Devenu soudainement roi de France en 1498, Louis XII entreprend de reconstruire le château familial de Blois. L'aile Louis XII du château royal présente un programme iconographique sculpté exceptionnel réalisé de 1498 à 1503 environ, qui comporte plus de deux cents culots, gargouilles, masques grotesques, rosaces, monogrammes et emblèmes, entourant la figure équestre du roi et le décor de l'escalier. Les sources manuscrites relatives à la réalisation du décor sculpté ayant disparu presque en totalité, le parti pris a été de considérer dans la première partie les événements qui, du cadre historique aux restaurations des XIXe et XXe siècles, ont forgé l’identité actuelle du château. L'étude iconographique est abordée en seconde partie, incluant le décor sculpté du château de Blois, les enjeux ignorés du décor du grand escalier et de la voûte en relation avec la figure équestre, l'emblématique royale de Louis XII. La troisième partie permet d’insérer le décor sculpté dans le contexte de création de la sculpture dans les chantiers et ateliers de 1450 à 1520. De la seconde moitié du XVe siècle à 1520 / As soon as he become king of France in 1498, Louis XII undertake to rebuild the family castle of Blois. The Louis XII wing of the royal castle of Blois shows an exceptional iconographic and carved program done from 1498 to about 1503, which consists of more than two hundred culots, gargoyles, grotesques, masks, medallions, monograms, and emblems, surrounding the equestrian statue of the king and the staircase. As the manuscript archives relating to the carvings have almost completely disappeared, the objective has been to consider firstly the historical events up until the restorations of the 19th and 20th century that have contribued to the current identity of the château. An iconographic study is approached in the second part, including the sculpted decoration of the château, the relationship between the decoration of the grand staircase and the vault with the equestrian statue. The third part relate to the role of the carved decoration within the artistic context of buiding sites and workshops between 1450 to 1520

The current state of research on the design and construction of late Gothic vaults is principally based on the interpretation of sources, but rarely on surveys of existing vaults. In particular the idea for the criteria upon which the radii of the single ribs and arches were determined (so-called "principal arch"), is found to derive from sources dating from later periods when Gothic vaulting was no longer generally practised. In fact, this interpretation cannot be supported by geometric surveys on existing vaults: the plain contradiction to the actual geometric properties of some of the vaults studied so far have called for a critical revision of this interpretation. For investigating the design criteria and procedures starting from the built object, and also debating the methodological aspects of using the "building as source", a rewarding subject is the vault with curvilinear ribs in the "Hall of Arms" in the Albrechtsburg at Meissen (Germany), which was built by Jacob Heilmann in 1521. This is due to its ambitious design, high quality of execution and good state of preservation. A detailed survey of this structure is presented, discussing different aspects of the design, construction, and detailing, e.g.: Investigations on the geometrical concept of the vault by means of "reverse geometric engineering", on the background of the problem mentioned above. Further, the stone-cutting of the single members of the vault, which offers interesting aspects of standardization and its limits in nerves with double curvature: standardization in medieval constructions has been object of discussion, but not yet studied in the ambit of late Gothic vault construction. The question whether and how the vault surface was determined in the design, being the principle structural feature working as a shell structure; this is of particular interest as the relation between the rib system and the shell is complex and has consequences on the stone-cutting of the arches. The question how the design specifications for the single rib members could be derived from the general concept of the curves (clarified in the survey); the context to the graphic sources and technical prose related to late Gothic vault design and structural design. The aim is to understand the entire design process, the criteria of the decisions taken, their relation to the contemporary theory, and the communication process which took place for the creation of this extremely demanding structure.

So far the history of medieval Franciscan Observance has been considered as the history of individual monasteries, or more generally as the history of disputes concerning education, culture and nationality. The aim of the present dissertation is to describe the history in terms of cultural history, to analyze wider issues of architecture regarding monastic buildings of the last big monastic community of The Middle Ages, to describe them and evaluate. The basic structure of the dissertation consists of monographic chapters monitoring the history and building development of fifteen preserved and thirteen extinct monasteries in territory of the Czech monastic province (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Upper Lusatia). The catalogue part is introduced by chapters summarizing the historical context of Franciscan Observants' activities within a short period between the second half of the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century, during which the Observants of the Czech province experienced both the stage of raise and decay. The history of the order is then followed by an essay on the rules of the process of foundation constructions of the convents, the order rules limiting artwork and mainly the character of the order architecture. Key words Franciscan Observants, Late Gothic Architecture,...

