ROMANESQUE & GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
Church of St. EtienneCaen, France
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury, England
Romanesque Architecture
“Descended from Roman” Emerged around 1000 and
lasted until roughly 1150 Characteristics:
Massive, thick walls Grounded, Earthly appearance Round arches Barrel vaults Large towers Small windows
Gothic Architecture
“Gothic” is a Renaissance invention to insult the style.
Gothic originally termed “French Style”
Style of the High Middle Ages in Northern Europe.
Characteristics: Flying buttresses Vertical emphasis Pointed arches (ogival) Ribbed vaults Large windows/Light Stained glass windows
Abbot Suger 1085 – 1151 Redesigned Church
of Saint-Denis in Paris First Gothic structure King of France proclaimed that
this would be the model for future churches
Abbott Suger and the Gothic Style
Technical innovation: glass walls
Light: analogy to God’s spiritual being
Created Gothic framework of soaring lines; metaphor for God’s world.
Chartres:1194-1240
Chartres surpassed all others: perfection of design, stained glass and sculpture.
Relic: Mary’s tunic Floor plan: basic Latin Cross
but with broader portals on north and south
Still has the all of its original glass