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gothic architecture style critical analysis
development of gothic architecture
architecture of the gothic period
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Gothic architecture, though also used in secular buildings, is most associated with the great cathedrals of Europe. The Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church on the outskirts of Paris, France. The building is of significant importance historically and architecturally because it is considered to be the first Gothic church ever built. The building of gothic cathedrals grew as design techniques progressed. Over time, as new techniques combined with new materials, cathedral architecture increased in complexity and sophistication into a recognizable gothic style. Cathedrals had a floor plan shaped like a cross. The head of the church pointed east towards the holy city of Jerusalem. The transept, running north and south, represented the cross-bar of the cross. The foot of the cross, at the west end, provided the entrance to the church and personal salvation. The interior of a gothic cathedral gave the worshipper the impression of light and height, with slender columns framing large tall windows and reaching up to support a ribbed stone roof. The exterior was encrusted with statues, bobbly pinnacles, and the open fretwork (interlaced decorative design carved in low relief on a solid background) of flying buttresses. As the worshipper entered the portal, which was the …show more content…
A prime example of this is the reconstruction and redecoration of the Cathedral at Saint Denis under Abbott Suger. Suger, whom is credited with many of the concepts associated with Gothic architecture and design, envisioned a cathedral whose grandiose embellishments were equivalent to the praise he bestowed upon the God. These designs have truly stood the test of time. Originally conceived to handle the large amounts of traffic during pilgrimages. Many of these 11th century Gothic cathedrals still stand today and still welcome thousands of loyal pilgrims each
In conclusion, I admire the work ethic of the individuals who built this cathedral because it shows work ethic, precise with mathematics, and a strong religious faith. During this Gothic time frame in history majority of their art resembled images that the Holy Bible describes. Religion during this time period was represented very well even experts are still amazed as to how this cathedral were built so tall and high. Even though this cathedral has been exposed to stress, with the assistant with the flying buttress, ribbed ceiling, and metal this cathedral will be an ongoing restorative process so that it will be around for generation here to come to admire its beauty.
The cathedral of Notre-Dame at Chartres must be one of the most beautiful and famous architectural specimens in the world today. The cathedral owns an exquisite silhouette against the sky of La Beauce. Two towers rise uncontested, to take watch over miles and miles of French countryside. Up close, the two towers, along with their spires, seem mismatched or unrelated. Yet, the two together provide for one of the most interesting juxtapositions in architecture. €Chartres cathedral has had a tumultuous history with both tragedies and triumphs. Charpentier notes that the site of the cathedral has also served various other purposes. The Romans had used the higher ground for a military camp, part of which still exists on the eastern side of the cathedral by the transition of apse to choir. In addition to the camp site, there was also the existance of a Gallo-Roman temple on the same site as Chartres cathedral. This temple is believed to have the same orientation as the cathedral and the cathedral's round apse uses the foundation of a Gallo-Roman defensive tower. This use of the Gallo-Roman defensive tower is also present at Bourges cathedral. The lower parts of the defensive tower formed a crypt which was incorporated into the ninth century Church of Gislebert, also known as Saint Lubin's chapel. On the night of September seventh 1020, the Church was completely razed by fire. €After the destruction of the church in Chartres, the bishop of Chartres, Saint Fulbert, spearheaded the campaign to build a church in Chartres. Only the crypt remained from the earlier Caroligian church and Fulbert built his Romanesque church around the enduring crypt. Fulbert's church lasted 200 years, but in 1134 the front faœade was damaged by another fire. It was at this time that a effort to update and restore the church was put into motion. The religious powers, along with the Crusaders longed for a greater monument. Thus, Chartres decided to begin a separate tower.€This adding on to Romanesque churches was not unusual for the day. The abbey-church at Cluny, outside Italy, was given a new magnificent five-bay narthex and two bell-towers. A similar renovation was attempted at La CharitŒ, but funds ran short and the upgrades could not be completed. €Hence, in 1134 the tower forming the north-west corner of the present-day cathedral, (the left tower of the west faœade elevation), underwent construction.
