Gothic art introduction
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| GOTHIC ART
INTRODUCTION Why is “Gothic art” called Gothic art? Giorgio Vasari – “The father of art history” Renaissance artist and art historian Used the term “Gothic” to ridicule late medieval art and architecture Fore him, “Gothic art and architecture were “monstrous and barbarous” because they were invented by the Goths. Vasari and other Renaissance artists and critics admired Greco-Roman styles What did the builders of “Gothic” cathedrals call their style? Opus Modernum – Modern work Opus Francigenum – French work Abbot Suger (Soo-zhayr),1081 – 1151, and the Gothic Style Abbot Suger of St. Denis St. Denis had the relics of St. Denis the Apostle of Gaul St. Denis was also the burial place of the French kings Friend and advisor to Louis VI (1108 – 1137) and Louis VII (1137 – 1180) A new vision Great height – reaching up toward heaven (soaring verticality) Suffused with light – “the light Divine” LUX NOVA = NEW LIGHT A visible manifestation of God’s presence – you can see it and feel it, but you can’t touch it. Metaphor for Jesus as the light of the world Brilliant colors with stain glass windows – to prefigure (symbolically foreshadow) the Heavenly Jerusalem (Heaven) Abbot Suger wrote treatises about how he thought new architecture should look Wanted architecture that would lift people’s mind and spirit above the muck of this world Rebuilding of St. Denis He presided over the rebuilding of St. Denis’ ambulatory and incorporated his new ideas. The Gothic Period From 1150 – 1400 80 cathedrals built in France from 1150 – 1250 Spread throughout Europe Gothic Period Architecture is usually represented by cathedral. What are the characteristics of a Gothic Cathedral? The Key Elements of Gothic Architecture Pointed arches The returning Crusaders admired the pointed arches of Islamic architecture that they had seen in the Holy Land Pointed arches open up more space than do rounded arches (See diagram in Gardner’s) which fit with Abbot Suger’s goals of greater height Pointed arches also direct the eye upwards to heaven – give a greater sense of height Ribbed vaults Vaults in Gothic churches are different from the barrel vaults which were most common in Romanesque churches Ribbed vaults used pointed arches for the vaulting. The ribs are the stones that extend from the ceiling There are two diagonal ribs that make an X-shape There are two transverse ribs Piers Large compound piers extend to the rib vaults and help support them and lead the eye heaven-ward. Flying buttresses – external support arms that hold up the walls from the outside With the greater nave height and vaulting, there is great outward thrust on the walls meaning that the walls would fall outward and away from the center Flying buttresses hold them up Called “flying” because there is space between the vertical part of the support and the horizontal arm that extends to the wall Think of the quadrant arches in Durham Cathedral, England as sort of proto-flying buttresses even though Durham is a Romanesque Cathedral (begun 1093, Gardner’s 17-33) Large stained glass windows Fulfills Abbot Suger’s vision that the church should be suffused with the light of heaven The new support methods – POINTED ARCHES, RIBBED VAULTS, and FLYING BUTTRESSES allowed for more space in the walls for larger windows Some subtle differences between Early Gothic and High Gothic Triforium As height of cathedrals increased the space between the tribune (or gallery) and the clerestory got longer. Architects broke up the big expanse of plain masonry with a triforium. The triforium was a passageway along the length of the nave and sometimes had stained glass windows. Sometimes it was just a blind arcade. Eventually the need for the gallery disappeared because the nave was supported by flying buttresses. Early Gothic cathedrals have four levels: nave, gallery, triforium, clerestory. High Gothic cathedrals have three levels: nave, triforium, and clerestory. Piers Stopped using alternating support structures. Each compound pier was identical to unify the space. Aisles In High Gothic there was a single aisle on each side of the nave. The aisles were square in plan. Vaults