Study: Gothic Architecture and Following Stylistic Terms Essay

In the Cennini and Alberti modeling system have all of the three properties of color, which are the following; Hue, Value and Saturation. Through out the process of the art History class 385 we have been learning about how the modeling system worked. In this paper I will be breaking down both the Cennini and Alberti modeling system separately and then comparing how they are both similar. Using the texts from Marcia Hall called Color and Meaning: Practice and Theory in Renaissance and Martin Kemp’s reading called Part III: The Color of Light.

The Middle Ages, also known as the Medieval era, though scarred with a history of violence and war, has given the world some of the most marvelous and beautiful pieces of art, particularly in architecture. The Middle Ages is the name given to the time period from the late 5th century to the 15th century, particular to European history. The construction of these types of buildings was a constant for various cultures for a thousand years. They can be categorized into three phases; Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque and Gothic. The most important buildings during medieval times were religious, defensive and governmental or power related.

Brown does not rely on most of the conventions of the gothic literature. Brown does use conventions of a Gothic genre. Brown follows the topics shared in an American Gothic novel. Allan Lloyd-Smith talks about how many American Gothic writers would exchange key aspects that can be seen in a European gothic novel. For example, instead of a castle the setting of the novel will include a remote house in the country side away from most of the population. Brown does not include a great deal of the setting but uses atmosphere and suspense to inflict fear into his readers. Brown stays away from the European gothic conventions discussed in “The Gothic Novel”. Brown does not include castles, dungeon and does not place his gothic novel in the medieval

Gothic literature has been criticized as being a dreary, dark, and death-involving subset of Romanticism (a literary movement accentuating human individuality, imagination, and subjectivity). In addition, gothic lit incorporates several themes- not all about deathly acts - but includes some emotional and surprising themes such as dreams, nightmares, or hallucinations, and grotesque or bizarre occurrences. Two short stories, both written by Edgar Allan Poe, entitled “The Raven,” and “The Black Cat,” as well as the novel The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, all encompass these gothic elements, found throughout each story.

In Bowen’s article, he discusses the different gothic motifs that make up gothic literature such as power and restraint, clashing time periods, strange places, terror versus horror, and a world of doubt. “Edward Scissorhands” has always been considered a strange film while We Have Always Lived in a Castle has always been considered a gothic novel. According to Bowen’s list of gothic motifs, “Edward Scissorhands” would be considered more gothic than the novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle because it fits more of the gothic conventions.

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 Visigoths or West Goths were the first Germanic people also known as goths,that had a major impact on European history. The Goths were originally from southern Scandinavia and Baltic area. The term Visigoths originally came from the word Ostrogoths which means East Goths. One group differs from the other because one strayed away from the place of origin while the other stayed in the same area. The Goths were hospitable to Roman ways of life, adapted to Roman luxuries, and embraced the Arian form of Christianity. Much of whom were enlisted into the Roman army, and even took offices of state in Constantinople itself. Thus, when the westward drive of a Mongolian people called

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 Romanesque and Gothic architecture period both occurred during the Middle Ages with the Gothic period taking place during the later half. Gothic and Romanesque architecture were related in many ways, but they also contrasted in style too. Over time, masons began to test the waters and push the limits. They thought of new ways to add lighting and ways to allow more height to the building without it being to heavy and weak. Many of the reasons for the change in styles had a lot to do with society and the changes it faced. There was a greater intensity occurring in piety and literature. The Gothic style embodied this new urban society. Romanesque and Gothic shared similar characteristics, but Gothic architecture was a greater departure

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

on the aid of Hell itself, and to find things familiar in the world of

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.

In context of art and style, the suitable research type for this study, “Gothic Style and Its Influence in Modern Day Concept Art”, is “Qualitative Studies”. The study is aimed to explain phenomena or happening in a verbal manner and/or written descriptions rather than complex experimentation or hypothesis by using numerical value (“Quantitative Studies”). In simpler words, a qualitative approach will be conducted to study the influence of Gothic style in modern day concept art.

This essay looks at the time in history beginning in the 1400’s to the mid-1700’s which we identify in art history as The Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo periods. Focusing on the influence new scientific knowledge had in the art produced during this time with specific examples from each period and artists of the time.

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