Why are cathedral facades important?

And how a dash of colour helps...

There are many Gothic cathedrals in northern France and my favourite is in Amiens in the Department of the Somme. One of many built in the same period, it is bigger inside than the other Notre Dame in Paris. These cathedrals were paid for by taxes, but not without occasional resistance which in Amiens once included driving the bishop out of town and locking up ecclesiastical leaders. Another conventional revenue stream apart from taxes was miraculously to discover and display the long lost remains of a local martyr. These guaranteed a future income from pilgrims hoping to get the patron saint on their side. Finally, if all else failed the rich could be expected to pay for artworks in which they would often appear for their money. Eternal salvation came at a cost.

The interior at Amiens is vast and there are many great architectural features, including monumental arches and stained glass windows.

Crowd scenes in low relief were definitely the thing if you wanted to show off and get a higher price for your sculptural skills. This one features Amiens’ patron Saint Firmin.

But, it is the external facade which leaves the most unanswered questions. There is plentiful space for free standing statues (which are no longer there) making the point that the facade functioned as an exhibitionist’s showcase. Architecture aside, sculpture was the most expensive of the arts and could expect to be exhibited front and centre. Here are the main doors today with only the low-relief pieces in place.

But how might it have looked when built in the 13th century? The likely answer is that instead of the gloomy, stone-grey statues we see today there would be a blaze of colour. Microscopic examination of paint residues on statues has shown they were often polychromed. With the benefit of digital technology, these can be re-presented in a light show and the one at Amiens is among the best of these. Here are two images to end on, so that next time you visit a cathedral let your imagination run to colour!