∗ Birth Place/Date
Probably Chelles, France;

∗ Exact date unknown, active in the 13th century. Some sources suggest around 1200, but this is not fully certain

 

† Death Place/Date
Probably Paris, France;

† Traditionally recorded as 1258 in Notre-Dame sources, though some references list his activity until 1265

 

Period
Medieval Architecture - High Gothic / Rayonnant Gothic, 13th Century

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Biography

Jean de Chelles was a French Gothic master mason, sculptor, and architect active in the 13th century, best known for his work at Notre-Dame de Paris during one of the cathedral’s most important Rayonnant Gothic phases, when architecture became lighter, more transparent, and increasingly focused on large stained-glass surfaces, refined tracery, and vertical elegance.

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His name is traditionally associated with an inscription near the south transept, and he is remembered for helping transform Notre-Dame through the enlargement of the transepts, the design of major window openings, and the beginning of the south arm with the Saint-Étienne portal, a work later continued by Pierre de Montreuil, linking Jean de Chelles to one of the most sophisticated stages in the medieval development of the cathedral.

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Selected Works​​​

• Notre-Dame de Paris - North Transept

• Notre-Dame de Paris - South Transept / South Façade

• Notre-Dame de Paris - Saint-Étienne Portal

• Notre-Dame de Paris - Large Rose and Transept Window System

• Cathedral of Saint-Julien, Le Mans - attributed collaboration with Pierre de Montreuil