Dorothy Weir Young (1890-1947), Chartres, 1931, watercolor, 10 5/8 x 8 5/8 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, purchase/gift of the Mahonri M. Young Estate, 1959.
The Cathedral of Our Lady Mary, Chartres, was consecrated in the presence of King Louis IX of France on October 23, 1260. Six-hundred- seventy-one years later, Dorothy Weir Young quickly captured this interior view from the outer west side-aisle, three vaults from the apse and its radiating chapels. With minimal brushstrokes, Dorothy suggests luminous stained glass in reds and blues held fast by the warm ochres of Chartres’ medieval masonry. Chartres has always been a world heritage site, which became official in 1979.