Gothic Art
Presentation by Dr. Shubham Shiva
“Opus Francigenum (opus Modernum, novum opus, maniera tedesca)” Source: The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Contemporaries used this expression, meaning 'French work', to describe Gothic architectural styles that spread from northern France throughout Europe
“Opus Modernum,” meaning “the modern style” was known to be what is now called Gothic architecture within the twelfth century. It was developed by the Politician, Philosopher and mathematician Abbot Suger who directs his focus towards letting the maximum amount of light into a church or cathedral.
The Gothic Era: Opus Francigenum and Opus Modernum
The Gothic Era was nestled between the preceding Romanesque period and the later Early Renaissance period. As mentioned above, the word and idea behind the Gothic Era was anything but “black”. The main intention was to allow more light in, which can primarily be seen in Gothic architecture.
But where did this idea for more light come from? And what was the fascination with more light? To understand this, let us discuss the origins of Gothic architecture.
Architecture was the main artistic style during the Gothic period. It originated in France, more within the Île-de-France (“Isle of France”) region, during the 12th Century and developed throughout Europe until the 16th Century. It was referred to as Opus Francigenum, which means “French Work” in Latin. The “French Work” was a new “style”, as it was called, pioneered by Abbot Suger.
Abbot Suger was a French statesman and abbot of the Basilica of Saint-Denis (1137), a church located in the town called Saint-Denis in Paris. Suger rebuilt Saint-Denis around the years 1137 or 1140. In the reconstruction, he included elements of a new architectural style that would evolve and start the beginning of what was called the Opus Modernum, which is Latin for “Modern Work”.
Suger wanted to express his love for God and
the divine through art and light. This was an
important concept for him to materialize within
the designs of the cathedral.
The light was symbolically utilized within and
magically transported through the numerous
stained-glass windows surrounding the
people who would be inside.
It was the Syrian theologian called Pseudo-
Dionysius the Areopagite, from the 5th to 6thC
that influenced the way Suger perceived the
Connection between light and the Divine.
He believed that material objects were vehicles
to the Divine, the connection between man
and God and so by creating the most
resplendent architectural gem, and that
this was a testament to reaching the
heavens on earth.
A print of the Basilica of Saint-Denis; Popular Graphic Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Term Gothic means -The “Barbarous German Style”
Giorgio Vasari, an Italian-born artist, historian, writer, and engineer was from the Renaissance period and wrote one of the seminal texts on art history during his time, titled Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (it is otherwise known by The Lives) in 1550.
The Lives included extensive information about the Italian Renaissance including biographies of some of the popular Renaissance artists. The text explored the classical in art, especially the art and ideas from Greece and Rome. Furthermore, Vasari believed in the symmetry, order, and beauty inherent in art, ideals undoubtedly perpetuated from Classicism and concepts like naturalism.
The Goths were Germanic tribes and known to have started the onset of the European Medieval Age through their invasion of Rome, which led to its fall.
From Romanesque to Gothic
It is important to note the significance of the Romanesque period that preceded the Gothic period. There were distinguishing stylistic differences and the contrast created from Gothic architecture left a considerable mark on the art world. What exactly were these differences?
Firstly, the role of these churches, and cathedrals, was didactic. In other words, they were there to teach the public about Christianity. There would also be Gothic statues and artworks for these purposes. Cathedrals also had specific layouts, for example, the front entrances would be west-facing with a cruciform layout plan, which was in the shape of a cross.
Furthermore, churches were significant for economic and social development, acting as centers for pilgrimages and housed artifacts and sacred remains. Due to this, they became important cultural structures in society.
The Romanesque period occurred from the 10th Century until the 12th Century. Buildings, and churches, more importantly, were constructed on larger – monumental – scales. Other characteristics include thickset walls, piers, pillars, rounded arches, small windows, and barrel vaulting. Rib vaulting became more dominant during this artistic period too, including groin vaults.
Romanesque buildings also appeared more symmetrical and defined in shape, and were influenced by prior architectural elements from the Roman and Byzantine eras. The overall effect these buildings created in the environment was that of a massive and heavy-set stone structure with an order to it.
When we look at Gothic architecture it was quite the opposite to the symmetrical and simple appearance of Romanesque buildings. Gothic architecture utilized the cruciform layout, also with a west-facing entrance. New additions to this style included more windows, most notably the rose windows made of stained glass, flying buttresses, pointed arches, and more intricately designed vaulting.
All-in-all, Gothic architecture borrowed foundational stylistic elements from the Romanesque period. The Gothic style also created a completely new, open, slim-lined version of a cathedral – merely evident by the varying thicknesses of columns – reaching as high up into the heavens as possible (quite literally and figuratively). The Gothic period was also influenced by the preceding Byzantine and Islamic periods and the architectural designs already styled by these cultures.
An illustration of the different Gothic-style architectural elements on churches and cathedrals; painter from Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Exterior side of the rose window in the center of the east façade of the Roscommon Sacred Heart Church; Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons
Gothic Art and Styles
Gothic Art has been divided into three periods, namely, the Early, Late, and International Gothic styles. Each style had its own characteristics that contributed to the development of the Gothic era and its place within Western civilization. Below, we discuss each style in more depth as well as popular cathedrals and Gothic artworks.
