1. Gothic Art
“Let there be light!”
(Genesis 1:3)

2. Spread of Gothic: black 12th Century, red 13th-14th centuries

3. The Reach of Gothic

4. Gothic Architecture Cathedral became center of the city
Not only for religious rites, but also for guild meetings and municipal government (before construction of town hall)
Rivalries between cities to see who could build the biggest and highest cathedral
St. Denis in France 1st example of Early Gothic
Religious art, like Romanesque, but also a symbol of power and wealth for the town
Not only cathedrals, but also castles, palaces, town halls, and universities

5. The Abbey of St. Denis St. Denis patron saint of France
First major stucture built (partially) in Gothic style
Construction began in 1136
Burial site for many French Monarchs
Located just north of Paris

6. St. Denis Ambulatory

7. Transition at Vezelay: Early Gothic choir showers light on Romanesque Nave

8. Characteristics of Gothic Architecture
Pointed arch
Ribbed vault
Flying buttresses
Bigger windows
Taller buildings (stretched, verticality)
Rose window
Appeal to emotions, dramatic

9. Amiens (476 feet long, 139 feet high)
exterior length of 476 feet (145 metres)—23 feet (7 metres) longer than Reims Cathedral and 49 feet (15 metres)longer than Chartres Cathedral—with an interior length of 438 feet (133.5 metres). The soaring nave reaches an elevation of 139 feet (42.3 metres) at the apex of the vault, yet it is only 48 feet (14.6 metres) wide.

10. Amiens closer views

11. Right: Notre-Dame, Amiens, French Gothic Cathedral, begun 1220 Nave
Choir
                                                                                                       
Left: Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, Romanesque Pilgrimage Church, c
Right: Notre-Dame, Amiens, French Gothic Cathedral, begun 1220
Nave
Ambulatory
Transept
See Scott 2 to go over the terms of the floor plan: nave, porch etc.

12. Romanesque vs. Gothic (Abbey of St. Etienne, Caen)
Vaulting
Clerestory
Triforium
Main arcade
Nave ( )
Choir (c. 1200)

13. Some Gothic Styles Early Gothic beginning around 1140 (St. Denis).
High Gothic/Rayonnant (St. Chapelle, Paris, 1248)
Perpendicular (choir of Gloucester cathedral, begun 1330), unique to England
Flamboyant (St. Maclou, Rouen, )

14. Rayonnant: St. Chapelle
Rayonnant (called Decorated Gothic in England) was characterized by the application of increasingly elaborate geometrical decoration

15. More St. Chapelle Rose Window Rayonnant style
After 1250, Gothic architects were more concerned with the creation of visual effects through decoration.
Pinnacles (upright members, often spired, that capped piers, buttresses, or other exterior elements),
Moldings
Window tracery
Rose Window
(Some classify this as Flamboyant)

16. Flamboyant
In France the Rayonnant style evolved about 1280 into a more decorative phase called the Flamboyant style.
Dominant feature in stone window tracery of a flame-like S- shaped curve.
Wall space was reduced to minimum
Almost continuous expanse of glass and tracery.
St. Maclou (Rouen) 15-16th Centuries

17. St. Severin-St. Nicholas (Paris)
15th Century

18. Leuven, Belgium Town Hall
15th Century

19. Milan Cathedral (Duomo)
The biggest and greatest late gothic architecture in Italy , west front

20. Milan Cathedral Flying Buttress
Give horizontal strength to the wall
Means walls can have bigger windows, more detail

21. Gothic Sculpture Mostly religious: Crucifixion of Christ
and Virgin with Child
To educate citizens
Figures more realistic and natural than in Romanesque
Curved and lines, movement
Expression of emotion
Mostly rock, some wood
Choir seating, tombs, gargoyles

22. Gothic Painting Murals loose importance (except in Italy)
Painting over wood → Painted altarpieces
Religious subjects, also potraits
Movement of figures
Richness of colors
Use of gold
Introduction of background
Realism