Gothic Art | Architecture | Interior

Late Gothic Styles

2012-01-19T23:52:00.000-08:00

In the 13th cent. the newly founded orders of Franciscans and Dominicans erected large hall churches of unassuming sobriety. The simplicity and functional character of these buildings, shown in such structures as the interior of Santa Maria Novella in Florence or the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, contrasts with the trend toward richness in ornamental elaboration apparent in later Gothic art. In the 14th and 15th cent., these tendencies culminated in intricate webs of tracery, as in the towers of the cathedrals at Ulm and Strasbourg in Germany and in the flamboyant style of the Church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen in France. In England the same exuberance of decoration is manifested in the Decorated style of Bristol and Ely cathedrals and the even more elaborate Perpendicular style, exemplified in the choir of the cathedral at Gloucester.

Building activity, however, was seriously affected by the economic crises of the 14th cent. and by the Black Death, and later Gothic constructions were far less ambitious in scope than those of the preceding period. However, the Gothic tradition never completely died out, and in the 19th cent. it enjoyed a revival in Europe and in the New World inspired chiefly by the romantic movement (see Gothic revival).

Gothic Art and Abbe Suger

2010-05-16T03:26:00.000-07:00

Gothic Art:

It is curious how many of the terms for famous art movements were coined in a fit of pique, meant to offend rather than to exalt. So it is with Gothic Art. The first person to call it 'Gothic' was Raphael. This type of art, it is clear, aroused nothing but profound irritation in him. Furthermore, it was the handiwork of the descendants of the barbarians – the Goths - that had knelled the doom of the magnificent Roman Civilization that so appealed to Raphael and his Renaissance brethren. Hence the insulting term, Gothic. It became respectable only later on in modern times.

The originator of Gothic Art, Abbot Suger, might have been very surprised to hear of Raphael's dubbing. Aside from the fact that it wouldn't have occurred to him, from his perspective, to think of himself as a barbarian, his term for his innovation was 'lux continua', the unbroken light. It entirely transformed the dark, solemn churches of Romanesque tradition into magnificent halls of spiritual and actual radiance.

Abbot Suger:

Abbot Suger, who brought about this revolution, began life in very humble, poverty-stricken circumstances. He was born in 1081 in Saint-Denis, a small town on the outskirts of Paris, and from an early age appears to have been one of those that destiny marks out as a special favorite.

His fruitful and long association with the Church of Saint-Denis began when, in 1091, he was accepted as a student in the Church school. It was here that he met and befriended the future King of France, Louis VI, also known as Louis The Fat. This close friendship was to prove very beneficial to Suger.

After finishing school, Suger worked his way up through numerous prestigious posts that included Secretary to the Abbot of Saint-Denis, Provost of first Berneval in Normandy and then Toury, and then as the King's Ambassador to the Holy See.

Louis VI died in 1137 and then Suger became Adviser to his son Louis VII. It was on his advise that Louis VII married Eleanor of Aquitaine, and later when the two embarked on the Second Crusade, he looked after the State Affairs in France.

Abbot of Saint-Denis:

Suger became the Abbot of Saint-Denis in 1122. The post made him a very wealthy and powerful man, as he was now personally responsible for the administration of the vast, rich tracts of lands connected with the Saint-Denis Carolingian Church.

The Church itself was a very old building that had been consecrated by Charlemagne himself in 775 and probably hadn't seen a touch of paint ever since. Abbot Suger, who, by both his own inclination and his Royal association, had come to appreciate the finer aspects of life, decided to rectify things and overhaul the entire look of the Church.

He was inspired by the changes brought about at Monte Cassino by Abbot Desiderio and by the architecture of the Cathedral of Canterbury. The latter was famous for 'the light of its glass windows'.

Artisans from the Low Countries and from Italy were summoned, no expenses were spared, and the whole edifice was face-lifted between 1135 and 1144 – an astonishing record, especially for those times – and at the end the Church building had been transformed beyond recognition. It now had a new monumental facade added on the Western side, with bronze, beautifully sculptured doors; its interior had been brightened by rich, colorful mosaics; its ceiling extended heavenwards with ribbed vaulting; and fourteen tall stained-glass windows bathed the sanctuary in glorious light and drew awed attention to the dazzling jewel-encrusted altar.

Stained-glass windows had been present in Romanesque Churches earlier, but nobody before Abbot Suger had conceived of using them widely in this extraordinary manner. The most important and eye-catching of the Saint-Denis windows, of course, is the one featuring the Abbot himself at the Virgin's feet; a curious, vanity-filled attempt to convey abject humility, but that little matter aside, a beautiful work of art.

bbot Suger had achieved his intention of making his Church a place that would celebrate the Holy Light, not quench it.

The Church of Saint-Denis was consecrated on 10 June 1144 in the presence of King Louis VI and Queen Eleanor, with everybody who was somebody in Medieval France in pious attendance.

Spread of the Lux Continua:

Abbot Suger died seven years later, on 13 January 1151, but his idea had taken firm hold. Anybody who had been inside his radiant creation had no more wish ever after to pray in subdued darkness, and this became apparent in the Cathedrals that began to be built or renovated on the principle of 'lux continua' afterwards.

By Sonal Panse

1600-1830: Baroque

2010-02-06T23:09:00.000-08:00

Architecture History Photo Guide: Baroque Architecture

By Jackie Craven,

The Baroque Palace of Versailles in France began as a simple stone and brick home designed by Philibert Le Roy in 1624. In 1669, architect Louis Le Vau began a detailed renovation and expansion.

Photo © Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

In Italian, the word barocco means bizarre, and Baroque architecture certainly was extravagant. Buildings in the Baroque style have many of these features:

Complicated shapes
Large curved forms
Twisted columns
Grand stairways
High domes
Trompe l'oeil paintings

Elements of the elaborate Baroque style are found throughout Europe and also traveled to Latin America and European settlements around the world. While Baroque architecture was always highly decorated, it found expression in many ways.

