Gothic Art

Gothic cathedral symbolized The City of God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, which they were privileged to build on earth.

The Gothic style originated in northern France (around Paris) around 1140.

Gothic ArtFRENCH GOTHIC

Abbot SugerRebuilt the monastery of Saint-Denis in a style that would become known as Early Gothic, with an emphasis on light and costly furnishings. He regarded a lavish investment in art as a spiritual aid, not as an undesirable distraction as did Bernard of Clairvaux. He became the right-hand man of Louis VI and Louis VII and served as regent of France during the Second Crusade.

CrenellationsAlternating solid merlons and open crenels in the notched tops of walls, as in battlements.

KeepA fortified tower in a castle that served as a place of last refuge.

RampartsDefensive wall circuits.

Saint Thomas AquinasThe greatest exponent of Scholasticism, an Italian monk who wrote the Summa Theologica, a model of the Scholastic approach to knowledge. He set forth five ways to prove the existence of God through rational argument.

ScholasticismThe philosophy originating in the Cathedral School of Paris during the Gothic era. Using Aristotle’s system of rational inquiry, Schoolmen sought to demonstrate that reason alone could lead to certain truths.

Chapel

Apse

Aisle

Choir

Transept

Crossing

Nave

Ambulatory and radiating chapelsAbbey Church of Saint-DenisSaint Denis, France1140-1144

Three of the features of the new choir at St. Denis as described by Abbot Suger that are characteristic of the new Gothic style.

rib vaultspointed archesstained glass windows

Ambulatory and radiating chapelsAbbey Church of Saint-DenisSaint Denis, France1140-1144

Structural and/or design features that characterize a Gothic vault.

Crossed (diagonal) arches under its groins.

Gothic vaults have more thinly vaulted webs between the arches than Romanesque vaults.

The pointed arch allowed builders to make the crowns of all the vault’s arches approximately the same level, regardless of the space to be vaulted.

Advantages of the pointed arch over the round arch

The points of the arches will be at the same level as the vault’s crown. The pointed arch allows for more flexibility in vaulting compartments of different shapes. They also require less buttressing.

Plan of the choirVaults of the ambulatory and radiating chapels of the choir

Abbey Church of Saint-Denis

Saint Denis, France

1140-1144

West facade of Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France

begun 1134, rebuilt beginning 1194

Royal Portal, west facadeChartres CathedralChartres, Franceca. 1145-1155

West Front, Royal Portals: Left portal, tympanum,The Ascension of Christ

Chartres Cathedral of Notre DameWest Front, Central Portal, Tympanum

Second Coming of Christ

Chartres Cathedral of Notre DameWest facade, Right Portal, Tympanum

Christ in the lap of the Virgin.

Old Testament queen and two kingsjamb statues, doorway of Royal PortalChartres CathedralChartres, Franceca. 1145-1155

Figures carved on the jambs are thought to represent:

Old Testament kings and queens, the royal ancestors of Christ both figuratively and literally.

Jamb figures differ significantly from Romanesque figuresThey show a new naturalism, particularly in the figures’ heads, where personalized faces replace the masklike features of Romanesque heads.They stand out from the plane of the wall They are treated as three-dimensional volumes so the figures move into the space of the observers.

West façade of Laon Cathedral

Laon, France

begun ca. 1190

Gothic nave elevations

Laon Paris Chartres

Amiens

Arcade

Gallery

Triforium

Clerestory

New Gothic features found in the cathedral.

The triforium, the band of arcades below the clerestory.

The level crowns of the successive nave vaults create a longitudinal continuity that sweeps from west to east.

The central rose window on the west façade.

Romanesque features retained in Laon Cathedral.

Nave bays with sexpartite rib vaults, flanked by two small groin-vaulted squares in each aisle.

The vaulted gallery above the aisles.

Alternate-support system of compound piers alternating with simple piers.

sexpartite rib vault:

a rib vault which is divided into six sections. sexpartite rib vault: A rib vault whose surface is divided into six sections by three ribs.

Plan and nave of Laon Cathedral

Laon, France

begun ca. 1190

nave of Laon Cathedral

Laon, France

begun ca. 1190

Gothic Rib Vaults

The function of the flying buttress was to hold the much thinner and taller walls of the Gothic cathedral, countering the outward thrust of the nave vaults.