In France, the vaulting was a four-part (quadripartite) vault; early Gothic might have a sexpartite vault. Chartres – Queen of Cathedrals: Considered the first High Gothic Building. Introduction – On the road to Chartres Story of Chartres and the Virgin’s Veil The Virgin’s Veil was worn by the Virgin Mary the night Christ was born – considered one of the greatest relics of all Christendom It was stolen from Constantinople Gift from King Charles the Bald (876) Chartres had a huge fire that destroyed most of the Romanesque cathedral in 1194 The Virgin’s Veil was saved which was perceived by the townspeople as a miracle Rebuilding of Chartres took place 1194 – 1120 The West Façade Two towers (Gardner’s 18-5) One is Romanesque – heavier and more solid looking One is Gothic – (north or to the left) – more ornate A rose window Stain glass window with an round shape and many panes which mimic the petals of a rose One of 176 stained glass windows in Chartres Windows Notice that the façade is pierced with windows, not blind arcades like Romanesque westworks. Three portals on the western façade known COLLECTIVELY as the ROYAL PORTAL Called the Royal Portal because the figures on the jamb columns are kings and queens from the Old Testament Central Portal – Christ as Judge TYMPANUM – Christ enthroned as judge and ruler of the universe. Christ is surrounded by a MANDORLA TETRAMORPHS – the symbols of the four Gospel writers LINTEL – 12 standing apostles plus two Old Testament prophets (Elijah and Enoch). Figures are arranged in groups of three ARCHIVOLTS – an ARCHIVOLT is an ornamental band surrounding the TYMPANUM. The outer two archivolts contain 24 elders and the inner archivolt contains 12 angels North (left) Portal – Christ’s Ascension (to Heaven after Resurrection) TYMPANUM – timeless Heavenly Christ ascendant in a cloud held by two angels Lintel – Should be 12 apostles but is 10. Why? Because the Gothic arch space was narrower than a Romanesque arch space? Someone miscalculated? South (right) portal – The Incarnation (God made flesh) Knowing that this church housed the relic of the piece of cloth that Mary wore during the birth of Christ, what do you think the program (story or narrative) is being depicted in the tympanum and lintel? How do these programs compare to the tympanum programs we have seen in Romanesque cathedrals? Why do you think there are these differences? Nave and Transept (Gardner 18-14) Amazing facts and figures The nave is 427 feet long or 142 yards long! The nave is 123 feet high from floor to ceiling! The nave and transept can hold 6,000 worshippers! Three parts of the NAVE ELEVATION – from floor to ceiling Nave arcade – the series of arches supported by compound piers Triforium – the intermediate story above the nave arcade, a walkway with a slanted ceiling Clerestory – the row of windows below the vaults NOTICE THE EXTENSIVE USE OF POINTED ARCHES Stained-glass windows 176 windows in Chartres 22,000 square feet Examples: Notre Dame de la Belle Verriere (Our Lady of the Beautiful Window) Also known as the Blue Virgin From the original Chartres Cathedral that was burned down in 1194. Side windows are from the 1200’s. G: 18-16. For full index and close-ups of individual windows: http://www.medievalart.org.uk/chartres/030a_pages/Chartres_Bay030a_key.htm The North Rose Window see Gardner 491 42 feet in diameter A gift from the Queen of France (Queen Blanche of Castile) Note the yellow fleur-de-lis (three-petaled iris flowers) the symbol of the French royal family as well as the gold castles – symbol of Queen Blanche’s homeland of Castile (in Spain) In the center sits a crowned Mary holding the Christ Child The first circle around her contains 4 doves and 8 angels – doves symbolize the Holy Spirit The second circle depicts 12 kings of Judah, Precursors to Christ – the prophets foretold how the Messiah would come from the family line of King David – Notice the window for King David and King Solomon (David’s son and successor) The final circle depicts 12minor prophets who prefigure Christ and his Apostles Five Lancet windows Five Lancets represent the triumph of divine law 1- The priest-king Melchizedek towers over the idolatrous Nebuchadzezzar of