Hello art nerds - have you ever wondered about what Gothic art is? We're here to talk you.
Let us first be clear what we're not talking about here. It's not this, or this, or this.
Sorry Goth Rock fans and people who like heavy eyeliner.
Gothic architecture first came in to prominence in France around the early to mid 12th century
and it's mostly exemplified through large cathedrals. It features things such as stained
glass windows, pointed arches, flying buttresses, elaborate ribbed-vaulting as well as asymmetrical
designs and facades.
Gothic architecture evolved from Romanesque architecture that was carried through the
medieval ages. Romanesque architecture mostly featured rounded arches, small rounded mosaic
windows, heavy masonry, heavy ceilings as well as walls. And for the most part it had
proportional, symmetrical plans and facades.
There is a common misconception that during the medieval ages and during the gothic period
people only built churches and cathedrals, which is obviously not true because they had
to live some where. People also built houses and commercial spaces in similar styles, it's
just that those weren't built as durable as cathedrals, and those general got rebuilt
more often. Whereas when it comes to a church or cathedral they're general maintained very well.
Various architectural features like flying buttresses, pointed arches and ribbed-vaulted
ceilings allowed building to be built much taller with thinner walls as well as allowed
large stained glass windows to be installed.
Now why did they want to build super tall cathedrals with huge windows you ask? This
mostly due to the fact that various French cities like Chartres, Reims and Amiens were
competing to have the largest cathedral in the world at the time. So apparently the taller
your building is, the higher you reach the heavens and therefore you worship God the most.
The term Gothic originates from the term "Goths." Which were what the Romans used to describe
Germanic tribes in the medieval period. It basically means "barbaric" - which is how
the Romans felt about Germanic tribes at the time - or anyone who's not Roman for that matter.
The term "Gothic Architecture" was first used actually in the 16th century by Italian scholars
- and they actually used this term to describe architecture in the twelfth century in a derogatory
way because at the time they weren't very interested in this type of pointy, elaborately
designed architecture, and they felt that it was kind of messy and barbaric.
The tallest completed gothic cathedral from the early Gothic period is the Amiens cathedral
in France it's about 120km or 75 miles north of Paris. It was built from 1220 to 1270.
It reaches an internal height of 42.3 meters or 128 feet (this is wrong it's 138.8 ft).
Now Gothic art, specifically sculpture and painting, it refers to a broader period of
artistic styles in Europe, at around the same time, roughly 12-14 centuries, that includes
secular as well as religious works. They mostly seem to show scenes and figures in more fluid,
naturalistic, narrative and complex forms. As opposed to prior periods of relatively
more simplistic and rigid compositions.
Many Gothic art works such as paintings and illustrations appear in altarpieces or illuminated
manuscripts in these large Gothic cathedrals.
Now Gothic art gradually evolved into the renaissance period with little to no distinct
transition. Styles progressively became more three-dimensional and more depth driven. Although
the precise scientific practice of perspective painting wouldn't be perfected in Europe until
around the middle of the 16th century - in the middle of the renaissance.
Now the UK and its various colonial counterparts experienced a very prominent period of Gothic
revival later in around the 18th and 19th centuries. Especially after the rise of Romanticism
- where people gained a new appreciation and longing for medieval, decorative arts and
architecture. And thus - many well known buildings such as the Palace at Westminster, the London
Bridge, as well as the Parliament buildings in Canada - in Ottawa, Ontario - were built
with very distinctive Gothic revival styles.
Thanks for watching. And please let us know if you have any cool and interesting facts
about Gothic art and architecture. And please leave us a comment if you have any suggestions
on what we could do in a future episode. And don't forget to subscribe.