Comparing the Sculptures and Different Structures of Cathedrals

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.

Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come

It's critical that Gothic engineering was fundamentally given to the working of religious abodes. Gothic design is known for the utilization of curves that point strongly upward and flying supports, which allude to structures that hold up substantial dividers. Flying braces make the rich, vertical upward line of Gothic engineering and take into account bigger windows, which Gothic specialists used to showcase splendid recolored glass windows. Renaissance engineering included more Romanesque structures (fabricating a home around a yard, for instance), regularly based around circles rather than the vertical, upward development of Gothic design. In the Renaissance, figure was much more imperative than engineering. Figures, for example, Michelangelo's David demonstrated amazing naturalism and a grasp of the bare human

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.

Their most glorious architectural accomplishment was the cathedral. Cathedrals, made of stone, were only established in rich and powerful cities, because they were very expensive. They boasted the city’s wealth, and demonstrated how important God was to their community. Cathedrals took hundreds of years, and thousands of people to construct. They were shaped like a cross, and were often the tallest building in that city.

While constructing both of these cathedrals there were sculptures created that represented narratives of theology and mysticism. Both were created for a place of worship that’s why sculptures and paintings of religious images were added. This showed a great respect for the belief in Christ and the surrounding believers.

The word “Romanesque” means the “Roman Manner.” This term was created to describe early medieval European church architecture around 1150-1200. The features that make these churches Romanesque are the solid masonry walls and rounded arches and vaults of the Roman buildings. Vaults were very important to Romanesque architecture. Vaults were made because they were strong and durable, and they allowed for the Gregorian chant to be enhanced, because of the acoustical effect.

Defining characteristics which began to create the line between Romanesque and Gothic architecture was the use of flying buttresses, this allowed for more light, bigger windows, and of course the use of a pointed arch rather than the rounded arches. Other characters which were developed and characterized as Gothic were the inclusion of large vertical towers, flamboyant spires, plate tracery windows, emphasis on windows, the reintroduction of sculptures, glass stained windows.

Although it does resemble Gothic architecture, it does so in a unique way that is characteristic of the architect Antoni Gaudi (The Sagrada Familia). However, Gaudi’s masterpiece does not follow the definition of Gothic style architecture. “This new architecture, based on the precision of geometry, can be effectively adapted to the new graphic and building technologies. As a consequence, the quality of the works in the Sagrada Familia increases clearly as the construction processes technology is improved. This project is therefore advanced for its time and is also very suitable to the technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries” (Aguado et al., 94). Gaudi believes that the inside of La Sagrada Familia should be left strictly for worship and the outside should tell the story of the Catholic faith. The story that Gaudi wishes to portray can be told by the towers, the east entrance, and the west entrance, which all resemble different aspects of the life of Jesus Christ. This is uncharacteristic of Gothic style cathedrals and basilicas because there are usually small chapels inside the church that explain the stories that relate to Catholicism. Gaudi also has a unique style of architecture that uses geometry to create pillars, columns, arches, as well as allow more light to enter his Gothic style building that had never been seen before. His unique take on the Gothic style was

The Gothic style cathedrals were very large, they had the mosaics painted on the inside and sculpted on the outside. They used a lot of characteristics from the medieval Romanesque period by using the ideas of the groin vaults, large three-dimensional sculptures, clerestory windows, metalwork with doors, and manuscripts. In the cathedrals the religious artwork in spread throughout the building telling religious stories. The Gothic era also made sculptures look more realistic rather that how it was done during the Romanesque period were they would be made out of wood. The Gothic style leaned more towards the more natural and realistic side. It had also changed up the colors that would be used using brighter colors, uses of shadow and light, uses of symmetry, changes in animals and mythological scenes, and a development with perspective and proportions as well. Gothic style did keep the form of the stained glass windows, metalwork with the bronze doors, and the

I also thought it was interesting to learn that the abbey church of Saint Dennis was the first introduction of Gothic architecture. Another interesting thing that I wanted to point out was, that many of the churches, including the abbey church of Saint Dennis and the Chartres Cathedral, "had lengthy construction histories" (Kleiner 379). But, one church, in particular, had a fairly quick construction time frame. The Laon Cathedral, pictured below, is an example of a church that began construction around 1160 and the construction was quickly completed, by 1200. Besides, Gothic architectural features, the Laon Cathedral also demonstrates some Romanesque features, including, "nave bays with large sexpartite rib vaults" (Kleiner 379). The textbook

Chartres Cathedral is one of the most significant achievements of all the historical architecture. Additionally, it is entirely preserved with its original details. The unique features of the cathedral are intact, and thus when one visits the place, he or she is likely to encounter the authentic architecture work as it was done many years ago. Chartres Cathedral symbolizes an atmosphere of awe and holiness (Katzenellenbogen, 2). As such, it was built for religious purposes. However, it attracts the nonbelievers as well. As a holy building, it has many glass windows to light the building. Due to its height, a double flying buttresses is used to support the high nave. The cathedral was the first building in history that used buttresses since it was considered as necessary for the peoples’ culture and as a sign of authority. It was built to reflect a symbol of power since the religious leaders engaged in politics too. The cathedral has many statuses that represent the Biblical aspects such as Elijah, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Simeon (Katzenellenbogen, 9). The standings portray the Christian faith that was used by the architectures while building the cathedral. The interior floor stands thirty-six meters high and is one hundred and twenty-eight meters wide. The sizes show how vital it is and it can host many peoples who visit for religious functions.

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

A large pile of ancient stone is no different than a giant stack of old stone, right? To look closely into an argument, sometimes a zoomed-out perspective is needed. In this case, its important to look at every detail to find out if the construction of pyramids and cathedrals were similar or different. On one hand, there are the ancient Egyptian pyramids, construced under the authority of the pharoahs through the use of many laboring workers. On the other, there are gothic cathedrals, built over a long period of time, employing several construction methods. Through the analysis of historical accounts and evidence, it is apparent that the similarities between the Great Pyramids and gothic cathedrals greatly endorse the use of techonological systems as fuel for societies that are constantly improving.

The clerestory had only small windows to let a decent amount of light in. The exteriors of the cathedrals were plain, had very little decoration, and were extremely solid-looking. Cathedral plans were often regular and symmetrical, making the Romanesque cathedral form known for its simplicity. They were often built in the general shape of a cross, relying on the basilica as a design base. As for the sculptural decoration, Romanesque architects utilized thin, elongated, and abstract figures.