Italian Baroque: Catholic Popes in Italy wanted architecture to express holy splendor. They commissioned churches with enormous domes, swirling forms, huge spiraled columns, multicolored marble, and lavish murals. The same exuberance was expressed in non-religious buildings. Example: The Trevi Fountain in Rome

French Baroque: The Baroque style became more restrained in France. While lavish details were used, French buildings were usually symmetrical and orderly. The Palace of Versailles shown above is a landmark example.

English Baroque: Baroque architecture emerged in England after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Architect Christopher Wren used restrained Baroque styling when he helped rebuild the city. Example: St. Paul's Cathedral

Spain and Latin America: Builders in Spain, Mexico, and South America combined Baroque ideas with exuberant sculptures, Moorish details, and extreme contrasts between light and dark. Called Churrigueresque after a Spanish family of sculptors and architects, Spanish Baroque architecture was used through the mid-1700s, and continued to be imitated much later. Example: Casa del Prado in California is a lavish re-invention of Spanish Baroque, or Churrigueresque, architecture.

Rococo: In Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, and Russia, Baroque ideas were often applied with a lighter touch. Pale colors and curving shell shapes gave buildings the delicate appearance of a frosted cake. The term Rococo was used to describe these softer versions of the Baroque style.

Gothic Art Now by Jasmine Becket-Griffith

2010-01-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

Author: James O'Neil

Subcultures regularly concoct personal fashions or musical scenes but on rare occasions they can radiate and crystalize into whole visual art movements. Gothic subculture is a rare example of how a subculture can construct a viable and unique visual arts ministry.

Art alone is a sticky wicket to define and adding “gothic” to the definition doesn’t make it any easier. But “gothic” is generally definable in its sub-cultural sense. Here is Wikipedia’s shot at it:

The goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion, whether or not all individuals who share those tastes are in fact members of the goth subculture. Gothic music encompasses a number of different styles. Common to all is a tendency towards a lugubrious, mystical sound and outlook. Styles of dress within the subculture range from deathrock, punk, androgynous, Victorian, some Renaissance and medieval style clothes, or combinations of the above, most often with black attire, makeup and hair.

Gothic art results as a byproduct of its definitive subcultural sensibility. The task of exploring the Cimmerian world of modern gothic art is the goal of author Jasmine Becket-Griffith in the book Gothic Art Now.

Gothic Art Now is a chimerical showcase of gothic talent that spans the realms of painting, sculpture, mixed media, and multimedia art forms all in one package. On every page whispers of the progressive and the eerily reminiscent contrast like the paradox of the subculture itself. Spawned from non-conformist sensibilities the works in Gothic Art Noware not without historical and contemporary parallels or reference. The art is just as tribal as its German-Scandinavian ancestors and just as otherworldly as the bygone French architecture. The works also have their own distinct impressions of content that creates a unique mythology and identity for the gothic subculture. As a moving theme of art it both borrows and creates while being aware of the paradox.

Representing 2D art in the collection are gothic painters like David Bowers who masterfully create a surreal intimacy and irony with paintings such as "The Price of Honey." Other paintings such as "Where Owl Perched Pockets Hold All the Souvenirs" by Lola conceive impossible and distorted creatures that seem to be unwitting victims of their own art.

"Pernecare Deus" by John U. Abrahamson is a gilt-ridden icon that bestows to the observer a sort of spiritual pessimism. Beauty is in the fisheye lens of the beholder for Victorian neo-surrealist Tina Imel in her painting "Love At 5AM" in which a lighted and lovely girl sits painting while attracting moths. Samuel Araya visually takes the viewer into a long dark melancholy night in his work "Rapacious," which appears reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth’s "Christina’s World" yet this time the subject faces the viewer and the setting is closer to dusk.

Representing sculpture are wonderful forms by the likes of (Joachim) Luetke with his unusual instinct that aligned the dark salvage that makes up Thanksgiving. Weird and wonderful experiments by Jessica Joslin create animaloids so lifelike that they seem a few organs shy of living and breathing as exemplified with her cheeky monkey Marco. H.R. Giger shares his foreign yet familiar nightmare in "Necronom" and the fascinating handiwork of Scott Radke creates haunted whimsy with "Dolls #2" and "Doll #7".

These are just a few impressions of certain works that constitute the collection of Gothic Art Now. Varied techniques and styles span the collection and seem indicative of the vast wealth of vision and talent currently present in the theme of gothic art. Gothic Art Now is a necessary perusal for lovers of subculture, art afficionados, and anyone who looks good in black–which is pretty much everybody. Satisfy your morbid curiosity and pick up a copy of Gothic Art Now today.

Gothic Art Now is a product of Collins Design and HarperCollins Publishers. It is now available for purchase and makes a great Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanzaa gift for the mopey goth in your life.

Gothic architecture and art

2010-01-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | Copyright

Gothic architecture and art structures (largely cathedrals and churches) and works of art first created in France in the 12th cent. that spread throughout Western Europe through the 15th cent., and in some locations into the 16th cent.

The Nature of the Gothic

The essential character of the Gothic period, particularly at the outset, was the predominance of architecture; all the other arts were determined by it. The character of the Gothic visual aesthetic was one of immense vitality; it was spikily linear and restlessly active. Informed by the scholasticism and mysticism of the Middle Ages, it reflected the exalted religious intensity, the pathos, and the self-intoxication with logical formalism that were the essence of the medieval. Gothic style was the dominant structural and aesthetic mode in Europe for a period of up to 400 years.

