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Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Plan

c.1470
Place of origin
Strasbourg

Ink designs on parchment. On one side of the sheet is a plan for a church spire, possibly the octagonal spire of Strasbourg Cathedral. The design is composed of concentric rings, each representing a different tier of the spire. In the corner of the sheet there is a small plan of a newel staircase. On the other side of the sheet is a design for metalwork, probably the base of a chalice or monstrance.

Object details

Category
Designs
Object type
Plan
Materials and techniques
Parchment
Drawing
Brief description
Recto: Design for a church spire, possibly Strasbourg Cathedral; Verso: Design for the base of a chalice or monstrance
Physical description
Ink designs on parchment. On one side of the sheet is a plan for a church spire, possibly the octagonal spire of Strasbourg Cathedral. The design is composed of concentric rings, each representing a different tier of the spire. In the corner of the sheet there is a small plan of a newel staircase. On the other side of the sheet is a design for metalwork, probably the base of a chalice or monstrance.
Gallery label
Anonymous
Plan of the spire of
Strasbourg cathedral, about 1419
Ink on vellum

This would appear to be a contemporary
copy, made within the mason's lodge, of a
design for one of the octagonal towers and
the spire that surmounts it. This is one of
two that inteded to complete the great
towers that dominate the west front of
Strasbourg cathedral. Only one was ever
built. The design for the tower made by
a Master Mason who combined the functions
of architect, engineer, contractor and
supplier of building materials. The durable
and expensive nature of vellum led to many
early drawings being scraped off, and the
vellum being reused.

3550
Bibliographic reference
The side of this sheet which shows a design for metalwork has been published in Francois Bucher, 'Micro-Architecture as the 'Idea' of Gothic Theory and Style', in Gesta, Vol. 15, No. 1/2, Essays in Honor of Sumner McKnight Crosby (1976), pp. 71-89. The drawing is deliberately published upside-down to show its similarity to Gothic vaulting. The scale-lessness of medieval drawings and the applicability of designs to different projects is also relevant to the other side of the sheet, showing a design for a church spire. Comparable drawings were also produced as designs for baptismal fonts and other exercises in micro-architecture.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
3550

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1108437/plan/
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