Coutances a.k.a. Notre Dame and St. Pierre

John Taylor Arms

Saint-Pierre-de-Coutances is a commune in Normandy, France. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances is considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. It was constructed between 1210 and 1274 and incorporated the remains of an earlier Norman cathedral. The cathedral retains one of the most beautiful sets of medieval stained-glass windows in Normandy. In his etching Coutances, Arms chose to depict a view of the cathedral from the lower section of a cobbled street. This perspective shows the dominance of the cathedral over the old stone buildings of the commune. Even from a distance, Arms was able to capture the massiveness of the building and the delicacy of the façade.