The Early and Late (otherwise referred to as “High”) Gothic styles were mainly related to the development of architecture. Thus, Gothic sculptures within these styles would be for architectural embellishments. The International Gothic style consisted mostly of Gothic painting, decorative arts, and sculptures made for the royal courts.
It is also worth noting that within the area of Gothic painting, the Sienese School of Painting set the foundations for this genre of painting. It also set the foundations for Pre-Renaissance painting.
Early Gothic Style (c. 1144 – 1200 CE)
The Early Gothic style started when Abbot Suger rebuilt the Basilica of Saint-Denis around the years 1135 to 1144 CE. The Basilica of Saint-Denis was first constructed as a medieval church in the town of Saint-Denis in Paris. Suger reconstructed different parts of the cathedral in such a way that made it appear completely different to the Romanesque style preceding it.
Furthermore, the Basilica of Saint-Denis was an important structure for not only pilgrimage but a sacred burial sanctuary of the remains of Saint-Denis himself. Saint-Denis was a Christian saint during the 3rd Century CE. He was also a martyr, believed to have been executed by the Roman Emperor Decius. He was also the bishop of Paris and the patron saint of France.
A common portrayal of Saint-Denis is of him holding his own severed head, which is now a Gothic statue at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. This is a common depiction and association with the patron saint due to the tale of him walking and preaching holding his own head. In general, saints who were decapitated were depicted holding their own heads, known as “cephalophores”.
An unknown emperor (Charles the Great ?) and Saint-Denis of Paris between two angels, west portals of Notre-Dame de Paris; Jebulon
Suger started with the west-facing facade of the church: This was the location of the front door, which was only one door at the time before reconstruction. He replaced the single door with three entranceways, which also allowed for easier in-flow of people.
Suger expanded and opened the interior of the church using different methods. One of these methods included utilizing pointed arches instead of the typical Roman rounded arches. The rounded arches were bulkier in appearance and surrounded by thicker walls to support the outward pressure of the arch and barrel vaulting above. The barrel vaulting also rested on round columns adding to a bulkier and weighty appearance within the church.
The vertical designs of the pointed arches allowed for the weight of the rib vaulting to be pushed downwards instead of outwards, which in effect created more space within the cathedral. The rib vaulting also stood on thinner columns, which further added to the verticality of the whole interior. Piers were also put in place to support the downward force from the vaulting (vaulting was made from stone, which made it heavier).
It is important to note here the emphasis on verticality within Saint-Denis, and really within the Gothic style in general. The focus on creating more verticality served two purposes, practically and spiritually. Practically it created a whole new space inside and outside and spiritually it seemingly aspired to reach the heavens and God.
What further added to creating an open and expansive space while in the cathedral was the inclusion of thinner walls and more windows. The utilization of more windows was a complete shift from Romanesque architecture that only included sparse space for windows.
Additionally, Suger went a step further by including stained glass windows, which again created a heavenly effect from each individual microcosm of light reflected and refracted from the whole window. The stained-glass windows were also utilized on the large rose window above the western façade of the cathedral.
The interior of the Basilica of Saint-Denis; Ed Ogle, CC BY 2.0
Rose windows became another characteristic feature of Gothic architecture. These were created with the technique called tracery, either done as Plate or Bar tracery, as we will notice in later Gothic cathedrals. Plate tracery originated as far back as the Byzantine architectural designs and influenced the Gothic style. Tracery appears simply as stone patterns, often with a floral appearance, with stained glass between them.
The emphasis on bringing more light into the building also served spiritual purposes as Abbot Suger believed that light was a symbol of the divine. He expressed his love and devotion for God through his love of light and engaging the senses versus the more limited engagement with the earthly we see from the Romanesque period.
This earthly engagement with form and colors is what also created the monumental experience for anyone who walked into the cathedral and undoubtedly made them feel more connected to a higher power.
The stained-glass windows, along with many Gothic sculptures, depicted various stories and images of religious figures. Given that this was an age where illiteracy was common, these images would have acted as educational stories.
Suger was influenced by the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. He believed that light was synonymous with God’s light or with the Divine. The above foundational belief in light informed the way Suger created the revised version of Saint-Denis and its role as a vessel for light to fill it up.
Another important cathedral is the Notre-Dame de Paris (1163), which was built in the Île de la Cité in Paris. The Notre Dame is French for “Our Lady of Paris” and was built in honor of the Virgin Mother Mary. The Notre Dame is another example of Gothic architecture with its flying buttresses, rib vaulting, and rose windows so characteristic of this style. It also houses a large organ and church bells.
Stained glass detail of a window in the Basilica of Saint-Denis; Vassil, Public domain
What is Stained Glass?