Characteristics of Gothic Architecture

It is generally agreed that Gothic architecture made its initial appearance (c.1140) in the Île-de-France, the royal domain of the Capetian kings. However, the inception of the style owes much to several generations of prior experimentation, particularly in Normandy (see Norman architecture ). Although individual components in Gothic architecture, such as ribbed vaulting and the pointed arch, had been employed in Romanesque construction, they had not previously received such a purposeful and consistent application. While the structural value of the Gothic rib has been contested, its formal significance cannot be overestimated. It served above all to delineate the vaults with a skeletal web that gave to the entire structure an articulation of impressive clarity.

Unlike Romanesque architecture, with its stress on heavy masses and clearly delimited areas, Gothic construction, particularly in its later phase, is characterized by lightness and soaring spaces. The overall effect of the Gothic cathedral combined this lightness with an innumerable subdivision and multiplicity of forms. The introduction (c.1180) of a system of flying buttresses (see buttress ) made possible the reduction of wall surfaces by relieving them of part of their structural function. Great windows could be set into walls, admitting light through vast expanses of stained glass. Wall surfaces of High Gothic churches thus have the appearance of transparent and weightless curtains. The spiritual and mysterious quality of light is an important element of the religious symbolism of Gothic cathedrals.

In plan the High Gothic cathedral remained faithful to the traditional basilican form. It consisted of a central nave flanked by aisles, with or without transept, and was terminated by a choir surrounded by an ambulatory with chapels. These elements, however, were no longer treated as single units but were formally integrated within a unified spatial scheme. The exterior view was frequently dominated by twin towers. The facade was pierced by entrance portals often lavishly decorated with sculpture, and at a higher level appeared a central stained glass rose window . Additional towers frequently rose above the crossing and the arms of the transept, which often had entrance portals and sculpture of their own. Around the upper part of the edifice was a profusion of flying buttresses and pinnacles.

Landmarks of French Gothic Architecture

The first important example of Gothic architecture was the ambulatory of the abbey of Saint-Denis, constructed between 1140 and 1144. Saint-Denis embodies the first daring use of large areas of glass, coupled with a brilliant organization of space. Its influence was immediate, and the possibilities of the new style were eagerly explored in structures such as the cathedrals of Sens, Noyon, Laon, and Paris, begun in the ensuing decades of the 12th cent.

The High Gothic phase of architecture was ushered in by the Cathedral of Chartres, begun after 1194 and followed in rapid succession by the cathedrals of Bourges, Reims, Amiens, and Beauvais. These structures surged to unprecedented heights. A further reduction of opaque wall surfaces in favor of graceful screens of stone tracery and glass led toward the formation of the Gothic Rayonnant style around the mid-13th cent. The most striking achievements of Rayonnant design, the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the Church of St. Urban in Troyes, have walls almost entirely of glass, held in place by only a thin skeletal frame of masonry.

Gothic Architecture Outside France

The adoption of Gothic architecture in various parts of Western Europe resulted in interesting variations and developments of the style. The cathedrals of Lincoln and Salisbury typify the early English style (late 12th-early 13th cent.). They retain much of the ponderous mural quality of earlier Norman architecture. In Italy height was usually subordinated to width, in a perpetuation of Romanesque proportions. French models served as inspiration for German churches of the 13th cent., notably at the cathedral in Cologne. Spanish Gothic architecture of this period was also based largely on French monuments; the forms, however, were modified, as in Toledo and Burgos, in the direction of greater ornamental display, partly derived from Moorish precedents.

Late Gothic Styles

In the 13th cent. the newly founded orders of Franciscans and Dominicans erected large hall churches of unassuming sobriety. The simplicity and functional character of these buildings, shown in such structures as the interior of Santa Maria Novella in Florence or the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, contrasts with the trend toward richness in ornamental elaboration apparent in later Gothic art. In the 14th and 15th cent., these tendencies culminated in intricate webs of tracery, as in the towers of the cathedrals at Ulm and Strasbourg in Germany and in the flamboyant style of the Church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen in France. In England the same exuberance of decoration is manifested in the Decorated style of Bristol and Ely cathedrals and the even more elaborate Perpendicular style , exemplified in the choir of the cathedral at Gloucester.

Building activity, however, was seriously affected by the economic crises of the 14th cent. and by the Black Death, and later Gothic constructions were far less ambitious in scope than those of the preceding period. However, the Gothic tradition never completely died out, and in the 19th cent. it enjoyed a revival in Europe and in the New World inspired chiefly by the romantic movement (see Gothic revival ).

Gothic Sculpture

Sculpture and stained glass were formally and spiritually integrated within the Gothic cathedral to express a theological program or scheme. The Royal Portal at Chartres (mid-12th cent.) exemplifies the early achievements in the development toward a coherent sculptural scheme; the tympanum, archivolts, and jamb figures are newly united structurally and iconographically to emphasize the importance of Christ on earth. Images of Christ begin to reveal a tendency toward greater humanization.

By the first half of the 13th cent., the role of the Virgin Mary as the intermediary between God and humanity is stressed in the sculptural programs of Laon, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the north transept of Chartres. At the same time figures began to protrude more strongly from their architectural background. Whereas the jamb figures of the Royal Portal at Chartres were formally no more than splendid humanized columns, by the 13th cent. individual sculptural elements became more important and less united with the architecture. The portal figures of the cathedral at Reims provide an eloquent example of the trend toward sculptural independence.

From the mid-13th cent. onward, mannerisms in gesture developed, such as the "hip-shot" pose, notable in the statue of the Virgin and Child at Amiens. This swaying posture further separated sculpture from architecture. In the 14th cent., after the completion of the great cathedrals, sculpture became an independent artistic form. Mannerisms were exaggerated into an elegant style that continued into the 16th cent. There was a parallel trend toward greater realism, which had its origin in sepulchral portrait sculpture. The tendency toward realism reached monumental form in the Well of Moses (Dijon; 1395-1403) by Claus Sluter .

