Gothic History
• The Gothic style began with the architecture
of the 12th century, at the height of the Middle
Ages, when Europe was putting the memory
of the ``Dark Ages'' behind it and moving into
a radiant new era of prosperity and
confidence.
• At the same time, Christianity was entering a
new and triumphant phase of its history, and
so the age of chivalry was also the time of the
building of the magnificent Gothic cathedrals,
such as those in the northern French towns of
Chartres, Reims and Amiens.
Gothic Painting
• In the realm of
• In contrast to the
painting, the
Romanesque and
change to the
Byzantine styles,
new style became
the most
visible around a
noticeable feature
century after the
of the art of the
first of these
Gothic period is
cathedrals rose.
its increased
naturalism.
Gothic Era in Painting
• It spanned more than 200 years, starting in
Italy and spreading to the rest of Europe.
• Towards the end of this period there were
some artists in parts of the North who
resisted Renaissance influences and kept
to the Gothic tradition.
• As a result, the end of the Gothic timeline
overlaps with both the Italian and the
Northern Renaissance timelines.
Masters of Painting
• The Limbourgs'
joint masterpiece,
Les Très Riches
Heures, is one of
a genre of 15thcentury illustrated
prayer books
known as ``book
of hours''
• The book
contains a
calendar, Each
month is marked
by an enchanting
scene, usually
showing
appropriate
seasonal
activities.
Evolution of Gothic Art
• In the 15th century, the International
Gothic style developed in two directions:
both could be called revolutions.
• One was in the South, in Florence, and
was the birth of the Italian Renaissance.
• The other tool place in the North, where
painting went through an independent but
equally radical transformation: this was
the beginning of the Northern
Renaissance movement.
The gothic painting was not very important
because the depicted murals were covered
with windows, which attracted the attention
more.
Gothic painting presents a religious temathic,
with symbols of natural reality, and
supernatural (golden colors, which light
makes shine).
Figures are plain and seem to have no gravity,
so they do not appear to be real, they are only
symbolic.
Its evolution has had many stages:
Italian Gothic: it goes from 1250 to the
beginnings of 15th century, receiving the
names of "Duocento",and "Trecento".
It tried to represent humanistic feelings, and
started to give a sense of space in a two
dimensional perspective
Linear Gothic: is developed during the second
half of the 13th century and the first half of 14th
century in France, so it is also known as
french-gothic.
•Flemish Gothic: its original scene is created in Flandes
and Netherlands during almost all 15th century
International Gothic: it is a mixture of lineal gothic and italic
gothic styles. It could be found in France, Italy, England,
Germany, Austria and Bohemia. it revived some of the
historic ideas of middle ages, it expressed a rebellion
against realism and it has a linear decorative style. It is is
characterized by a growing interest in the representation of
real environments and the possibilities of more vivid
rhythms.
The end of the Gothic timeline overlaps with both the
Italian and the Northern Renaissance timelines
International Gothic Style
Illumination is a decoration of manuscripts and books with
coloured, gilded pictures, decorated initials, and
ornamental borders. Now is called Gothic stylings
•Part of this are the miniatures, which were always added
after the text was finished these were tiny paintings or
drawings
•In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries illuminations were
often used to frame documents
•Drolleries were very common, they were human or animal
figures that were often painted in the margins and borders
of illuminations
•Blue, gold and silver were very used.
• One common feature of illuminations were
• Big capital letters
The Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (the Very Rich
hours of the Duke of Berry) is the classic example of a
medieval book of hours. This was a collection of the text
for each liturgical hour of the day which often included
other, supplementary, texts. Calendars, prayers, psalms
and masses for certain holy days were commonly
included.
. Its most original and beautiful feature is the series of
twelve full-page illustrations of the months full of exquisite
ornamentation and beautifully observed naturalistic detail.
The miniatures are remarkable, too, for their mastery in
rendering space, and they occupy an important place in
the development of the northern traditions of landscape
and genre painting.
WHAT IS A BOOK OF HOURS?
A prayer book used by laymen for private devotion,
containing prayers or meditations appropriate to
certain hours of the day, days of the week, months or
seasons.
They became so popular in the XVth century that the
Book of Hours outnumbers all her categories of
illuminated manuscripts; from the late XVth century
there were also printed versions illustrated by
woodcuts.
The most famous Book of Hours and one of the most
beautiful of all illuminated manuscripts is the Très
Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry (Musée Condé,
Chantilly).
WHO PAINTED THE TRES RICHES HEURES?
The Tres Riches Heures was painted by the Limbourg brothers, Paul (Pol),
Hermann and Jean (Jannequin).
Very little is known about them; they are believed to have been born in the late
1370s or 1380s into an artistic family, their father being a wood sculptor and
their uncle, Jean Malouel, being an artist.
By 1408 they had entered the service of Jean, Duc de Berry, one of the most
notable (and richest!) art lovers in France. They are known to have executed
several other pieces of work apart from the Tres Riches Heures but most of
these, with the major exception of the Tres Belles Heures, seem to have been
lost. They hold privileged positions at his court, which moved with him around
France from one magnificent residence to the next.
In around February 1416 all three Limbourg brothers died before the age of
thirty, apparently killed by an epidemic pest desease. The Limburgs illuminated
two manuscripts for his celebrated library: the Belles Heures and the Très
Riches Heures which was begun c. 1413 and left unfinished at their deaths; it
was completed by the French illuminator Jean Colombe about seventy years
later
Reference
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/images/heures/heures.html