral is an illustration of the gothic unity. The gothic influence is even more visible thanks to the stained glasses that represent the prophets, or with the rosace that is on the façade.
From the outside, the cathedral is classic and harmonic. In the first level, the porches seem to be bigger due to the blind arches and are surmounted by gables, decorated with rosaces. The main rosacea represents scenes from the Genesis or the New Testament. The upper part of the cathedral has a lot of status representing the virgin or the angel Gabriel, and there are also gargoyles that recall the gothic influence of the building.
What is interesting and special about this cathedral for me is its astronomical clock. It is located in the northern transept. Huges Levet created the clock in 1538, and its mechanism is supposed to be the oldest one in France. If its gothic aspect was not present at the origin (the details were added when the clock was repaired in 1660), its mechanism is still primitive. It is made of three dials: an oval one that indicates the minutes, a calendar and an astoball that gives the position of earth, the sun and stars for the city. The calendar will be useful until 2019, because at the time it was built, people thought that the sun was turning around earth.
Visiting St John’s cathedral was really interesting because it is a representation of the imapct intangible thing such as time can have on concrete ones. The influence of both Roman and Gothic art are perfectly illustrating the fact that progress and change can modify the way of conceiving beauty and art. The architecture of the Cathedral is something I really liked due to the fact that all the details are stressing the beauty of the building. This communion between the different periods is a proof that art cannot die. If the skills and technologies used to make it can evolve, the final project will still be amazing; the inside of the cathedral was being renovated because we have to preserve this heritage.
J.