The influence of French Gothic sculpture spread throughout the Continent and England. The finest and most individual examples are found in Germany in the middle of the 13th cent. in the facades of Bamberg, Strasbourg, and Naumbourg cathedrals, the last showing evidence of a powerfully realistic, wholly German style. In Italy the late 13th-century works of Giovanni Pisano (see Nicola Pisano ) in Siena and Pistoia and of Lorenzo Maitani at Orvieto reflect the heightened expressiveness found in French Gothic art.

Other Gothic Arts

Monumental fresco painting was rare in the Gothic period except in Italy, where the massive walls remained instead of yielding to the tall skeletal structure found elsewhere. In the rest of Europe stained glass andtapestry assumed greater importance and showed a stylistic development analogous to that of sculpture.

Another aspect of Gothic painting was manuscript illumination , in which text and pictures formed a united composition. From the beginning of the 13th cent., illuminations were done for the courts by lay schools. The Paris school achieved a perfection which made it the center of Gothic painting for nearly two centuries. English miniatures are often indistinguishable from the French in this period. The painters of the Avignon school flourished from 1309, when the papal court was moved there from Rome. This school produced one work, a Pietà from Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Louvre; c.1460), of such originality of expression that it stands outside the established categories of Gothic painting.

The Waning of the Gothic Style

Toward the end of the 14th cent., many Flemish artists went to France, and a Franco-Flemish style was created, showing an elegance and interest in minute detail; so wide was its diffusion that it came to be known as the International Style. At about this time panel painting, under the lead of Flanders and Italy, achieved preeminence over all other forms of painting. In the 15th cent. individual painters, such as StephanLochner , Martin Schongauer , and Mathias Grünewald in Germany, mark the culmination of Gothic art. Others, such as Jean Fouquet in France and the Van Eycks in Flanders, point the way to the Renaissance, while retaining much of the Gothic spirit. In 15th-century Italy, where the Gothic style had never really taken root, the early Renaissance was already in full flower.

Gothic architecture and art

2010-01-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | Copyright

It is generally agreed that Gothic architecture made its initial appearance (c.1140) in the Île-de-France, the royal domain of the Capetian kings. However, the inception of the style owes much to several generations of prior experimentation, particularly in Normandy (see Norman architecture ). Although individual components in Gothic architecture, such as ribbed vaulting and the pointed arch, had been employed in Romanesque construction, they had not previously received such a purposeful and consistent application. While the structural value of the Gothic rib has been contested, its formal significance cannot be overestimated. It served above all to delineate the vaults with a skeletal web that gave to the entire structure an articulation of impressive clarity.

Unlike Romanesque architecture, with its stress on heavy masses and clearly delimited areas, Gothic construction, particularly in its later phase, is characterized by lightness and soaring spaces. The overall effect of the Gothic cathedral combined this lightness with an innumerable subdivision and multiplicity of forms. The introduction (c.1180) of a system of flying buttresses (see buttress ) made possible the reduction of wall surfaces by relieving them of part of their structural function. Great windows could be set into walls, admitting light through vast expanses of stained glass. Wall surfaces of High Gothic churches thus have the appearance of transparent and weightless curtains. The spiritual and mysterious quality of light is an important element of the religious symbolism of Gothic cathedrals.

In plan the High Gothic cathedral remained faithful to the traditional basilican form. It consisted of a central nave flanked by aisles, with or without transept, and was terminated by a choir surrounded by an ambulatory with chapels. These elements, however, were no longer treated as single units but were formally integrated within a unified spatial scheme. The exterior view was frequently dominated by twin towers. The facade was pierced by entrance portals often lavishly decorated with sculpture, and at a higher level appeared a central stained glass rose window . Additional towers frequently rose above the crossing and the arms of the transept, which often had entrance portals and sculpture of their own. Around the upper part of the edifice was a profusion of flying buttresses and pinnacles.

Landmarks of French Gothic Architecture

The first important example of Gothic architecture was the ambulatory of the abbey of Saint-Denis, constructed between 1140 and 1144. Saint-Denis embodies the first daring use of large areas of glass, coupled with a brilliant organization of space. Its influence was immediate, and the possibilities of the new style were eagerly explored in structures such as the cathedrals of Sens, Noyon, Laon, and Paris, begun in the ensuing decades of the 12th cent.

The High Gothic phase of architecture was ushered in by the Cathedral of Chartres, begun after 1194 and followed in rapid succession by the cathedrals of Bourges, Reims, Amiens, and Beauvais. These structures surged to unprecedented heights. A further reduction of opaque wall surfaces in favor of graceful screens of stone tracery and glass led toward the formation of the Gothic Rayonnant style around the mid-13th cent. The most striking achievements of Rayonnant design, the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the Church of St. Urban in Troyes, have walls almost entirely of glass, held in place by only a thin skeletal frame of masonry.

Gothic Architecture Outside France

The adoption of Gothic architecture in various parts of Western Europe resulted in interesting variations and developments of the style. The cathedrals of Lincoln and Salisbury typify the early English style (late 12th-early 13th cent.). They retain much of the ponderous mural quality of earlier Norman architecture. In Italy height was usually subordinated to width, in a perpetuation of Romanesque proportions. French models served as inspiration for German churches of the 13th cent., notably at the cathedral in Cologne. Spanish Gothic architecture of this period was also based largely on French monuments; the forms, however, were modified, as in Toledo and Burgos, in the direction of greater ornamental display, partly derived from Moorish precedents.

Late Gothic Styles

In the 13th cent. the newly founded orders of Franciscans and Dominicans erected large hall churches of unassuming sobriety. The simplicity and functional character of these buildings, shown in such structures as the interior of Santa Maria Novella in Florence or the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, contrasts with the trend toward richness in ornamental elaboration apparent in later Gothic art. In the 14th and 15th cent., these tendencies culminated in intricate webs of tracery, as in the towers of the cathedrals at Ulm and Strasbourg in Germany and in the flamboyant style of the Church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen in France. In England the same exuberance of decoration is manifested in the Decorated style of Bristol and Ely cathedrals and the even more elaborate Perpendicular style , exemplified in the choir of the cathedral at Gloucester.

