This mid-12th century [G 24 / portal], consisting of three doorways, each surmounted with an archway and elaborately decorated with sculpture, was built before the main body of today's cathedral. Its sculptures tell the story of the life of Christ, his childhood, his life on earth, and his ascension into heaven.
Around the doors and archways that depict these scenes, sculptures fixed to the columns further describe these stories. The figures are very stylized and static, particularly those on the columns which are elongated and surreal (they seem to grow out of the column).
Around the right hand door, we see Mary on her throne of wisdom, her childhood and marriage with Joseph, the annunciation and the birth of Jesus. The liberal arts are also depicted as Chartres was an important center of learning. Around the left hand door, the ascension of Christ into heaven is depicted, and around him in the [G 03 / archivolts], the seasons, signs of the zodiac and labors of the year are shown.
The central doorway shows Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven. Below him are the 12 apostles, and on the archivolt around him are the angels and the 24 elders of the Apocalypse. Although stylized and regularized in design, these figures are sculpted in beautiful detail. Often the bodies of the figures were unrealistically proportioned, but the faces are exquisite; both soft and expressive.