South façade of Notre Dame CathedralParis, Francebegun 1163, nave & flying buttresses ca. 1180-1200, remodeled after 1225

The flying buttress was an essential element of the Gothic architectural because they were the perfect solution to the problem of constructing towering naves with huge windows filled with glass. They appear slender and delicate and are part of the Gothic “look.”

South façade of Notre Dame Cathedral

Paris, France

begun 1163, nave & flying buttresses ca. 1180-1200, remodeled after 1225

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France

begun 1134rebuilt beginning 1194

Plan of Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France

as rebuilt after 1194

In the new system a rectangular unit in the nave, defined by its own vault, was flanked by a single square in each aisle instead of two.

Nave of Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France

as rebuilt after 1194

Rectangular nave bays replaced the square bays with sexpartite vaults and the alternate-support system.

The High Gothic vault covered a relatively smaller area and was braced more easily than Early Gothic.

Gothic Cathedral

Virgin and Child and Angels(Notre Dame de la Belle Verrière)choir of Chartres CathedralChartres, Franceca. 1170stained glass16 ft. x 7 ft. 8 in.

The theological significance of stained glass windows was

“Lux nova,” the “new light”, transformed the material world into the spiritual and enlighten those inside with “True Light” or the “True Sun” (God).

Jesse Tree

West facade of Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France

ca. 1150-1170stained glass

Rose Window and lancetsnorth transept of Chartres CathedralChartres, Franceca. 1220stained glassrose approximately 43 ft. in diameter

A rose window is circular.

A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch.

In plate tracery, the glass fills only the punched holes in the heavy ornamental stonework.

In bar tracery, the glass fills almost the entire opening and the stonework is unobtrusive, more like delicate leading than masonry wall.

Saints Martin, Jerome, and Gregoryjamb statues, Porch of the ConfessorsSouth transept of Chartres CathedralChartres, Franceca. 1220-1230

Gothic SculptureAlthough the figures of St. Martin. St. Jerome, and St. Gregory are still attached to their columns as the jamb figures, the architectural setting does not determine their poses as much. They turn slightly in and away from each other, breaking the strict verticality and frontality of the jamb figures. The drapery folds fall softly over the bodies rather than hanging stiffly.

Saint Theodorejamb statue, Porch of the Martyrs

South transept of Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France

ca. 1230

West facade of Amiens Cathedral

High Gothic structural elementsLancet windows, especially in the clerestory and triforium.The rectangular-bay system.The four-part rib vault.Buttressing that permitted almost complete dissolution of heavy masses and thick weight-bearing walls.

Robert de Luzarches, Thomas de Cormont,and Renaud de Cormont

East facade of Amiens Cathedral

Amiens, France

begun 1220

Robert de Luzarches, Thomas de Cormont,and Renaud de Cormont

Choir vaults of Amiens Cathedral

Amiens, France

begun 1220

The four-part rib vault.

Robert de Luzarches, Thomas de Cormont,and Renaud de Cormont

nave of Amiens Cathedral

Amiens, France

begun 1220

Christ (Beau Dieu)trumeau statue of central doorway

west facade of Amiens Cathedral

Amiens, France

ca. 1220-1235

West facade of Amiens Cathedral

West facade of Chartres Cathedral

Similarities ;There are two towers of unequal height and there is a rose window above the triforium.

DifferencesThe façade of Chartres is mostly flat whereas Amiens has gable-covered, funnel-like portals. The upper parts of the façade of Amiens are much more punctured than the relatively more solid towers of Chartres. The towers of Chartres appear higher and thinner whereas the towers of Amiens are airier. At Amiens, there is a row of statuary between the rose window and the triforium.

West façade of Reims Cathedral

Reims, France

begun ca. 1225-1290

Major change do you see in the façade of Reims

The treatment of the tympanums over the doorways. At Reims, stained-glass replaces the stone relief sculpture of Amiens and earlier churches, giving it an even lighter appearance.