Building activity, however, was seriously affected by the economic crises of the 14th cent. and by the Black Death, and later Gothic constructions were far less ambitious in scope than those of the preceding period. However, the Gothic tradition never completely died out, and in the 19th cent. it enjoyed a revival in Europe and in the New World inspired chiefly by the romantic movement (see Gothic revival ).

Gothic Sculpture

Sculpture and stained glass were formally and spiritually integrated within the Gothic cathedral to express a theological program or scheme. The Royal Portal at Chartres (mid-12th cent.) exemplifies the early achievements in the development toward a coherent sculptural scheme; the tympanum, archivolts, and jamb figures are newly united structurally and iconographically to emphasize the importance of Christ on earth. Images of Christ begin to reveal a tendency toward greater humanization.

By the first half of the 13th cent., the role of the Virgin Mary as the intermediary between God and humanity is stressed in the sculptural programs of Laon, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the north transept of Chartres. At the same time figures began to protrude more strongly from their architectural background. Whereas the jamb figures of the Royal Portal at Chartres were formally no more than splendid humanized columns, by the 13th cent. individual sculptural elements became more important and less united with the architecture. The portal figures of the cathedral at Reims provide an eloquent example of the trend toward sculptural independence.

From the mid-13th cent. onward, mannerisms in gesture developed, such as the "hip-shot" pose, notable in the statue of the Virgin and Child at Amiens. This swaying posture further separated sculpture from architecture. In the 14th cent., after the completion of the great cathedrals, sculpture became an independent artistic form. Mannerisms were exaggerated into an elegant style that continued into the 16th cent. There was a parallel trend toward greater realism, which had its origin in sepulchral portrait sculpture. The tendency toward realism reached monumental form in the Well of Moses (Dijon; 1395-1403) by Claus Sluter .

The influence of French Gothic sculpture spread throughout the Continent and England. The finest and most individual examples are found in Germany in the middle of the 13th cent. in the facades of Bamberg, Strasbourg, and Naumbourg cathedrals, the last showing evidence of a powerfully realistic, wholly German style. In Italy the late 13th-century works of Giovanni Pisano (see Nicola Pisano ) in Siena and Pistoia and of Lorenzo Maitani at Orvieto reflect the heightened expressiveness found in French Gothic art.

Other Gothic Arts

Monumental fresco painting was rare in the Gothic period except in Italy, where the massive walls remained instead of yielding to the tall skeletal structure found elsewhere. In the rest of Europe stained glass andtapestry assumed greater importance and showed a stylistic development analogous to that of sculpture.

Another aspect of Gothic painting was manuscript illumination , in which text and pictures formed a united composition. From the beginning of the 13th cent., illuminations were done for the courts by lay schools. The Paris school achieved a perfection which made it the center of Gothic painting for nearly two centuries. English miniatures are often indistinguishable from the French in this period. The painters of the Avignon school flourished from 1309, when the papal court was moved there from Rome. This school produced one work, a Pietà from Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Louvre; c.1460), of such originality of expression that it stands outside the established categories of Gothic painting.

The Waning of the Gothic Style

Toward the end of the 14th cent., many Flemish artists went to France, and a Franco-Flemish style was created, showing an elegance and interest in minute detail; so wide was its diffusion that it came to be known as the International Style. At about this time panel painting, under the lead of Flanders and Italy, achieved preeminence over all other forms of painting. In the 15th cent. individual painters, such as StephanLochner , Martin Schongauer , and Mathias Grünewald in Germany, mark the culmination of Gothic art. Others, such as Jean Fouquet in France and the Van Eycks in Flanders, point the way to the Renaissance, while retaining much of the Gothic spirit. In 15th-century Italy, where the Gothic style had never really taken root, the early Renaissance was already in full flower.

Arts center to pursue state grant for rehab

2010-01-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

By Seth Koenig, Times Record Staff

Published:

Thursday, December 31, 2009 3:46 PM EST

BATH — Chocolate Church Arts Center representatives and city officials are applying for state grant money that would aid an ambitious rehabilitation of the historic building.

For years, the 162-year-old former church has been suffering from steady structural decay. Previous plans to reinforce the porous walls and straighten the leaning belfry — among other repairs — have fizzled as a result of high price tags or criticisms that new cheaper materials being proposed for the projects weren’t historically accurate.

Now, said Chocolate Church board president Michael Barndollar, the arts center’s leaders are implementing a strategy that incrementally aims to “restore the building to its former glory.”

“Initially, there was a thought that we could go out and raise $1 million, $2 million or $3 million all at once and it was overwhelming and nobody thought it was doable,” Barndollar said. “This way, we’ll be actually making progress and illustrating that we’re making good use of the funding we’re receiving. When (potential donors) see scaffolding up and the belfry being righted, it’ll be much easier for us to say, ‘Hey, the next stage is going to cost us $50,000 or $100,000 — we’ve made a commitment to restoring the building. You’re in (the building), you can see the changes, you’re warm during performances.’”

The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing next week on a Community Development Block Grant application that, if ultimately granted by the state, would inject $150,000 into the ongoing rehabilitation work.

“The city is trying to help where it can with the structural issues at the Chocolate Church,” said City Manager Bill Giroux.

Al Smith, the city’s community development director, said the application will ask that state grant money be set aside for historical preservation and spot blight elimination.

Scott Davis, Bath’s codes enforcement officer, wrote in a document supporting the application that “this once beautiful Gothic revival church ... has suffered from many years of neglect and deferred maintenance.”

