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The Sainte-Chapelle Ivory Virgin & Child: Rayonnant Style And Private Devotion, Caroline Harrington

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper examines a major shift in French Gothic sculpture of the second half of the thirteenth century, as exemplified by the Sainte-Chapelle Virgin and Child. During this period there was a new emphasis on elegance in art works, giving rise to a new style called Rayonnant, a style paralleled by a new emphasis on the humanity of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The scale and patronage of the Sainte-Chapelle Virgin and Child demonstrate the changing purpose of sculpture from a ceremonial role in church life to a private devotional object for the French elite, in particular king of France …