Lecture x gothic architecture

Ar. Hena Tiwari/2016-1017
EARLY GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
Hena Tiwari

INTRODUCTION
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished
during the high and late medieval period.
 It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was
succeeded by Renaissance architecture.
Originating in 12th-century France and lasting into the
16th century, Gothic architecture was known during the
period as Opus Francigenum ("French work").

Its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed
vault and the flying buttress.
Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of
many of the great cathedrals and churches of Europe.
It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town
halls, universities etc.

Architectural elements
Lancet arches
Tudor Ogee Three-centered

Architectural elements
Windows
Gablet
Gárgoles
Capital

Cathedral

Façade Lateral façade
Apse
Ambulatory
Radial chapels
CrossingTranseptSpires
Rose window
Flying butresses
Nave
Clerestory Tribune
Gargoiles

Civilian Architecture
• Its development is consequence of
– trade renaissance
– development of cities government
• Main buildings are
– Palaces
– Town halls
– Markets

Leuven Siena
• Town halls were the residence of the city’s government
• There are two kind of models:
– Northern (Netherlands) : very decorated, with ogee and
lancet arches
– Southern (Italian): closer, sometimes as a fortress

• Palaces were the residences of the nobility
• They lose their defensive character
•They have big rooms with this purpose
•The spaces are clear, with high and stylised columns

Primary Mediums
Most Gothic art took the forms of:
 Sculptures
 Panel Painting
 Stained Glass
 Frescos
 Illuminated Manuscript

Gothic Sculptures
• Gothic sculpture were used primarily to decorate the
exteriors of cathedrals and other religious buildings.
• The earliest Gothic sculptures were stone figures of saints
and the Holy Family used to decorate the doorways, or
portals, of cathedrals in France and elsewhere.
• During the later 12th and the early 13th centuries
sculptures became more relaxed and natural looking.

Gothic Painting
 Gothic painting created a beautiful, radiant era, full of
confidence, abundance and prosperity.
 Painting was usually done on small areas until it began
to be used in decorating the ornamental panel behind
an altar in the cathedrals.

Gothic Stained Glass
• The Gothic age brought a full flowering of stained glass
windows.
• Churches became taller and lighter, walls thinned and stained
glass was used to fill the increasingly larger openings in them.
• Stained glass windows are often viewed as translucent
pictures
• Gothic stained glass windows are a complex mosaic of bits of
colored glass joined with lead into an intricate pattern
illustrating biblical stories and saints lives.

Illuminated Manuscript
 An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the
text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as
decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations.
 Usually done in important books, for the rich. For instance,
the Bible

The Seven Key Characteristics of Gothic
Architecture
1. Grand, Tall Designs, Which Swept Upwards With Height
and Grandeur
•One of the fundamental characteristics of gothic architecture
was its height.
•The flying buttress enabled architects to spread the weight of
taller walls and loftier towers.
•It allowed them to reach up to the heavens - perfect for
cathedrals and churches.

2. The Flying Buttress
•The flying buttress is the defining external characteristic of
gothic architecture.
•These buttresses effectively spread the weight of the new
designs, taking the weight off the walls and transferring force
directly to the ground.

3. The Pointed Arch
The innovation of the pointed arch which was the
defining internal characteristic of gothic architecture.
Its significance was both practical and decorative.

4. The Vaulted Ceiling
The vaulted ceiling was an innovation which lead on
from the achievements of the pointed arch.

5. The Light and Airy Interior
Before gothic architecture, castles and early Medieval buildings
were pretty depressing places to live in or worship in.

6. The Gargoyles of Gothic Architecture
One of the most notable characteristics of gothic architecture is
the gargoyle. Gargoyles are decorative, monstrous little
creatures, perched at along the roofs and battlements of gothic
buildings and castles.
Gargoyles have a practical purpose: they're spouts, enabling
rainwater to drain off the roof and gush through their mouths,
before plummeting to the ground (guttering is a relatively recent
innovation!).

7. The Emphasis Upon the Decorative Style and the
Ornate
Gothic architecture marked the first time that beauty and
aesthetic values had been incorporated into building design.
This revolutionized the way that Medieval architects began to
think of buildings.
 Architecture was no longer just functional - it began to have
merit and meaning in its own right.

NOTRE DAME DE
PARIS

CATHEDRAL DIMENSIONS
• Total length: 130 m/427 ft long
• Transept length: 2.25 m/14 ft
• Choir length: 11 m/36 ft
• Total width: 48 m/158 ft wide
• Height of roof: 43 m
• Height of vault: 35 m/115 ft
• Height of side aisles: 3 m
• Height of spire: 96 m
• Height of twin towers: 69 m/226ft
• Lancets: over 16 m/50ft high
• South tower great bell:
• 13 tons, with 500kg clapper, tolled only on ‘solemn’ occasions
• Total floor area: 4,800 m²
• Diameter of north and south [transept] rose windows: 13.1 m/42½ ft
• Diameter of west rose: 9.70 m
• 1,300 oaks, representing 21 hectares of forest, were used in the timbers and
woodwork.
• The total surface area is 5,500 square meters (interior surface 4,800 square
meters).

1160: The foundation stone for the vast new Gothic cathedral of Notre-
Dame was laid by Pope Alexander III on a visit to Paris
1250: Cloister portal to the north completed
1345: Construction completed
 Notre-Dame is one of the earliest gothic cathedrals, constructed as a
very solid, stolid building, as gothic cathedrals go.
 It is widely considered to be one of the finest examples
of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most
well-known church buildings in the world.

 The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with
earlier Romanesque architecture.
 As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame is the parish
that contains the cathedra, or official chair, of the archbishop of Paris,
currently Cardinal André Vingt-Trois.
 It was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress
(arched exterior supports).
 In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the radical
phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery
was damaged or destroyed.

The western facade illuminated at
night
The spire and east side of the
cathedral
Satellite view, cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.

CRYPT
 The Archaeological Crypt of the Paris
Notre-Dame was created in 1965 to
protect a range of historical ruins,
discovered during construction work
and spanning from the earliest
settlement in Paris to the modern day.
The Archaeological Crypt of
Notre-Dame de Paris.
 The main feature still visible is the under-floor heating installed
during the Roman occupation.

• Though several organs were installed in the cathedral over
time, the earliest ones were inadequate for the building.
• The organ has 7,374 pipes, with ca 900 classified as historical
• It has 110 real stops, five 56-key manual and a 32-
keypedalboard. ne, who held this position from 1900 to 1937.
• The cathedral has 10 bells.
• The bells were once rung by hand before electric motors
allowed them to be rung without manual labor

THE SOUTH ROSE
• The South Rose or Rose du Midi was a gift from Louis IX. The
structure of the facade has been broken at least twice. The
whole facade was not built well and so was shored up since
1543.
• The facade was further damaged by a fire during the 1830
Revolution.
• Beneath the rose is a row of sixteen prophets in lancet
windows. The four cental ‘senior prophets’ each have an
evangelist sitting at his shoulder, recalling Bernard of Chartres’
words: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the
shoulders of giants”.

THE NORTH AND WEST ROSES
• From the point of view of the
stained glass, the North Rose is
the best.
• The West Rose is the oldest, but
restored to damnation.

Lecture x gothic architecture

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Lecture x gothic architecture

Similar to Lecture x gothic architecture (20)

More from Hena Dutt

More from Hena Dutt (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Lecture x gothic architecture