Download - 01 a- Gothic Architecture
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
Introduction
• Gothic architecture has nothing to do with the historical Goths. It was a term that came to be used as early as the 1530s to describe culture that was considered rude and barbaric.
• Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches.
• It flourished in Europe during 12th century.
• It was preceded by Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture in the fifteenth century.
•It originated at the Abbey church of Saint-Denis in Paris. This church was the place that French kings were buried.
* Built between 1140 and 1144, the church became a model for most of the late 12th-century French cathedrals.
* By the 1400s, the Gothic style was so predominant that builders routinely used Gothic details for all types of Structures.
* Secular buildings such as town halls, royal palaces, courthouses, hospitals, castles, bridges, and fortresses reflected Gothic ideas.
Gothic Architecture Features Originated in 12th-century
France and lasted into the
16th century.
Gothic architecture was
known during the period as
"the French Style".
It’s characteristic features
include:
a) the pointed arch, Ogee arch
b) the ribbed vault,
c) the flying buttress.
d) Stained glass
e) Gargoyles
f) pinnacles
Architecture Features
Pointed Arch
* During the Gothic era, builders
discovered that pointed arched
would give structures amazing
strength and stability.
* In Gothic buildings, the weight
of the roof was supported by the
arches rather than the walls.
This meant that the walls could
be thinner.
Architecture Features
Pointed Arch
• OGEE ARCH
• Ogee is a shape consisting of a concave arc flowing into a convex arc, so forming an S-shaped curve with vertical ends.
• The ogee shape is one of the characteristics of the Gothic style of architecture. Ogee windows and arches were introduced to European cities from the Middle East.
• An ogee molding may be run in plaster or wood, or cut in stone or brickwork.
Architecture Features
Architecture FeaturesRibbed Vault
Earlier Romanesque
churches relied on barrel
vaulting.
Gothic builders introduced
the dramatic technique of
ribbed vaulting.
• The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with a piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns
Fan Vaulting
Architecture FeaturesFlying Buttress
* In order to prevent the
outward collapse of the
arches, Gothic architects
began using a revolutionary
"flying buttress" system.
* Freestanding brick or stone
supports were attached to
the exterior walls by an arch
or a half-arch.
Role of Flying Buttresses• These allowed for builders to go
higher with their walls because they supported the extra weight that pushed inward that would otherwise make the walls fall in.
• They direct the force of the wall out and toward the ground and they allow the church to look more delicate and better honor God.
• The Flying Buttresses also allowed for more and bigger stained glass windows.
Architecture FeaturesStained Glass
Since the walls themselves
were no longer the primary
supports, Gothic buildings
could include large areas of
glass.
Huge stained glass
windows and a profusion of
smaller windows created the
effect of lightness and space.
• rose window: a circular window composed of patterned tracery arranged in petal-like formation
• The most common design used in stained glasses were:
trefoil, quatrefoil -member composed of three or four foils and cusps, accordingly.
• trefoil: an ornamental shape that has three foils or lobes
• quatrefoil : An ornamental form which has four lobes or foils. It may resemble a four-petaled flower.
LANCET WINDOW
• A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top.
• It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance.
• Instances of this architectural motif are typical of Gothic ecclesiastical structures of the earliest period.
• Lancet windows may occur singly, or paired under a single moulding, or grouped in an odd number with the tallest window at the centre
PINNACLE• A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or
crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations.
• The pinnacle looks like a small spire.
• It was mainly used in Gothic architecture.
PINNACLE
• The pinnacle had two purposes:
• Ornamental – adding to the loftiness and verticality of the structure. They sometimes ended with statues, such as in Milan Cathedral.
• Structural – the pinnacles were very heavy and often rectified with lead, in order to enable the flying buttresses to contain the stress of the structure vaults and roof.
Architecture Features Gargoyles
Many gothic cathedrals are
heavily ornamented with
strange, leering creatures.
These gargoyles are not
merely decorative. Originally,
the sculptures were
waterspouts to protect the
foundation from rain.
Gargoyles were originally intended as waterspouts and drains to keep rain water from damaging the foundation of buildings.
Superstition held that gargoyles frightened away evil spirits while serving their practical function.
Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous and scary.
They serve more as ornamentation
Gothic Architecture:Gothic Architecture in France
• Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Paris
• Bishop of Paris began construction in 1163
• A very tall church, reaching some 108 feet from the floor to the crown of the vaults
• The clerestories were enlarged around 1225 to bring in additional light
Notre Dame Cathedral
YORK MINSTER CATHEDRAL, YORK, ENGLAND
• York Minster is the cathedral of York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.
• The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York.
• York Minster is the second largest Gothic cathedral of Northern Europe
• The present building was begun in about 1230 and completed in 1472.
• It has cruciform plan with an octagonal chapter house attached to the north transept, a central tower and two towers at the west front
• In 741 the church was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt as a more impressive structure
INTERIOR – YORK MINSTER
• The north and south transepts were the first parts of the new church to be built.
• They have simple lancet windows, the most famous being the Five Sisters in the north transept.
• In the south transept is a famous rose window whose glass dates from about 1500 and commemorates the union of the royal houses of York and Lancaster
• Other windows in the minster include an ornate rose window and the 15 m tall Five Sisters window
• York as a whole, and particularly the minster, have a long tradition of creating beautiful stained glass
• The Minster's records show that much of the glass (white or coloured) came from Germany
• Upon arrival at York, it was intricately painted, fired, then glazed together with lead strips into the windows
• Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic, church in the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.
• It is one of the most notable religious buildings in the United Kingdom and is the burial site for English and British monarchs.
Gothic Style Summary • Old, ornate churches, pointed
Arches
• Stained glass in complex trefoil
or rose designs were predominant
• Exposed wooden beams, large,
imposing fireplaces, and emulated
candle lighting completed the
style.
• There was a strong vertical
influence, supported by the high
arches.
* Light was also important, as windows grew more and more expansive and light and air flooded into the once gloomy churches.
Gothic Furniture
Furniture was massive and
adorned with Gothic
motifs.
Chairs, bed frames, cabinets
were sturdy and featured
arches, spiral-turned legs
and rich upholstery in dark
colors.