Gothic Art: Chapter 16

GothicArt

In one sentence, describe what the term “Gothic Art” means to you.

1140-1400,Up to 1500 in

some of Europe (12th-15th century)

STYLE DATE LOCATION

Early Gothic 1140-1194 France

High Gothic, Rayonnant

Gothic

1194-1300 France

Late Gothic, Flamboyant

Gothic

After 1300 France

Perpendicular Gothic

After 1350 England

Some main ideas about GOTHIC art:•Gothic architecture picks up where Romanesque left off – rib vault, pointed arch, bay system of construction •Architecture gets higher than ever! FLYING BUTTRESSES carry the weight of the roof to the walls outside the building and deflect wind pressure•Sculpture is more 3D than Romanesque (especially on portals) – It emerges from the wall and emphasizes the verticality of the structure•Manuscript painting influenced by stained glass (luminous and rich colors)

Gothic Cathedrals vs. Romanesque

• Taller, more open structures• High use of stained glass windows• Rose windows• Smaller transepts• Use of Flying Buttresses vs. Salient (low relief)

Buttresses• Much more decoration in terms of façade sculpture

• Use of the Pointed Arch

So how did “GOTHIC” come about in Paris?•Peace and prosperity in Paris – more centralized monarchy, new definition of “king”, peaceful succession of kings from 987 to 1328•Cities and towns get wealthier and bigger•Development of money economy- cities play a role in converting agricultural products to goods and services•Schools in Paris- intellectual center of western Europe – brought together teachers and scholars who asked questions and argued using logic

Late Gothic period marked by three big historical events:

1.Hundred Years War between France and England (1337-1453) – devastated both countries socially and economically – left huge regions of France in ruin

2.The Babylonian Captivity (1304-1377) – spiritual crisis when French popes move headquarters of Christian church to Avignon, France – heavy effects on Europe, especially Rome. Rome began to decay (When the Pope’s away, Rome will decay!). Pope returns to Rome in 1377, but rival popes claim authority – schism develops. Rivalry resolved in 1409, but the church’s authority was undermined by this point.

3. The Black Death of 1348 – a misdiagnosed pulmonary plague - a quarter to a third of the world died! There weren’t enough living people to bury the dead! Architecture came to a standstill. Artists think the plague is God punishing them – their painting became more conservative and reflected earlier styles

Life as a patron or artist:•Hundreds of laborers and artists work on cathedrals – organized by master builders•Cathedral = public works project – keeps local economy strong•Imported artists from all over the place (masons, stonecutters, sculptors, haulers, carpenters)•Manuscripts organized by a “chef d’atelier” – responsible for establishing overall plan or vision of a book – workshop executes the plan•Scribes copy text, but left room for decorations (fanciful initials, borders, illustrations)•Artists could express themselves more fully than scribes•Bookbinders bind the manuscripts

Features of GOTHIC architecture:

•Rib Vault•Bays•Rose Window•Pointed Arch

Improvements to previous features:

New features:

•Flying buttress•Choir•Pinnacles

RIB VAULT

Invented at end of Romanesque period – became standard vaulting practice of Gothic period

BAYS

Romanesque use of repeated vertical elements in bays became standard in the Gothic period

Rose Window

Elaborate circular feature that opens up wall space by allowing more light in through the façade and transepts

Pointed Arch

-First seen in Islamic Spain-Directs thrusts down to the floor more efficiently than rounded arches

Flying buttresses: Stone arches that support a roof by having the weight bypass the walls and travel down to piers outside the building

This allows for more open space and bigger windows – can display more stained glass

They help stabilize the building – prevent wind stresses from damaging these vertical, narrow structures

CHEVET

East end = Chevet--Increasingly elaborate ceremonies = need more space

CHOIR introduced (between apse and transept)

Allows for more clergy participation(side effect: public is far from altar)

APSE

PINNACLESThought of as decoration, but they actually stabilize forces in a wind storm

Gothic buildings are tall and narrow – causes worshipper to look up upon entering (religious symbolism)

FRENCH GOTHIC

•Buildings are typically nestled downtown, surrounded by other buildings•Rise above the city landscape = civic pride•Towns try to outdo each other – try to build taller•Four major periods of French Gothic architecture: Early, High, Rayonnant, Late/Flamboyant

EARLY French Gothic:

-Characterized by rounded columns in the interior-Rib vaults start at the ceiling but travel down only to the top of the column capitals

Let’s see some examples of EARLY French Gothic…

NOTRE DAME(“Our Lady”)Begun 1150’s (12th century)Paris, France

SMO CAM

•Flying buttresses used on a large scale here

Let’s explore the exterior first…

Portal sculptures on first floor

Second floor: a gallery of 28 kings from the Old Testament

Rose window on third floor is 30-feet-plus across!

