Gothic Art

“Let there be light!”

(Genesis 1:3)

Spread of Gothic: black 12th Century, red 13th-14th centuries

The Reach of Gothic

Gothic Architecture

• St. Denis in France 1st example of Early Gothic

• Religious art, like Romanesque, but also a symbol of power and wealth for the town

• Not only cathedrals, but also castles, palaces, town halls, and universities

• Cathedral became center of the city

• Not only for religious rites, but also for guild meetings and municipal government (before construction of town hall)

• Rivalries between cities to see who could build the biggest and highest cathedral

The Abbey of St. Denis• St. Denis patron saint

of France• First major stucture

built (partially) in Gothic style

• Construction began in 1136

• Burial site for many French Monarchs

• Located just north of Paris

St. Denis Ambulatory

Transition at Vezelay: Early Gothic choir showers

light on Romanesque Nave

Characteristics of Gothic Architecture• Pointed arch• Ribbed vault• Flying buttresses• Bigger windows• Taller buildings

(stretched, verticality)

• Rose window• Appeal to emotions,

dramatic

Amiens (476 feet long, 139 feet high)

Amiens closer views

                                                                                                       

Left: Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, Romanesque Pilgrimage Church, c. 1080-1120

Right: Notre-Dame, Amiens, French Gothic Cathedral, begun 1220

Nave

Transept

Choir

Ambulatory

Romanesque vs. Gothic (Abbey of St. Etienne, Caen)

Nave (1064-1120) Choir (c. 1200)

Main arcade

Triforium

Clerestory

Vaulting

Some Gothic Styles

• Early Gothic beginning around 1140 (St. Denis).

• High Gothic/Rayonnant (St. Chapelle, Paris, 1248)

• Perpendicular (choir of Gloucester cathedral, begun 1330), unique to England

• Flamboyant (St. Maclou, Rouen,1500-14)

Rayonnant: St. Chapelle Rayonnant (called Decorated Gothic in England)

was characterized by the application of increasingly elaborate geometrical decoration

More St. ChapelleRayonnant style • After 1250, Gothic architects were more concerned with the

creation of visual effects through decoration. • Pinnacles (upright members, often spired, that capped piers,

buttresses, or other exterior elements), • Moldings• Window tracery

(Some classify this as Flamboyant)• Rose Window

Flamboyant

In France the Rayonnant style evolved about 1280 into a more decorative phase called the Flamboyant style.

Dominant feature in stone window tracery of a flame-like S-shaped curve.

Wall space was reduced to minimum

Almost continuous expanse of glass and tracery.

St. Maclou (Rouen) 15-16th Centuries

St. Severin-St. Nicholas (Paris)

15th Century

Leuven, Belgium Town Hall

15th Century

Milan Cathedral (Duomo)

The biggest and greatest late gothic architecture in Italy.1386-1577, west front 1616-1813

Milan Cathedral Flying Buttress

• Give horizontal strength to the wall

• Means walls can have bigger windows, more detail

Gothic Sculpture• Mostly religious:

• Crucifixion of Christ

• and Virgin with Child

• To educate citizens

• Figures more realistic and natural than in Romanesque

• Curved and lines, movement

• Expression of emotion

• Mostly rock, some wood

• Choir seating, tombs, gargoyles

Gothic Painting• Murals loose importance

(except in Italy)

• Painting over wood → Painted altarpieces

• Religious subjects, also potraits

• Movement of figures

• Richness of colors

• Use of gold

• Introduction of background

• Realism