CHAPTER 11 Gothic Art
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. The Gothic style originated
a. on the Île Saint Louis.
b. on the Île-de-France.
c. at Chartres.
d. at Amiens.
Answer: b
2. Abbot Suger is credited with creating the first truly Gothic building near Paris. It was
a. Chartres Cathedral.
b. Saint-Denis.
c. Saint-Chapelle.
d. Saint-Pierre, Moissac.
Answer: b
3. Saint-Denis was dedicated in
a. 1140.
b. 1200.
c. 1100.
d. 1210.
e. 1194.
Answer: a
4. Which is NOT an element of Gothic architecture?
a. rib vaults
b. flying buttresses
c. round arches
d. stained glass windows
Answer: c
5. In a Gothic cathedral, a bay consists of
a. an arch and a triforium.
b. the space between two piers.
c. clerestory windows and a section of the nave arcade.
d. the space in the crossing.
Answer: b
6. Which is NOT used in making stained glass windows?
a. an iron armature
b. clear glass
c. pigments
d. metallic oxides
e. tesserae
Answer: e
7. A cathedral is
a. the seat of a bishop.
b. a large church.
c. a Gothic church.
d. the center of an ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Answer: a
8. Most great French Gothic cathedrals were dedicated to
a. Christ.
b. God.
c. the Virgin.
d. St. Joseph.
e. St. Peter.
Answer: c
9. A signature window is
a. one that has been signed by the artist.
b. one that has been signed by the patron.
c. one that has an image of the artist and patron.
d. one that has an image of the work done by a guild.
Answer: d
10. In the Middle Ages, the function of the guilds was
a. to protect workers and establish standards of work.
b. to permit strikes if workers were dissatisfied.
c. to exclude craftsmen from professional organizations.
d. to influence patrons.
Answer: a
11. Which is NOT a correct pairing?
a. Villard de Honnecourt – sketchbook
b. Augustine – The City of God
c. Panofsky – Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism
d. Suger – Liber scivias
Answer: d
12. A winch is a
a. seductive female.
b. small crane.
c. pulley system.
d. template.
Answer: b
13. Which of the following is true?
a. Over 80 cathedrals and large abbeys were built around Paris in the 13th century.
b. More Gothic cathedrals were built in England than in France.
c. Gothic builders used power tools to construct more complex buildings than Romanesque
builders had.
d. Master builders were not very well paid.
Answer: a
14. Which of the following in true?
a. Stones for Gothic cathedrals were cut with power tools.
b. Master builders used geometric principles to organize their templates.
c. Gothic tools were technologically advanced.
d. Only one master builder supervised each cathedral.
Answer: b
15. Which is NOT a correct pairing?
a. rose window – circle
b. towers – vertical
c. gable – rectangle
d. apse – semicircle
Answer: c
16. Compared to the Romanesque tower of Chartres, the Gothic tower is
a. more elaborate.
b. shorter.
c. less detailed.
d. less vertical.
Answer: a
17. A gargoyle is a
a. monster.
b. finial.
c. capital sculpture.
d. waterspout.
Answer: d
18. The text upon which the sculptures above the center west portal at Chartres are based is from
a. The City of God.
b. the Gospel of John.
c. Revelation.
d. the Gospel of Matthew.
Answer: c
19. The central west portal of Chartres was
a. Late Romanesque.
b. Early Gothic.
c. High Gothic.
d. Late Gothic.
Answer: b
20. In the tympanum of the center west door at Chartres,
a. the eagle is John, the bull is Luke, and the lion is Mark.
b. the eagle is Matthew, the bull is Luke, and the lion is John.
c. the eagle is Luke, the bull is Matthew, and the lion is Mark.
d. the lion is John, the bull is Luke, and the angel is Matthew.
Answer: a
21. The door jamb statues on the center west door of Chartres
a. are frontal, naturalistic, and represent French royalty.
b. are frontal, stylized, and represent Old Testament royalty.
c. are frontal, have contrapposto, and are prophets.
d. represent prophets, and are frontal and stylized.
Answer: b
22. Compared to the west door jambs of Chartres, those on the south
a. are more two-dimensional.
b. are more three-dimensional.
c. are more frontal.
d. are elderly.
e. are more static.
Answer: b
23. At Chartres, the trumeau represents
a. St. Stephen.
b. an Old Testament prophet.
c. an apostle.
d. Christ.
e. the Virgin.
Answer: d
24. The Antichrist was
a. a legendary monster.
b. an incarnation of Satan.
c. an incarnation of evil.
d. Frederick II.
Answer: c
25. Compared to the west façade of Reims, the west façade at Amiens
a. is symmetrical.
b. has glass tympanums.
c. is proportionally taller and thinner.
d. has a smaller rose window.
Answer: d
26. The west portal of ________ has an important sculptural program.
a. Salisbury Cathedral.
b. Florence Cathedral.
c. Reims Cathedral.
d. Cologne Cathedral.
Answer: c
27. The Beau Dieu refers to
a. a book by Augustine.
b. a statue at Amiens.
c. a statue at Reims.
d. a book by Hildegarde of Bingen.
Answer: b
28. The Visitation is when
a. Gabriel visits Mary.
b. Christ visits Joseph.
c. Mary visits Elizabeth.
d. the angel visits Constantine.