Traditionnellement perçu comme expression de la politique impériale de Marguerite d’Autriche, régente des Pays-Bas, dans le duché de Savoie dont elle était douairière en Bresse, le couvent Saint-Nicolas de Tolentin à Brou monumentalise en fait la dévotion de son défunt époux Philibert II. Le souverain avait hérité des derniers ducs de la branche aînée son inclination ignorée pour l’influente congrégation observante des Augustins de Lombardie qui participant de la création renaissante, fournit, transcrit dans un style local, le schéma claustral de Brou. L’idée maîtresse de Marguerite fut le prestige de la Renaissance, découverte au dôme Saint-Jean de Turin. A l’encontre des lectures erronées du XIXe siècle, la princesse ne s’inspira pas de Champmol. Pour son italianisme, elle confia les tombeaux et l’église au français Perréal. Seules des impossibilités pratiques l’amenèrent à recruter fin 1512 le bruxellois van Boghem. Son art et son réseau brabançons accompagnaient le tropisme ibérique de la cour de Bourgogne mais dès 1524-25, il insuffla à Brou les touches maniéristes que permettait la pénétration de la Renaissance aux Pays-Bas, plus tardive qu’en France. Le programme de l’église sotériologique emphatise la piété du duc et à un second rang, celle de la maison de Marguerite, mais aussi les devoirs du regnum, que Philibert et sa veuve exercèrent dans des pays distincts : ils culminent dans l’exercice de la justice dont le modèle est le Christ du Jugement dernier qui jadis, figurait sur le vitrail nord du transept de Brou. Marguerite signa l’œuvre : promouvant l’échange compassionnel, elle incitait autant à la conversion de chacun qu’à la prière d’intercession et à la mémoire, par-delà les siècles, de l’archiduchesse dont la naissance d’exception, impériale, avait engagé la vie et le monument d’exception. / Instead of expressing, as it is traditionally regarded, the imperial politics in Savoy of Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands, the convent Saint Nicolas of Tolentino in Brou she erected in her dower of Bresse embodies the devotion of her late husband Philibert II, duke of Savoy. The sovereign had received from the last dukes of the eldest branch that unrecognized inclination towards the soaring observant congregation of the Austin Friars of Lombardia, which joined the Renaissance and provided the claustral scheme of Brou. Margaret’s main idée was the search of the Renaissance she had discovered through the Duomo San Giovanni of Torino. Against the incorrect readings of the XIXth century, she was not inspired by Champmol. She entrusted the graves and the church of Brou to the Italianizing French artist Perréal, and only practical impediments prompted her to sign on van Boghem at the end of 1512. His brabantine Gothic’s practice and circle accorded to the Spanish tropism of the burgundian court but around 1524-1525, the arrival of the Renaissance in the Netherlands allowed him to bring mannerist accents. The iconology of Brou reveals its soteriological aim. It magnifies the duke’s devotion and at a second rank, the one of Margaret’s house, but also the duties of the regnum that Philibert and his widow both practiced in different countries. Their acme is the ministry of Justice whose reference is the Christ of the Last Judgment, which once figured on the lost northern glass window of the transept. Margaret signed the work: ruled by a will of compassion and exchange, it induced anyone both to the conversion for one’s own salvation, to intercede for the princes, and to remind through ages the memory of the archduchess, whose exceptional imperial birth had involved her unique life and memorial.

The current state of research on the design and construction of late Gothic vaults is principally based on the interpretation of sources, but rarely on surveys of existing vaults. In particular the idea for the criteria upon which the radii of the single ribs and arches were determined (so-called "principal arch"), is found to derive from sources dating from later periods when Gothic vaulting was no longer generally practised. In fact, this interpretation cannot be supported by geometric surveys on existing vaults: the plain contradiction to the actual geometric properties of some of the vaults studied so far have called for a critical revision of this interpretation. For investigating the design criteria and procedures starting from the built object, and also debating the methodological aspects of using the "building as source", a rewarding subject is the vault with curvilinear ribs in the "Hall of Arms" in the Albrechtsburg at Meissen (Germany), which was built by Jacob Heilmann in 1521. This is due to its ambitious design, high quality of execution and good state of preservation. A detailed survey of this structure is presented, discussing different aspects of the design, construction, and detailing, e.g.: Investigations on the geometrical concept of the vault by means of "reverse geometric engineering", on the background of the problem mentioned above. Further, the stone-cutting of the single members of the vault, which offers interesting aspects of standardization and its limits in nerves with double curvature: standardization in medieval constructions has been object of discussion, but not yet studied in the ambit of late Gothic vault construction. The question whether and how the vault surface was determined in the design, being the principle structural feature working as a shell structure; this is of particular interest as the relation between the rib system and the shell is complex and has consequences on the stone-cutting of the arches. The question how the design specifications for the single rib members could be derived from the general concept of the curves (clarified in the survey); the context to the graphic sources and technical prose related to late Gothic vault design and structural design. The aim is to understand the entire design process, the criteria of the decisions taken, their relation to the contemporary theory, and the communication process which took place for the creation of this extremely demanding structure.

