Gothic architecture is the building style that succeeded Romanesque architecture across Western Europe from the mid twelfth century onward, defined by the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress, structural devices that let architects replace load-bearing masonry walls with slender piers and large stained glass windows. The style is conventionally dated from the rebuilding of the choir of the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, under Abbot Suger beginning around 1140, and it spread through France, England, the Holy Roman Empire and beyond over the following four centuries, producing the great cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne and Salisbury. Regional late phases, including Flamboyant Gothic in France and Perpendicular Gothic in England, carried the style well into the sixteenth century even as Renaissance forms were displacing it elsewhere in Europe.
Facts
Start YearConventionally dated from the rebuilding of the choir of the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis under Abbot Suger. Founded In PlaceIle-de-France region, Kingdom of France 1 Key PrinciplePointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses redistribute structural load onto slender piers and external buttresses, allowing thinner walls opened by large stained glass windows and greater interior height than the round-arched Romanesque style it succeeded. 1 Disputed
End YearGothic forms persisted regionally well past 1500, including Flamboyant Gothic in France and Perpendicular Gothic in England, even as Renaissance forms displaced the style elsewhere in Europe from the fifteenth century onward, so no single end date is agreed. FAQs
Where did Gothic architecture begin?
It is conventionally dated from the rebuilding of the choir of the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, under Abbot Suger beginning around 1140. The pointed arch, ribbed vault and flying buttress let architects there replace load-bearing masonry walls with slender piers and large stained glass windows, and the style spread through France, England, the Holy Roman Empire and beyond over the following four centuries, producing the great cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne and Salisbury.
Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Stained glass (Wikipedia)Stained glass, History, Origins section
Expressed In
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Gothic architecture (Wikipedia)Lead section
Influenced
Gothic architectural and decorative conventions fed directly into the courtly International Gothic style of the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Influenced By
Romanesque architectural forms directly preceded and shaped the development of Gothic architecture in medieval Europe.
Movement Members
Canonical High Gothic cathedral.
Venetian Gothic design, begun 14th century.
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Gardner's Art Through the Ages
Fred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner), Cengage Learningchapter on Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (Wikipedia)
Expressed In: Architecture, Lead sectionQuote, Expressed In: Architecture, Lead section
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas.
Stained glass (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Stained Glass, Stained glass, History, Origins sectionQuote, Associated With: Stained Glass, Stained glass, History, Origins section
As Gothic architecture developed into a more ornate form, windows grew larger, affording greater illumination to the interiors, but were divided into sections by vertical shafts and tracery of stone.
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