“Paint peels from its exterior walls,” he wrote, in part. “There are holes in the walls that water pours into every time it rains. Rotten wooden siding and trim falls off the building regularly. Deteriorated and missing roofing materials allow water to enter the building through the roof in many places. A structural analysis reveals that the steeple is so out of plumb and becoming more so to the point that it will have to be removed from the building in the interest of public safety if it’s not stabilized in the very near future.”

Smith said the initial filings with the state indicate that the project qualifies for the grant program, but noted that it still must pass muster when compared to other similar projects elsewhere in the state.

“It’ll be competitive, but I think it’s a compelling property and project, and I’m optimistic that everything will come together,” Smith said. “It’s important to the community and it’s a big task.”

Barndollar said the $150,000 in state grant money, if awarded, would be used to pay for reroofing the main Chocolate Church structure and insulating under the roof. He said the project will eliminate much of the building’s winter heat loss and cut down on the amount of water infiltrating the walls, a problem that contributes to the slow separation of the belfry from the rest of the structure.

As a sign that the latest Chocolate Church renovation strategy is a serious one, Barndollar said some initial steps in the multi-phased renovation plan are already nearing completion. Using revenues secured from the sale of the center’s former art gallery to restaurateur Joe Byrnes — who converted the one-story building on the corner of Washington and Centre streets into the Admiral Steakhouse — Chocolate Church leaders have ordered an aggressive repair job on the center’s annex building.

The annex has received new roofing, insulation, windows, siding, green rooms for actors, heating and electrical fixtures, among other things. Barndollar said a little more work must be done to prepare the second floor to house the center’s relocated art gallery, but plans are on schedule to open space in time for a May 2010 showcase.

“We had electrical panels with water dripping on them,” Barndollar said. “We started digging and found holes in the floor. The building was a disaster. It’s going to be basically a brand new building.”

Future stages in the incremental rehabilitation plan include an exterior repair and paint job with an estimated cost of $200,000; replacement of the belfry for between $250,000 and $500,000; and renovation of the building interior and performance space at a cost of about $100,000.

Barndollar said he hopes the rest of the work can be funded within the next five years. Overall, the projects are estimated to total $1.02 million, a cost significantly below the $5 million price estimate secured by Chocolate Church representatives in a 2006 study.

news@timesrecord.com

Knight's tale artworks stay in UK

2009-12-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

The paintings depict the Eglinton tournament in 1839

A set of paintings depicting a 19th Century jousting tournament in Ayrshire are to go on display in the area.

East Ayrshire Council has successfully raised £85,100 to buy the Eglinton watercolours by James Henry Nixon.

The works depict scenes from a Medieval re-enactment tournament staged by the 13th Earl of Eglinton in 1839.

Historic shields, which furnished the knights' tents, were also bought for £7,000. The works will go on display at Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, next year.

A new exhibition will also be staged during the summer of 2011 at The Dick and will feature collections from throughout the country relating to the tournament and the Gothic Revival of the period.

Knights' shields were also produced for the tournament

UK Culture Minister Barbara Follett recently placed an export bar on the 20 watercolours, providing a last chance to raise funds to keep them in the UK.

Her ruling followed a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

The committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the watercolours are so closely connected with the nation's history and life that their departure would be "a misfortune".

The works were created to be used by lithographers for a folio account of the Eglinton tournament, which was published in 1843.

Councillor Douglas Reid, leader of East Ayrshire Council, said: "It is fantastic news that we have secured the watercolours and shields, as they form such an important part of our Ayrshire history.

"The display at Dean Castle and major exhibition at The Dick will help cement East Ayrshire's reputation as an important cultural destination."

Banquet and ball

The Eglinton Tournament, which took place over three days in August 1839, highlighted the 19th Century fascination with all things Medieval.

Privately funded by Lord Eglinton at a cost of £40,000 and held in front of the castle on his Ayrshire estate, the spectacle included a procession, jousting by tilt and mêlée, a banquet and a ball.

It was attended by 100,000 people who travelled from across Britain, Europe and even America.

Little is known about the artist James Henry Nixon, except that he was an artistic partner in a London stained-glass firm.

THE MOST FASCINATING WAY TO REACH GOD

2009-11-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

Benedict XVI Draws Lessons From Gothic Architecture

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today drew two lessons from the beauty of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals as he dedicated his general audience address to consider the flowering of Christian architecture that began in the 11th century.

The Pope spoke to his audience in Paul VI Hall about both the physical and symbolic characteristics of European churches and cathedrals in the Middle Ages.

And he pointed to two lessons for today: one regarding Europe's Christian roots, and another on the "way of beauty" as a path for meeting God.

"The works of art born in Europe in past centuries are incomprehensible if one does not take into account the religious soul that inspired them," the Holy Father said.

He proposed that faith's encounter with art brings about a profound harmony, "because both can and want to praise God, making the Invisible visible."

The Pontiff said he would share this reflection on Saturday when he meets with a group of artists, representing both the secular and sacred lines of the profession.

Approaching mystery

Benedict XVI said a second lesson from the architecture of the Christian Middle Ages is that the "way of beauty, is a privileged and fascinating way to approach the Mystery of God."

"What is beauty, which writers, poets, musicians, and artists contemplate and translate into their language, if not the reflection of the splendor of the Eternal Word made flesh," he asked.

And the Pope cited St. Augustine in affirming that created beauty lifts the spirit to Beauty Himself: "Ask the beauty of the earth, ask the beauty of the sea, ask the beauty of the ample and diffused air. Ask the beauty of heaven, ask the order of the stars, ask the sun, which with its splendor brightens the day; ask the moon, which with its clarity moderates the darkness of night. Ask the beasts that move in the water, that walk on the earth, that fly in the air: souls that hide, bodies that show themselves; the visible that lets itself be guided, the invisible that guides.

"Ask them! All will answer you: Look at us, we are beautiful! Their beauty makes them known. This mutable beauty, who has created it if not Immutable Beauty?"