In visual art, the term 'stained glass' commonly denotes glass to which translucent color has been added during manufacture: a process which reached its apogee in Gothic architecture, in the pictorial narrative windows of the great Christian cathedrals such as Chartres, Reims, and Notre Dame de Paris. Indeed, the craftsmanship of the stained glass artists who created such medieval masterpieces as the Rose window in the west front of Chartres Cathedral has rarely been equaled.
Characteristics - How Is Stained Glass Made
Most glass is manufactured from a mixture of sand (silicon dioxide), limestone (calcium carbonate) and sodium carbonate - a mix known as soda-lime-silica.
In medieval times, metallic oxide chemicals were added to the molten mix in order to produce the required colours. For example, the addition of copper produced blue and/or green; cobalt produced purple-blue; chromium produced chrome green or yellow; manganese or nickel produced violet; lead produced pale yellow; the colour red was more difficult to obtain, gold being the usual additive.
Tonal variations of these colours were created by varying the basic soda-lime-silica mix and the amounts and combinations of colouring agent. This molten liquid was then processed using the 'cylinder method' during which it was blown then formed into a large cylindrical shape before being flattened into thin coloured sheets. These sheets were then cut into small pieces from which the artist would assemble (jigsaw or mosaic-style) his intended stained glass pictures, using strips of lead to connect the separate panes. Final enhancements might be made by adding stains or paint to the inner surface of the finished window.
For example, colour enhancements were achieved using stains such as silver nitrate, 'Cousin's rose,' and (later) various types of enamel, while facial and other figurative details were painted directly onto the inner surface of the glass using a special glass paint consisting of a mixture of lead or copper filings, gum arabic, and a medium such as vinegar, wine, or even urine. When installed, the window might be given extra support through the use of iron rods and metal frames known as ferramenta.
Stained glass was a popular element in late Medieval art (c.1000-1400). It appeared during the era of Romanesque Art (c.1000-1200) before becoming an essential feature of the 'soaring' Gothic style of architecture (1150-1375). During this time, architectural advances facilitated even larger areas of glass and afforded greater elaboration of structure. This process reached its height in the Flamboyant style in Europe and the Perpendicular style in Britain. At the same time, glass design became more daring, painting became more intricate, like easel art, and improvements in silver stain allowed the artist to depict yellow hair and golden garments more realistically.
As a unique form of religious art, stained glass reached its apogee during the era of Gothic art during the 12th and 13th centuries. This development was the result of a discovery in engineering - a vaulted roof supported not by walls but by pillars. Having learned how to build a roof without walls, the Gothic architect was free to do what he liked with the spaces between the pillars, the areas which hitherto had been filled by walls. The discovery could never have been made in southern Europe, where one of the architect's duties was to keep the strong sunlight out. In the North he needed all the light he could get, and he welcomed the opportunity of turning his new dummy walls into window frames. What the wall was to the Byzantine the window became to the northern Gothic builder - an excuse for introducing colour. Here the Gothic artist was faced with a problem similar to that of the Byzantine mosaicist. He had to work in a medium that imposed its own laws on him.
Smallish pieces of coloured transparent glass held together by narrow bands of lead made an excellent basis for colour decoration but were incapable of producing realism. The problem was one of pattern and colour-organization with a minimum of representational accuracy or narrative interest. Naturally iconography could not be kept out, for the church demanded it, but one cannot feel that the stained-glass craftsmen of the thirteenth century took their iconographical duties very seriously. It is impossible to regard the windows of Chartres as an illustrated Bible, as one can easily do in the case of the contemporary mosaic art in the Narthex of St Mark's in Venice. In Chartres the colour is too intense, the patterning too insistent. No one cannot comfortably 'read' Gothic windows. One has to let them evoke a mood. They do so quite overpoweringly, but since the representational factor plays so small a part in their impact on the senses they can be justifiably ignored in this account of Gothic art. By the time artists had learned to treat the windows as a surface to paint a picture on, the Gothic spirit was dead.
Stained glass was incorporated into the great Gothic Cathedrals of France, Belgium, UK and Germany, including those of St Denis, Sainte Chapelle (1241-48), St Etienne, Notre Dame Evreux, Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens, Reims, Poitiers, Strasbourg, Ghent, Canterbury, York Minster and Augsburg. Cologne Cathedral, for instance, has a window surface area of 10,000 square meters (108,000 sq ft) - roughly three times the amount in the great Gothic cathedral at Chartres.