The ambitious late Gothic vaults created in the 15th and 16th centuries with their complex shape and complicated meshes of ribs soaring along spatial curves, were extremely demanding in their geometric design. This regards both the design of the whole structure, as also the design specifications for the single stone elements which were prefabricated and fit together on the building site with astonishing precision. In consequence, the particular character of these structures and their geometric features are intrinsically linked to the design routines and the geometric concepts used by the Master Builders. At present, these procedures and methods are not well understood, because they are not documented in original drawings, and because they differ in principle from the modern practice. In consequence, necessary works of repairing and restoring cannot recur to any information related to the original design. Moreover, understanding the characteristics of information transfer from the design to the execution, would cast a light on the information society in which these constructions were created. In several case studies, the geometric concepts of the intricate spatial curve systems of late Gothic vaults have been clarified on the basis of detailed surveys and geometrical analyses carried out on the built objects. On this background, also the existing sources such as historical design treatises could be re-interpreted. In a collaboration between the research group working on the design principles of late Gothic vaults at the Technische Universität Dresden, and expert stone masons specialized on historical working techniques and practical stereotomy at the Cathedral Workshop Œuvre Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, the phases of the design process, such as full-scale drawings on the tracing floor and the production of full-scale models and samples of ribs and keystones, are currently investigated in practical experiments. As result, we propose a complete picture of the design process from the general concept to the setting-out of the single stone elements. Further, we are able to drive general considerations on the Late Medieval and Early Modern design practice for stone structures and trace a new interpretation of the early treatises of stereotomy.

The dissertation deals with the reception of Dutch realism in the late Gothic panel painting in Bohemia. Its aim is to examine the principles of reception of new artistic forms and ideas that originated in the Dutch art centers in the 15th century. The Czech painting of the 15th century was adopting these innovative trends exclusively from the neighbouring countries. Therefore, the work addresses mainly issues related to artistic exchanges between Bohemia and the surrounding - mostly German-speaking - regions. It looks into the specific ways in which artistic exchange took place - the mobility of artists, art imports, the importance of graphic and other models. The dissertation focuses on the most important examples that show the reception of Dutch realism: The Ark of Grand Master Puchner, The Křivoklát Altarpiece, and works associated with it. These matters are addressed mainly through a formal stylistic analysis and formal comparison. In the case of the Puchner Ark, via these methods, it has been possible to point out a possible artistic basis of the author in Swabia - within a circle of the followers of the Master of the Sterzing Altarpiece. The dissertation has tried to prove the artistic origin of the Master of the Litoměřice Altarpiece within the circle of the Ulm painter B. Zeitblom. These...

The ambitious late Gothic vaults created in the 15th and 16th centuries with their complex shape and complicated meshes of ribs soaring along spatial curves, were extremely demanding in their geometric design. This regards both the design of the whole structure, as also the design specifications for the single stone elements which were prefabricated and fit together on the building site with astonishing precision. In consequence, the particular character of these structures and their geometric features are intrinsically linked to the design routines and the geometric concepts used by the Master Builders. At present, these procedures and methods are not well understood, because they are not documented in original drawings, and because they differ in principle from the modern practice. In consequence, necessary works of repairing and restoring cannot recur to any information related to the original design. Moreover, understanding the characteristics of information transfer from the design to the execution, would cast a light on the information society in which these constructions were created. In several case studies, the geometric concepts of the intricate spatial curve systems of late Gothic vaults have been clarified on the basis of detailed surveys and geometrical analyses carried out on the built objects. On this background, also the existing sources such as historical design treatises could be re-interpreted. In a collaboration between the research group working on the design principles of late Gothic vaults at the Technische Universität Dresden, and expert stone masons specialized on historical working techniques and practical stereotomy at the Cathedral Workshop Œuvre Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, the phases of the design process, such as full-scale drawings on the tracing floor and the production of full-scale models and samples of ribs and keystones, are currently investigated in practical experiments. As result, we propose a complete picture of the design process from the general concept to the setting-out of the single stone elements. Further, we are able to drive general considerations on the Late Medieval and Early Modern design practice for stone structures and trace a new interpretation of the early treatises of stereotomy.