ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES

ROMANESQUE STYLE

• Truly began c. 1000• Sprang up all over western Europe at the

same time…regional differences in style• Reflected the triumph of Christianity

everywhere in Europe• Growing spirit of religious enthusiasm• Increased pilgrimage traffic to sacred sites• Revival of trade, commerce and

manufacturing• Growth of city life

The Romanesque arch

Church plans and parts

Nave of the cathedral in Pisa

How did they build the arches and vaults?

• Wooden centering allowed the masons to install the voussoirs and key stone, then take it down and move on to the next arch

ELEMENTS OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

• Ste. Madeleine, Vézelay• round, roman arches• square squatty towers• dark interiors• scary sculpture

The Last Judgment…tympanum of Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun

Other examples of Romanesque style…

Speyer CathedralGermany

Begun 1080

Italian Romanesque…Pisa

GOTHIC STYLE• Began about 1150 in the Île de

France• Most often applied to

architecture• The age of great cathedrals• By 1400, regional differences

gave way to a homogeneous “International Gothic” style

What are the elements of a Gothic cathedral?

• Soaring spaces• Flying buttresses• Pointed arches• Stained glass windows• Sculpture that told stories• Oriented on an East/West axis• Generally cruciform in shape

The Gothic arch

Flying Buttresses…held up the walls…

Buttresses at Chartres

Chartres 1194-1220

GARGOYLES…THE HOLY TERRORS…

• What was their purpose??

Great Gothic Cathedrals…

Notre Dame, Paris…begun 1163

West façade, Nôtre Dame

Reims Cathedral c. 1225-1299…French kings were crowned here

The golden age of stained glass

One of the great rose windows…and famous Chartres blue

Modern example of a rose window at St. John the Divine, NYC

St. Patrick’s CathedralFifth AvenueNew York City1858-1878James Renwick Case,architect