Famous Gothic Stained Glass Windows
Intended to inspire and educate the largely illiterate population in the Gospel scriptures, these translucent gems of Christian art also brought a huge amount of light into previously dim places of worship, and reinforced the image and power of the Church in Rome. Famous stained glass works of Biblical art include the Rose Window and Life of Christ Window at Chartres Cathedral, the north transept rose window at Notre Dame Cathedral Paris, the Crucifixion Window at Poitiers Cathedral, the Rose Window at Strasbourg Cathedral, the Prophet Windows at Reims, the Ascension Window at Le Mans Cathedral, the Daniel Window at Augsburg, the windows depicting The story of the Magi and The Descent of Christ from Adam at Canturbury Cathedral, the St Benedict Window at York Minster, and The Mucha Windows at Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Renaissance Stained Glass
Although a significant amount of religious stained glass was lost in Britain during the Reformation, it continued to be produced in France (at Limoges) and in Italy (at Murano) most of it in the Classical style - witness the Early Renaissance 15th century glass in Florence Cathedral, designed by Paolo Uccello, Donatello and Lorenzo Ghiberti - until production was halted by the French Revolution. However, during the High Renaissance the medium declined in artistry as windows became mere transparent glass covered in paint, a process which only improved around the time of the Catholic revival (c.1810-1920) in England, which created a greatly increased demand for stained glass art. Scientists rediscovered some of the medieval stained glass techniques and colouring methods. Leading English designers during this period included William Morris (1834-1898), who championed the Arts and Crafts Movement (c.1862-1914), and Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898).
Late (High) Gothic Style (c. 1200 – 1375)
The Late or High Gothic style emerged during the 1200s until around 1375. This style was more decorative, and structures became more elaborate in their designs. This style also included two sub-styles, namely the Rayonnant and Flamboyant styles. There were a few notable cathedrals built during this timeframe, below we explore their characteristics within each sub-style.
Rayonnant Style (c. 1240 – 1350)
Notable cathedrals within the Rayonnant style included the Chartres Cathedral (1194), Amiens Cathedral (1220), Saint-Chapelle (1241), Cologne Cathedral (1248), and the Reims Cathedral (c. 1250). This style was named after the effects of the rays of the sunlight through the rose windows.
While this was the name for the style in France, a similar style emerged in England called the “Decorative Gothic” style.
This style was characterized by its use of more decoration on the structural elements of the cathedral, for example, the rose windows, the Gothic statues or sculptures, and the use of more spires and pinnacles. Flying buttresses were also decorated alongside their practical purposes.
When we look at the Chartres Cathedral, considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, its structure is in the typical cruciform plan inherent of the Gothic style. It has two aisles, the nave, and three levels called the arcade, triforium, and clerestory. Other design features include a transept, presbytery, ambulatory, and chapels.
Chartres Cathedral, West Front; Cornell University Library
The western façade is elaborately decorated and made monumental by the two towering spires on the right and left of the cathedral. We also see the play on threes, which is symbolic of the Holy Trinity. This is evident in the three levels mentioned earlier, also evident from an outside view, furthermore, there are three vertical windows above the three doorways.
With the large rose window near the top of the western façade, along with many other rose windows in the cathedral, and the massive, decorated spires, this cathedral echoes the ideals to reach for heaven and bring the grandeur of the divine to earth. Furthermore, the Chartres is located on top of a hill in the town called Chartres in France.
The Sainte-Chapelle cathedral is among one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture. We see this evident in the vast expanse of rose windows bejewelling the interior. Where we expect stone walls we see large walls of windows, multi-colored, and buttresses.
At the western façade there is a notable double story, with the second story porch above the double doors below. Above these sits a large rose window with a balustrade above it and an oculus window just below a towering spire. We will notice various decorative elements on the architectural structures, namely, the fleur-de-lys along the balustrade. Additionally, the doorway is decorated with Gothic sculptures along the upper and lower sides.
This cathedral was constructed in order to house the relics from the Passion of Jesus Christ found by King Louis IX. Also commissioned by the King, it is located within the Île de la Cité in Paris.
The Sainte-Chapelle, dedicated on April 26, 1248, was built by Saint Louis to accommodate the relics of the crucifixion. It has two levels. The picture above shows the apse of the low chapel which served with the parish worship. The relics were kept above in the high chapel. The Sainte-Chapelle was restored in the second half of the 19th century; Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France
The Smiling Angel, portal of the cathedral of Reims, XIIIth century, the left flank of the left portal of the West Facade; Vassil, Public domain
Another example from the Rayonnant style includes the Reims Cathedral in the city of Reims in France. It is also called Notre-Dame de Reims in French, meaning “Our Lady of Reims”, and is considered to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Reims’s western façade includes three doorways and sculptural Gothic statues depicting various religious figures. There are over 2,000 Gothic statues part of this cathedral, with notable ones including “The Smiling Angel”, named Ange au Sourire in French. We also see the stylistic stained-glass windows inside and outside of the cathedral.
Flamboyant Style (c. 1350 – 1550)
The Flamboyant style in Gothic architecture is also referred to as the “Late” style. This style is marked for its decorative qualities, more so than the preceding Rayonnant style. In England, this style was called the “Perpendicular” Gothic style.
Some of the characteristic features that mark this style are the decorative designs, mainly curves in the shape of a fluid-like “S”. The French word flambé, which means “flame”, gave this style its name due to the above-mentioned stylistic feature. We notice this feature particularly within the bar-tracery, which appears like flames and simultaneously gives the style a dynamism and flowing effect.
