GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
(from the Victoria & Albert Museum): The Gothic style first appeared in the early 12th century in northern France and rapidly spread beyond its origins in architecture to sculpture, textiles and painting, including frescoes, stained glass and illuminated manuscripts. This sophisticated new design style combined a detailed observation of nature with an expressive elegance. Gothic was quickly adopted throughout Europe, with versions of the style still visible in the 16th century.
The term Gothic was first coined by Italian writers in the later Renaissance period (late 15th to early 17th century). The word was used in a derogatory way as a synonym of 'barbaric'. They denounced this type of art as unrefined and ugly and attributed it to the Gothic tribes which had destroyed the Roman Empire and its classical culture in the 5th century AD.
Palaces and churches were the largest beneficiaries of this new architectural style. They became larger, taller, and featured many stained glass windows.
Most Gothic churches are built facing West, in the shape of a cross. The central part of the Cathedral is called the nave; the two arms of the cross are called transepts and the head of the cross is called the apse.
Elements of Gothic Architecture (courtesy artincontext.com)
Pointed Arches
Pointed arches were widely used in the decoration and structure of Gothic churches and buildings and are one of the most common features of Gothic-style architecture. However, the pointed arch is one of those architectural elements that are not exclusively found in Gothic structures but had already been used for centuries in pre-Islamic and Islamic architecture. The pointed arches and tall spires of Gothic architecture create a sensation of verticality and awe-inspiring height and are the most visible element of the style.
They were used both as decoration as well as for practical reasons such as bringing diagonal and transverse vaults to equal height.
Top image: A diagram of a classic Gothic pointed arch; Charles Herbert Moore (1840-1930), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Rib Vaults
The large windows used in Gothic architecture were made possible by the use of the rib vault, possibly the most important structural element of these buildings. These Gothic rib vaults were made of arched ribs that crossed diagonally, thereby taking much of the strain of the weight. Romanesque buildings had a weight that bore down directly on the structure, so they required smaller windows and thick walls to hold the weight. With the rib vaults, the pressure of the weight was thrust outwards towards the vault’s corners, and then downwards vai columns and colonettes to the columns beneath it.
Bottom image: Gothic or rib vaults of the nave (left) and the abse (right) of the Primate Cathedral of the Americas, Colonial City of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Piers and Columns
In early Gothic architecture, the capitals had been inspired by the Corinthian order columns of ancient Rome, along with the finely sculpted leaves. An early example of this can be seen in the Abbey church of Saint-Denis. The architect of the abbey would state that he had been inspired by the style after seeing it in the baths in Rome.
They were also used in structures that were built after the Abbey such as those in Canterbury in England, and at the Notre Dame in Paris.
Early Gothic churches used rib vaults that were divided into six parts resulting in the columns in the nave alternating in size to support the vaults. When the four-part rib was introduced, a standard design could be applied to all of the columns or piers. A central core design became popular in the High Gothic period, wherein several slender colonettes would connect the vaults to a centrally positioned core.
Top image: A diagram depicting the Gothic-style piers at the Crossing of Lincoln and Canterbury respectively; Charles Herbert Moore (1840-1930), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Flying Buttresses
Flying buttresses are structural support elements, these half-arch structures are outside the building and carry the thrust of the roof or vault’s weight. These buttresses were important features of Gothic architecture and they were positioned in rows on both sides of the building. Often they would be topped with large stone pinnacles which served as decoration as well as weight support.
Buttresses were not a new architectural element but were usually set right against the building in Roman times.
The flying buttresses of the Gothic style were more complex and often had arches of varying sizes that each connected to various levels of the structure. By incorporating flying buttresses into their designs, Gothic architects were able to construct buildings that were higher than before without the need for thick walls, and galls could be incorporated as well.
Bottom image: Section of Reims Cathedral showing the three levels of each flying buttress (1211–1275); The original uploader was Rainer Zenz at German Wikipedia., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Spires and Towers
Another noticeable feature of Gothic architecture is the use of spires and towers in their design. Their height created a dramatic appearance and served to be a highlight of the city’s skyline. For the architects, it represented their desire to reach the heavens. Their purpose was not entirely aesthetic though, as they were also used as bell towers to call people to religious service or to warn the townsfolk of possible invaders. In some cases, like with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the bell tower is entirely separate from the rest of the church.
Being one of the last elements to be built during the construction of a Gothic Church, they would often end up being built in a different style due to the long period of time it took to build the rest of the structure.
Top image: The towers and spires of Freiburg Minster, 1926; Vorlage Kempf, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tracery
Gothic architects wished to fill interior spaces with light by using glass-stained windows. However, large panels of glass would not be able to hold much weight and would easily break. A solution to this problem was found with the introduction of tracery. By dividing windows into smaller sections using stone ribs or bars of molding, large sections of a wall could contain glass while still maintaining structural integrity. These windows could be placed in intricate geometric patterns and ornate stained-glass designs.
Bottom image: Detail of the Gothic tracery of a window in the dome of the Cathedral of Venice; Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Labyrinths and Grotesques
The exteriors of Gothic buildings were often decorated with sculptures of apostles and saints. However, another regular feature of Gothic architecture is the grotesques or monsters such as the chimera and the Strix, both mythological beasts.
Mazes or labyrinths were other features often found in Gothic structures and were meant to present the difficulties and complications associated with the daily life of a Christian striving to attain a place in paradise.
Gargoyles of Notre-Dame; Peter Cadogan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gothic Revival
The Gothic Revival of the 1800s was a conscious movement that began in England to revive Gothic forms, mostly in the second half of the 18th century and throughout the 19th century. The late-18th century examples were often domestic and highly decorative, as seen at Strawberry Hill, which made the style fashionable. It is strongly linked to the Oxford Protestant movement. Because followers sought to move their religious practices closer to the Catholic Church again, adopting an architectural style that represented iconic Medieval buildings was logical.
In England, a man named Horace Walpole is credited with supercharging Gothic Revival. Recalling the buildings of his alma mater Cambridge University (yes, again), he created Strawberry Hill House in south London.
The New York Times notes "He founded the first significant private press at the house in 1757. He wrote the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764), inspired by a dream he had there of a “gigantic hand in armor on the utmost banister of a great staircase.” And by opening Strawberry Hill to visitors in the mid-1770s, he established the concept of the house-museum."
A $14 million restoration project began in 2004, and the home once again projects the majestic castle persona Walpole sought. A tour of his home shows why it lent itself to a generation of "spooky castle fiction," and why it's never really gone out of style since then.
Horace Walpole in his library at Strawberry Hill
from a drawing by J.H. Muntz, 1756