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Murray (1847a) pp.356-360 calls it a ‘colossal and magnificent edifice, one of the finest in France, conspicuous with its two solid towers far and near.’
‘Its West facade presents a row of no less than five deeply recessed portals, all ornamented, in a style of peculiar richness and originality, with sculpture; that in the centre higher than the rest, is decorated above the carved wood doors, with a bas-relief of admirable execution’. There is ‘varied expression of the countenances’; ‘elevated character’ in many; and ‘easy flow of drapery’.
On the interior Murray comments that it is ‘double aisled, those next to the centre 65ft high and furnished with a triforium and clerestory, worthy of a cathedral nave, extending all round the choir’; the ‘vaulted stone roof of the central aisle, 117ft high, is supported by 60 piers with capitals in the early English style, presenting the most varied and striking perspective.’
For a more recent account of Bourges Cathedral see Robert Branner, The Cathedral at Bourges and its place in Gothic Architecture, London: MIT Press 1989.
For images and an account of the history and iconography of the porches at Bourges see Tania Bayard, ‘Thirteenth-century modifications in the West Portal of Bourges Cathedral’, in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 34, No.3 (Oct.1975) pp. 215 - 225.
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[Version 0.05: May 2008]