Gothic 1
Gothic Art - Theme
• “The Quest for Height and Light.”
• focus on the new light (lux nova) desired
by Abbot Suger for St. Denis
• the competitive rush to the skies that will
be manifest in the cathedrals built during
the Gothic period.
“Observe the Bean Sprout!”
• Giotto will once again show an interest in the
natural world.
• The “sprout” though small and young, seems
determined to break through crusty soil to
reach for the sun (fame).
• three nurturing roots present in the Trecento
(the 14th cent. as a period in Italian art and
literature):
– new economic strength,
– the philosophy of humanism
– a new emphasis on personal experience.
Gothic Art
• a Medieval art movement that developed
in France out of Romanesque art in the
mid-12th century
• easily recognizable shifts in architecture
from Romanesque to Gothic
• Primary media in the Gothic period
included sculpture, panel painting, stained
glass, fresco and illuminated manuscript.
Title: Interior, Abbey Church of SaintDenis, Choir
Date: 1140–44; 1231–81
Source/ Museum: Paris, France
•is an important Catholic basilica
located in Saint Denis, a northern
suburb of Paris.
•notable for its Gothic architecture:
Pointed Arches, rib vaulting, windows
•burial site of French monarchs,
which makes it comparable to
Westminster Abbey in England.
•first major structure built in the Gothic
style.
•The façade of Saint-Denis has a rose
window and a crenellated parapet on
top similar to the fortifications of a
castle.
•The lovely stained-glass windows,
in mauve, purple, blue, and rose, were
restored in the 19th century.
•Napoleon and Marie Antoinette
•Abbot Suger- Light and Color as a
means of illuminating the soul
Title: West Façade, Chartres Cathedral
(The Cathedral of Notre-Dame)
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: West façade begun c. 1134;
cathedral rebuilt after a fire in 1194;
building continued to 1260; north spire
1507–13
•it is almost perfectly preserved in its
original design and details.
•portal sculpture remains fully intact and its
glowing stained-glass windows are all
originals
•a major pilgrimage destination
•mismatched west spires
•The plan of the Gothic
cathedral is a Latin cross
with three aisles, a short
transept and an ambulatory.
The rounded east end has
five semi-circular radiating
chapels.
•high nave is supported by
double flying buttresses-
•first building on which
buttresses were used as a
structural element that
determined the overall
external appearance of the
building
Title: Nave, Chartres Cathedral, c.
1194–1220
The spacious nave is the widest in
France and stands 121 feet (36m) high
Clustered columns rise dramatically
from plain bases to the high pointed
arches of the ceiling,
an ambulatory wraps around the choir
and sanctuary
Title: Royal Portal, West Façade, Chartres Cathedral
•both transepts have large rose windows, flanking towers and three sculptured portals
each
•the three-portal layout is unique to Chartres.
•In total, Chartres Cathedral has nine portals, including three salvaged from the earlier
cathedral on the west portal.
Artist: n/a
Title: Royal Portal, West Façade,
Chartres Cathedral. Detail:
Prophets and Ancestors of Christ
(Kings and Queens of Judea)
(Right side, Central Portal)
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: c. 1145–55
Source/ Museum: Chartres,
France
elegant and elongated statues of
kings, queens and figures from the
Old Testament that are full of
expression, gazing down on the
visitor with elegant condescension.