An example of this style is seen in the Church of St. Maclou (1436) in the city called Rouen in France. This church stands between the time periods of the Late Gothic and Early Renaissance. What is different about this church is the western façade, which has five-pointed archways instead of the characteristic three. Additionally, these archways create a semi-circular effect around the western front, which doubles as a porch on the top section met by the tips of five triangular points above the archways.
We also notice only one tower in the center of the church and not the notable two flanking towers. However, the church still has the notable flying buttresses and the characteristic three-story verticality we see in the Gothic era.
Picture of the Church of Saint Maclou in Rouen, France
International Gothic Style (c. 1375 – 1450)
The International style within the Gothic era occurred during the later years of the Gothic period and the start of the Renaissance period. It was also known by other names, like the “Soft Style” and “Beautiful Style”. This style included various media like Gothic painting, sculpture, tapestries, and illuminated manuscripts.
Gothic artwork during this period was created mostly for the Royal Courts, which were also known as the European Courts.
The characteristics of this style can be described as elegant, with smoothness of shapes and forms, a soft portrayal of the subject matter, and a keen and delicate eye for detail. This manner of depiction was a direct reflection of the ideals of a courtly lifestyle – sophisticated and rich in detail and manner.
The International Style occurred in different countries, such as France, Burgandy, and mainly Italy. Artists could travel to different courts that needed artworks, which, in turn, allowed more exposure to styles. Some of the notable patrons during this style included Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, located in Prague, the Valois French Court, and the Italian nobles, the Visconti.
Some of the most popular artworks during this style were illuminated manuscripts. These consisted of written texts, religiously themed, with illustrations and decorative elements. These books became important portable works to increase the message of Christianity by missionaries.
Some notable figures in the development of illuminated manuscripts include Jean Pucelle, one of the most famous manuscript artists and a miniature artist. Some of his more notable works include the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (1324 to 1328) and Bellville Breviary (1326).
Beautiful Madonna of Wroclaw. Unknown artist, circa 1390-1395. Statue from the collection of the Polish National Museum in Warsaw
The illuminated manuscripts that poured out from the scriptoria of the various monasteries from the beginning of the thirteenth century:
Books of Hours, Missals, Apocalypses, Psalters, and Bibles
the Belleville Breviary (1326) and the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux (1328) by Jean Pucelle (1290-1334).
In these masterpieces, the Gothic artist, no longer a mere contributor to the architectural ensemble, can unleash his fancy and indulge all his whims.
The figures are sometimes elongated to the verge of caricature, like fashion drawings of today (see the second part of the Arundel Psalter in the British Museum).
Grotesque creatures, as well as humorous or macabre touches, abound. As the type develops it becomes more restless. The eye is not given a moment’s peace.
Intricate decorative backgrounds, borders of ivy leaves made even spikier than nature had designed them, later on, landscape backgrounds (about the middle of the fifteenth century), with clumps of elaborate flowers in the foreground, scenes from contemporary life, sports, and pastimes, feasting, traveling, cooking (the Luttrell Psalter of 1340 in the British Museum is crowded with such miniatures) can be found everywhere.
One would think that in the fourteenth-century life in northwest, Europe was one vast confusion of gay delightful detail, a nursery packed with living toys.
14th/15th century International Gothic illuminations-
Jean Pucelle (1290-1334),
the Limbourg Brothers (d.1416 Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry) and
Jean Fouquet (1420-81: Melun Diptych).
High Gothic painting was greatly influenced by contemporary sculpture. This first became clear in Paris, where Louis IX was a leading patron. In an evangelary (a manuscript containing the four Gospels) at Louis IX's palace chapel of Sainte Chapelle (1241-48), one can see the early Gothic style superseded quite abruptly by a style of drapery incorporating the large, angular folds of the Joseph Master (Bibliotheque Nationale). Simultaneously there was a growing focus on detail, almost as an end in itself. Thus for example faces in particular became exercises in virtuoso penmanship.
If certain figurative details like faces and hands continued to be depicted chiefly by means of line, drapery and other shapes tended to be modeled in terms of light and shade. This "discovery of light," began around 1270-80, but is particularly associated with the celebrated Parisian illuminator known as Master Honore, who was active about 1288-1300. It is also possible that it was stimulated by developments in Italian painting.
The French style was introduced rapidly into England. Although Henry III was no book worm, a number of manuscripts produced for his family contain illustrations in the same dainty and minute style of Louis IX's artists. Likewise some large-scale paintings, notably the "Westminster Retable," survive in Westminster Abbey. Later changes in English painting, exemplified in works such as the Queen Mary Psalter (c.1330, British Museum), including ever more lavish border decorations.
The Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, Queen of France, circa 1324 –28; Jean Pucelle
Italian Gothic Painting
During the 13th century, both Rome and Tuscany had flourishing pictorial traditions, and both were heavily influenced by the medieval art produced in the Byzantine Empire. Sadly, since a good deal of the Roman work was later destroyed, evidence for what was happening in the capital must be sought outside the city – notably Assisi, where the upper church of St. Francis was decorated by Rome-trained fresco painters between 1280 and 1300, notably Cimabue (Cenni di Peppi) (1240-1302).
