Gothic Architecture History of Architecture (World) D.A.A Semester : 3 rd Butler Polytechnic

Introduction Forms Construction Methods and Techniques Characteristics of typical Gothic Cathedral Notre Dame, Paris Bibliography 2 Sub Topics Gothic Architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque Architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance Architecture. It originated in France in 12 th century, then spread throughout Western Europe till 15 th century and lasted up to 16 th century. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many great Cathedrals, Abbeys, Churches, Castles, Palaces, Town halls, Guild halls, Universities of Europe, etc. A great number of ecclesiastical buildings of this period are considered priceless works of art and are listed with UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, into the 20th century. 3Introduction Gothic Architecture

The various features of the Gothic Architecture were pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttresses. The Gothic Architecture emphasized strong vertical lines, high vaulted ceilings, minimal wall space, pointed window & door openings and buttresses walls. Gothic structure is a skeleton system that transfers roof loads down to ground at discrete points, therefore freeing large expanses of walls. The flying buttresses had automatically become the aesthetic component by cutting out arches from it and emphasizing the end of it by raising it high.. The widespread introduction of a single feature of the Gothic Architecture, the pointed arch, brought about the change that separated Gothic architecture from the Romanesque tradition. It lent itself to elaborate intersecting shapes which developed within window spaces into complex. 4Forms Gothic Architecture

The painted arches were more flexible in design as one could vary the angle of the arch. Window tracery, the decorative and intersecting stonework in the upper section of windows was introduced and became increasingly slender evolving from plate tracery to bar tracery as the Gothic style developed. The technique of filling windows with stained glass, added a dimension of color to the light within the building along with providing a medium for figurative and narrative art. 5Construction Methods and Techniques Gothic Architecture Ribs were used to minimize the load of vault, as the dead load on vaulting was created primarily by the weight of the stone and thus, reducing this weight was not only economical but also gave great heights to buildings. The flying buttress in the Gothic construction concentrate loads at pillars so that there remains no need of reinforcement at specific points, as they were the structural members, they carried the load of very high and long walls. The entire structures were conceived as frame works of arches and arches were organized in the coherent systems which reduced structural function of wall to minimum. Thus, the walls were not load bearing walls.

The Gothic architects wanted to bring lights in the cathedral as the light was the purest substance on the earth and a representative of God. Thus, the upper portion of the nave was having large stained glass to bring adequate light. The only mathematical calculations were the dimensions of space frames. The technological change in the Romanesque tradition permitted a stylistic change which broke the tradition of massive masonry and solid walls penetrated by small openings, replacing it with a style where light appears to triumph over substance. Construction Methods and Techniques 6 Gothic Architecture

The Gothic Cathedrals have a Latin cross plan, with a long nave making the body of church a traverse arm called the transept and, beyond it, an extension which may be called the choir, chancel or presbytery. The nave is generally flanked on either side by aisles, usually single, but sometimes doubles and is generally considerably taller than the aisles, having clerestory windows which light the central space.. The end of the cathedral is semicircular or polygonal convex termination. At the apse end, the big idol of God is there & small chapels are laid around it.. 7Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral Gothic Architecture The bays of the nave are covered at right angles by vaulting so that independent character of bay is emphasized. The rejection of galleries and crypt is one of the most decisive differences between Roman and Gothic style.. In English cathedrals transepts tend to project boldly and there may be two of them but are not the case with lesser churches. The eastern arm shows considerable diversity. It is often square ended or has a projecting Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Gothic vault, unlike the semi-circular vault of Roman and Romanesque buildings, can be used to roof rectangular and irregularly shaped plans such as trapezoids. The other structural advantage is that the pointed arch channels the weight onto the bearing piers or columns at a steep angle

This enabled architects to raise vaults much higher than was possible in Romanesque architecture. While, structurally, use of the pointed arch gave a greater flexibility to architectural form, it also gave Gothic architecture a very different and more vertical visual character than Romanesque. Gothic openings such as doorways, windows, arcades and galleries have pointed arches. Gothic vaulting above spaces both large and small is usually supported by richly molded ribs. Rows of pointed arches upon delicate shafts form a typical wall decoration known as blind arcading. 8Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral Gothic Architecture Niches with pointed arches and containing statuary are a major external feature. The pointed arch lent itself to elaborate intersecting shapes which developed within window spaces into complex Gothic tracery forming the structural support of the large windows. A characteristic of Gothic cathedral architecture is its height, both absolute and in proportion to its width, the verticality suggesting an aspiration to Heaven. A section of the main body of a Gothic church usually shows the nave as considerably taller than it is wide. In England the proportion is sometimes greater than 2:1, while the greatest proportional difference achieved is at Cologne Cathedral with a ratio of 3.6:1. The highest internal vault is at Beauvais Cathedral at 48 meters (157 ft.).