I chose two cathedrals for my post, the Durham Cathedral and the Chartres Cathedral. The Durham Cathedral, my example of Romanesque architecture, was built from local sandstone in 1087-1133 CE (the east wing was replaced in 1242) and is currently located in Nothern England. The Gothic style structure, the Chartres Cathedral (also known as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame), was mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220 CE due to a fire causing it to be rebuilt. Assembled utilizing limestone, this colossal structure is currently located in France and is known for it’s strikingly beautiful stained-glass windows. These structures share a few similarities, like their ribbed groin vaults (the crossing segments on the ceiling of the hallways), the high-placed windows as well as their huge circular window that were added to provide light and a
The Medieval Synthesis in the Arts ca. (1000-1300) thirteen century Gothic Church. The Chartres Cathedral Church is one of the most important in France. After a fire in 1134 destroy the town of Chartres the west front of the cathedral. The rebuilding of the west facade between 1145-50. It was once known as Notre Dame de Chartres but today is known as Chartres Cathedral. This church has the essential parts of a Christian basilica. The cathedral is locates in the town of Chartres, Northwester France. It is one of three Gothic French architecture and the others are Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral. The cathedral has two pointed arches, buttresses, vaults, and beautiful stained glass windows. The large pointed arches soaring towards the heaven. This church symbolize it Age of Faith. The south rose centers the image of Christ and about the Evangelists, Apocalypse, and prophets and the Virgin Mary. Chartres Cathedral was dedicating to the Virgin Mary.” Chartres Cathedral contains 176 stained-glass windows; the stained glass was intended to be educational. The five windows of the choir semicircular arrangement relate in various ways to the Virgin Mary. The rose window in the portrays figures from the Old Testament. The south transept, which is represented of the New Testament, has a rose window depicting the Apocalypse.”(Encyclopedia Britannica). The historical moments the cathedral amount of sculpture, miniatures statues, and the great rose windows at Chartres Cathedral. The church was to bring salvation, spiritual instruction and moral education for the followers of Christ.
...d believe in the criticism he gave Suger. Suger only cared about how powerful and mighty he wanted the Gothic cathedrals to look. He never stopped and realized that there is no need to be so extravagant with cathedrals because it is not worth it. As long as people have a place to worship God, there is really no need to go a step further and lavish the cathedrals with expensive artwork. That is not what Holy cathedrals are about.
According to the official website for St. Patrick's Cathedral, the cathedral was first opened in 1879, after it had begun construction in 1858. Archbishop John Hughes announced his idea of building a “new” St. Patricks Cathedral over one hundred fifty years ago. The purpose of building the new cathedral in the Archbishop's eyes was to build a cathedral that was worthy of the mass numbers of catholics in the area, their intelligence, and wealth as a community. Archbishop Hughes believed that one day, this cathedral would be the “heart of the city.” He also believed that nothing would be able to divert the construction of this soon-to-be gothic cathedral. In October and November of 1878, the Great Cathedral Fair was held for a few weeks. Hughes' successor, John McCloskey became head of the dedication of the Cathedral. The architect responsible for building this cathedral was James Renwick. In 1853, he was hired to build this cathedral with a budget of only $850,000, not including the altars, furnishings for chapels, organs and other furniture. The stone that Renwick chose to use for the cathedral was white marble.
