Medieval Art And Architecture Of The Gothic Architecture

French Gothic architecture had very tall, asymmetrical towers. They usually contained tall stained glass windows and ribbed vaulting. They were very decorative and flamboyant. They were usually taller than the English style. This can be seen in the cathedral of Notre Dame.

Gothic Style is some of the most beautiful works of art that man have ever made. It originated with the Romanesque style of building which lasted for about one hundred years before it was replaced by Gothic styles. The founder of the Gothic style was a man by the name of Abbot Suger. Notre Dame de Chartres cathedral was built in France between 1145 and 1513 and is Gothic architecture. Another Gothic architecture is the Bourges and it is located in Bourges France. Both of these works of art are very similar with many different features.

This majestic cathedral decorated the land of Paris, dominating both the history of architecture as well as religion history. The cathedral still stands proudly after enduring an eventful history over many centuries. Truly a fascinating historic building to behold, ‘Our Lady of Paris’, another term for Notre-Dame of Paris, portrays many diversified characteristics which will help identify a structure as Gothic. One may lay eyes upon this building and refer it to one of Gothic’s grand structure. For many, their first concept of Gothic architecture derives from some reference to this majestic construction. In this research, I shall consider the following questions as an approach to appreciate and comprehend Notre Dame de Paris’s architectural aesthetic and value better:

The double choirs, towers, cross-vaulted crypt and painted ceiling are all examples of the historic decorative features of the early Romanesque

The New Cathedral is a prime example of Gothic architecture. Much of the cathedral is covered

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.

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.

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

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

Gothic was first used as a term of contempt during the late renaissance. The Goth's were barbarians- which leads to many theories as to why "Goth" was the chosen title for a style that required extreme engineering as well as technical and artistic know how. Since then vast efforts have been made to rename the style with a term that better encompasses the idea of gothic style.

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.

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.

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.

This mountainous structure is seen from about every point of Paris and beyond. From the front, you can see two towers jutting out of an ordinary street. The Cathedral also features large stained glass windows, that are one of the most beautiful features of the structures. From the side, you can see the long body of the Cathedral and the spire sticking out of the top. It is somewhat overwhelming being within feet of the structure, because of the immense height and width of the church. Looking at the back, one can clearly see the dome-like structures attaching to the organ room. From the outside, you can clearly see the sculptures depicting the scenes from the Catholic religion. The cathedral is gigantic, but it is easy to process all the sections because of the distinct styles of architecture. From an

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.