Rockefeller Chapel: the Interior
In this section
Rockefeller Chapel seats approximately 1,700 people. Its walls contain 72,000 pieces of Indiana limestone, and inside are 100,000 pieces of colored, glazed Guastavino tile.
From the narthex to the chancel, Rockefeller Chapel is filled with many architectural wonders. The roof is supported by pillars made entirely of stone and concrete. The only structural steel used in the building is in the beams which carry the weight of the concrete slabs of the roof, and some rods in the attic.
The height of the nave (at 79 feet, 5 inches) is almost twice its width (41 feet between the piers), and its length (231 feet, 6 inches) is almost three times its height, wall to wall.
Carvings and sculptures
The woodcarvings that adorn the organ and south balcony were created by Alois Lang (1872-1954), one of the artists responsible for bringing the medieval art of ecclesiastical carving back to life. His pieces in Rockefeller Chapel are carved from white Appalachian oak, the same wood from which the pews are made.
Lee Lawrie (1877-1963) and Ulric Ellerhausen (1879-1957) designed the interior sculptures as well as the exterior ones.
In the corbels supporting the west transept gallery are representations of oak (strength) and lily (beauty). At the west transept doors are carvings of priest (left) and prophet (right). At the east transept doors are carvings of J.S. Bach (on the left, representing the central place of music in the Chapel’s programming), and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, with a model of the Chapel (on the right, representing the architecture) and, behind him, the image of West Point Chapel, Goodhue’s other great academic chapel. The shield above this entrance bears the coat of arms of the University of Chicago. In the great lancet above this door are figures of sage and psalmist, emerging from the jambs and supporting the tracery.
At the foot of the lectern can be found two eagles, and at the base of the pulpit, emblems of the four evangelists of the New Testament: the angel (Matthew), the lion (Mark), the ox (Luke), and the eagle (John).
On the carved organ screen in the chancel are Jubal (at the center), the “father of all such as handle the harp and the organ” (Genesis 4:21), some trumpeting angels, and a pineapple and rose.
The gallery organ screen
On the gallery organ screen are depicted (from left to right) at the base, from the New Testament, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the sowing of the tares, the parable of the barren fig tree, and the parable of the unjust judge.
At the upper level are the emblems of the four evangelists (the ox, eagle, lion, and angel), and a thistle, loaves and fishes, a butterfly, a peacock, and a pomegranate.
The reredos
The elaborately carved reredos on the north side of the Chapel, with its empty niches, was originally to hold statues of historical preachers. The only extant example is a plaster statue, presumably of Jesus, in the Chapel’s collection, but records indicate that it was originally planned that images of such figures as St. John, St. Paul, St. Francis, and others were to be placed here. Given that the Chapel is used today by members of many different religious and spiritual traditions, the absence of iconography representing one particular tradition is widely lauded. Movable representations of different traditions are used in the Chancel as needed (for example, a beautiful cross and candles on Sunday mornings for Christian liturgical worship). Not easily seen in the stone screen is a series of parables.
The ceiling
The vaulted ceiling weighs 800 tons, and is decorated with over 100,000 pieces of Guastavian tile, designed by New York artist Hildreth Meiere (1892-1961), prominent American muralist famous for her Art Deco mosaic work. The ceiling is the only known example of the use of colored glazed tile in a Gothic vaulted ceiling. The main transverse ribs are arches six feet wide, and the arches spring from the pillars at the 52 foot level.
The combination of the colorful tile and the vaulted ceiling gives the chapel a joyful ambiance. Goodhue turned to the use of gold colored and decorative ribs instead of the heavier stone vaults of the Middle Ages for this reason. The use of colored panels and medallions was chosen in order to give warmth and color.
On the rib vaulting of the ceiling are medallions based on St. Francis’ Canticle of the Sun and representing emblems of the universe as the object of human study: bird, beast, fish, reptile (repeated over the nave); and sun, moon, star, tree, flower, air, water, and fire (repeated over the chancel). There are also angels with musical instruments, including the tambourine, drum, pipes, horn, lyre and triangle.
Corbels of the great arches of the ceiling are formed by the emblems of the New Testament evangelists (angel, lion, ox, and eagle). Corbels of the diagonal rib of the quadripartite vaulting of the ceiling are composite, the small base representing an olive, thorn, shell, and apple, and the larger displaying a dove, pelican, fish, and lamb. Images of wheat and grape, the alpha and omega, and the IHS (a Greek abbreviation of the name of Jesus) appear on the corbels of the lateral wall ribs.
The windows
The large stained glass windows were designed by the architect, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, and the largest stretches to a height of 46 feet, 3 inches, one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The windows are filled with pastel colors of mauve, amber, pale blue and pale yellow-green, because Goodhue did not want the colors of the stained glass to overwhelm the subtle beauty of the sculptures, woodworking, and ceiling ornamentation.
The colorful lancet windows are entitled “The Foundation of Things,” and were made by 22 members of the University community in 1972. The subjects of these smaller windows are earth, air, fire, water, flora, fauna, humanity, the cosmos, galaxies, and creativity. There are approximately 100 glass fragments in each of these windows.