Babylon 2- Beneath King David, King Saul, David’s disobedient predecessor kills himself with a sword 3- St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, holds her daughter above the arms of France 4- King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, stands above Jeroboam, a king who worshipped idols 5- Aaron, brother of Moses, triumphs over pharaoh whose armies drowned in the Red Sea KEY POINT Let’s compare the Gothic stained glass Virgin and Child with the Byzantine mosaic of the Theotokos (bearer of God) and Child in Hagia Sophia (Gardner 12-19) The Byzantine mosaic is designed to REFLECT light The Chartres window is designed to FILTER light What are the stylistic differences you see? OTHER FRENCH GOTHIC MASTERPIECES Laon Cathedral, Laon, France, begun ca. 1190 Retained many Romanesque features in design BUT Did use rib vaulting on pointed arches Had a triforium Had a huge rose window on west façade Had deep (funnel) porches in front doorways Open structure of towers Notre Dame de Paris (1163 – 1250) (Gardner’s 18-11) Flying Buttresses Rib Vaults Piers Pointed Arches Stained-Glass Windows Gargoyles Nave elevation Nave arcade Triforium Clerestory Amiens Cathedral, Amiens, France, begun 1220 Self-sustaining skeletal structure in full maturity at Amiens Great light recalls importance of light at Hagia Sophia Lowest part of west façade influenced by Laon Cathedral But as it progresses upwards you can see the west façade more and more “punctured” Note band of sculptures below rose window: King’s Gallery Uneven towers were later additions Which sculptures on Chartres does Beau Dieu (18-22, Amiens Cathedral) match best? Reims Cathedral, Reims, France, ca. 1225 - 1290 Background Site of Clovis’ conversion to Christianity in 496 The Romanesque cathedral burned down in 1210. The fire was allegedly set by Alberic de Humbert. The archbishop wanted a new and grander cathedral in the Gothic style. Cathedral where the French kings were coroneted. Sacred relics include a piece of the True Cross worn by Charlemagne An incredible west façade (Gardner’s 18-23) Five archivolts Stained-glass windows replace carved tympanums King’s Gallery above rose window, not below like Reims. A spectacular nave 124 feet high Shows all key Gothic elements Note the stylistic development of the architectural sculptures outside of Reims Cathedral, Annunciation and Vistitation. Sainte-Chapelle (Gardner’s 18-25) A RELIQUARY chapel – Saint Chapelle is not a church in its own right but a chapel with important relics Louis IX (1226 – 1270) was the ideal Christian king. He was revered for his piety, justice, truthfulness, and charity He led the Seventh (1248 – 1254) and Eighth (1270) Crusades Pope Bonface VIII declared Louis a saint in 1297 Louis IX purchased the Crown of Thorns, lance, sponge, part of the True Cross, and a nail from the True Cross Saint-Chapelle functioned as a repository for these precious relics The upper floor of the chapel was accessible only to the king and the clergy Stained-glass 6,450 square feet of stained-glass make up more than ¾ of the structure Sainte-Chapelle’s enormous windows filter the light and fill the interior with unearthly rose-violet light Sainte-Chapelle is an example of the RAYONNANT or RADIANT style of the Gothic style which dominated the second half of the 13th century (ie. 1250 – 1300) Saint-Maclou, Rouen, France, ca. 1500 – 1514 Gardner’s---Tracery: Ornamental stonework for holding stained glass in place. Plate tracery: glass fills “punched holes.” Bar tracery the stained glass fills most of the opening; the stonework is unobtrusive. But in describing Saint-Maclou tracery also seems to refer to any lace-like stonework. Note use of “tracery” for stonework in gable that has no stained glass. FLAMBOYANT STYLE: so named because of the flame-like appearance of its pointed bar tracery) FLORID So ornate and transparent that it presents a bewildering complexity. Evolution of High Gothic Sculpture Royal Port, Chartres Cathedral, 1145 - 1155 Old Testament Kings From Romanesque Tradition Rigid Linear, regular folds of clothing Elongated proportions Not caryatid (or atlantid): Attached to columns, not a replacement for columns. Starting to individualize representations. Not mask-like Romanesque But sculptures were volumes, not reliefs: Compare to Romanesque relief on trumeau of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France. Seventy years later: A second “Classical revolution” On south transept of Chartres (they spent a long time making these things!) 