CREATIVITY GAME


Theory and Practice of Spatial Planning | Number 9 | Year 2021 | ISSN 2350-3637

Domen Kušar:

Rose Windows in Gothic Cathedrals: A Compositional Challenge for Church Builders

Creative Commons License DOI 10.15292/IU-CG.2021.09.058-064 | UDK 692.29:726:27-523.41 | SUBMITTED: 5/2021 | REVISED: 6/2021 | PUBLISHED: 10/2021
Author's affiliation: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture, Slovenia



ABSTRACT
Rose windows are of special significance in gothic cathedrals. These are large circular windows. They are also exquisite works of masonry. In terms of their construction, the sectioning of the circle into smaller, equal segments presented a particular challenge. The division of a circle into equal segments or the ratio between the diameter and the circumference was an old mathematical problem, which had practical consequences for architects and masons. Their answers ranged from simple to more complex solutions. Analysis has shown that the segmentation of rosettes was simpler in the early period. It later evolved into more complex segmentation, which was probably also based on anthropometric measuring systems. Perhaps the most complex segmentation of the rosette can be found in the rose windows of the Basilica of Saint Clare and the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, which are presented separately.

KEYWORDS
rose window, composition, sectioning, architecture, Assisi

FULL ARTICLE
https://iu-cg.org/paper/2021/IU-CG.2021.09.058-064.pdf (2.26 MB)

CITATION
Kušar, D. (2021). Rose Windows in Gothic Cathedrals: A Compositional Challenge for Church Builders. Igra ustvarjalnosti - Creativity Game, (9), 58-64. https://doi.org/10.15292/IU-CG.2021.09.058-064

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