Blog Post 16
The term Gothic is applied to art that was produced in Western Europe for the twelfth century through the sixteenth century in France and Europe. When I think of Gothic art, I think of stone sculptures and dark paintings. I was surprised that this chapter didn’t have many paintings or murals. It was basically all sculptures and buildings. The person who invented Gothic art is Abbot Suger. Suger made buildings unique by putting Gothic architecture in them. There were main elements in the making of Gothic architecture. Each building that was built in this period had: rib vaults, piers, flying buttresses, pointed arches, the skeleton and stained-glass windows. The rib vaults make less pressure around the building and makes more space to add windows. Piers are the support of the buildings. Compound piers were a mandatory object in Gothic architecture. I had no idea that Gothic architecture buildings used stained-glass windows. Abbot Suger thought that these buildings needed more light, so the stained-glass windows came into this period. The main colors in the Gothic art stained-glass windows were blue and red. It amazes me how stained-glass windows are made. It starts out as translucent colored glass. The translucent glass is formed together by colored glass. Once the glass makes a picture, it is framed by an iron armature.
Most of Gothic architecture is inspired by the Romanesque period. Abbot Suger turned more of his attention to churches after Saint-Denis. One of the biggest achievements of Gothic architecture was the construction of a cathedral. By building this cathedral, the economy grew significantly. It gave jobs for many people. These jobs include masons, carpenters, sculptors, stonecutters, and other craftsman jobs. It helped the community come together or activities and religious opportunities.
The main town of Gothic art would be Chartres. Chartres grew as a city when a cathedral was built. The cathedral was called the Chartres Cathedral. Chartres had vertical towers that elevated its appearance. When building this cathedral, the builders wanted it to be seen since it is at an elevated site. Throughout the cathedral, there is stained-glass lancet windows. This feature was in all Gothic cathedral entrance walls. I liked learning about the exterior sculptures of the Chartres cathedral. I think this cathedral is the most detailed and unique building that I have seen. It had three doors which were unique to any other building this chapter. The kings and queens were above the three outside doors. I liked how there were sculptures of saints around the three doors. The saints are very detailed and look real. I thought it was a clever idea to put the saint’s sculptures right by the door. It would feel like they were looking over you while walking into the cathedral. The ceiling was 120 feet high making it look more grand inside. I wish these cathedrals were still around, so we could see them today. I really liked reading this chapter. I was surprised how beautiful and well-designed this cathedral was. I was glad this was the chapter we ended on.
I personally liked reading this chapter because of the gothic architecture that it explained. Like you said, it comes from the Romanesque time, and shared similarities with catholic churches, like the last judgment. I would say that I agree with you that I think of dark paintings as well as sculptures, and I was surprised it didn’t go into detail on that art.
I really like what you covered in your blog about Gothic art. There were some beautiful paintings and architectures. I am so amazed by the glass and how it is formed together by colored glass. Gothic isn’t my absolute favorite because its the darker paintings but they make them very pretty for them being so dark. I’m happy we finished these blogs strong. I can’t even begin to explain all the things I learned. Art grew on me throughout the chapters.
I was also glad that this is the chapter we ended on! The cathedrals were so magnificent to look at. I am happy that the text provides such beautiful images of these cathedrals, and gives us some background as to how they were built, and even the settings they provided in their communities at the time. I’ve also been very curious about stained glass inside of churches, so it was interesting to read about how stain glass is made and constructed. Such detailed work is put into these churches, and it pays off because that feeling inside a church with a large nave and beautiful stained glass is indescribable.
This chapter was very neat and interesting but it was a lot of structural buildings. As beautiful as the structures are, I was hoping to see more of the paintings and murals like you had said. I never would have thought of how the building/constructing of the churches brought so much growth and business to the area. This helps to bring economic growth to the area and help with bringing in revenue to help build.