1220 – 1230 Saints Martin, Jerome, and Gregory More free-standing; columns are just background support. Faces and stances are individualized Sculptures relate to one another, have different personalities. Clothed in Gothic period liturgical costumes. Not rigid posture Cloth is regular but less linear Think of the changes in Greek sculpture from Archaic to Classical periods. Saint Theodore on south transept (1230) Torsion of figure Weight shifted: note his right hip is thrust out There is a sense of motion but not weight. But not contrapposto: Notice the feet. See this a lot in Gothic figuration: the “S” curve. Gardener’s says like Polykleitos’s Spear Bearer. But I don’t buy it. Ideal Christian Knight: Wears intricately sculpted chain mail, has shield Annunciation and Visitation, west façade of Reims Cathedral, 1230 – 1255 Made by 3 different artists or workshops Visitation Mary Angel Gabriel Sculptures appear detached from architectural backgrounds. Columns insignificant. Christ (Beau Dieu), west façade of Amiens Cathedral, 1220 -1235 Fully modeled figure Deeply modeled drapery Almost a free-standing sculpture Placed in an architectural setting: canopy: like east end of a cathedral with radiating chapels. Nice guy with beard. Kindly not terrifying Hope in salvation Becomes preferred representation of Christ in European art. Virgin and Child (Virgin of Paris), Notre-Dame, Paris, France, early 1300’s Best example of Late Gothic sculpture Exaggerated “S” curve Worldly queen/infant prince Further humanization of religious figures. EXAGGERATED “S” CURVE = GOTHIC SWAY STYLE Gothic Secular Architecture in France Fortified town of Carcassonne, France Tightly contained complex of castle, cathedral, and town within towered walls. Double walls Parapets, crenellations (merlons & crenels) Hall of the cloth guild, Bruges, Belgium, begun 1230 Shows increasing wealth and power of guilds Secularization of urban life in late Middle Ages Combines features of military (crenellated watchtower) and church (lancet windows and oculi) House of Jacques Coeur, Bourges, France, 1443 – 1451 Rich and powerful financier Use of Gothic vocabulary for secular use. Book Illumination and Luxury Arts Book manufacture shifted from monastic scriptoria to urban, professional artist workshops Villard de Honnecourt, sketchbook of master mason (architect) figures based on geometric shapes God as architect of the world Blanche of Castile, Louis IX, and two monks Abraham and the three angels (pre-figuration of three magi), Psalter of Saint Louis, 1253 – 1270 Design influenced by stained glass: Sometimes workshops produced both Intense colors and bar tracery evident in design Court style = elegant proportions, facial expressions, theatrical gestures, and swaying poses. Compare to Reims Annunciation angel. Master Honore, David anointed by Samuel and battle of David and Goliath, Breviary of Philippe le Bel, 1296 Linear treatment of hair Not located in space (tapestrybackground) Volume indicated by shading Does not have classical idea of illusionistic window on 3D world. Jean Pucelle, David before Saul, Belleville Breviary, ca. 1325 Modeled figures in convincing architectural space with convincing perspective Renditions of plants and animals show close observation of nature. Pucelle and assistants’ names in back of book Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreux, abbey church of Saint-Denis, France Private devotional figure for wealthy person or gift to church No hint of grief (foreshadowing) Intimate mother and child Mother of Christ and Queen of Heaven How would you describe posture? The Castle of Love and knights jousting, ca. 1330 – 1350 Woman’s jewelry box Illustrates poem “Romance of the Rose” Secular themes were prominent in private art Gothic Style Outside of France England Salisbury Cathedral, 1220 - 1258 English façade is a squat screen that hides building behind it Soaring height