Cordoba Mosque and Chartres Cathedral Comparision - Essay Example

Enter April 8, Contrast Art History: Cordoba Mosque and Chartres Cathedral Art Photo The art photo 1 is of Mosque of Cordoba generally known as Mezquita Mosque and cathedral of the Assumption of our Lady (Mezquita Mosque and Cathedral, n.d.). It is of great importance because it carries two cultures at one place. This building is known as the cathedral but formerly it was a mosque. This architecture belongs to Islamic culture whereas there are some inclusions of the Christian culture as well. This cathedral has Gothic and Muslim architecture features. It was built in Medival Era (Mezquita (Mosque) of Cordoba,n.d). Cordoba was the capital of Muslim Dynasty in Spain (David, 1992). Mosque of Cordoba is huge mosque comprising of a garden filled with orange tress of different forms. The spacious garden leads to a “hypostyle hall” (Mirmobiny, n.d.). It is filled with columns and is used as a prayer hall. The repeated geometric patterns in orange and white color give the hall even grander look. There is a courtyard with a beautiful central fountain. The walkways of the courtyards are covered providing the people with shadow. There is a magnificent minaret in the mosque. It was used to give Azan i.e. call for prayers when it was under Muslim use. Afterwards, it was used as a bell tower by the Christians. Ancient roman columns were recycled by the Muslims in order to make the new ones. These columns are two tired painted in striking amalgamation (Mirmobiny, n.d.). These columns are arched, geometric, and made up of red brick and stone (Mirmobiny, n.d.). The Mihrab is the central focal point in the prayer hall. Mihrab is used to give direction for the Muslims to pray. It directs to Mecca. Gold, glass and color pieces are used to make the Mihrab give a dazzling effect. Motifs and calligraphy adorn the Mihrab in combinations of reddish orange, brown, yellow, gold and dark blue. The horseshoe arch was common n Visigoths and in the Muslim architecture. The Dome is built using crisscross ribs. They make pointed arches. Gold mosaic is used on it. This was later used in Gothic rib vaulting. The beautiful calligraphy and patterns on the rib give an astonishing sight to the viewer. This mosque is an example of the creativity of Muslim architects to play with existing regional buildings. It dates back to thousand years. Historians believe that this mosque was a Temple to a Roman god (Mirmobiny, n.d.). This temple was converted into a church by Visigoths in 572. In 8th century, Abd al-Rahman I planned to construct it. Abd al-Rahman II and III made reforms to its constructions. This included new minaret construction. Al-Mansur in 987 ordered the expansion of the mosque which gives it the grandeur we experience today. This m0osque was used as church when King Ferdinand III captured it in 1236 (Mezquita Mosque and Cathedral, n.d.). Thesis Statement: “Cordoba and Chartres share grand symbolic meanings” 2. Comparison: Mosque of Cordoba and Chartres Cathedral Art Photo 1 Art Photo 2 Cordoba Mosque and Chartres Cathedral are two glorious examples of architecture in the history. They belong to different cultures yet there is a similarity in them. This similarity lies in the symbolism. The art photo 2 under observation is of Chartres Cathedral. It is a very important church in art history. History records this church as Notre Dame de Chartres (Fischer, n.d). This cathedral is located 50 miles from Paris (Hayes, 2010). It includes the elements of gothic architectural. After catching fire twice, this beautiful church has retained its originality (Unesco, 2009, pp.65). The art photo 1 is of Mosque of Cordoba and it also has a touch gothic architecture style. This mosque is however altered beautifully in such a way that it has become an example of Muslim architecture. The stained glass windows and the marvelously built architecture of Chartres Cathedral are almost in its original form and therefore is the most beautiful sight even today. Along with its artistic magnificence, it has been a pilgrimage site since the “Middle Ages” (Hayes, 2010). Cordoba Mosque is used both as mosque and cathedral. Built in medieval era, it was a pre existing church which was altered and expanded by Muslims and used as a mosque. Cordoba mosque uses red bricks and stones. It has a magnificent look with gold, brown, orange and dark blue hues. Both of these