Pierre Tarisel (c. 1442 – August 1510) was the Master-mason to the King of France, known for working on

Amiens Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administra ...

Career

In 1475 Tarisel was summoned to inspect Noyon Cathedral, which was deteriorating in many places. Although he was not yet master mason of the city, no work of importance was undertaken without him. In 1477 he was in

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, at work for the King of France. In 1500 the plan of Martin Chambiges for the restoration and decoration of Beauvais Cathedral was submitted to him. On 4 November 1483, on the death of Guillaume Postel, Tarisel was appointed master mason of the city of Amiens. His predecessors had been paid at the rate of 4s. per day; Tarisel received 5s. The rate was again reduced to 4s. for his successor, which may show with what esteem his talent was regarded.

Amiens Cathedral

There is no document that shows what year Tarisel became master mason of Amiens Cathedral; but it seems certain beyond doubt that he fulfilled these duties in 1482–1483. On 7 March 1497, he visited all the cloistered houses subject to the cathedral chapter. Shortly afterwards he undertook the task of restoring the cathedral. The second pillar of the choir, on the left, threatened to fall, but under Tarisel's direction it was restored in 1497. The projecting arch and the arches near it were restored, and the outer wall was propped by an additional

flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...

. In 1503 the same was done for the remaining pillars. Between 1497 and 1503 the pillars of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

buckled, owing to the weight of the rear side arches, and cracks formed. The remedy was found in bands of Spanish iron, sunk six to eight inches deep in the pillars and reaching from the transept to the ends of the choir, the nave, and the cross bars. Tarisel's great iron chainwork, upholding the four large pillars of the transept and running the length of the

triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...

in four directions, still exists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarisel, Pierre 1440s births 1510 deaths 15th-century French architects Gothic architects