The Gothic style of architecture is one of the greatest achievements of the medieval spirit. By the 12th century, architects had made dramatic changes to the Romanesque style. In this essay, begin by briefly explaining the three architectural innovations that made the Gothic style of architecture possible and describe the effect that those innovations had on the aesthetics of the church both inside and out. Next, explain why the so-called “Gothic aesthetic” evolved, and why the art lecture calls it “a result of the spiritual and intellectual climate of the High Middle Ages” Finish by discussing in some detail three specific examples from the lecture that illustrate the “philosophical and contemplative” nature of the Gothic style.
Gothic
The Gothic style was of a much more lofty style that made the building which had an illusion of lightness and upward motion compared to the solid style of the Romanesque style. What gave them this illusion was the use of pointed arches learned from Islamic architecture and lessoned the weight bearing pressure of the roofs on the walls that were so tremendous in the Romanesque style. This redirected the pressure to more of a vertical direction rather than a lateral direction which tended to push walls outwards. Also, because of the advances made in this area, it allowed for more windows. Whereas the Romanesque style told their stories in tympanums, the Gothic style allowed stories to be told in massive windows which were done in glorious stained glass. This style can be seen at the Abbey church in St. Denis near Paris which was built in the 1140’s and was also where it was first used. In addition, ribbed vaulted ceilings were created. This was meant to lighten the amount of weight put on the supporting walls by lessening the amount of material needed to make the ceiling. This was accomplished by adding four semi circular ribs on each side of a bay in addition to two diagonal ribs which crossed each other. In the Romanesque...