Cathedral Reference Photos, Arch by Arch

How a Gothic cathedral holds itself up

Gothic builders wanted tall walls full of glass. To get them, they moved the weight of the stone vault outward, onto flying buttresses and heavy piers outside the building. If you draw the windows without the buttresses, the building cannot stand, and experienced viewers feel it.

Notre-Dame de Paris is the classic example of this system, with its rib vaults, flying buttresses, rose windows, and gargoyles and chimeras on the exterior. Our Notre-Dame de Paris pack has 423 photos at 6000 × 4000. It was shot with a standard zoom and a 70-300mm telephoto lens, the right tool for sculpture and tracery high on the walls. The 2019 fire showed how quickly a building like this can change. Reference of a place as it stood on a given day has lasting value.

The Westminster Abbey pack (564 photos at 6000 × 4000) focuses on the exterior: towers, pinnacles, window tracery and stone weathering.

Interiors, crypts and woodwork

Interiors are the hardest part of a cathedral to find good reference for. Light is low and visitors are everywhere. The Sydney Neo-Gothic Cathedral pack solves this with folders: 308 interior photos, 94 of the crypt, 174 of the exterior and 45 of sculptures. That is enough to plan a full game level or a long animated sequence.

For a different material, the Old Wooden Cathedral in New Zealand has 127 interior photos of its timber roof structure. Fantasy artists use this kind of reference for great halls and school dining rooms.

Beyond Gothic

Not every church follows French Gothic rules. The collection also covers:

• Church of the Savior on Blood, Saint Petersburg: 90 photos, with walls and floors covered in mosaics. It mixes medieval Russian Orthodox forms with later styles. $2.99.
• The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris: 292 photos of the white domes on Montmartre, plus textures and city panoramas.
• Byzantine Church Converted to Mosque, Istanbul: 183 photos of domes, brickwork and preserved mosaics. This is an Editorial pack, so use it as reference rather than in advertising. For more domes and minarets, see Islamic architecture reference.
• Gaudi Sagrada Familia, Barcelona: 57 photos for $5.99.

Damage and repair

The Neo-Gothic Building Earthquake Reconstruction pack (173 photos, Christchurch) shows a damaged heritage building under repair, with bracing, scaffolding and exposed masonry. It is rare reference for the inside of a stone wall.

Frequently asked questions

Are these churches still in use?

Most of them are active places of worship. Please keep that in mind when you depict them. Photos with identifiable people are kept in a separate Editorial folder in Mixed packs, so you can use them for reference but not in ads or on products for sale.

Which pack has the most interior coverage?

The Sydney Neo-Gothic Cathedral pack, with 308 interior photos and 94 photos of the crypt. The Old Wooden Cathedral pack is the best choice for timber interiors.

I need a cathedral for a fantasy city. Where should I start?

Use Notre-Dame for structure and sculpture, then add rooftops and streets from our Game of Thrones filming locations page. For churchyards and tombs, see graveyard reference.

Does the Westminster Abbey pack show the interior?

No. The Westminster Abbey pack focuses on the exterior: towers, pinnacles, tracery and stonework. For interiors, choose the Sydney Neo-Gothic Cathedral or the Church of the Savior on Blood, which has 60 interior photos of its mosaics.