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

Crossing Transept Spires

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

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Ca_dOro_Venice_Italy.jpg


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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NotreDameDeParis.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Notre_Dame_de_Paris,_East_View_140207_1.jpg


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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_crypte_arch%C3%A9ologique_du_Parvis_de_Notre-Dame_(Paris)_(8274683584).jpg


• 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

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