The Perpendicular Gothic period is the third historical division of English Gothic architecture, and is characterized by an emphasis on vertical lines. The Perpendicular style began under the royal architects William Ramsey and John Sponlee, and lasted into the mid 16th century. This epidemic dramatically impacted every aspect of society, including arts and culture , and designers moved away from the flamboyance and jubilation present in the Decorated style.
Architects were also responding to labor shortages resulting from the plague, and therefore relied on less elaborate designs. Perpendicular linearity is particularly obvious in the design of windows, which became immense, allowing greater scope for stained glass craftsmen. Some of the finest features of this period are the magnificent timber roofs: hammerbeam roofs, such as those of Westminster Hall , Christ Church Hall, Oxford, and Crosby Hall, appeared for the first time.
Gothic architecture continued to flourish in England for years after the precepts of Renaissance architecture were formalized in Florence in the early 15th century.
The walls and windows are sharper and less flamboyant than those of the earlier style. Gothic architecture flourished during the high and late medieval period in the Holy Roman Empire, from approximately — The Gothic style first developed in France.
Territories that constitute modern day Germany adopted the French Gothic and developed regional distinctions to this style. German Gothic architecture is notable for its enormous towers and spires. Sometimes they were so big that they were left unfinished until modern times.
The nave and the aisles are about the same height. Freiburg Cathedral was built in three stages, the first beginning in under the Dukes of Zahringen, the second beginning in , and the third in Of the original building, only the foundations still exist.
It is particularly notable for its meter tower, which is nearly square at the base , and the dodecagonal star gallery at its center. Above this gallery, the tower is octagonal and tapered, with the spire at the top. It is the only Gothic church tower in Germany completed in the Middle Ages that survived the November bombing raids that destroyed all of the houses on the west and north side of the market.
Cologne Cathedral is, after Milan Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Construction began in and took, with interruptions, until to complete—a period of over years. It is The choir of the cathedral, measured between the piers , also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any Medieval church.
The building of Gothic churches was accompanied by the construction of guild houses and town halls by the rising bourgeoisie. The dwellings of this period were mainly timber-framed buildings, as can still be seen in Goslar and Quedlinburg.
Quedlinburg has one of the oldest half-timbered houses in Germany. The method of construction, used extensively for town houses of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, lasted into the twentieth century for rural buildings. Brick Gothic Backsteingotik is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in Northern Germany and the regions around the Baltic Sea that lack natural rock resources. The structures are built, more or less, using only bricks.
Stralsund City Hall and St. Nicholas Church are examples of this style. Hall churches are another example of German Gothic architecture that is distinct from French Gothic.
In hall churches, the aisles and nave are almost the same height and the stained glass windows are typically the full height of the walls, allowing in maximum light and space. Munich Frauenkirche, Bavaria : Hall churches are a distinctively German interpretation of the Gothic style.
Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Gothic Art. Search for:. Gothic Architecture. In the 12th century, Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the church using innovative structural and decorative features that were drawn from a number of sources, resulting in the first truly Gothic building.
Rayonnant Gothic : The period of French Gothic architecture between c. The style represented giant steps away from the previous, relatively basic building systems that had prevailed. The Gothic grew out of the Romanesque architectural style, when both prosperity and relative peace allowed for several centuries of cultural development and great building schemes. From roughly to , several significant cathedrals and churches were built, particularly in Britain and France, offering architects and masons a chance to work out ever more complex and daring designs.
The most fundamental element of the Gothic style of architecture is the pointed arch, which was likely borrowed from Islamic architecture that would have been seen in Spain at this time. The pointed arch relieved some of the thrust, and therefore, the stress on other structural elements. It then became possible to reduce the size of the columns or piers that supported the arch. So, rather than having massive, drum-like columns as in the Romanesque churches, the new columns could be more slender.
This slimness was repeated in the upper levels of the nave, so that the gallery and clerestory would not seem to overpower the lower arcade. In fact, the column basically continued all the way to the roof, and became part of the vault. In the vault, the pointed arch could be seen in three dimensions where the ribbed vaulting met in the center of the ceiling of each bay.
This ribbed vaulting is another distinguishing feature of Gothic architecture. However, it should be noted that prototypes for the pointed arches and ribbed vaulting were seen first in late-Romanesque buildings.
Abbot Suger adopted the idea that light equates to God. He wrote that he placed pictures in the glass to replace wall paintings and talked about them as educational devices. The windows were instructional in theology during the Gothic era, and the light itself was a metaphor for the presence of God. Cathedrals served as religious centers and they were important for local economies. Pilgrims would travel throughout Europe to see relics, which would bring an influx of travelers and money to cities with Cathedrals.
Ambulatory at St. Denis: We can see the Gothic style emerge at St. While the Gothic style was developed in Northern France, it spread throughout Europe where different regional styles were adopted. In England, for example, cathedrals became longer than they were tall and architects in Italy typically did not incorporate stained glass windows in the manner that the French did.
Illuminated manuscripts provide excellent examples of Gothic painting. A prayer book, known as the book of hours, became increasingly popular during the Gothic age and was treated as a luxury item. The Hours of Mary of Burgundy, produced in Flanders c. Sculpture during the Gothic era really sheds light on the knowledge of artists working during this time period. However, a viewer only needs to look at the work of Nicolas of Verdun to see that artists could and did work in a classical style during the Gothic era.
Additionally, sculpture produced in Germany during the Gothic era is especially noted for its lifelikeness. Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral : The metalwork by Nicolas of Verdun demonstrates his knowledge and understanding of classical elements in art.
French Gothic cathedrals are characterized by lighter construction, large windows, pointed arches, and their impressive height. The Gothic cathedral represented the universe in microcosm, and each architectural concept, including the height and perfect ratios of the structure, were intended to convey a theological message: the great glory of God and his creation of a perfect universe.
The building becomes a microcosm in two ways. First, the mathematical and geometrical nature of the construction is an image of the orderly universe, in which an underlying rationality and logic can be perceived. Second, the statues, sculptural decoration, stained glass, and murals incorporate the essence of creation in depictions of events from the Old and New Testaments.
This nave is flanked on either side by aisles, a transverse arm called the transept, and, beyond it, an extension referred to as the choir. One of the defining characteristics of Gothic architecture is the pointed or ogival arch. Arches of this type were used in the Near East in pre-Islamic as well as Islamic architecture before they were structurally employed in Gothic architecture.
They are thought to have been the inspiration for their use in France at the Autun Cathedral, which is otherwise stylistically Romanesque. The way in which the pointed arch was drafted and utilized developed throughout the Gothic period, and four popular styles emerged: the Lancet arch, the Equilateral arch, the Flamboyant arch, and the Depressed arch. Autun Cathedral, ca. The Gothic vault, unlike the semi-circular vault of Roman and Romanesque buildings, can be used to roof rectangular and irregularly shaped plans such as trapezoids.
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