What Are Gothic Cathedrals

The Gothic time period began around the middle of the twelfth century and lasted to the end of the fifteenth century. The pinnacle of the Middle ages artistic achievement, rivaling the wonders of ancient Greece and Rome, was the Gothic cathedrals these “stone bibles” were so elaborate that construction literally took ages.Builders used pointed arcs and to increase the reality and illusion of height, cathedral exterior had carved Biblical tales.The Romanesque style made way for the Gothic style and in most are the two merged into one style. French architects during the thirteenth century developed the pointed arch, piers and the flying buttress which is a support or brace that counteracts the outward thrust of an arch or vault, with these innovations teachers were able to …show more content…
Christ is holding a smaller version of Mary, this is supposed to depict her soul, which he is preparing to carry to heaven. The sculpture depicted a sign of the growing concern for human emotion through the depressed expressions on the face of the fifteen mourners around Mary's deathbed. The devotion to the Virgin Mary grew regularly during the Gothic period, one of the fascinating sculptural features of Gothic cathedrals was the use of gargoyles,grotesque flying monsters that project out from the upper portions of the huge churches that were used as rain spouts, intend to carry water from the roof. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the demand for illustrated books that included psalms, gospels, and other parts of the liturgy grew steadily during this time manuscript illumination showed the influence of stained glass art. In the years that followed, painters began to become more interested in realistic detail in their works and the desire to paint their figures more graceful and