Index:Charles Moore--Development and Character of Gothic Architecture.djvu
Contents
Definition of Gothic Incorrect ideas respecting Gothic architecture—Aversion to the pointed style first arose in Italy—This style naturally unsuited to Italian tastes and traditions—Gothic art an outgrowth—The genius of the north modified by that of the south—The abandonment of Gothic architecture coincident with the growth of artificial conditions of society—The architecture of the Renaissance not a popular architecture—Awakening of an antiquarian interest in the pointed styles—Growth of a spirit of investigation English and continental misconceptions of Gothic—Architectural styles distinguished primarily by structural characteristics—The Gothic an organic system—Its evolution out of the Romanesque—The Roman constructive system Early Romanesque developments—The constructive advantages of the pointed arch—The flying buttress—Summary of the structural characteristics of Gothic—The system developed in three-aisled buildings—Rudeness not a characteristic of Gothic art—Painting and stained glass—Living character of Gothic sculpture—Antique elements of Gothic ornamentation—Conventional character of Gothic ornament—Organic treatment of constituent elements in Gothic ornament—Architectural fitness of Gothic sculpture Gothic art of short duration—The cathedral edifice the central object of popular interest—The monastic activities in building—The Gothic style developed by the laity—Gothic architecture mainly an architecture of churches—Sources of inspiration Gothic art native to France Pages 1-31
Gothic Construction in France Region of the early Gothic movement—Existing buildings the only sources of information—First manifestations of new principles—The vaults of Morienval—Early vaulting of St. Denis—Senlis and Noyon—Vaulting of the Abbaye-aux-Hommes—Constructive system of San Michele of Pavia—Its influence on Norman building Relation of piers to vaults in the Cathedral of
Senlis—Quadripartite system of the Cathedral of Noyon—Buttress system of Noyon—Structural progress exhibited in the Cathedral of Paris—Vaulting systems of the choir and nave of Paris Vaulting systems of Mantes, Laon, Bourges, Sens, and Dijon—Local differences of constructive detail, and mutual influences of various provinces—Developments of the thirteenth century—Modifications of the lower pier consequent upon new adjustments of the abacus to its load—Vaulting systems of the advanced Gothic—Structural reason of the twisted surfaces of Gothic vaulting—Vaulting systems of Chartres, Reims, Amiens, and St. Denis—Buttress systems of St. Martin at Laon, St. Leu d'Esserent, Noyon, Soissons, Chartres, Amiens, and Reims—Evolution of the pinnacle—Modes of enclosure—Development of the clerestory opening in the Cathedral of Paris—Development of tracery—Screening of the triforium in French churches—Development of the Gothic apse—Mode of vaulting the apsidal aisles—Chapels of the apse—Characteristics of the French transept—Development of the west façade—Development of the spire—General aspect of the Gothic edifice—General and spontaneous character of the Gothic movement in France Pages 32-123
Pointed Construction in England Rare occurrence of the pointed arch and of groin ribs in England before the last quarter of the twelfth century—Approach to Gothic principles in the vaults of Malmesbury Abbey—Little approach to Gothic in the buildings immediately following Malmesbury—Structural system of Fountains Abbey—Structural system of Kirkstall Abbey—No important advance takes place in England till after the building of the choir of Canterbury—Structural system of Canterbury—Structural system of Chichester—Structural system of the choir of Lincoln—St. Mary's, New Shoreham—Byland and Whitby—The choir of Ripon—Lack of unity of principle in the early pointed architecture of England—Lack of Gothic principles in the later pointed buildings of England—Multiplication of ribs in later English vaulting—Buttress system and clerestory of Lincoln—Structural system of Salisbury—Structural system of Wells—Structural system of the Abbaye-aux-Dames—The Presbytery of Lincoln—The Cathedral of Lichfield—Modes of enclosure—Characteristics of the east end—Characteristics of transept ends—Characteristics of the west front—Towers and spires—Structural features of the chapter-house—Vaulting of rare occurrence in the smaller churches of England 124-169
Pointed Construction in Germany, Italy, and Spain Slowness of Germany to adopt the new principles of building—The Cathedral of Speyer an almost unmodified Romanesque structure—The Cathedral of Bamberg hardly changed in principle—Gothic characteristics in the vaulting
of Magdeburg—Nearer approach to Gothic in the Cathedral of Limburg on the Lahn—Its likeness to Noyon—Freiburg and Strasburg—The Kreuzkirche at Breslau—Cologne Cathedral completely Gothic—But not a German product—Peculiarities of St. Elizabeth at Marburg, St. Sebaldus at Nuremberg, and other buildings of the same class—East ends, transept ends, and western façades—Towers and spires—Slowness of Italy to adopt the pointed style—The monastic orders retain control of building in Italy longer than elsewhere—The church of St. Francis of Assisi—Sta. Maria Novella and Sta. Croce at Florence—The Cathedral of Florence—S. Petronio at Bologna—S. Anastasia at Verona—The church of the Frari at Venice—S. Martino at Lucca—The western façade—East ends and transept ends—Towers and spires—The churches of the twelfth century in Spain—Introduction into Spain of the Gothic of France—Clerestory and buttress system of the Cathedral of Burgos—Burgos, Toledo, and Leon perfectly Gothic in their internal systems Pages 170-199
Gothic Profiles in France Functional development governed by artistic feeling in Gothic profiles—The mechanical function of the capital not consistently recognised by the Roman and Romanesque builders—In France, after the eleventh century, the adjustment of the capital to its load was constant—The thickness of the shaft determined largely by the nature of the material used—The thickness of the abacus varies in proportion to the spread of the capital—Abacus and astragal of one piece with the bell in Gothic capitals—The French abacus usually square in plan—The abacus profile—Finest types of capitals belong to the early period of the Gothic style—Changes in the form of the capital consequent upon changes in the arch section—The Gothic base a modification of the ancient Attic base—Its plinth more developed than in the ancient type—The angle spur—The spread of the base usually increased as the diameter of the shaft is diminished—Diminution of the plinth and change of its form in the later Gothic style—String profiles—Evolution of the drip-moulding—Internal strings—The corbel table not a Gothic feature—Arch mouldings—Change in the arrangement of grouped abaci consequent on change in arch profiles—Evolution of mullion profiles 200-223