Fourth floor: hanging space for cathedral bells

Gargoyles – for water run-offChimeras- statues for decoration (no function)

All used to be vividly painted

CHIMERAS

Early Gothic feature: rib vaults start at the ceiling and go down as far as the capitals on the columns

Sexpartite vaults (6-part) -- Vaults span TWO bays

Walkin’ around the ambulatory

Saint-Denis1140-1144 (12th century)Saint-Denis, France

•First Gothic building! •Abbot Suger: the patron – wanted light filtered by stained glass to saturate the inside of the building – represents divine light of God’s presence inside the church

•Check out the pointed arches

•This is a burial site of French royalty

•Rib vaults start at the ceiling and go down as far as the capitals on the columns – columns are round

•Radiating chapels open up and one continuous space is created – space in the chapels flow from one to the other (not separated spaces like Romanesque)•“Lightness” of interior (minimal visual mass and weight)

HIGH French Gothic:

-Articulated columns in interior-Rib vaults travel from ceiling down to floor-Larger window spaces, choirs and chevets, compound piers are common, more sculpture on facade

Let’s see some examples of HIGH French Gothic…

Chartres CathedralBegun 1134 (12th century)

Chartres, France

SMO CAM

From 1160From 1507-1513

West façade: the Royal Portal

Legendary stained glass

Very large windows

Incarnation window (Life

of Christ)

1134

Detail: Adoration of

the Magi, 1150

The Tree of Jesse

The Tree of Jesse

•Very complex design•Jesse was the father of King David and an ancestor of Mary•Jesse lies at base of tree – trunk grows out of his body•This “family tree” connects Jesus with the house of David•Christ’s royal ancestors, Mary, and Christ are in the tree branches•Seven doves to symbolize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

Charlemagne Window- Constantine dreaming of Charlemagne

Chapel of the Virgin Mary(with Mary’s veil behind glass)

Screen around the choir – scenes from Christ’s life

•High Gothic nave

•Each vault spans one bay

•Large windows

The labyrinth- a spiritual journey for reflection and prayer

Amiens CathedralBegun 1220 (13th century)

Amiens, France

•High Gothic design

•Façade has extravagant use of sculpture

•High contrast between light and dark projections

•Sculpture above the doors in the arches

•Four-part ribbed vaults

•Vaults extremely high – 148 feet above floor

•Large expanse of windows

•Narrow nave – makes interior look even more vertical

Amiens has a labyrinth too!

Siena Cathedral, 1284-1299 (13th century), Siena, Italy

•Designed by Giovanni Pisano

•Gothic Gables with classical columns and mouldings

•Figural sculptures placed high on the façade – big gestures, expressive

•Highly detailed (it’s an Italian thing)

Siena Cathedral, interior

•Interior – focus on furnishings (pulpits, tomb monuments, baptismal fonts, etc.) and decorative accents.

Beauvais Cathedral, 1272 (13th century), Beauvais, France

RAYONNANT French Gothic:

-”Radiating”-Dissolution of a wall space with great sheets of stained glass-Thin groups of column shafts-Refined tracery

Let’s see an example of RAYONNANT French Gothic…

Saint-Chapelle, 1243-1248 (13th century) Paris, France

•¾ of the wall space is windows •Sheets of glass•1,113 scenes depicted in 15 stained glass windows telling the Biblical stories from Genesis through Christ’s crucifixion

Symbolizes a giant reliquary, built to house sacred artifacts collected by Louis IX, including Christ’s crown of thorns

•Slender columns•Adjoins a Royal Palace

Late/Flamboyant: •Highly decorative (meaning “flaming”)•A mass of pinnacles and tracery•Decoration acts as a see-through screen in which forms are revealed•OGEE arches are used

Let’s see an example…

OGEE arch

A pointed arch composed of reversed curves, the lower concave and the upper convex

Saint-Maclou1500-1514 (16th century)Rouen, France

•Skeletal gables over arches

•Complex design, rich ornamentation

•Five portals•Two are “blind” portals (they frame blank spaces)

…and then there are ENGLISH GOTHIC buildings

•Constructed in a gardenlike setting (a “close”)•Inspired by cloistered areas in a medieval monastery•Extremely pronounced central spires•Compared to French Gothic, English Gothic has:

-smaller flying buttresses

-diminutive portals

-lower façade towers

-wide screen-like facades containing sculpture everywhere

ENGLISH GOTHIC

•Square rather than rounded apse (corners have right angles)

•Two transepts instead of one – both prominently stick out from the main body of the building

•English developed “Perpendicular Gothic” around 1350 (14th century)

-enormous window space interlaced with elaborate decorative vertical patterns of stone tracery

-Clusters of vertical shafts rise dramatically and unimpeded to the ceiling where they burst open in a wide pattern called a “FAN VAULT”

Salisbury CathedralBegun 1220 (13th century)Silisbury, England

Wide façade with sculptures everywhere!

Situated in a “close”

Subdued flying buttresses

•Two transepts•Square apse•Long horizontal emphasis down the nave

Wide nave – more horizontal emphasis

Tall central spire rises from crossing-added in 19th century

King’s College Chapel, begun in 1446 (15th century), Cambridge, England

It has the most fan vaulting of any building in the world!