As in the case of all Gothic decorative art, stylistic changes in Italy were in the direction of greater realism. By the end of the 13th century, Italian painters were beginning to use light to model their figures. They also made sudden advances in the manipulation of linear perspective to optimize the spatial design in their painting. More than this, the best artists developed a keen ability to create figures that really seemed to be communicating with each other, by gesture or expression. A good example of this is the work of the Isaac Master in the upper church at Assisi.
The Sienese School of Painting (c. 1250 – 1500)
The Sienese School of Painting was one of the most prominent painting schools within the Gothic era, having drawn influence from the above-mentioned International style. Started by Guido da Siena and Coppo di Marcovaldo, it consisted mainly of Christian Art with other influences from the Romanesque style of paintings or murals.
Duccio di Buoninsegna was known as the “Father of Sienese Painting” as he was a pioneer within this school. He trained the next popular painter of this school, Simone Martini, and Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti (two brothers). What made the paintings of Duccio di Buoninsegna popular was his unique compositions coupled with golden backgrounds and decorations.
Guidoriccio da Fogliano (1328) by Simone Martini, one of Duccio’s students
Central panel of the Maestà, 1308–1311, by Duccio di Buoninsegna. Museo dell’Opera metropolitana del Duomo, Italy
Cenni di Pepe, known as Cimabue (c. 1240 – c. 1302)
Giovanni Cimabue also known as Bencivieni di Pepo or in modern Italian, Benvenuto di Giuseppe, was an Italian painter and creator of mosaics from Florence. His nickname means either bull-head or possibly ‘one who crushes the views of others’.
Cimabuemay be considered the most dramatic of those artists influenced by contemporary Byzantine painting through which antique qualities were introduced into Italian work in the late 13th century. His interest in Classical Roman drapery techniques and in the spatial and dramatic achievements of such contemporary sculptors as Nicola Pisano, however, distinguishes him from other leading members of this movement.
As a result of his influence on such younger artists as Duccio and Giotto, the forceful qualities of his work and its openness to a wide range of sources, Cimabue appears to have had a direct personal influence on the subsequent course of Florentine, Tuscan and possibly Roman painting.
As the most celebrated Florentine artist of his generation, Cimabue won acclaim for his achievements in naturalistic representation and emotional expression in monumental altarpieces, frescoes, and mosaics. Cimabue's only documented work is the apse mosaic of 'Saint John the Evangelist' in the Duomo (cathedral) in Pisa of 1301 and 1302. His surviving works include the large Crucifix for Sta. Croce in Florence — about 70 percent destroyed in the floods of 1966, though restoration has been completed — the Sta. Trinità Madonna, an altarpiece now in Florence’s Uffizi, and the Madonna Enthroned with St. Francis, in the lower church of S. Francesco at Assisi.
Cimabue is generally regarded as the last great Italian painter working in the Byzantine tradition.[1] The art of this period comprised scenes and forms that appeared relatively flat and highly stylized. Cimabue was a pioneer in the move towards naturalism, as his figures were depicted with rather more life-like proportions and shading. Even though he was a pioneer in that move, his painting Maesta shows Medieval techniques and characteristics. The painting is commonly regarded as a painting that exemplified the Middle Ages. He is also well known for his student Giotto, considered the first great artist of the Italian Renaissance.
Cimabue led the artistic movement in late 12th-century Tuscany that sought to renew the pictorial vocabulary and break with the rigidity of Byzantine art. The artist demonstrated a new sensibility, which endeavored to adhere more closely to reality.
His only secure work is a mosaic of Saint John in Pisa Cathedral, dated 1301-2. On the basis of this mosaic a number of paintings are attributed to him, including the Santa Trinita Madonna (about 1280, Uffizi, Florence) and the now ruined Crucifix in S. Croce, Florence. A now lost altarpiece, dated 1301, may have been the earliest to have a predella.
Cimabue was commissioned to paint two very large frescoes for the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. They are on the walls of the transepts: a Crucifixion and a Deposition. Unfortunately these works are now dim shadows of their original appearance. During occupancy of the building by invading French troops, straw caught fire, severely damaging the frescoes. The white paint was partially composed of silver, which oxidised and turned black, leaving the faces and much of the drapery of the figures in negative.
Another damaged work is the great Crucifix of Santa Croce at Florence. It was the major work of art lost in the flood in Florence in 1966. Much of the paint from the body and face washed away.
Among Cimabue's few surviving works are the Madonna of Santa Trinita, once in the church of Santa Trinita, and now housed, with Duccio's Rucellai Madonna and Giotto's Ognissanti Madonna, in the Uffizi Gallery.
In the Lower Church of Saint Francis in Assisi is an extremely important fresco, depicting The Madonna and Christ Child enthroned with angels and Saint Francis. It is claimed to be a work of Cimabue's old age.