The Pontiff concluded by praying that "the Lord help us to rediscover the way of beauty as one of the ways, perhaps the most attractive and fascinating, to be able to find and love God."

Portrait of an art lover

2009-11-15T22:32:00.000-08:00

There is no art on the walls of Jonathan Mane-Wheoki's office.

Too busy to hang any, says the new head of Auckland University's Elam Art School, pushing a sheaf of paper across the table. It's his curriculum vitae. Eighteen pages. "Incomplete," he apologises.

Earlier this year, commentators named Mane-Wheoki among the list of possibles to take the top job at Te Papa, vacant since the national musuem's former chief executive Seddon Bennington died while tramping in the Tararua Ranges.

"People were getting in touch with me, saying I should give it a go," says Mane-Wheoki. "But I have moved on."

From Canterbury University to Te Papa museum to Auckland University: his is a lifetime devoted to arts administration and academia. He has presented conference papers around the world, held posts with everyone from the Historic Places Trust to Creative New Zealand, contributed to dozens of publications. And yet: "I've never quite known what to want for myself."

Mane-Wheoki, 65, claims to have little personal ambition, "but I do have fierce ambition for any organisation that I'm in".

He'll need it. Four years ago, Elam was making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Sunday Star-Times reported restructuring had slashed painting staff from eight to one part-timer, as the school, which had produced top artists such as Gretchen Albrecht and Robin White, made an ideological shift towards multi-disciplinary teaching.

"I have received a number of messages of congratulation from former Elam staff," Mane-Wheoki said last week. "But sometimes the correspondents have also needed to get things off their chest, including some very bitter stuff remaining from a past in which I had no history or memory.

"Elam is a powerful brand. Part of my job is to reinforce that brand, nationally and internationally, in order to attract top applicants for places in our programmes."

Mane-Wheoki says there are about 26 degrees in fine arts and design on offer in New Zealand. In his book, the only ones that count come from Elam and Ilam – the Canterbury University art school where he studied and later taught for almost three decades.

"If you look at the selection of artists to represent New Zealand at the Venice Biennale since 2001, it has only been between Elam and Canterbury."

Who wants to be an art student anyway?

In December 2003, Creative New Zealand released a report called "Portrait of the Artist". Back then, more than two-thirds of artists surveyed earned $10,000 or less a year from their prime artistic occupation.

Latest census figures show the number of New Zealanders identifying as "sculptors, painters and related artists" has more than doubled in the past decade – 3825 people now compete for that particular cultural dollar. Their median income is $19,600 – more than $14,000 below that of the total workforce.

"This is a very small country," says Mane-Wheoki. "It's a bit of a stretch to expect that too many of our artists are going to figure in any international top 50. But there is a respectable level of attainment."

Mane-Wheoki could have been an artist. It is a curious quirk of his personality that, on one hand, he describes himself as "chronically shy", and on the other, tells a story that starts like this: "Colin McCahon told a friend of mine once that Jonathan could be the greatest painter in New Zealand but he would have to develop the hide of a rhinoceros."

Yes, he means that McCahon – the famous painter who lived in Titirangi and tutored a young Mane-Wheoki at Auckland Art Gallery night classes (Don Binney was a fellow student).

"Colin, I think, had quite a high regard for my abilities. But then he came to Canterbury to be the external assessor when I was in my third year and he told this same friend, `Jonathan has joined the ranks of Ilam's competent decorators'."

This is Mane-Wheoki's first major interview since his appointment. He has grand plans for Elam. For starters, more Maori and Pacific Island students. Controversial?

"I'd balance that by saying I want more Pakeha students too. I want this to be, first and foremost, a New Zealand art school, even more than I want it to be an Auckland art school."

International students, he says, "are a double-edged sword".

"I know from my time at Canterbury, you can have too many international students and the Pakeha students take flight."

What does he think of Elam's current cultural mix? "I'm not sure, is the answer. But that's something I would want to keep a close eye on."

Mane-Wheoki moved from the Bay of Plenty to Titirangi, Auckland, when he was still at primary school. His mother was Pakeha, his father Maori, of Ngapuhi, Te Aupouri and Ngati Kuri iwi. He worked as a labourer, and later started a taxi business. The relationship, says Mane-Wheoki, was diffiult.

Slightly reticent during this interview, he opens up later, via email.

"I acquired a snobbish and completely wrong-headed disdain of his `Maoriness' and was not a dutiful son. Towards the end of his life, I took him out, on one of my rare visits, to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Auckland and when he toddled off to the loo, a lone Pakeha diner at the next table said, `I hope you don't mind my interrupting but I've been watching you and your father, and thinking about my own Maori wife and son. Your father loves you very much'. I was thunderstruck. It took a complete stranger to tell me something that I had not known or seen for myself."

Growing up, says Mane-Wheoki, "my sister and I encountered quite a lot of racist stuff. Name calling. The things that children do".

He remembers being called Maori bug. Today, he considers the insult with detached amusement. "I don't know what the scientific name is for the insect, but they emit a very powerful smell as part of the defence mechanism."

The best way to describe his childhood – "terribly puzzling". Parnell grandparents with upper-crust English and Cockney accents. In the Far North, grandparents "in this little humble tin hut with earth floors, sleeping on dried bracken".

"As a teenager and in my early 20s, I kept very quiet about that, because it didn't somehow feel respectable to be talking about these things. Now I think that is a very cherished memory."

He was 21 when he went to Ilam. In his first year, he got some A's and some C's. In his second year, "I became aware that I had a brain".

Later this month, Mane-Wheoki will give a floor talk at the Christchurch Art Gallery on an Andy Warhol portrait of Chairman Mao. He purchased it for the gallery in the 1970s, when he studied for a masters in art history at London's Courtauld Institute.

