Marvin Trachtenberg, “Suger’s Miracles, Branner’s Bourges: Reflections on “Gothic Architecture” as Medieval Modernism”, Gesta, 39.2 (2000)m 183-205. In his article, Marvin Trachtenberg aims to redefine our understanding of words like “modern” and “historicism” in regards to Gothic architecture. To prove his point, he uses Suger’s St. Denis along with Bourges Cathedral as examples, but he begins with a lengthy investigation into the language we use to describe Gothic architecture, including the word itself. Trachtenberg proposes the elimination of the “Gothic architecture,” as a label and instead adopting the term “medieval modernism” to describe the architecture we see from the time period. He evaluates the way we use the word “modern” and
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Paul Binski uses this article to critique the popular discourse on Gothic Archtecture in regards to mimsesis, hermeneutics, and univalent categories. His exploration focuses greatly on the interaction between different styles. He argues that many scholars try to view the different styles of Gothic architecture as independent entities and fail to connect them back to the others, their “siblings” as he calls them. Instead, Binski argues that the styles of architecture and art of the medieval period interact with one and other and create tension within themselves. He believes they are used in different cases at different times in order to create a visual conversation. He explores instances of heroic, complex, and transformative architecture and how other scholars have failed in their analysis. He does a fairly good job defining the terms he uses for each section, but does little to connect the three, making it difficult to decipher a cohesive aim of the …show more content…
With the emergence of the Renaissance in Italy, the wealthy elite wanted to associate themselves with the intellectuals, politicians, and rules of Ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. As such, the Gothic architecture style began to fall out of fashion. Gothic was difficult to describe, instruct, and obtain. It was associated with the divine realm. At a time when the importance of man and humanity flourished, the population preferred structures that reminded them of the great men of the past, and thus connected them to this history. Bork also discusses how Gothic architects recognized a shift in aesthetic preferences and the adjustments they made to make Gothic architecture more desirable by developing elements that appealed to the intellectuals of the
Paul Binski uses this article to critique the popular discourse on Gothic Archtecture in regards to mimsesis, hermeneutics, and univalent categories. His exploration focuses greatly on the interaction between different styles. He argues that many scholars try to view the different styles of Gothic architecture as independent entities and fail to connect them back to the others, their “siblings” as he calls them. Instead, Binski argues that the styles of architecture and art of the medieval period interact with one and other and create tension within themselves. He believes they are used in different cases at different times in order to create a visual conversation. He explores instances of heroic, complex, and transformative architecture and how other scholars have failed in their analysis. He does a fairly good job defining the terms he uses for each section, but does little to connect the three, making it difficult to decipher a cohesive aim of the …show more content…
With the emergence of the Renaissance in Italy, the wealthy elite wanted to associate themselves with the intellectuals, politicians, and rules of Ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. As such, the Gothic architecture style began to fall out of fashion. Gothic was difficult to describe, instruct, and obtain. It was associated with the divine realm. At a time when the importance of man and humanity flourished, the population preferred structures that reminded them of the great men of the past, and thus connected them to this history. Bork also discusses how Gothic architects recognized a shift in aesthetic preferences and the adjustments they made to make Gothic architecture more desirable by developing elements that appealed to the intellectuals of the