Comparing Gothic Art To Renaissance Art

In this excerpt, von Simson looks at how the writings of intellectuals influenced the development of Gothic architecture. He begins by looking at the writings of St. Augustine and his love for music and how the importance of measurement found in music also applies to architecture. He then goes on to address two important schools of thought that influenced the formation of the Gothic style: The Platonists with their focus on cosmology, and the monks at Clairvaux, including St. Bernard, who focused on spirituality. In this section, von Simson focuses on the former and the connection between the cosmos and the Gothic cathedral. He argues that these medieval scholars saw God as an architect and the cosmos as his cathedral. In his study of both St. Augustine and the Plantonists, von Simson works to identify the ways in which these intellectual schools of thought influenced Gothic architecture.

The difference between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is most visible through art and architecture, demonstrated specifically through an emphasis on religion or classical antiquity, and humanity. During the Middle Ages, art was more religious because it had a very religious influence from the church having such great power in the community. When the Renaissance started, art became more focused on ancient Greece. The Greek influence was because scholars were broadly studying the revival of classical antiquity. The architecture was affected in the same way because in the Middle Ages the style of the buildings was being influenced by religion. The style in the Renaissance was being more influenced by ancient Greece.

These kinds of art was made during the Gothic period that marks a transition from medieval to Renaissance. It was the time when churches had religious disputes. Gothic art in Italy transitioned in to the Renaissance. The Gothic period was strongly influenced by the Dominican and Franciscan monks. The Renaissance brought contemporary reality of the time into true-life paintings and sculptures. It started from Northern Europe towards South Italy. Olivetan Master some collection names are “Cutting from a choir book” and “Four Saints”.

Much of the architecture in the Romanesque era evolved into Gothic architecture. The Gothic era ran from the 12th century into the 16th century. There wasn’t necessarily a clean break from Romanesque to Gothic styles of architecture, but rather a gradual shift in design. The main characteristics of Gothic architecture are the pointed ribbed vaults and arches, flying buttresses and, in place of solid walls, a cluster of columns. Due to the vertical emphasis of the design, the archways could be redesigned and stretched or pointed. Four main Figure 5 – The depressed arch supported by fan vaulting at King’s College Chapel, England.

Robert A. Scott wrote The Gothic Enterprise in an attempt to give readers a bit of insight into the world of cathedrals. He moves from topic to topic, explaining how Gothic Cathedrals came to be, how they were constructed, and who ran them. Two course themes very applicable to Scott’s text are “How Technologies Develop” and “Technology and the Environment.” Over the nearly 500 year period of cathedral building, technologies to make the process easier were developed. For example, the windlass were used to hoist the heaver timbers up to the roofs of the cathedrals. Flying buttresses were also put in place after wind started to become a problem with the building of the spires. This environmental problem, along with others such as flooding at the

Some of those main characteristics of the Gothic Architecture are the pointed arcs, ribbed vaults and flying buttress, stained glass windows, complex decoration, towers and some other details. The origins of the pointed arcs used in gothic Architecture come from the pre-Islamic and Islamic Architecture. Two-barrel vaults intersecting in a perpendicular way compose the ribbed vaults; this would give more strength to the building allowing for more windows at higher places. Flying buttress has to purpose to resist horizontal forces, by redirecting to force to the ground. The stained glass windows were ecclesiastic windows that allow light from the highest points of the building. Some of the complex decoration refers to the amount of detail such as statues, paints, and scripts on the walls.

The Italian and Northern Europe Renaissances were both an important mark in history by changing the ideals of life, thought, culture, and art of the people’s of this time. In this paper I will explain the motive for change in these cultures, including the similarities and differences of the two cultures.

Middle Age art and Renaissance art has one common characteristic: many are themed around Christianity. However, as far as style is concerned, the two periods vary greatly. Middle Age art was about function. The pieces told the stories of the Church and of war. The colors were muted because of a lack of good paint. Perspective and proportions were incorrect. The faces of figures were not realistic and generally very masculine. The statues were done in relief and the paintings seemed flat. In contrast, art in The Renaissance was about beauty. The pieces invoked emotion while telling a story. The colors were bright and vibrant

Art during the Italian Renaissance differed from art during the Middle Ages. The two have contrasting characteristics and concepts. To the people in the medieval world, religion was their life. Everything in daily life focused around the church and God (Modern World 164). Medieval culture influenced the arts; this was evident in the religious themes. During the Italian Renaissance, painters and other artists focused on the portrayal of a more humanistic way of life. Renaissance artists’ work portrayed realism with “lifelike human figures in their paintings” (Modern World 164). Renaissance artists wanted to express ancient Greek and Roman cultures in their work (Modern World 162). Italian Renaissance

Gothic architecture a new style developing from an old style of architecture with similar characteristics and in a way different. Architects wanted to build bigger buildings with stronger walls something that could not be found elsewhere. The old buildings did not have windows they were dark places that in order to get light they needed many candles. Not even the candles could give the right amount of light the buildings needed. The middle ages architects wanted big windows on the buildings and this new style made their wish come true. Architecture during the Middle Ages became a new style with new problems to solve and a new kind of extraordinary buildings to build.

The Gothic style, dating between the 12th century and 16th century, began in France and eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. An example of the first true Gothic church was St. Denis of Paris. Now, it is considered one of our finest artistic periods, but at the time, the term “gothic” did not exactly hold the same meaning it does today. The name came from the Goths and was used rather negatively when describing this style of architecture as they considered it to be similar to the works of the barbarians from which the name was derived.

The Gothic style was an over exaggerated, awe-inspiring attempt to become closer to God. The worshipper was not only drawn to the altar, but experienced an ascent to heaven at the same time.1 These artistic gems are a grand testament to historical technology and the imaginative approach and vision of skilled craftsmen. The gothic style is one of the most

Gothic art flourished from the 12th century to the 16th century in Europe in response of the Byzantine and Romanesque tradition. Although Gothic is associated with arts, its most prominent use is in architecture, mainly for its pointed arch and flying buttress. To this day, the Gothic style is taken as a ‘label’ for visual arts such as concept art designs, yet the meaning stray from the original context, thus becoming rarely accurate.

Fire is viewed as destruction by many, but it helped to produce growth in Gothic architecture. Many of Christianity’s beliefs are reflected in different aspects of art. The stained glass and verticality of Gothic churches is a key change from Romanesque style churches. The Gothic church found creative ways to illustrate images of important events in history through tapestry. Even the general shape and design of the Romanesque churches versus Gothic churches show Christians values. The sculptures outside of churches have evolved over time to correspond with Christian’s beliefs of Homo faber. The change in design of Romanesque churches to the new architecture of Gothic style churches shows how Christian’s incorporated their religion into churches. Christianity’s beliefs and values are directly reflected through the changes of architecture and style from Romanesque to Gothic churches along with visual and literary art.

The research paper, shall be concerned with discussion Gothic architecture in Europe-namely England, France, Germany, and Italy starting from 12th to the 16th Centuries. Architecture was the most original and lasting form of art during the Gothic Period, which lasted for four centuries starting from the mid 12th century. The impetus for this architecture was the Roman Catholic Church, which sought to portray their houses of worship as something which transcended the realm of mankind. It is interesting to note that many of the Northern European areas were predominately pagan, and only recently brought into the Church. The imagery provided by Gothic structural design was something these peoples could more readily understand, as they