Gothic Cathedral Architecture

History of Art and Architecture

Cathedral

• A cathedral is the home church of a bishop, typically the principal church in a diocese, derived from the Greek word "kathedra" meaning "seat" or "throne".

Characteristics of Gothic Architecture

• Building of great cathedrals
• Progressive lightening and heightening of structures
• Use of pointed arch and ribbed vault
• Use of a system of richly decorated fenestration

Cathedral Architectural Features

• Stained glass
• Tracery, ornamental openwork, divides windows into sections
• Clerestory windows, windows reaching the ceiling or a large coiling
• Pointed arches and windows
• Rose window, a circular window with tracery mullions radiating from a central point
• Flying buttresses, an exterior structure composed of thin half-arches, or flyers
• Ribbed groin vaults, a compound vault that requires less buttressing
• Lierne vault, a lierne rib any small subordinate

Artists

• Cimabue, original name Bencivieni di Pepo, painter and mosaicist, the last great Italian artist in the Byzantine style
• Giotto, a student of Cimabue, whose works point to the innovations of the Renaissance style

Phases of English Gothic Architecture

• Early English/Lancet Style (from 12th-13th C): Lancet windows and plate tracery
• Decorated Style (late 13th-late 14th C): Rich tracery, elaborate ornamental vaulting, and refinement of stone cutting techniques
• Perpendicular/Rectilinear Style (late 14th C-early 16th C): Perpendicular tracery, fine intricate stonework, and elaborate fanlike vaults

Three Divisions of the Church Façade

• Bottom section: 3 great portals, recessed doorways under high, sculpture-filled pointed arches
• Middle: Rose window and other lancet windows
• Upper: Towers and spires

Architectural Landmarks

• Abbey Church of St. Denis: Is an architectural landmark as it was the first major structure of which a substantial part was designed and built in the Gothic style
• Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres: Known as France's "model" church, known for its unmatched towers
• Amiens Cathedral, France: The tallest complete cathedral in France, with the greatest interior volume
• Reims Cathedral, France: Built in the High Gothic style, features more window space and the tympanum walls are filled with glass

Key Terms

• Fan vault: A concave conical vault whose ribs, equal length and curvature, radiate from the springing like the ribs of a fan
• Gargoyles: Grotesquely carved figures
• Pier: A column-like support for arches in the Gothic church
• Compound column: A pier composed of a conjunction of colonettes, generally attached to a central shaft; a clustered column
• Bosses: Ornamental projections covering the intersections of the ribs
• Crockets: Projecting carved ornaments in a bud or leaf shape used on the sides of the pinnacles and spires
• Corbels: Brackets set into the wall to carry a beam

Renaissance Period (13th-16th C)

• Renaissance means rebirth of the art of classic antiquity that occurred in Italy in the 14th C

Italy - 1360

The Florence Baptistery Door Competition

• A style of Italian art and architecture developed during the 15th Century in Florence by the designers of the city's baptistery doors

Famous Artists

• Giotto (Giotto di Bondone): Often considered the founder of Renaissance painting
• Masaccio (Tomaso Guidi): A disciple of Giotto; first great painter of the Italian Renaissance
• Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro da Mugello): A Dominican monk, all of his art was dedicated to religious themes
• Fra (Lippo) Lippi: A complete antithesis of Fra Angelico; more concerned with physical beauty than spiritual depth
• Alessandro Botticelli: Instrumental with the opening to us the stories and characters of classical mythology
• Donatello: Sculptor known for sacred themes

Italian Early Renaissance Architecture

• General Characteristics: Ashlar masonry in rusticated finish in horizontal courses, Horizontal cornices and balustrades, Doors and windows finished with molded architrave of the classic type or pediment in triangular or segmental type
• Vaulted ceilings: Without ribs; dome raised in a drum in fresco
• Classic orders: Appear decoratively in facades, structural in arcades

Early Renaissance Architectural Landmarks

• The Duomo or Dome of the Cathedral of Florence, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi
• Ospedale Degli Innocenti (Foundling Hospital) by Brunelleschi
• Palazzo Medici-Ricardi by Michelezzo & Brunelleschi

Italian High Renaissance (late 15th- early 16th C)

• Historical Background: Reigns of Francis I, Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
• Three Big Names of High Renaissance Art: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Raphael

Characteristics of High Renaissance Architecture

• Impressive staircase: In front of the high, rusticates base
• Stringcourse: Separating the base from the first story
• Tall pilasters: With Corinthian capitals
• Alternating arched and triangular pediments: Over windows
• Ornamental cartouches: Over doorways and statuary
• The circle: A dominant motif

High Renaissance Architectural Landmarks

• Tempietto by Donato Bramante
• Capitoline Hill by Michelangelo

Renaissance in France

• General Characteristics of the French Renaissance Architecture: The transitional period featured a Gothic and Renaissance ensemble, Classical horizontality in the French manner, and a tendency to Gothic verticality
• Architectural Landmarks:
  • Chateau de Chambord: A palace started by Francis I; its architecture is a carefully balanced blend of traditional elements of Medieval French architecture and other elements borrowed from the Italian Renaissance
  • Palais de Fontainbleau (1526): Used by the kings of France from the 12th century, the medieval royal hunting lodge of Fontainebleau, built by Francois I