Nave of Reims Cathedral

Reims, France

begun ca. 1225-1290

Visitationjamb statues of central doorway

west facade of Reims Cathedral

Reims, France

ca. 1230

Sainte-Chapelle

Paris, France

1243-1248

Purpose of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris;

A repository for the crown of thorns and other relics Louis IX had bought from his cousin Baldwin II, emperor of Constantinople.

interior of the upper chapel

Sainte-Chapelle

Paris, France

1243-1248

The structure reflected that purpose in that most of the walls and bulk of the supports was dissolved by stained glass that make up more than three-quarters of the structure. This gives a linear and slender emphasis to the forms, with light creating an unearthly rose-violet atmosphere.

Virgin and Child (Virgin of Paris)

Notre-Dame

Paris, France

early 14th century

Pose;It is an exaggerated swaying S curve, neither organic (deriving from the figure) or rational organization of body parts, but rather a form imposed from without, almost denying the existence of solid body structure.

West façade of Saint-Maclou

Rouen, France

ca. 1500-1540

Late Gothic Flamboyant style;

The flamelike appearance of its pointed bar tracery.

Hall of the Cloth Guild

Bruges, Netherlands

begun. 1230

House of Jacques Coeur Hall of the Cloth Guild

The new economic conditions of Northern Europe in the Late Gothic period are reflected in the lofty tower of the Guild Hall was intended to compete for prestige with the towers of cathedrals, and the stained-glass window and ornament of Jacques Coeur’s house reflect pride of individual wealth.

They show the new secular spirit, an expression of the triumph of city culture, capital accumulation, and the desire for worldly convenience and proud display.

Villard de Honnecourt

Figures based on geometric shapesfolio 18 verso of a sketchbook

from Paris, France

ca. 1220-1235ink on vellum9 1/4 x 6 in.

Villard de Honnecourt

An early 13th-century master mason. He used geometric shapes as the basis of his sketches, showing that they are the basis of both natural forms and buildings

God as architect of the worldfolio 1 verso of a moralized Bible

from Paris, France

ca. 1220-1230ink, tempera and gold leaf on vellum13 1/2 x 8 1/4 in.

Blanche of Castille, Louis IX and two monksdedication page (folio 8 recto) of a moralized Bible

from Paris, France

1226-1234ink, tempera and gold leaf on vellum15 x 10 1/2 in.

Manuscript illuminations influence the arts of architecture or stained glass

Figures stand beneath triple-lobed arches comparable to the architectural canopies of portal statues. The scribe on one page is shown to be dividing his own page into roundels, such as used in Gothic stained-glass windows.

Abraham and the Three Angelsfolio 7 verso of the Psalter of Saint Louis

from Paris, France

1253-1270ink, tempera and gold leaf on vellum5 x 3 1/2 in.

Manuscript illuminations influence the arts of architecture or stained glass

The image shows an architectural background similar to Saint-Chapelle.

Master HonoréDavid anointed by Samuel and battle of David and Goliathfolio 7 verso of the Breviary of Phillipe le Belfrom Paris, France1296ink and tempera on vellum7 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.

Style of Master Honoré The figures have sculptural volume.

He shows the play of light on the figures.

Like his contemporaries he approached book illustration as decoration of two-dimensional pages.

Jean Pucelle

David before Saul folio 24 verso of the Belleville Breviary

from Paris, France

1325ink and tempera on vellum9 1/2 x 6 3/4 in.

Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreaux

from the abbey church of Saint-Denis

Saint-Denis, France

1339silver gilt and enamel27 1/2 in. high

Features of the graceful image of the Virgin link her to the French court Mary is not just the Mother of Christ but also the Queen of Heaven. She originally wore a crown, and she holds a scepter in the form of a fleur-de-lis, the French monarchy’s floral emblem.

The Castle of Love and knights joustinglid of a jewelry casketfrom Paris, Franceca. 1330-1350ivory and iron4 1/2 x 9 3/4 in.

The casket is decorated with secular themes. The scene shows an allegory of the siege of the Castle of Love, related to the Romance of the Rose, a courtly love story. A jousting match takes central dominance, and one youth at the match holds a hunting falcon. The sides of the box show the allegory of female virtue, the legend of the unicorn.