Gothic architecture

history spread, focusing on epigraphy and paleography. In 1761, Sir William Chambers designed a compilation of buildings and gardens that formed the Kew in Surrey. One of these buildings is the Alhambra, which was intended to be Moorish style architecture. Another building on the site was a mosque that was intended to be reflective of Turkish styles. Chamber’s Alhambra and mosque were some of the first buildings in the Western world to be built in Moorish and Islamic styles. Through…

The University of Florida’s Architecture Building, located at 1480 Inner Road, Gainesville, Florida, was built in the late 1970s (“Grove Hall: A Trip Down Memory Lane”) in what would be considered the brutalist style. This style is typically characterized by raw concrete, expanses of glass, and a massive, heavy feel. It emerged largely from the work of architect Le Corbusier, and often has a unique way of tying into and fitting alongside “century-long narrative[s]” and historic buildings or…

Although Augustine did not have access to the Gothic Church, his focus on looking beyond Scripture to transcend his earthly self is not unlike Abbot Suger’s view of the rich Gothic art of St. Denis, such as the splendor of the reliefs on the gilded doors and the Anagogical window, as an earthly architectural metaphor for heaven. Augustine would, in turn, be more sympathetic to Suger despite his profound knowledge of Scriptural texts because Gothic art encourages and guides the viewer to…

Peter Kidson sets out to analyze Panofsky’s writings on Abbot Suger and whether they depict an accurate image of the man and his role in the development of the Gothic style. He argues that Panofsky gives Suger too much credit and calls into question the innovations Panofsky brought to the Suger conversation: the Abbot’s connection to St. Bernard and his status as an intellect. Kidson goes on to address these points thoroughly through analysis of Suger’s writings. In the last section of his…

“The same protocol that bound the Romanesque painter applied to the Gothic. In addition, architecture was subjected to an elaborate plan of religious symbolism, and even music was ordered according to strict rules: the fact that music was listed as Mathematics is evidence of the influence of scholasticism” (Wold, Martin, Miller, & Cykler…

others. Buildings are often a continuum of the change. It makes sense considering for many they make the physical boundaries of our world. Churches in medieval times changed dramatically between 1150 and 1550, the style changed from Romanesque to Gothic. The reasons for this can be divided into three categories, Social, Technological, and Theological. Churches needed to be bigger, because of the growing number of attendees, so new technology was needed, the new technology allowed the new ideas…

Roger E. Reynolds, “Liturgy and the Monument”, in Artistic Integration in Gothic Buildings (Toronto ; Buffalo : University of Toronto Press, 1995), 57-68. In his article, Roger Reynolds argues that liturgy and cathedrals and a relationship of mutual adaptation. He argues that they would each adapt their forms and traditions to the other depending on which preceded in each specific case, (i.e. an older building with contemporary liturgy, or a new building being built to fit liturgical…

Saint-Étienne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church with French gothic architectural style. This cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen. Initially, the groundbreaking for this building was in 1195, yet was not fully finished until 1230. The structure is still in use to this day. The Western façade on this cathedral is the most grandiose facade in the compilation of the previous cathedrals that have been visited. Cathedral Saint Étienne too has a gothic porch with receding arch ways, yet the…

expression of structure, use of living materials, the sound it embodies and even the response of nearby beings in its community are just a few of the many personifying factors which helped me understand why I admire the building so much as a piece of architecture and perhaps as a being. From looking at each characteristic…

childhood. I attended a catholic elementary school during my childhood. I still the remember the sound of the clock tower and the architecture of the church. There were also certain times where we had to pay to go to church. However, during my childhood years, I did not question much. For me, religion was more of a lifestyle…