is absent Does have 3-part division of interior (nave & two aisles) Emphasis on great crossing tower Flying buttresses used sparingly: not needed, not high: a prop Double transept: common for English and Cistercian churches. Flat eastern end (no apse) Pier colonnettes stop at springing, not connected with vault ribs Strong horizontal emphasis Gloucester Cathedral, 14th C. PERPENDICULAR STYLE: more decorative and complex Multiplication of ribs Vertical emphasis Giant window filling a pointed arch: made up of smaller pointed arch windows. Choir is actually a barrel vault with ornate ribbing. Chapel of Henry VII, Westminster Abbey, London, England, 1503 - 1519 More structure-disguising decorations that look like embroidery. Fan vaults: radiating ribbing Hanging pendants like stalactites (Muqarnas dome, Alhambra?) Dissolution of structural Gothic to decorative fancy: Contemporaneous with Flamboyant style in Saint-Maclou. Royal Tombs, Edward II, Gloucester Cathedral, ca. 1330 – 1335 Freestanding but unmovable “furniture” Recumbent images Preserve remains and enhance reputation of piety. Object of services for the dead as requested by the dying. King looks like Christ with angels at his head Perpendicular Gothic canopy encases coffin like a miniature chapel. Ogee arches (double-curved lines) Like a life-size reliquary Holy Roman Empire Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany, begun 1248 Took 600 years to complete Quest for height Withstood bombing of WWII Saint Elizabeth, Marburg, Germany, 1235 – 1283 Hallenkirche (Hall Church) design: Aisles same height as nave. Therefore no tribune, triforium, or clerestory No flying buttresses Brighter than French or English Gothic churches. German Gothic Sculpture Strasbourg Cathedral, Strasbourg, France, Death of the Virgin, tympanum, ca. 1230 Apostles gather around recumbent Mary and form an arch to fit in tympanum Christ receives his mother’s soul (little statue) Highly emotional, grief/resignation Deeply incised drapery unifies composition Ekkehard and Uta, Naumberg Cathedral, Naumberg, Germany, ca. 1249 – 1255 Made a century after their death (two of the original benefactors of the church) Statues attached to columns and under canopies Indoors so their paint is well preserved: gives good idea of what façade and transept sculptures looked like when new. By mid 1200’s in HRE and England, life-size images of secular people in churches. Doesn’t Uta look like the evil queen from a Disney animation? Bamberg Rider Equestrian figure revives Carolingian imagery, derived from ancient Rome. Seems like a portrait Of Holy Roman Emperor? Would underscore unity of church and state in 13th C. Germany. Careful representation of clothes and equestrian accoutrements. Proportion of horse and rider correct (not oversize rider like in Marcus Aurelius or Charlemagne). Torsion of figure like Reims portal statues. Rottgen Pieta, 1300 - 1325 War, plague, famine of 14th C. Powerful expression of suffering, grief Artist confronts devout with appalling icon of suffering and death: almost heresy. Humanizing of religious themes from 12th to 14th C. Art addressed to private person through appeal to emotions. Emotion accompanied human body in motion. Nicholas of Verdun, Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne Cathedral, ca. 1190 Holds remains of the three magi Like sculpted version of his enamel figures from Klosterneuburg figures Shaped like a cathedral Repousse figures in high relief Silver, gems, enamel, bronze: fits Abbot Suger’s idea of the fabulous, otherworldly atmosphere in churches Good website to see and tour a variety of Gothic cathedrals: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval.html Directory: cms -> lib -> NJ01000817 -> Centricity -> Domain -> 441 lib -> American Studies Pacing Calendar 2014-2015 lib -> The ap history Timeline 8000bce-the Present lib -> Absolutism in Europe 441 -> Early italian renaissance and perspective introduction Domain -> Psi physics Kinematics Multiple Choice Questions Domain -> The Apprentice 441 -> Ancient Greece: Archaic Period Domain -> On the sidewalk bleeding by Evan Hunter Download 68.2 Kb. Share with your friends:
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