Chapter Seven Gothic Europe
Dates and Places: • 12th to 14th century• Western Europe (begins
in France)
People:• Growth of urban
centers• Sophisticated courts• Scholasticism• Cult of Virgin Mary Reims Cathedral, ca. 1225–1290. Fig. 7-1.
GothicThemes:• Virgin Mary • Life of Christ and saints• Portraits • Secular lifeForms:• Immense churches• Increasingly optical approach
to figures and space• Lavish ornament and
materials Saint Theodore, Chartres Cathedral, ca. 1230.
Fig. 7-12.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Birth of Gothic style • Abbot Suger• Royal church• Rib vaults and pointed
arches• Open space• Stained glass windows,
symbolic light = lux nova Plan, abbey church, Saint-Denis, 1140–1144.
Fig. 7-3.
Gothic: France
Notre-Dame, begun 1163. Fig. 7-8.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Flying buttresses• Quadrant arches• Rose windows• Towers on heavily
ornamented westwork• Large clerestory of
stained glass windows• Skeletal support system
Notre-Dame, begun 1163. Fig. 7-8.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Stained glass window • Lux nova• Stories of the faith• Virgin Mary• Bar tracery
Rose window and lancets, Chartres Cathedral, ca. 1220.
Fig. 7-11.
Gothic: France
Amiens Cathedral, begun 1220.
Fig. 7-13.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Gothic architects seek
height • Nave bays with arcade,
triforium, and clerestory• Rib vaults, colonettes,
compound piers• Flying buttresses outside
Amiens Cathedral, begun 1220. Fig. 7-13.
Gothic: France
Annunciation and Visitation, Reims Cathedral, ca. 1230–1255. Fig. 7-14.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Portal jamb sculpture • Compare to Royal Portal
at Chartres• Increasing naturalism• Figures released from
vertical support• Influence of classical
sculpture• Cult of Mary: Visitation
Annunciation and Visitation, Reims Cathedral,
ca. 1230–1255. Fig. 7-14.
Gothic: France
Sainte-Chapelle, 1243–1248. Fig. 7-15.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Skeletal support • Walls replaced by
stained glass• Rib vaults, mullions• Rayonnant style
Sainte-Chapelle, 1243–1248. Fig. 7-15.
Gothic: France
Blanche of Castile, Louis IX, and two monks, 1226–1234.
Fig. 7-18.
Gothic: FranceExample: • Illuminated manuscript• Produced in urban
workshops • Luxury books for private
patrons• Contemporary
architectural style• Courtly elegance
Blanche of Castile, Louis IX, and two monks, 1226–1234. Fig. 7-18.
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