Two additional, very fine paintings are attributed to Cimabue. The Flagellation of Christ was purchased by New York's Frick Collection in 1950 and was long considered to be of uncertain authorship, possibly Duccio's. But in 2000, the National Gallery in London acquired The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels with many similarities (size, materials, red borders, incised margins, etc.) to Flagellation. The two pictures are now thought to be parts of a single work, a diptych or triptych altarpiece, and their attribution to Cimabue is fairly secure. The pair are believed to date from 1280. The Virgin and Child was on loan to the Frick for a few months in late 2006, so the two works could be viewed side-by-side. The Flagellation painting is one of only two Cimabues permanently in the United States.
A tiny devotional painting of a "Madonna and Child with SS. Peter and John the Baptist" at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC was painted by Cimabue or one of his students around 1290. It is significant because it shows a cloth of honor that may well be the first patchwork quilt in Western art.
Cimabue, The Madonna and Child in Majesty Surrounded by Angels, c. 1280, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Cimabue, The Flagellation of Christ, Frick Collection,
New York City
Giotto di Bondone (b. 1267 or 1277 - d. 1337 CE)
Giotto di Bondone, usually referred to as simply Giotto was an Italian painter and architect whose work was hugely influential in the history of Western art. Giotto is most famous today for the cycle of frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel of Padua where his love of drama is most effective in such scenes as Judas' betrayal of Jesus Christ. An innovative painter who searched for far greater realism and human emotion in art than had been seen previously, he was an artist with a particular skill at constructing single dynamic scenes from familiar religious themes. Often referred to as the 'first Renaissance painter' even if he lived before the Renaissance proper had got underway, Giotto was certainly a bridge between the sometimes flat, characterless religious art of the middle to the late medieval period and the lively innovative drama seen in the masterpieces of the High Renaissance.
According to Vasari Cimabure while traveling from Florence to Vespignano in Tuscany met with Giotto who was looking after a herd of sheep. The boy, about ten years old, was busy scratching a picture of a sheep on a stone slab using the sharp point of another stone. Impressed with the picture, Cimabue asked the boy's name and he replied, "I am called by the name Giotto“. Cimabue promptly invited the youngster to train with him in his workshop in Florence and by his teenage years, Giotto became an accomplished artist and created painted panels for churches.
By his early twenties, he moved up to frescoes and was the complete article, a member of Florence's guild of painters. Modest, stocky, and far from being handsome, Giotto was hardly the archetypal artist but his works would speak for themselves.
Giotto was faced with an endlessly repetitive cast of biblical figures who had up to then appeared in paintings, murals, and icons as no more than conventional representations one was supposed to pray to rather than admire.
Like Cimabue but going much further, Giotto was interested in presenting these all-too-familiar figures as looking like real people and expressing real emotions. An excellent example of this new approach can be seen in Giotto's Madonna, a tempera on the wood panel now in the Borgo San Lorenzo of Florence. Another Madonna, the altar panel known as the Ognissanti Madonna (of All Saints), is similarly painted and suggests, too, that Giotto is using live models to aid him in his search for real facial expressions. The latter work is now in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence.
The Revolutionary Artist
Giotto moved away from the conventions of medieval art in several important ways, just as near-contemporary sculptors like the Pisano brothers had been doing in marble. The artist skillfully used highlights and shadows to create the illusion of depth in his scenes and roundness in his human figures which are given realistic expressions. He also painted elements of architecture in detail and in three dimensions. Finally, the light source within the scene in question is often clearly indicated. Combining these skills with a masterly appreciation of how to best represent famous biblical episodes in a single, emotionally-charged scene captured at a dynamic moment in time, Giotto gained fame in his own lifetime.
The artist was commissioned for works in Florence, Naples, Milan, and Rome. A notable variation in medium is the c. 1300 CE Navicella mosaic (now much altered), a depiction of the boat of Saint Peter in his namesake basilica in the Vatican City. Other famous works include the frescoes in the Bardi Chapel and the Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence (1320s CE). The Bardi Chapel is a cycle on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi while the Peruzzi shows episodes from the life of Saint John the Evangelist.
Giotto's most celebrated work today, completed when at the peak of his career, is considered to be the frescoes of the Scrovegni Chapel (aka Arena Chapel) in Padua, northern Italy.
The chapel is named after the man who commissioned both it and the frescoes inside, Enrico Scrovegni, a wealthy banker in the city. The building was dedicated to Santa Maria Della Carita, the Virgin of Charity. The chapel was intended as a private family one, and it once stood next to an impressive palace but today that building has long gone, and only the chapel survives as an indicator of Scrovegni's ambition for immortality.
Giotto's frescoes, worked on from c. 1304 to c. 1315 CE, form a cycle of the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. There are 38 scenes in the chapel's interior which are divided into three rows on the side walls, a multiple sealed archway that leads to the altar, and a single large scene on the entrance wall.
The scenes should be read from the top row, the panel on the right as one enters, and then followed around the chapel before descending to the second row and again around and down to the third.