Mane-Wheoki believes he "fell into" academia. "I just didn't know how to want things or figure out things." His masters dissertation was on High Victorian Gothic church architecture. He has a Trinity College of Music teacher's diploma in speech and drama. He studied voice with Beatrice Webster MBE and believes he might have been an opera singer.

"I have always tended to be quite reserved and not betray my real feelings – except in my art and music."

In 1993, an epiphany at the first Asia-Pacific Triennial for contemporary art. "It changed my perspective quite dramatically. I thought, `God, this vibrant art from Indonesia, and what do I know about the contemporary art of Indonesia? Nothing'."

He felt ashamed that Indonesia was on his doorstep, yet he hankered for Europe. Artist Robin White – who spent 17 years living in Kiribati – took the floor. She talked about mangrove swamps and collecting crabs. "I thought, well, where else could the centre of the art world be for her, but this tiny dot in the centre of the Pacific Ocean? And my whole conceptual framework for art history underwent a huge shift."

He came home and started curating and writing about contemporary Maori art. Ask Mane-Wheoki whether that is valued in New Zealand and he laughs. "That is a Te Papa question."

Once upon a time, New Zealand used to have a national gallery. Now that collection is held by our national museum. Mane-Wheoki became Te Papa's Art and Collection services director in 2004.

"It had a chance to be the national museum for Maori art, and Pacific art, and art in New Zealand and the Pacific. There was a very big vision there that I was never able to realise and that was part of my deep frustration with Te Papa, to be able to go only so far."

There is, says Mane-Wheoki, a lot to like about Te Papa.

"I think it is hugely successful as a bicultural museum. But I don't think it has kept up with the shifting demographics of New Zealand. Our rapidly changing cultural scene... going into Te Papa, you wouldn't be aware that we had significant populations of Muslims, Koreans, Eastern Europeans, white South Africans. It's kind of locked into a bit of a time warp."

During his tenure (where he oversaw a large and controversial repatriation of koiwi tangata or Maori skeletal remains from overseas), he says more debate was needed around the "core value" of biculturism. "What that meant and how we would apply it. Really just to test the validity of what we were doing, especially given New Zealand is a very different place from how it was when Te Papa opened in 1998."

Mane-Wheoki says the museum was the victim of spite. "Within the art world, there was a lot of spite... really poisonous blogs... people saying the most extraordinary things, that were often deeply rooted in the prejudice that had formed around the disestablishment of the national gallery, and often on the part of people who had never set foot in Te Papa."

It had to be water off a duck's back, he says. This is the man who did, perhaps, eventually grow McCahon's rhinoceros skin. But was he tough enough for Te Papa's top job? "I was open to a conversation but at the present time, I would be very... I'd have to be persuaded I was the right person. Just as I had to be persuaded I was the right person for the job here."

Mane-Wheoki still has one foot in Wellington, splitting his time between the two North Island cities, where his partner of 30 years, broadcaster Paul Bushnell, lives.

"It's not a marriage. It's more like we're very necessary to each other, emotionally, but also professionally. The irony is we've outlived the marriages of most of our siblings."

He has committed at least three years to Elam. So far, so good. "I come at this with a service mentality. We are the students' servants, not their masters.

"Sometimes I hear people say `and they didn't even know about Andy Warhol'. Well, I mean, Andy Warhol died before most of them were born. Why would they know about the 15 minutes of fame? Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Chairman Mao – who are those to this generation? They've got their own heroes."

Jonathan Mane-Wheoki on:

Maori in leadership positions: "[They] come up against irrational hatred from the mere fact that you are Maori and therefore contemptible and useless, and indignation that you enjoy unearned rights and privileges, denied to others, by virtue of the fact that you are Maori. You are condemned for trying to improve your situation on the one hand, and for not raising yourself out of the mire on the other."

Hone Harawira: "I wouldn't have done what Hone did, skiving off from a taxpayer-funded attendance at a meeting in Brussels in order to treat his wife to a tourist jaunt to Paris, and I certainly would never have employed the gutter language of a swaggering street brawler in defending the indefensible. At the same time, while not condoning his behaviour, I think I understand why he did what he did, unprofessional and unethical though it may have been."

Working at Te Papa: "You are given jobs to do and not given the time and resources to carry them through. It was extraordinary the Rita Angus exhibition came out as well it could."

Art students: "You've got to expect that students will get their clothes off, they'll use offensive material, they'll put offensive content in their stuff and so on... I'm poised to defend those behaviours."

Curriculum changes: "I can see the point of strengthening commitment to the three R's – I've often wondered if Pakeha New Zealanders didn't have a bit of contempt for the English language – but not at the expense of the arts. Arts are an incredibly important part of our changing identity and cultural wealth."

His approach to life: "I think about things very carefully before I blunder into them."

From Metropolis to Blade Runner: architecture that stole the show

2009-11-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

- Jonathan Glancey

From the silent epics of DW Griffiths through Art Deco spectaculars like Busby Berkeley's Gold Diggers of 1933 to Pixar's wonderful WALL-E(2008), the connection between architecture and film has always been intimate. Look at how Le Corbusier defined architecture: "the masterly, correct and magnificent play of form in light." It stands as a great description of cinema as well as of buildings.

Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that many great art directors and set designers – especially those who fled Nazi Germany for Hollywood – trained as architects. And the influence runs the other way: inspired directors and their designers continue to exert an influence on architecture. The play of light is everything, whether it's in the work ofStanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott and David Lynch, or of Nicholas Hawksmoor, Le Corbusier and Rem Koolhaas.

This month, as part of its 175th anniversary celebrations, the Royal Institute of British Architects is holding a film season devoted to the relationship between architecture and the movies. Below, I've listed five films – the briefest list from all but endless possibilities – I can watch happily over and again, and that bring out the best in both genres. You probably have your own favourites: I'd love to hear them.