Gothic Art. Victoria Charles

Cathedral, Rouen, begun in 1145.

      “Portail des libraires”, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Rouen, begun in 1145.

Ely Cathedral

      The city of Ely, which is surrounded by flat moors that once separated it from the mainland, is dominated architecturally by its huge and imposing cathedral. This building is one of the most splendid creations of the Decorated Style. This magnificent edifice was begun in 1083 and rises on the ruins of an abbey that was dedicated to St. Etheldreda, but was destroyed by the Normans. In the twelfth century a Benedictine monastery was added to the building. On the night of 22 February 1322, the cathedral’s belfry collapsed. It was replaced by the only octagonal tower in England, the so-called “crown of Ely”, from original plans by Alan of Walsingham. This innovation, as well as the Lady Chapel that was added to the northern transept, represent the zenith of the Decorated Style.

Bristol Cathedral and Wells Cathedral

      Also worthy of mention in regards to this style are the choirs of the cathedrals in Bristol and Wells (Illustrations 1, 2, 3, 4). From 1350 to 1520, the effusiveness of the Decorated Style was followed by the stricter geometrical Perpendicular Style with horizontal orientation. This was a completely independent English artistic expression, in some ways an English national style. The Perpendicular Style received its name from the use of vertical mullions for high, wide windows and walls, which gave the impression of a grid. A further feature of this style were the fan vault and, somewhat later, the lancet arches, ogee arches and the relatively flat Tudor arch, which made possible the wider windows that often covered the entire eastern side. The pointed arches were set into rectangular areas.

Gloucester Cathedral

      The Perpendicular Style was first applied in the former Benedictine abbey at Gloucester in the fourteenth century (Illustrations 1, 2). The ambulatory shows the square grid that is so characteristic for this style. The eastern window, which is richly equipped with grid-like tracery, is the largest in England. Typical also is the fan vault of the cloister.

      Notre-Dame-des-Doms Cathedral and Palace of the Popes, Avignon, 1335–1352.

      Plan of Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury.

Winchester Cathedral

      The end of the fourteenth century and the construction of Winchester Cathedral saw a movement that went against the stylistic excess that was so atypical for the English character – and aimed for sobriety. The Perpendicular Style, which was used here for the first time, got its name from the grid-like mullions and members that replaced the tracery, particularly in the windows. Just as characteristic was the use of new arch forms, such as the narrowing ogee arch, which was unknown on the mainland, as well as the specifically English Tudor arch, which is flatter than the ogee arch.

      Despite the return to straighter lines in the tracery, the wealth of decoration was not at all diminished; it was merely relegated to smaller rooms, to the chapter halls, which were added to the cathedrals, cloisters and smaller chapels. The most splendid building of this late period of English Gothic is the chapel of Henry VII in the choir at Westminster Abbey in London (1502–1526). Its fantastic vault shows the decorative abilities of the Gothic style at its highest level.

St. Peter Cathedral in Exeter

      As so often in medieval buildings, the beautiful architecture of Exeter Cathedral demonstrates a mixture of building styles – a result of long lasting construction (Illustrations 1, 2). While the older towers of Norman style originate in the twelfth century, the western façade, which was built in the fifteenth century, is a typical example of Perpendicular Style. The cathedral was rebuilt between 1270 and 1369 as a Gothic monument with a Lady Chapel and a presbytery at the east end. Of the Norman construction only the two transepts were integrated into the high Gothic church. Particularly interesting is the western façade with an image screen in its lower part.

Gothic Secular Buildings

      Many secular Gothic buildings were constructed in England as the population’s wealth increased. Such buildings include the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge; Westminster Hall in London (1393–1399), which was built by an unknown master builder; Winchester Castle (1232–1240), of which only one hall remains, and Hampton Court Palace (as of 1520). Many ortresses and castles also profess the Gothic secular style, as does the Tower of London, which was begun in 1078 and frequently enlarged, and declared a world heritage site of UNESCO in 1988.

      Choir, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, 1174–1184.

      Nave, seen from the East, Westminster Abbey, London, 1245–1259.

      Plan of Westminster Abbey, London.

      The Gothic in Germany and Austria

      The oldest major works of the Gothic architectural style in Germany are the choir of Magdeburg Cathedral, which was begun in 1208, the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Trier (1227–1243) and the Elisabethkirche (Elisabeth Church) in Marburg (1235–1283). However, these are by no means slavish imitations of the newly arrived French innovation; instead from the very beginning they show much independence in the way they use the foreign forms. For example, despite its French ground plan with an ambulatory and chevet, the choir of Magdeburg Cathedral has national traits in its details. These traits become increasingly pronounced with the building of the longhouse, which was consecrated in 1363. The western façade, too, with its pair of towers completed in 1520, features distinctly national characteristics.

      The master builder of the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Trier proceeded contrariwise: he only followed the French style in the details, while creating a completely innovative ground plan. Consisting of a centralised building around which a chevet was created, this church is a unique Gothic construction.

      The master builder of the Elizabethkirche (Elisabeth Church) worked just as independently. Despite its lengthy construction period, the church appears as a unified whole. The form of the hall church, as it had developed in Westphalia, was retained for the interior’s design. Likewise, the creation of the façade with its slender uninterrupted climbing towers is a deviation from the French type. The master builder had already clearly understood that verticality, i.e. the strong emphasis of the vertical line, represents the most fertile basic Gothic idea.