buildings were used for religious and political purposes. Both these buildings were inspired by Roman Art. Islam and Christianity stem out from Abraham. Both these buildings are great examples of religious buildings of medieval times. Chartres Cathedral was used as a church whereas Cordoba Mosque is used as Mosque and now as Cathedral. Both of these places are scared in nature. The glass and stone of Chartres Cathedral symbolizes the bridge between earth and sky (Beach and Aires, n.d.). The Chartres Cathedral spreads vertically whereas the Mosque of Cordoba spreads horizontally. Both the buildings make an attempt to symbolize the heaven on earth. Holy trinity and Islamic God both are a symbolism to the door of purity and absolution. These buildings are example of Neo-Platonism which was used extensively in the Middle Ages. According to this, art is not only aesthetic but religious in nature. The key element in construction of Corboda mosque is light. Therefore, the light is used as divine element. The entrance and exit points of light are planned in the Cordoba Mosque. They have symbolism in the places where the light reaches. Whereas, light in Chartres Cathedral is filtered through colorful stained glass rose window which then enters the church. Metaphor for infinity in terms of God and life hereafter is represented by forest of arches that break light and shadow. In Chartres, this is done by verticality. It represents the history starting from Old Testament to the Salvation. In Cordoba, the space is in relation to timeless space in heaven whereas Chartres deals with the presence of divine soul in there. The Chartres Cathedral is dedicated to the Lady and so is Cordoba. The floral motifs are representation of it. 3. Conclusion Chartres Cathedral and Cordoba mosque were built in the Medieval Era. They both have splendid history and mystical meanings. Chartres and Cordoba have survived its original form since decades (Lewis and Lewis, 2008, pp. 264). They both are different in terms of their construction. Chartres rises vertically whereas Cordoba expands horizontally. The impulse which led to their construction was the same which can be labeled as divinity. The stained glass window in Chartres shares the similarity to the colorful paintings on the walls, the crisscross ribs, the dome, the Mihrab and dome of Cordoba. Both religions branch out from Abraham and both buildings branch out by medieval times. They share roman architecture in terms of gothic art. Cordoba and Chartres are human attempts to symbolize divinity and life hereafter. Space, light, sound all are used as major elements along with the bricks, stones, glass and colors. God, man and heaven are represented in both the buildings (King, 2007). 4. Works Cited: Fischer, Julia. “Chartres Cathedral, France”. Fischer Art History. N.d. Web. 30 April 2014. http://www.fischerarthistory.com/chartres-cathedral.html Unesco. World Heritage Sites: A Complete Guide to 878 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. UN:UNESCO Publishing. 2009. Print. Hayes, Holy. “Chartres Cathedral”. Sacred Destinations. 2010. Web. 30 April 2014. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral Mezquita Mosque and Cathedral. Cordoba24. N.d. Web. 1st May 2014. http://www.cordoba24.info/english/html/mezquita.html Mirmobiny, Shadieh. The Great Mosque of Cordoba. N.d. Web. 1st May 2014. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/the-great-mosque-of-cordoba-spain.html Mezquita (Mosque) of Cordoba. Sevilla Online.n.d. Web. 2nd May 2014. http://www.sevillaonline.es/english/andalusia/cordoba/mosque_mezquita.htm Beach, Miami, Faena and Aires, Buenos, Faena. “Divine Construction: Parallels between Chartres Cathedral and the Mosque of Cordoba”. N.d. Web. 2nd May 2014 http://www.faena.com/en/content/divine-construction-parallels-between-chartres-cathedral-and-mosque-cordoba#!/ King, Rachel. Divine Constructions: A Comparison of the Great Mosque of Cordoba and Notre-Dame-du-Chartres. Medievalists.net. 2007. Web. 2nd May 2014. http://www.medievalists.net/2012/08/03/divine-constructions-a-comparison-of-the-great-mosque-of-cordoba-and-notre-dame-du-chartres/ Lewis,Richard., and Lewis, Susan.. Cengage Advantage Books: The Power of Art. Cengage Learning. 2008. Print Gilmour, David. Cities of Spain. London: John Murray. 1992. Web. 2nd May 2014. http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/cordoba.html Read More