medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Wednesday, December 26, 2007, at 10:09 am, Tom Ault wrote:
> I thought we went thrugh this years ago. Architecture historians
> require the following three items to qualify for Gothic:
>
> 1:Pointed arches.
> 2:Rib vault.
> 3:Flying buttresses.
One sees this triad very frequently. Whether all those who use it to characterize Gothic actually _require_ the presence of all three elements is another matter. Those who do are misguided. Here, for example, are a couple of views of a very famous building ordinarily described as Gothic:
http://tinyurl.com/28g35r
http://tinyurl.com/2ys8j3
http://homepage.mac.com/j.norstad/paris2006/chapelle.html
I've looked, and I've looked, and I've looked, and I still can't find any flying buttresses on this building. So perhaps the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris isn't Gothic, after all. And yet, if you look inside, it certainly seems so to be:
upper chapel
http://tinyurl.com/2zxzf8
http://membres.lycos.fr/saintechapelle/chapelle33.jpg
http://membres.lycos.fr/saintechapelle/chapelle19.jpg
lower chapel:
http://tinyurl.com/2pjd3v
http://www.essential-architecture.com/PA/015-basse.jpg
Here's another:
http://tinyurl.com/2ln9fn
http://bazaar.spertini.org/images/accueil/cath-albi.jpg
OK, so maybe the cathédrale Sainte-Cécile at Albi isn't Gothic either. And yet, if you look inside, it certainly seems so to be:
http://tinyurl.com/23ezwo
http://tinyurl.com/22k79l
http://www.orgel.com/vlm/albo-135.jpg
Or this building:
http://tinyurl.com/2ef86g
http://es.inmagine.com/icnp008/icnp008035-photo
Notice those supporting piers at the angles of the polygon. That's a large part of what distinguishes this structure (the battistero di San Giovanni at Pistoia) from this perhaps more familiar one:
http://tinyurl.com/2t758a
The latter (Pisa's battistero di San Giovanni, of course), though stylistically Gothic above, is a Romanesque structure, held up by two courses of internal arcades:
http://tinyurl.com/2qxrsa
http://tarabella.isti.cnr.it/fotoconcerto.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/ywon94
Rib-vaulting isn't always evident, either. As in this building:
http://www.filibertoputzu.it/_im_2650.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2kw43x
I guess they're wrong in Piacenza to call this building the Palazzo Gotico.
Also usually said to be Gothic are the Palazzo Comunale of Fidenza:
http://www.emiliaromagnacitta.it/comuni/fotoparma/fidenza%20.jpg
and these sections of the Palazzo Comunale of Bologna:
http://tinyurl.com/3yz4kf
http://tinyurl.com/2qvp36
likewise the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua:
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/883/20188382.JPG
and this house in Verona (the so-called Casa di Giulietta):
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/752/465700.JPG
Older portions only, of course!:
http://tinyurl.com/2chq4x
But if you're willing to employ Gothic as an architectural term only for very large churches employing flying buttresses, then the aforementioned triad might work. Seems a bit limited to be generally useful, though.
Best,
John Dillon
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