Towers and spires are characteristic of Gothic churches both great and small, the number and positioning being one of the greatest variables in Gothic architecture. Smaller churches usually have just one tower, but this may also be the case at larger buildings, such as Salisbury Cathedral or Ulm Minster, which has the tallest spire in the world, slightly exceeding that of Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest which was actually completed during the medieval period, at 160 meters (520 ft.). On the exterior, the verticality is emphasized in a major way by the towers and spires and in a lesser way by strongly projecting vertical buttresses, by narrow half-columns called attached shafts which often pass through several storeys of the building, by long narrow windows, vertical moldings around doors and figurative sculpture which emphasizes the vertical and is often attenuated. The roofline, gable ends, buttresses and other parts of the building are often terminated by small pinnacles, Milan Cathedral being an extreme example in the use of this form of decoration. 9Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral Gothic Architecture On the interior of the building attached shafts often sweep unbroken from floor to ceiling and meet the ribs of the vault, like a tall tree spreading into branches. The verticals are generally repeated in the treatment of the windows and wall surfaces. Increase in size between windows of the Romanesque and Gothic periods is related to the use of the ribbed vault, and in particular, the pointed ribbed vault which channeled the weight to a supporting shaft with less outward thrust than a semicircular vault.

The flying buttress is arched externally from the springing of the vault across the roof of the aisle to a large buttress pier projecting well beyond the line of the external wall. These piers were often surmounted by a pinnacle or statue, further adding to the downward weight, and counteracting the outward thrust of the vault and buttress arch as well as stress from wind loading. The internal columns of the arcade with their attached shafts, the ribs of the vault and the flying buttresses, with their associated vertical buttresses jutting at right-angles to the building, created a stone skeleton. Between these parts, the walls and the infill of the vaults could be of lighter construction. Between the narrow buttresses, the walls could be opened up into large windows. The façade of a large church or cathedral, often referred to as the West Front, is generally designed to create a powerful impression on the approaching worshipper, demonstrating both the might of God and the might of the institution that it represents. One of the best known and most typical of such facades is that of Notre Dame de Paris. Thus, these are the architectural characteristics of a typical Gothic Cathedral. 10Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral Gothic Architecture

A few cathedrals are listed below: Durham Cathedral ( ) – England – A rib vaulted and a pointed arch roof Cathedral of Cefalù( ) – Sicily – In 1420, Portico was added between the two towers of the façade. St. Denis’ Basilica( ) – France – The flying buttresses, pointed arches and ribbed vault were used as one unit for the first time in this cathedral. Noyon Cathedral ( ) – France – It is the first true Gothic Cathedral because of the heavy use of all features that came to be known as Gothic including pointed arches, flying buttresses and ribbed vaulting. Wells Cathedral ( ) – England – The first building of its kind to entirely dispense with the round arches in favor of the pointed arch and is thus the very truly Gothic cathedral. Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral 11 Gothic Architecture

The Notre Dame de Paris is one of the finest monumental buildings of French Gothic style of Architecture. It was started by Bishop Maurice De Sully in 1163 and the west towers were the last to be completed in Its length is 420 ft. X 226 ft. and has height of 226 ft. The Cathedral was to be built in the new gothic style and had to reflect Paris’s status as the capital of the kingdom France. It was the first cathedral built on a monumental scale and became the prototype for future cathedrals in France. The original plan contained double ambulatories and was on a bent axial line. The interior elevation was of four levels with an area of pillars. It has a wide nave, double aisles, transepts surrounded with chapels and western towers. The central nave is divided into number of bays with cylindrical columns of Corinthian capitals carrying pointed arches. The main doorway has a central pillar with a statue of Christ. The cathedral is crowned with a beautiful central wheel window of 10m in diameter. The frontal west façade features 3 wide portals. Above the portals is the Gallery of Kings with 28 statues of Judean Kings and higher up are the famous gargoyles and grotesques. 12Notre Dame, Paris Gothic Architecture

The façade is designed to create a powerful impression on the approaching worshipper, demonstrating the might of God and of the institute that it represents. The spectacular eastern flying buttresses at the east side of the building are 15m wide. The Notre- Dame Cathedral has several large rose windows among which the northern 13th century window is the most impressive with a diameter of 13.1 meter. A tribune was originally covered by barrel vaults and lit by around windows. This cathedral is with double aisles, the transept does not project beyond the aisles. The type of tracery that evolved to fill the spaces of equilateral arches is known in England as Geometric Decorated Gothic and can be seen here to splendid effect. Vigorous restoration of crumbling detail of French cathedrals can also be seen here. 13Notre Dame, Paris Gothic Architecture

The spire, which reaches 295 feet was added in the 19th century by Viollet- le-Duc. The site of the Notre Dame is the cradle of Paris and has always been the religious center of the city. The colt had their sacred ground here and the romans built a temple to worship Jupiter. A Christian basilica was built in the 6th century and the last religious structure before the Notre Dame Construction started was a Romanesque Church. The building with its impressive façade and imposing towers is one of the best cathedrals of Gothic Buildings. Notre Dame, Paris 14 Gothic Architecture

History of Architecture by Sir Banister Fletcher ( CBS Publication, Delhi) 15Bibliography Gothic Architecture

16Presented By: Gothic Architecture Mudra Vyas – Leena Kothalikar – Sifali Patel –