StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Natural Lighting in St Denis Abbey, France - Thesis Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Natural Lighting in St Denis Abbey, France" states that Abbey’s emphasis on the role of natural lighting for religious building interiors is supported by numerous researchers who recognize it as a crucial medium for promoting visual perception…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.3% of users find it useful
Natural Lighting in St Denis Abbey, France
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Natural Lighting in St Denis Abbey, France"

Download file to see previous pages

By 15 BC, the Roman people made use of natural light in buildings given the unavailability of artificial light, and natural light became the domain of the architect. The need for natural lighting led to the introduction of windows that used glass panes. The invention of glass dates back to 2500 BC in Mesopotamia. Originally, the use of glass in religious buildings served a decorative role with colour being an essential attribute of glass. It is these attributes that religious people explored to create stained and art glass windows in places of worship.

According to religious people, the art or stains on glass were light enough to allow light streams to pass through while projecting plays of colour and light throughout the interior spaces. Over time, art glass in religious architecture became part of religious culture. Although religious architecture is extremely complex for lack of shared basic characteristics amongst all religions, most religions embrace art glass in their architecture (Anon., 2011). For instance, Muslims and Christians’ embracing of art glass dates back to the middle ages when both introduced large-scale colour art glass windows.

Back then, art was elevated as a symbol of the divine while adding colour, light, and beauty. For the worshippers, these windows shared the faith teachings with worshippers through secular and Christian scenes present in art glass design. For the Christians, the windows were used by the clergy to teach the gospel. One of the major roles of glass, evident in France during the 12th century, was the provision of natural lighting. This light was equated with beauty and goodness while stained glass window was preferred for its superb connection to daylight.

The value of natural lighting through the glass was defined by Philosopher Abbot Suger as “Divine light” based on his reasoning that through natural light, God could be experienced by humans spiritually. This has led to the adoption of art glass in large-scale windows.  Philosopher Abbot Suger of St-Dennis emphasized the use of natural lighting over the gold and the expenses incurred in art saying that brightness in art was nobler and brightens even the minds such that they travel through the true lights (Cambridge, 2014).

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Lighting withing religious buildings Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words”, n.d.)
Lighting withing religious buildings Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/architecture/1672968-lighting-withing-religious-buildings
(Lighting Withing Religious Buildings Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 Words)
Lighting Withing Religious Buildings Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 Words. https://studentshare.org/architecture/1672968-lighting-withing-religious-buildings.
“Lighting Withing Religious Buildings Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/architecture/1672968-lighting-withing-religious-buildings.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Natural Lighting in St Denis Abbey, France

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual harassment in the workplace Author Institution Abstract This paper focuses on women sexual harassment in the workplace.... It looks in details issues and behaviors that women consider as sexual harassment at work, impacts of sexual harassment, and other issues related to sexual harassment....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Julius Caesars Biography

Julius Caesar Biography Whenever we look into history, we come across many characters and personalities who leave a strong mark on our memory.... Such figures make a strong impact through their actions and wisdom .... hile some are naturally gifted, others through their efforts and sapience make it to the books of history and are being long remembered ages after they have spent their time in this world ....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Abbey National Bank

This report aims at the strategic management process involved in one of the leading bank of United Kingdom – abbey National Plc.... abbey is one of the UK's leading personal financial services company.... abbey is one of the leading providers of mortgages, savings, protection and self- invested personal pensions in the United Kingdom and is one among the largest bank in UK....
16 Pages (4000 words) Essay

Study guide

he interior lighting was same and the stained glass was unique to the Gothic architecture.... Four tetrarchs was natural and stylized portrait sculptures.... The four tetrarchs is the portrait which showcases the concept of tetrachy.... The Porphyry was the material on which the sculptures were made and it was imported from....
3 Pages (750 words) Assignment

Abbey National in All Its Greatness

The essay "abbey National in All Its Greatness" discusses the beneficial steps done by leading British bank to achieve global success.... abbey National had achieved this success only by having a good commitment and sincerity towards its customer and having a flexible working environment to its organisational staffs that are the backbone of the firm.... All these initiatives had helped abbey National to perform efficiently and retain a satisfied customer base for a longer period of time....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Brakelonds The Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds

This essay "Brakelond's The Chronicle of the abbey of Bury St.... One thing that strikes the modern reader about the Brakelond text is that a lot of it seems very anti-Semite in nature, referring to Jews and the Jewish people by races and stereotypes, and also chronicling action taken by the abbey against local Jews.... Increasing diversity also means that people need to look at what is going on in the abbey, to make sure that others are being taught and helped to become respectful of diversity and pluralism so that they can bring this to the team....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Julius Caesar Biography

This essay "Julius Caesar Biography" presents the life of Julius Caesar and events related to it are important in many ways.... It can be a leading lesson in more than one way.... It gives us an insight into the life of a genius yet flawed personality.... ... ... ... The way he went about events and activities in life he considered himself as the blessed one and with divine powers of righteousness and supremacy....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Should We Tolerate People We Disapprove

This coursework "Should We Tolerate People We Disapprove" paper discusses critical theories and aspects concerning tolerance.... Tolerating people whom one disapproves of is an expression of respect as is highlighted in this paper.... Tolerance denotes a social virtue.... ... ... ... Tolerance denotes a social virtue as well as a political principle that promotes the coexistence of people despite them having different views....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us