This cathedral was built during the Medieval Period for the worshipers of God. To this day pilgrims come to see the pure, Gothic cathedral. The massive cathedral seems to loom overhead as if a symbol of God watching over the worshippers that visit. The earlier church burned in 1194, it was rebuilt and has gained a much more appreciated and admirable character distinction, statuary, and stained glass. The distinct character of the thirteenth century was captured, through the “Age of Faith” period. The architecture is Gothic which was very popular in the 1200s. Gothic architects created a frame of support with columns and arches so that the walls no longer need to support the ceilings, but are freed up to hold windows. The Gothic structure allows for plenty of windows. Chartres has a significant collection of medieval stained glass, with over 150 early thirteenth century windows. The windows allowed sunlight to enter the dark, Gothic cathedral in order to highlight the story of Christ through the stained glass windows told throughout history to pilgrims alike. These windows create a spiritual and promising place for thought and prayer. Stained glass was used to help teach the stories of Christ to people that were illiterate during the medieval times. While most worshippers of that day were illiterate, comprehending the symbolism of the story of Christ in each of the windows was vital and gave meaning towards adversity during the medieval ages, as they struggled through their dark and dreary lives, which were filled with hopefulness, while viewing the story through the stained glass windows. The windows are also...
The Basilica of St. Denis was originally built in 500-599 AD, but was later reconstructed by Abbot Suger in c.1135-1144. Although its original architect is unknown, it is most famous for its reconstruction that was overseen by Abbot Suger (Panofsky). This basilica is also well known for its representation of Europe’s architectural shift from the Romanesque style to Gothic. The Gothic style brought new designs and was dubbed the “transformat...
Thousand of years ago a famous Greek philosopher by the name of Plato described God in this manner, "We signify that he [God] is justice, that he is truth, that he is love, that he is order, that he is the very progress of which we were speaking". Even though this was before Christian times, this universal image of God is visible today through the teaching of Christianity. A cathedral is a direct projection of these teachings, it is a projection of such virtues as justice, truth, love, order. In his enlightment, the narrator reaches out to all these virtues when he draws a cathedral. He is enlightened by God, who wisdom and love is endless.
Now today, there are still over 900 Cathedrals standing today in our world thanks to our OLD generation masons! Today you wouldn’t find people building cathedrals anymore. You would find some being repaired but never built. Well technically, a tiny church can become a cathedral if a bishop uses it as his official church but other than that none are being built today that my research knows of.
The Gothic Period in the twelfth century influenced the creation of Gothic Revival Architecture in the nineteenth century. Gothic architecture began in France in 1140. Some of the first buildings made using this style are the Basilica of Saint Denis and the Cathedral of Sens. (Gothic Architecture By Paul Frank) This style of architecture started losing popularity in the early sixteenth century, but did not die out completely during this time period. Gothic architecture was still predominantly in cathedrals and churches. The rise of Romanticism began in the eighteenth century–leading to an awareness and increased interest of the Middle Ages, specifically interest in church architecture. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Revival_architecture) Thus, Gothic Revival Architecture was created. When admirers of neo-Gothic styles wanted to revive medieval Gothic architecture, Gothic Revival Architecture was created—along with many sub styles, such as Polychrome Brick Gothic and Carpenter Gothic in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The Gothic style evolved from that of Romanesque, building on concepts and ideas that led to the creation of larger and grander structures. Today, mankind looks in awe at the structures that were built hundreds of years ago without the assistance of modern technology and equipment. These architectural styles are indisputably different, but equally profound. They made use of differing techniques to become tangible structures that can still be seen
Both St. John the Baptist Cathedral and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres are constructed in French Gothic style which means that architecturally they have many similarities. However, the 700 year gap between their construction
Gothic art evolved from Romanesque art and lasted from the mid-12th century AD to the end of the 16th century. It was a particular style of Medieval art and was led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture, established by the Basilica of St Denis. Through the influence of historical design methods, such as Islamic/Romanesque architecture and the impact the spread of Christianity had on Europe, Abbot Suger was able to develop a new style of architecture through his reconstruction of St Denis. This led to the development of taller buildings with thinner walls and bigger rooms on the inside.
The windows were of stained glass showing bible stories and saints lives in them, And the design structure enabled cathedrals to rise higher than ever. It even became a contest for architects – who could build a cathedral as tall as possible. A cross shape was used for windows allowing crossbowmen to shoot attackers from the inside, and a cross plan was also used for the shape of a cathedral as seen from a bird’s eye view.