Gothic Architecture

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Gothic Architecture C. 1140-1450
Height and Light
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Architecture Terms

• Nave-the central Aisle
• Transcept-the cross arm of the church
• Clerestory-row of windows on the upper part of
  the Nave wall
• Arcade-series of arches supported by piers and
  columns, called a blind arcade when attached to a
  wall
• Choir-square area between the apse and the
  trancept
• Apse-a semicircular niche at the end of one or
  both ends of the nave, usually at the east end
• Ambulatory-Walkway around the apse
• Flying buttresses-a projecting support built
  against an external wall to counteract the
  lateral thrust of a vault or arch
• Pier-upright, rectangular support, sometimes with
  capitals and bases
• Bay-a subdivision of the interior space of a
  church, usually in a series supported by
  architectural supports
• Crypt-a vaulted space beneath the Choir which
  causes the Choir to have a raised floor
• Transverse Section-an architectural drawing
  presenting a building as if cut across the
  vertical plane at a right angle to the vertical
  plane
• Aisle-a passageway running parallel to the Nave
  separating it from the colonnades
• Façade-The principal face or the front of a
  building
• Elevation-an architectural drawing presenting a
  building as if projected on a vertical plane
  parallel to one of its sides

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• St. Denis- rebuilding commissioned by Abbot
  Suger, chief advisor to Louis IV
• Championed spiritual politics-the relationship
  between church and state in order to rally the
  nation behind the king
• Denis was the shrine of the apostle of France and
  the memorial of the Carolingian dynasty
• Wanted to make it the spiritual center of France
• Architectural forms seem weightless
• Windows fill entire wall because of heavy
  buttresses that bear the weight

Interior, St. Denis, 1140-44
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Plan, St. Denis

• Buttresses jut out between the chapels in the
  ambulatory
• Similar to Romanesque- pilgrimage choir, but more
  integrated and ribbed vaulting is everywhere (in
  Romanesque, only ambulatory)
• New kind of geometric order to the plan-
  continuous, open space

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• Suger brought in artisans from many different
  regions for his projects
• Strove for strict geometry and harmony among all
  the parts
• Harmony was spiritual, like the light that came
  in through the stained glass windows- symbolism
  of light and of proportion came from early
  Christian thought
• Sugers new style spread throughout Europe
• What came first- Sugers theological architecture
  or the innovations that made it possible? Some
  say Suger was an architect
• New thrust to raise the roof to the
  heavens-maximum space with the minimum of
  material- possible because of the use of the
  pointed arch in groined vaults which could be
  raised to any desired height regardless of its
  width

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• Future of Gothic architecture lay in towns rather
  than monasteries.
• Revival of urban life
• Bishops and town clergy rose to power
• Cathedral schools and universities took the place
  of monasteries as centers of learning
• Our Lady the Virgin Mary in Paris
• Plan focuses on longitudinal axis
• Compact and unified
• Transcept is stubby, double ambulatory of choir
  continues into aisles
• But still reminiscent of Romanesque-square bays
  under nave vaults and galleries above inner aisles

Plan, Notre Dame 1163-1250
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Notre Dame, 1163-1250

• Large clerestory windows, lightness and
  slenderness of form
• Verticalism of the interior space- the effort
  isnt seen like in Romanesque

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Flying Buttresses, Notre Dame

• Seen from the outside, the buttresses are arched
  bridges that reach to the critical spots between
  the clerestory windows where the outward thrust
  of the nave walls is concentrated

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• Façade is original except for damage to its
  sculpture during the Revolution
• Derived from St. Denis and Romanesque Westwork
• Same three-part façade, three-story arrangement,
  portals
• More balances and coherent than Romansesque
  facades
• Sculpture is given a very structured role
• Very lace-like rather than cubic- more like a
  screen than a wall

West Façade, Notre Dame
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• 1145-Bishop of Chartres (friend of Suger)
  rebuilt his cathedral in the new style
• 50 years later, all but west façade was destroyed
  by fire and rebuilt- second rebuilding in 1194
• The rest was finished in only 26 years
• Because of this, the basic design is extremely
  unified- but was constructed in several stages by
  several builders so the design is evolutionary
• North spire built in the early 16th c.
• Built on the highest point of the town
• 1st Cathedral of the mature Gothic style

West Façade, Chartes, 1145-1220
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West Portals, Chartres
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Chartres, Transverse Section
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Plan, Chartres

• Very few walls- uninterrupted space
• Pilgrimage Church- massive amounts of people came
  to see relic- remnants of the robe of the Virgin
  Mary (which survived the fire)
• Wide aisle runs the length of the nave
• Still has most of stained glass- changes the
  quality of everyday light

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Shows Clerestory And Gallery
Chartres
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Amiens Cathedral- The Gothic style at its
climax -height is the aesthetic and technical
aim -entire area above the nave is a clerestory
Amiens Cathedral, Choir Vault, 1220
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Amiens, Nave
Amiens, Transverse Section
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Reims Cathedral, 1225-99
Notre Dame, 1163-1250
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Salisbury Cathedral, 1220-70

• Gothic style spread to England- although England
  had its own style-mainly used to add to
  Romanesque churches that hadnt been finished-
  called Early English style
• Instead of tall and compact, Salisbury is
  sprawling, flying buttresses only for show, west
  façade is wider than the church itself

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• Nave is different too-
• Stresses horizontal bands rather than
• Verticality
• Very steep curve to the nave vaults-also seen at
  Durham but now its for style rather than
  necessity
• More conservative style than French Gothic

Salisbury Nave and Choir
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• Built as a monumental landmark to civic
  pride-towering over entire city
• Designed by Arnolfo di Cambio,
• Most famous for octagonal dome (based on a Roman
  design) built by Brunelleschi done in the 15th C.
• Nothing Gothic about the exterior
• West façade was not as important in Italy-some
  not finished until the Renaissance

Florence Cathedral 1296