Answer: c
29. The church that contains segments built in the Early Gothic as well as the High Gothic is
a. Beauvais Cathedral.
b. Amiens Cathedral.
c. Notre-Dame, Paris.
d. Saint-Maclou, Rouen.
Answer: c
30. Sainte-Chapelle in Paris was commissioned by
a. Louis IX.
b. Suger.
c. Louis VI.
d. Louis VII.
Answer: a
31. English Gothic begins
a. with the façade of Salisbury Cathedral.
b. with the fan vaults of Kings College, Cambridge.
c. with the choir of Canterbury Cathedral.
d. with the Norman tower of Canterbury.
Answer: c
32. The Corona Chapel was built
a. as a reliquary.
b. as a shrine of Henry II.
c. by Thomas à Becket.
d. by William of Sens.
Answer: a
33. The Canterbury Tales were written by
a. William the Englishman.
b. the monk Gervase.
c. Augustine.
d. Thomas à Becket.
e. Geoffrey Chaucer.
Answer: e
34. In contrast to French Gothic cathedrals, Salisbury has
a. a triple transept.
b. a square apse.
c. clerestory windows.
d. a vaulted nave.
Answer: b
35. Which is NOT true of English cathedrals?
a. They are set in a cathedral close.
b. They have more varied stone than French cathedrals.
c. They have fan vaults.
d. They usually rise directly from the high point of a city.
Answer: d
Key Works
West façade, Saint-Denis, near Paris, dedicated 1140
Interior of Saint-Denis
View of piers in the nave arcade, Chartres Cathedral, France, 13th century
Jeroboam Worshiping Golden Calves, detail of a lancet under the north rose window, Chartres
Cathedral, early 13th century
Carpenters’ Guild signature window, detail of stained-glass window, Chartres Cathedral, early
13th century
Geometric architectural diagrams from the sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt, c. 1225
Geometric analysis of human and animal figures from the sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt,
c. 1225
West façade of Chartres Cathedral, c. 1140–1150
South wall of Chartres Cathedral, 13th century
Apse of Chartres Cathedral, with radiating chapels and flying buttresses, 13th century
The three portals of the west façade, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1140–1150
Tympanum, lintel, and archivolts, central portal, west façade, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1145–1170
Doorjamb statues, west façade, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1145–1170
Stylized drapery, detail of doorjamb statues, south transept, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1145–1170
Saints Theodore, Stephen, Clement, and Lawrence, door jamb statues, south transept, Chartres
Cathedral, 13th century
Teaching Christ, trumeau, south transept, Chartres Cathedral, 13th century
Antichrist as a Three-Headed Tyrant, from the Harley Manuscript, 1527
Nave, Chartres Cathedral, looking east
Rose window and lancets, north transept, Chartres Cathedral, 13th century
Nave vaults, Amiens Cathedral, 1220–1269
West façade, Amiens Cathedral, France, 1220–1269
Nave vaults, Amiens Cathedral, 1220–1269
Beau Dieu, central portal, west façade, Amiens Cathedral, c. 1225–1230
Vierge dorée, south portal, Amiens Cathedral, c. 1250
West façade, Reims Cathedral, France, begun 1211
Nave, Reims Cathedral, 1211–c.1290
Annunciation and Visitation, doorjamb statues, Reims Cathedral, c. 1225–1245
Philip I of France Granting Privileges to the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, France,
c. 1250
Scene from the Life of Saint Denis, completed 1317
Nave, Saint-Chapelle, Paris, 1243–1248
King David looks down upon Bathsheba bathing and up to God, St. Louis Psalter, Paris, c. 1260.
Choir, Canterbury Cathedral, 1174–1184
View of Canterbury Cathedral
Vault, Corona Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral
Return of the Messengers from the Promised Land, detail of window, Corona Chapel, Canterbury
Cathedral, 13th century
Salisbury Cathedral, England, begun 1220
Salisbury Cathedral façade, England, completed 1265
Vault, chapter house, Salisbury Cathedral, 1263–1284
King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England, founded 1441, vaulting 1508–1515
Cologne Cathedral, begun 1248, Germany
Nave of Cologne Cathedral, Germany
Siena Cathedral, Tuscany, Italy, 1284–1299
Milan Cathedral, Milan, Italy, begun 1386
Southeast view of Palma de Mallorca Cathedral, island of Mallorca, begun 1306
Apse, Prague Cathedral, Czech Republic
Doges’ Palace, Venice, Italy, façade dating from the 1420s
Town Hall, Louvain, Belgium, 1448
Aerial view of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, 1858–1879
Maps, Diagrams, and Projections
Plan of Saint-Denis, 1140–1144
Diagram of a ribbed vault
Section diagram of a Gothic cathedral (after E. Viollet-le-Duc)
Plan of Chartres Cathedral
Perspective diagram and cross section of Chartres Cathedral
Diagram of a Gothic portal
Plan of Amiens Cathedral
Plan of Reims Cathedral (after W. Blaser)
Plan of Canterbury Cathedral
Plan of Salisbury Cathedral
Plan of Cologne Cathedral
Key Terms
armature
buttress
chevet
choir
clerestory
compound pier
crenellations
elevation
fan vault
flying buttresses
guild
lancet
Pietà
ribbed vault
rose window
tracery
triforium
web