Profiles of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries in England and other Countries Superior character of the profiles of early capitals in England—French design and workmanship in capitals of the choir aisle of Lincoln—Anglo-Norman imitations of French work—The wreathed type of capital—Extravagant ornamentation of the later English capitals—The moulded capital—Profiles of
abaci—Profiles of bases—String profiles—Employment of the corbel table in the pointed architecture of England—Arch mouldings—Romanesque types of capitals long retained in Germany—Characteristics of capitals in the German pointed style—Capitals of the choir of Cologne—Base profiles of Cologne—Arch mouldings of Cologne—Profiles of capitals and bases in Italian pointed architecture—Profiles of Italian arch mouldings, vaulting ribs, and string-courses—Nothing of importance to notice in the profiles of Spain Pages 224-246
Gothic Sculpture in France Development of mediæval sculpture in France antecedent to that of other countries—Sources of instruction open to the sculptors of Western Europe—New life displayed in the art of the schools of Cluny—Exceptional conditions for the growth of art in the Ile-de-France—The early sculptures of St. Denis—The sculptures of St. Trophime at Arles—Refined qualities of the early sculptures of Chartres—The human figure not employed as a caryatid in Gothic architecture—Statues not placed in niches in this architecture—Relationship of sculpture to structural elements in Gothic art—Early reliefs of St. Denis and Paris manifest a new spirit—Qualities of design, execution, and sentiment in the sculptures of the lintel of Senlis—Natural elements common alike to Greek and mediæval sculpture—Superior freedom of the sculpture of the early thirteenth century—Sculptures of the west front of the Cathedral of Paris—Likeness to Greek art noticeable in these sculptures—Points of similarity in the Greek and mediæval genius—The statue of the Virgin in the south portal of Amiens—The statue of the Virgin in the portal of the north transept of Paris—Gothic sculpture the first in which expression predominates over form—Bodily beauty not ignored by the Gothic carvers—Significance of the grotesque element in Gothic art—The artists of the Ile-de-France the first to emancipate foliate sculpture from old conventions—Expression of nature in early foliate carvings—Early motives for ornament derived from the leafage of springtime—Delicacy of hand manifest in Gothic sculpture—Monumental fitness always regarded by the early carvers—Excessive naturalism of the later Gothic carvings—The quality of breadth in Gothic art—The colouring of Gothic sculpture 247-283
Sculpture of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries in England and other Countries Rare use of figure sculpture in connection with the pointed architecture of England—Norman sculptures of Lincoln and Ely—Exceptional character of the sculptures of Wells—The sculptures of Wells unrelated to the structural
elements—Their naturalistic qualities—Their rudeness of execution—Awkward placing of the interior sculptures of the Presbytery of Lincoln—Lack of artistic gift displayed in Anglo-Norman foliate carving—Artificial character of conventionalised forms in England—Figure sculpture not generally employed as an architectural adjunct in the pointed architecture of Germany—The statues of Cologne are Renaissance rather than mediæval art—Distinctive types of German foliate sculpture—Late development of figure sculpture in Italy—Italian sculpture an individual, rather than a communal product—Italian sculpture not organically related to architecture—Prevalence of surface reliefs—Two elements conspicuous in Italian sculpture—Classic elements of the art of Niccola Pisano imitative rather than spontaneous—Nearer approach to Gothic character in the art of Giovanni Pisano—The influence of nature and expression of beauty in the art of Giovanni Pisano—Little of distinctive importance in the foliate sculpture of Italy—Close imitation of nature a tendency in this sculpture—No important developments in sculpture ever had place in Spain—The carvings of Spanish Gothic copied from the French Pages 284-297
Gothic Painting and Stained Glass in France Figure painting not much employed in Gothic architecture—The characteristics of the figure painting of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries illustrated in the manuscripts of the time—Little progress in the art of painting was made by the Gothic artists—Chromatic design in Gothic art developed chiefly in the department of stained glass—The inherent limitations of this art—This art not capable of development beyond the conditions that were reached in the Middle Ages—Examples of stained glass in St. Denis, Chartres, and other churches 298-304
Painting and Stained Glass in England and other Countries Nothing different from the painting of France was produced during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the other countries of Europe—Earliest development of painting in Italy posterior to the epoch of Gothic art—Technical characteristics of early Italian painting—Its monumental qualities—Its union of pictorial and decorative elements—Its expressional purpose—No peculiar styles of design in stained glass were produced in England, Germany, Italy, or Spain 305-309 Conclusion The witness of the monuments to the origin of Gothic principles in France borne out by historical considerations—The different and less favourable conditions for the growth of art of England in the Middle Ages—Effects on art of the Norman Conquest—Reaction of the native genius—Slowness of the Germans to modify their Romanesque style—German pointed architecture mainly copied from France—No native development of Gothic in Italy—Lack of constructive character in Italian building—Social and political conditions in Spain unfavourable to development of the arts Pages 310-315 |
