Gothic Art Chapter 11 Summary

Reading chapter 11 teaches you about how current situations can affect the architecture around us. It isn’t something we think about very often but it does change the way things look and the purpose behind them. Chapter 11 discusses gothic art and covers about 300 years’ worth of art and architecture. The majority of all the art that is discussed in chapter 11, and this presentation, is in Europe. France, Italy, Germany and England played a huge role in the gothic art style. Most of the gothic art is found over in that region. Originally gothic art was just called “modern art” or the “French style.” Gothic art emerged in France, in the early 12th century at the Abbey Church of St Denis built by Abbot Suger. The style spread beyond its origins …show more content…
This made the towns grow and the artistic ability started to thrive. Increased literacy and a growing body of secular vernacular literature encouraged the representation of secular themes in art. Several political issues were going on during this time. The political system at the time was based off feudalism. Feudalism basically means that you are born into your place in society. Of course you had the clergy, nobility, serfs, and burghers or bourgeois who were always of that time. There were also craftsmen, artisans, traders, and merchants that would come up to form a new Middle Class. This was a time of shifting between classes and combing different art techniques with past ones. People were bringing new things to the table and new ideas. Then when you look at it from a religious standpoint you see how religion was a huge thing during that time. It was a big part of their lives. There are several cathedrals just in France alone. “In fact the word cathedral comes from cathedra or seat of a bishop’s see or diocese. A cathedral is a much larger version of a church, housing a large school, choir, and pilgrimage site. The town had to be large enough to finance and support its construction. Not only did the townspeople give donations, but also the guild members, wealthy merchants, bankers, and nobles gloried in being part of the process. Towns would vie with one another to have the most magnificent cathedral, for it was also a …show more content…
This is a beautiful cathedral found close to Paris. Some people say it is the most beautiful French Gothic cathedral in all of France. There are so many ways that the architecture of this building shows off the Gothic style of this time period. It has the pointed arch; the rib-and-panel vault; and the flying buttress. Flying buttresses, as discussed earlier, were a huge staple of the Gothic style. This cathedral is also known for its many sculptures and for the intricate stained glass windows. Many of the churches no longer have the original stained glass or sculptures but this one does which makes it stand out among the rest. The glass follows a uniform style, with figures in the upper area were the legends of saints, and on the bottom the represented the corporations who paid for them. The cathedral has three large rose windows: one on the west front with a theme of The Last Judgment; one on the north with a theme of the Glorification of the Virgin; and one on the south with a theme of the Glorification of Christ. In fact there is no direct light that enters the building which makes it seem even more spectacular. All of the light that fills the building is filtered through the stained glass windows. On the doors and porches, medieval carvings of statues holding swords, crosses, books and trade tools parade around the portals. Their expressions are as clear today as when they were first carved 700 years