GOTHICEUROPEGARDNER CHAPTER 18-4

PP. 486-494

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL Interior of Salisbury Cathedral,

Salisbury, England, 1220-1265

Embodies the essential characteristics of the English gothic style

The English façade is a squat screen in front of the nave -> wider than the building behind it

Soaring height of the French facades is absent

Emphasis is on the great crossing tower -> because height is modest the use of the flying buttress is sparing

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL - PLAN

Plan of Salisbury Cathedral, England, 1220-1258

Long rectilinear plan

Double transept

Flat eastern end

Interior -> three story elevation, pointed arches, four part rib vaults, compound piers, tracery of the triforium

Strong horizontal emphasis

Use of dark Purbeck marbles for moldings and corbels

GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL

Choir of Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, England, 1332-1357

The Perpendicular style = late English Gothic style -> takes its name from the pronounced verticality of it’s decorative details

Single enormous window divided into tiers of windows fills the flat east end -> vertical lines dominate

In the choir wall the vertical wall elements lift from the floor all the way to the vaulting

The vaults ribs are a dense thicket of entirely ornamental strands serving no structural purpose

CHAPEL OF HENRY VII

Robert and William Vertue, fan vaults of the chapel of Henry VII, Westminster Abbey, London, England, 1503-1519

The chapel of Henry VII epitomizes the decorative and structure disguising qualities of the Perpendicular style in the use of fan vaults with lacelike tracery and hanging pendants resembling stalactites

Architectural virtuosity and theatrics of the Perpendicular style

ROYAL TOMBS Tomb of Edward II, Gloucester Cathedral,

England, ca. 1330-1335

Freestanding tombs w/recumbent images of the deceased are familiar feature in Late Gothic Europe

In the hope of salvation the wealthy endowed whole chapels for the chanting of masses and made rich bequests of treasure and property

Freestanding tombs were endowed by patrons -> reminders of human mortality

Edward II’s tomb resembles a miniature Perpendicular English Gothic chapel w/its forest of gables, ogee arches and pinnacles

COLOGNE CATHEDRAL Cologne Cathedral begun in 1248

under the direction of Gerhard of Cologne took more than 600 years to build

The largest church in northern Europe

Only the east end dates the 13th century -> the 19th century portions follow the original Gothic plans

GERHARD OF COLOGNE, Choir of Cologne Cathedral (view facing east), Cologne, Germany, completed 1322

The nave of Cologne Cathedral is 422 feet long

The 150 foot high choir, a taller variation on the Amiens Cathedral choir, is a prime example of the Gothic architects’ quest for height

SAINT ELIZABETH, MARBURG

Interior of Saint Elizabeth, Marburg, Germany, 1235-1283

A different type of design that developed especially in Germany is the HALLENKIRCHE = the aisles are the same height as the nave

No tribune, triforium, or clerestory

French inspired rib vaults w/pointed arches, and tall lancet windows

Because of the tall aisles windows in the aisle walls, sunlight brightly illuminates the interior

STRASBOURG CATHEDRAL

Death of the Virgin, tympanum of left doorway, south transept, Strasbourg Cathedral, Strasbourg, France, ca. 1230

The 12 apostles gather around the Virgin, forming an arc well suited for the frame

At the center Christ receives his mother’s soul

Mary Magdalene couches beside the bed

Sacred figures w/human emotions -> stir emotional responses in observers -> humanizing trend

EKKEHARD AND UTA

Ekkehard and Uta, statues in the west choir, Naumberg Cathedral, Naumberg, Germany, ca. 1249-1255

Donor portraits -> represent the Margrave(military governor) Ekkehard and his wife Uta

Statues attached to columns and stand beneath architectural canopies

Period costumes and individualized features and personalities

Intense knight and his beautiful and aloof wife

BAMBERG RIDER

Equestrian statue (Bamberg Rider), statue in the east choir, Bamberg Cathedral, Germany, ca. 1235-1240

Some believe it represents a German emperor, perhaps Frederick II

Careful representation of the rider’s costume, high saddle, and horse’s trappings

Proportions of horse and rider are correct

Rider turns towards the viewer

ROTTGEN PIETA

Virgin with the Dead Christ (Rottgen Pieta), from the Rhineland, Germany, ca. 1300-1325, painted wood

The statuette of the Virgin grieving over the distorted dead body of Christ in her lap reflects the widespread troubles of the 14th century -> war, plague, famine, and social strife

Pieta = Italian for pity/compassion

An appalling icon of agony, death, and sorrow -> says to the the viewer, “what is your suffering compared to this?”

NICHOLAS OF VERDUN

Renowned for his metal and enamel work, below is a huge reliquary in the shape of a basilica to house relics of the three magi