The Crucifixion panel is a typically busy Giotto scene with angels circling overhead, distressed onlookers on one side and disinterested ones, who argue over Jesus Christ's robe, on the other. The Nativity panel is a good example of Giotto's innovative achievement of depth in the scene with, for example, part of the arm of the shepherd hidden behind his fellow and the donkey twisting its head away from the viewer. Emotions are evident, particularly Mary's concern for her newborn baby and Joseph's weary face and posture, reminding of the trouble required to find a place for the night.
Directly below, the Last Supper panel is another innovative treatment, this time showing Jesus and the 12 apostles all present but having five of them seated with their backs to the viewer who must look over their heads to see the figures at the other side of the table.
The panel showing the betrayal by Judas, known as the 'Kiss of Judas', is another masterpiece of intense action.
the Last Judgement is the subject of the wall through which one enters and leaves the chapel, a last reminder perhaps of the dangerous worldly temptations one is likely to encounter after leaving the sanctity of the chapel.
Christ sits majestically in the very center and is flanked by a host of angels and the apostles. Below, on the left are those who will spend eternity with Christ while on the right, the damned are shown being eaten by a terrible monster personifying evil. Enrico Scrovegni is shown as a kneeling figure just above the doorway.
Giotto was commissioned to produce the frescos mentioned above in the chapels of Santa Croce in Florence. One of his last masterpieces was the Stefaneschi altarpiece, completed by the mid-1330s CE for Saint Peter's Basilica (old version) in Rome. The altarpiece is composed of three panels of tempera, the ensemble measuring 2.45 x 2 metres (8 ft. 8 in. x 7 ft. 2 in.). Scenes are painted on both sides of the piece and show episodes from the life of Saint Peter. Signed by Giotto but attributed to his workshop by some historians, the work is now in the Vatican's Pinacoteca.
Giotto had helped to revive the arts in general by combining his talent (ingegno) with a sound knowledge of the doctrina (teachings) of the masters from antiquity, that is the ability to accurately and dramatically represent the proportions and anatomical details of the human body.
Giotto’s has reputation as the 'first Renaissance artist’.
Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519 CE), Michelangelo (1475-1564 CE), and Raphael (1483-1520 CE) studied Giotto's work, continued his approach, and then added such new techniques as chiaroscuro (the contrasting use of light and shade) and mathematical perspective to their work.
Giotto had begun these first steps toward achieving a greater reality in art, and his shadow was so large over early Renaissance art that historians have labeled countless similar style artists as 'Giotteschi'.
Scrovegni Chapel (aka Arena Chapel) in Padua, northern Italy.
The Nativity by
Giotto
The Crucifixion by Giotto
The Last Judgement by Giotto
Ognissanti Madonna
Virgin And Christ Enthroned
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florance.
The Ognissanti Madonna
Giotto
List of Gothic Artists Leading exponents of the Gothic style of art include:
Sculptors
- Nicholas of Verdun (fl.1181-1210)
- Nicola Pisano (1206-78)
- The Joseph Master of Reims (fl.1240-77) - Giovanni Pisano (1250-1314)
- Giovanni di Balduccio (c.1290-1349)- Arnolfo di Cambio (1240–1300/10)
- Andrea Pisano (1295-1348)
- Tino di Camaino (fl.1323-37)
- Filippo Calendario (pre-1315-1355)
Late Gothic Sculptors
- Veit Stoss (c.1447-1533)
- Adam Kraft (c.1455-1509)
- Tilman Riemenschneider (c.1460-1531)
- Gregor Erhart (c.1460-1540)
Painters
- Master Honore (fl.1288-1300)
- Cimabue (Cenni di Peppi) (1240-1302)
- Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-1319)
- Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337)
- Simone Martini (1285-1344)
- Pietro Lorenzetti (fl.1320-45)
- Ambrogio Lorenzetti (fl.1319-48)
The Gradual Decline of Gothic Art and the Birth of the Renaissance
The Gothic period occurred in different countries beyond France, including places like Germany, England, Spain, Portugal, England, and Italy, among others. Each country developed Gothic styles (or “regional styles”) in their unique ways, possibly too diverse and broad to condense into one article.
However, what was common during this period of Medieval history and art was the innovation of new techniques in painting and architecture. The ways of seeing and depicting religious subject matter were different to preceding periods like the Romanesque styles, for example.
The Gothic period was right on the cusp of one of the most world-changing periods in Western civilization, the Renaissance, where the Late Gothic styles blended into what many refer to as the Pre-Renaissance period. We also see many notable artists during this time who set the stage for the Renaissance, such as Giotto.
Other movements, like the Romantic period, revived the Gothic grandeur during the 1700s in England, in what was called the Neo-Gothic movement. There was also an increase in the utilization of Gothic architectural elements in more modern building designs, seen in examples from the Netherlands and Belgium, namely the Drents Archiefs (2010) and the Market Hall (2011) in Ghent.
Whether it is modern-day Goth Art or the more Medieval Gothic Art, the word “Gothic” is not devoid of any character nor “barbaric”, as so judged by many 16th Century scholars. This style has traveled many centuries to reach us today, shaped by a history full of rich encounters, stone structures, rising pinnacles and piers, and rose-shaped windows.
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