GOTHIC Paintingand a tie-in with stained glass

•Stained glass became an industry during Gothic•Craftsmen made the glass, glaziers cut it and wrapped the pieces in leading•Details were painted on the glass before it was refired and set into the window frame (facial expressions, folds in drapery, etc.)•Windows are sophisticated•Illustrate religious stories•Large images in clerestory could be read from floor•Narratives on side aisle windows where they could be read more clearly at a closer distance

•Illuminated manuscripts continue to be important

•Similar to stained glass windows – forms have borders and are painted with vivid colors

Blanche of Castile and Louis IX

1226-1234 (13th century)manuscript

•Moralized Bible: Old and New Testament stories are paralleled with one another in illustrations, text, and commentary•Blanche of Castile, mother and regent•Teenage king Louis IX•Older monk dictates to young scribe•Luminous, like a stained glass window – strong black outlines around forms•Minimal modeling (flat)•Restricted colors

GOTHIC Sculpture•Used intensely on architecture•Much more rounded and 3-D looking (not flat like the Romanesque sculptures)•Gothic sculpture concentrates on the possibility of salvation – the believer is empowered with the choice of salvation (Romanesque was about the Last Judgment and threat of hell!)

•Statue columns progress away from the wall – seem independent of the wall surface

•Figures define their own space – turn to one another with humanizing expressions – engaged with one another

•By 14th century Gothic, figures develop s-curves to their bodies

Royal Portals, 1145-1155 (12th century)Chartres Cathedral, France

•Called the “Royal Portal” because the jamb sculptures are of kings and queens from Old Testament•Stand in front of the wall, not flat like Romanesque•Upright and rigid – reflect vertical columns/cathedral•Robes are very structured, concentric compositions – no nervous excitement like Romanesque

•Heads lined up in a row, but feet are at different lengths•Figures are serene•Slightly heavy eyes•Humanized faces

Annunciation and Visitation, 13th cen., Reims, France

•Figures stand free of the wall and interact w/ each other

•Two figures on left (Annunciation) not meant to be placed together – they were arranged here as work on the Reims cathedral progressed

•Annunciation•Angel Gabriel (1255) – missing a wing and hand –smiles as he announces that Mary will be the mother of Christ - relatively small head – body sways in elegant s-curve•Mary (1245) is more column-like•She’s thinking deeply about Gabriel’s news – she appears courtly and aristocratic in style

•Visitation•Mary announces her pregnancy to her cousin Elizabeth (much older), and surprise, she’s pregnant too! (with John the Baptist)•Classical influence in drapery, stances, contrapposto•Heads look inspired by Roman portraits•Figures interact (narrative)•Columns recede into background behind the figures

Death of the Virgin, 1230 (13th century), Strasbourg Cathedral, Strasbourg, France

•Large heads•Deeply chiseled in high relief – contrast of light/dark•Mary dies in her sleep, Christ receives her soul•Wide range of human emotion

Ekkehard and Uta1294-1255 (13th cen.)Naumburg CathedralNaumburg, Germany

•2 of 12 statues of benefactors of an 11th century church on this site

•Founder “portraits” done for fundraising for the current 13th century building

•Much of the paint still remains

•Bodies revealed beneath drapery

•Lady picks up her long elegant dress (too long to walk in)

•Realistic looking faces with definite personalities

•Ekkehard is blunt and efficient, Uta is coy and retiring

Rottgen Pieta(AKA: Vesperbild)

1300-1325 (14th century)Wood

Germany

•Christ emaciated, drained of all blood, tissue, muscle, etc.•Horror of the Crucifixion•Humanizing of religious themes•Mary’s face is actively mourning•Germany faced challenges in the 14th century – this sculpture reminded people of ultimate suffering and salvation

Virgin of ParisEarly 14th centuryStoneNotre Dame Cathedral, Paris

•Worldly queen, crown full of “gems”

•S-curve of the body common in 14th century sculpture and painting

•Anatomy disguised under the drapery

•Inorganic stance

Remember Hermes and Dionysos?

•CHEVET: the east end of a Gothic church•CHOIR: the space in a church between the transept and the apse for a choir or clergymen•CLOSE: an enclosed gardenlike area around a cathedral•COMPOUND PIER: a pier that appears to be a group of gathering of smaller piers put together•FAN VAULT: a type of vault so-called because a fanlike shape is created when the vaults spring from the floor to the ceiling, nearly touching the space directly over the center of the nave. They are usually highly decorated and filled with rib patterns•FLYING BUTTRESS: a stone arch and its pier that supports a roof from a pillar outside the building –also stabilize the building and protect if from wind damage

GOTH IC VOCABULARY:

•MORALIZED BIBLE: a Bible in which the Old Testament and New Testament stories are paralleled with one another in illustrations, text, and commentary•OGEE ARCH: an arch formed by two S-shaped curves that meet at the top•PIETA: a painting or sculpture of a crucified Christ lying on the lap of a grieving Mary•PINNACLE: a pointed sculpture on piers or flying buttresses•PORTAL: a doorway (can be significantly decorated)•RIB VAULT: a vault in which diagonal arches form riblike patterns – arches partially support a roof, in some cases forming a weblike design•ROSE WINDOW: a circular window, filled with stained glass, placed at the end of a transept or on the façade of a church

GOTH IC VOCABULARY Continued:

FIN